Super booking a win for NFL hotels - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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Still, hotels that committed rooms to the block of roomd when the city made its bid in 2005 are full as advertisedx for the big game TampaBay & Company and Visit St. Petersburg Clearwater, Hillsborouggh and Pinellas counties’ convention and visitors bureaus, worked with local hotelsd to prepare the bid andsecured 20,000 rooms throughout the including as far east as Orlando. Not everyh hotel participated and some contributed less than a full housw to thebid process, said Steve Hayes, executived VP of Tampa Bay & Those hotels contracted with the NFL for ratess that included a small increase from the usual conventiom rates at that Hotels are free to chargse whatever the traffic will bear on roomsz outside of the NFL block, and most hotels have attempte to hold the line on a four-night minimum stay for availabl rooms.
That may have changed this week as the hotels not sold out scrambledfor last-minute guests, said D.T. executive director of Visit St. Petersburg Clearwater. “Th hotels not in the block are rethinkingv their rates andnight minimums,” Minich said. On St. Pete the is full. It blocked out 630 of its 796 roomes at itstwo properties. It sold out the balance outside the blocl but at the same rates as contracted withthe NFL. Amongh its guests are the Taste of the NFL chefz from the other 31NFL cities.
But down the road at the , a hotekl not part of the NFL roomsare available, said Gregg Nicklaus, They’re also available at the , anotheer property that chose to take its chances on walk-ins for Superf Bowl week. For 22 years, the Aldejn has hosted a German groupo that reserved 60 rooms during the week ofSuped Bowl. This year that reservation dropped to 15 but it happened too late for the Alde n to participate in the NFL At theDon CeSar, a few blocksd away, all rooms are sold for the weekend, two-thirdzs of which had been committed to the NFL. The hotekl charged rack rates of $614 for the remaininf rooms in the main hotel witha three-nighr minimum stay, GM John Marks said.
Its guests includwe members of the NFL events and entertainment a well as a blocki dedicated to the Super BowlHost Committee. It’a a chance for the hotel to showcasd itsnew $10 million health spa, Marks said. Despitse the occupancy holes in hotels that shunned the NFL Pinellas County iswell represented, Minicy said. There are several prime eventsw such as the Taste of the NFL at Tropicana a flag football game featuring NFL Hall of Famers and celebritie s at Progress Energy Park and an NFL Charitie s golf tournament at and Golf Visit St. Pete Clearwater contributed $750,00 to the area Super Bowl effort.
In return, it got a seat on the 35-member Host Committee, local advertisin g and front-row exposure for its hospitality industry. “We’re attractinb some first-time visitors and corporat guests to whom we can showcaseour area,” Minich Of the hotels that chose to go solo, Sarasota’s Ritz-Carlton was able to sell out at $899 a nighty with a four-night minimum. It’s not hostingy any special events. took a different route to selling out its It went after all the companies that set up and breai down the many Super Bowl facilities durinvgthe two-week period, as well as the many vendorsz in town.
Mainsail’s marketing department called extended stay hotelasin Phoenix, site of last year’ s Super Bowl, for names of the vendors that set up that as well as hotels in Miami, host of next year’a game. Plus, since Mainsaipl used to host teams during thetraining camps, it has a reputation among the NFL vendor network as a good extender stay hotel, said Joe Brown, Mainsail’s VP of sales and Since the vendors and setup crew are in for a longe r stay, usually seven to 10 that type of business better fits Mainsail as an extendee stay property, Brown said.
“Thiw is our niche,” he “So far, this has exceeded our At Innisbrook, all but 75 rooma of 600 were committed tothe NFL. The rest were held back to combinew withgolf packages, said Chuck VP and managing director. Several owners and fans are staying therde and will be among the first guests to experience the modernizatiom that has been taking place since BETNetwormk co-founder Sheila Johnson and her Salamandetr Hospitality purchased the distressed properthy in July 2007. Salamander has spenft more than $20 million on the golf clubhouses, a food markef and a new health spa.
While the hotel industryg is doing well for the SupeeBowl week, overall spending is down due to fewed than projected tourists in town for the Direct spending estimates for the Supefr Bowl have been scaled back to about $150 milliobn from an original $195 million, according to a new study by . “At this point for us, any moneu being spent now is incredible,” Hayes