Unconventional wisdom: Estimating the economic impact of the Democratic and Republican national political conventions

We use daily hotel occupancy, price, and revenue data to analyse the economic impact of the 2008 and 2012 Democratic and Republican national conventions. We find that political conventions generate approximately 29,000 room nights of lodging, though this figure is partially offset by lower hotel occupancy during the week before and, to a lesser extent, after conventions. Conventions increase hotel revenue by approximately $20 million on average, a figure which suggests that host cities’ claims of economic impacts of $150 million or more may be implausible.