Ambassador Hotel calls 2023 ‘renaissance year’ amid record-breaking tourist numbers in KC

KSHB 41 reporter Caroline Hogan covers development in the Kansas City metro. If you have a story idea to share, send an email to Caroline at caroline.hogan@kshb.com.

—

2023 was a record-breaking year for Kansas City, according to Visit KC’s 2023 Tourism Outlook. The organization released the numbers recently.

Kansas City saw 28.4 million visitors in 2023, a 4.9% increase from the year prior.

Of those visitors, 13-million stayed overnight. Combined, one-day and overnight visitors spent nearly $7-billion, which generated $6.7-billion in economic impact.

“We’re in the midst of a transformational period for tourism and hospitality here in Kansas City,” said Kathy Nelson, president and CEO of Visit KC.

It was transformational for local hotels, like the Ambassador Hotel on Grand Street.

Thomas Turner, the general manager of the hotel, calls 2023 a renaissance year from COVID.

“2023 is when we first started seeing the business come back and consistently come back,” Turner said.

The hotel brought in an additional $800,000 between in 2023 compared to 2022.

Similarly, food and beverage generated an additional $300,000.

The Ambassador is in the T-Mobile Center’s backyard and had a front row seat to the Chiefs Super Bowl parade.

“We got to hire new people, we got to bring fresh faces in, we got to give people a full 40 hours so they could take care of all their benefits,” Turner said.

Specifically, they hired at least 20 new employees, or curators as they like to call them.

“Our curators were getting three to four days a week, but when we started seeing that rise in 2023, our curators were going back from four to five, sometimes six days a week as businesses dictates,” Turner said.

The Ambassador is also contributing to bringing people to the city with it’s jazz experience, and the Kansas City’s own Lonnie McFadden.

“There’s a jazz scene everywhere, and needless to say, we have a great jazz club and we help make jazz a focal point in Kansas City,” Turner said. “People come here to see Lonnie from all over the country.”

There’s so much coming Kansas City’s way, like the World Cup in 2026.

There’s a focus on making things even better, and doubling the numbers we saw in 2023.

—