As Hitec 2025 kicks off today in Indianapolis, Hotel Management is taking a look at that market, its growth drivers and pipeline potential.
Indianapolis has always been a strong convention market, due to its central location and robust hotel and transportation infrastructure. The Indianapolis Convention Center is currently undergoing a 143,500 square-foot expansion that is expected to be completed in late 2026. Future convention bookings are reportedly increasing, said Eran Singer, vice president for CBRE Hotels Advisory.
Occupancy Drivers
"Indianapolis has also historically been a strong sports market and the city has frequently hosted events such as the Big Ten Football Championship Game and NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball regionals and Final Fours," he said. "The city is scheduled to host NCAA Men’s Final Fours in 2026 and 2029 and the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2028, as well as the WNBA All-Star Game in 2025."
Indianapolis is also known as the "Amateur Sports Capital of the World" as it hosts many youth and amateur sporting events annually. The Grand Park complex, located in Westfield in the northern portion of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area, hosts several youth sports tournaments throughout the year that generate a significant amount of room nights throughout the entire metropolitan area. The complex is estimated to attract approximately 5.5 million annual visitors, according to Singer.
The Indy 500 race is considered the largest one-day sporting event in the world. It draws nearly 300,000 spectators on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, creating peak occupancy and average daily rate levels in Indianapolis. Since the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indy 500 has made a strong return, with attendance only expected to increase in future years.
In 2024, the market saw a boost from several of these events, including Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the NBA All-Star Game, and the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. "Since 2025 will not have the same level of major events, which will likely result in a modest correction ADR," said Daniel McCoy, senior managing director, regional practice leader at HVS. "Nevertheless, healthy commercial hotel demand is supported by strong logistics and manufacturing sectors, as well expanding educational and healthcare institutions."
The Indy 500 race, one of the largest one-day sporting events in the world, draws nearly 300,000 spectators on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, driving peak occupancy and ADR levels in the city. Since the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indy 500 has made a strong return, with attendance only expected to increase in future years.
Overall, the Indianapolis hotel market has performed very similarly to the national market since 2022, although the market outperformed the broader U.S. market in 2024 with respect to occupancy, ADR and revenue per available room growth, Singer continued. While the market’s ADR and RevPAR have exceeded pre-COVID levels, occupancy is still recovering to pre-COVID levels. In the first quarter, the Indianapolis hotel market experienced a slight dip in occupancy, while ADR and RevPAR grew modestly.
The Hotel Pipeline
There are a several projects under construction with many more in the pre-construction phase. As part of the convention center expansion, a new 800-room Signia by Hilton convention hotel is under construction and should also open in 2026. "That's obviously going to have an impact positively in attracting meeting planners and giving them more spaces to stay, but negatively, just infusing 800 rooms into a market always has an impact on on the occupancy," said Jan Freitag, national director, hospitality analytics at CoStar Group.
"Supply growth has been pretty robust at 2.8 percent but unfortunately the room demand is not keeping track with that development," he continued. "So that then gets you limited pricing power."
A new luxury Intercontinental Hotel just opened earlier this year and a new Kimpton is under construction with a planned 2026 opening. "These projects should add more modern and high-quality hotel rooms to the city center, supporting the market’s desirability as a convention and special event venue for years to come," McCoy said.
The relative strength of the Indy market’s recent performance compared to many other Midwest metros has drawn increased development interest. However, high construction costs, as well as recent uncertainty in financial markets and the potential for tariffs to elevate costs further will likely keep the pace of new construction at a reasonable/manageable level.
Indianapolis continues to see a significant amount of new hotel supply, Singer said. CBRE's latest Hotel Horizons forecast calls for supply growth in the Indianapolis market to range from approximately 1 percent to 3 percent annually over the next five years, outpacing projected supply growth of the broader U.S. market in that timeframe.