The group seeking to host a second Winter Olympics in the state by the middle of June had secured 21,000 rooms in the lodging industry for the time period of the 2034 Games.
But the rates the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games agreed to pay may have topped what had been envisioned.
A recent International Olympic Committee report centered on the bid to host the Games in 2034 includes details about the efforts to secure the necessary accommodations to stage the event. The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games has been amassing commitments for lodging across the region, and the IOC report provides limited information about price points.
According to the report, the projected overnight rates for the rooms, on average and in 2034 dollars:
• $313 for a two-star property
• $439 for a three-star property
• $762 for a four-star property
• $838 for a five-star property
The report indicates the dollar figures were crafted through a formula rather than a set maximum room rate. The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games has previously explained it agreed to pay higher rates as individual properties committed more rooms. The rates will ultimately be set by a formula relying on the base rate for the individual properties, an inflationary component, and the premium based on the number of rooms that were committed. The actual rates would not be finalized until 2031.
The report acknowledges the “average projected rooms rates for Games time appear to be on the high side.”
The projected room rates cover the entire Winter Olympic region. It seems likely the dollar figures for Park City-area lodging options secured by the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games top the averages listed for each star ranking since the resort-driven local rates typically are some of the highest in the state during the ski season. The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games by late June had secured 740 rooms spread through six properties in Park City and the Snyderville Basin.
The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games is continuing to secure lodging as it seeks the 24,000 rooms needed for the event. The goal does not include hotel rooms for the public who would arrive as spectators during an Olympics. The projected room rates publicized by the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, though, could become a marker of sorts as lodging properties without agreements with the committee consider their own rates.
The Park City area would be critical to a second Winter Olympics in the state, as during the Games in 2002. Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park are identified as competition venues, while Park City would also likely be a popular spot to celebrate the Games. The amount of Games-related activity would be expected to drive high demand for lodging in and around Park City as crowds seek proximity to the competitions.
The International Olympic Committee on July 24 is widely expected to award the Games of 2034 to Salt Lake City during meetings in Paris on the eve of the opening of the Summer Olympics in the French capital.