Source: The Times Herald, Katie Kohler

Exhausted after a day of shopping or an encampment tour at Valley Forge National Park?

Visitors to the King of Prussia area are in for a good night’s sleep. In a recent article by Expedia, King of Prussia was ranked the seventh most comfortable city in America by travelers. Data from millions of verified Expedia user reviews was used to determine the 101 American cities with the top hotel comfort ratings. Each city on the list received more than 100 reviews, and were ranked based on a comfort level. King of Prussia made a huge leap from Expedia’s 2015 ranking where they were listed at 427 for comfort.

King of Prussia, home to King of Prussia Mall and Valley Forge National Historical Park, receives nearly 30 million visitors per year, from both the U.S. and abroad.

“The Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board is extremely pleased that King of Prussia has been recognized by Expedia for its ongoing commitment to welcome visitors. Its role in our ability to market all of Montgomery County is huge. We refer to King of Prussia as the “gateway” to all that our area has to offer over its 970-square-mile footprint,” commented Mike Bowman, President of Valley Tourism and Convention Board.

According to Lisa Karl, Vice President of Sales and Strategic Partnerships, at the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board, demand growth continues to outpace supply in Montgomery County; allowing for Montco Hotels to achieve all-time highs in both Occupancy and Average Daily Rate (ADR) : 69 percent (4.8 percent change) along with $118 ADR (1.7 percent change); ultimately resulting in an $82 RevPar (Revenue per Available Room), which is a 6.6 percent change Year over Year.

“King of Prussia’s 15 hotels represent a significant portion of our local economy. With 2,600 hotel rooms and 180,000 square feet of corporate meeting and event space, King of Prussia represents 32 percent of the total rooms in Montgomery County,” said Eric Goldstein, King of Prussia District Executive Director. “There is a significant amount of spill-over business to King of Prussia restaurants and retailers from occupied hotel guests. Together with the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board, we are marketing Montgomery County and King of Prussia as a hotel destination. With incredible amenities and options, the corporate, leisure and sports markets have all increased in King of Prussia.”

At the end of August, the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board launched a new marketing campaign — Destination Shop Montco — that invites visitors nationwide to shop, dine and stay in Montgomery County. The new marketing campaign includes billboards, a television ad and social media components. A new microsite — shopmontcopa.com — highlights the county’s retailers as well as dining and hotel offerings.

“The ‘stay’ aspect is vitally important to us. Our area offers a true value-proposition in the tourism space, with average daily room rates that trend lower than those of our neighbors (Philadelphia, for example). Our other advantages – free parking, for instance – provide real cost savings to visitors who come here and stay. Those savings frequently spark economic impact throughout our travel line of business, including shopping, dining and excursions like family-friendly adventures and golf,” added Bowman.

The recognition from Expedia is one of the many recent third-party validations of the Valley Forge Convention & Tourism Board’s work. They collected five awards from the Dallas-based Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals (AMCP). In October, the AMCP celebrated the work of their blog, print publications, marketing and branding expertise. Their social media team also bested international marketing work done by IKEA and SAP to claim a best-in-show award from PR News at a November 16th luncheon at the Yale Club in New York. PR News also identified Edward Harris, Vice President of Marketing & Communications as a finalist as Brand Marketer of the Year.