The hotels aren’t full of water — but they’re hardly flooded with guests either.
Less than a week to go before the Calgary Stampede rises like a corn
dog-fed Phoenix from the ruins of the city’s worst river disaster ever,
and it seems the only thing missing will be guests from out of town.
The Stampede grounds are on a fast track to being repaired, ticket
sales for what’s hoped to be the driest outdoor show on earth are
strong, and all indications point to a city aching to let loose in
relieved celebration.
Never mind the Calgary Stampede: This one is going to be Calgary’s Stampede.
The problem is, it seems only Calgarians know it so far.
“Obviously, the situation has changed the visitor dynamic, in that
some people are a little more cautious about travelling here or have
changed their travel plans,” said Joseph Clohessy, general manager of
the Calgary Marriott Hotel.
Days before the Bow and Elbow decided to do their best impression of
the Nile Delta, hotels in downtown Calgary were filling up fast in
anticipation of the Stampede’s 101st anniversary show, starting July 5.
This time last year, as tourists flocked to town for the big Stampede
centennial, hotel owners were turning a love of the Wild West into wild
profits, with prices of up to $600 a room at downtown’s top inns.
Even at that price, most hotels were packed like the dance floor at
Cowboys — and there were strong hopes this year would be almost as good.
The flood sure took care of that dream.
With mere days to go before Stampede, downtown rooms are not only
readily available, those trying to sell the beds have been forced to
slash prices and offer incentives to nervous guests, including no-fee
cancellation insurance.
Hotel Le Germain, for example, is listing its best rooms for $359 a
night, down from the $736-per-night the exclusive hotel expected to
charge on what was supposed to be their busiest week of the year.
The Hyatt Regency, another swank inn right in the core, has dropped
its room price from $590 to $314, while Expedia.ca also shows the
normally packed Palliser has dropped rates from $484 a night to $299.
It’s a telling sign of some very soggy times that those hotels that
are hardest to book in Calgary that first weekend of Stampede are all
far from the flood zone, including Hotel Blackfoot and Coast Plaza, both
listed as limited or no vacancy online.
Clohessy uses words like “soft” when describing the Stampede weekend
outlook so far, which is hotel-speak for not nearly busy enough.
But optimism is the name of the game when you rent rooms, and the
former Calgary Hotel Association chairman says a soft opening weekend
could easily turn around, given the right publicity.
“Come Thursday and Friday, once the state of emergency is lifted, it
will change the dynamic and send a different message to the world,” said
Clohessy.
Tourism Calgary is planning an advertising blitz this week to combat
negative perceptions the news coverage has wrought — but it’s going to
be Calgarians themselves who help the city rise above the flood.
That’s the belief of Cindy Ady, the former provincial Tourism minister who now runs the show at Tourism Calgary.
Slow hotel business for Stampede is a certain sign of the flood’s
impact, but Ady says it will be the Stampede itself which shows the
world Calgary has bounced right back to normal.
“How do you let people know? You go from crisis to recovery, and one
of the beauties of Stampede is it gives you that opportunity,” said Ady.
“We need the Stampede.”
The media coverage of what’s expected to be Calgary’s biggest citizen
celebration since the Red Mile is the key, she says — and that will
show the country how quickly we’ve gone from catastrophe to celebration.
“Everyone said the 100th was the big one, but I think the 101st Stampede is going to really show the character of Calgary.”
Source : http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/07/01/historic-flood-taking-its-toll-on-hotel-occupancy-rates-in-calgarys-core
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar