Hotel rooms tough to find, even at $250
Lodgings closest to the race venue have long been reserved.
By MARIE VASARI
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 07/17/2007 08:20:12 AM PDT
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STONER'S BIG SURPRISEREVVED UP FOR A BIG WEEKIf you goFor a region largely driven by tourism dollars, the crush of motorcycle fans when the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix returned to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca two years ago couldn't have been better news.
There was a three-day attendance of 154,000 people, all ready to sleep, eat, drink and spend their way across the Monterey Peninsula and beyond, during a race that draws international attention.
That weekend set a record for venue attendance, but some of the news from those days two years ago couldn't have been worse.
For months, race fans from around the country and outside of the U.S. buzzed in the tightly knit racing community, on online forums, blogs and racing magazines, about exorbitant hotel rates, about canceled room reservations, about whether a return trip to Monterey would be worth their while. The Monterey County District Attorney's office launched investigations into illegal price gouging, and a task force convened to address the issue.
Two years later, as Monterey prepares to host the next Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, the buzzing hasn't entirely stopped.
And as the region prepares to host an estimated three-day attendance of 145,000 beginning Friday, just how area lodgings will handle those fans — and their dollars — is an issue that could affect the event's presence in Monterey, said Gill Campbell, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca chief executive officer.
Summer weekends typically have no shortage of visitors to Monterey County, said John McMahon,
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president and CEO of the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Last weekend, with no major events in town, the region's hotels reached nearly 100 percent occupancy, he said, typical for mid-summer weekends.
9,000 rooms on Peninsula|
Of the county's 12,000 rooms, nearly 9,000 are on the Monterey Peninsula. And by Wednesday, finding one for this weekend will be close to impossible, he predicts.
Two-night minimums are pretty standard, he said, and rates climb as demand increases. So while the county's average room rate in December and January was $129, the July and August rate average last year reached $180.
"Certainly this destination demands a higher price than you would get in Coffeyville, Kansas," he said. "It's basically supply and demand, and history."
But while demand is high for this weekend, the diversity of the region's three biggest events — the California Rodeo, Carmel Bach Festival and the MotoGP — might help spread out the crowds a bit, he said.
Despite the attention generated from hotel issues two years ago, McMahon said it appears lodgings have firmed up their booking policies and are better prepared to handle demand.
On Monday, the phones at Monterey Peninsula Reservations were busy with visitors seeking last-minute rooms. The few rooms available were mostly because of cancellations, said owner Donna Ibens.
"The prices are scaring people a bit," said Ibens. "I've had a lot of calls and they don't want to pay $300 a night."
The least expensive rooms were $250 a night in Pacific Grove and Carmel, said Ibens. Lodgings closest to the race venue — in downtown Monterey and along Fremont Street — have long since been reserved, with basic rooms approaching $300.
One of those who won't be buying a room this year is longtime race fan Susanna Schick, 37, who wouldn't dream of missing a MotoGP.
A former amateur racer, she plans vacations to Europe and across the states around big race events. She's been coming to Monterey since 1997 for the World Superbike races, then when MotoGP returned to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca two years ago, she and her friends came from Los Angeles. This year, she's coming from South Carolina.
Not ready to pay $300|
The racing, she loves. Monterey, she's a bit less crazy about. Last year, she got charged for a room she'd inquired about but never authorized. It took repeated phone calls to get the charges removed.
She's fed up with what she considers unfair pricing. For a luxury hotel with a bay view, $400 would be reasonable, said Schick, but a $300 motel room is out of line.
This year, even though she hates camping, Schick and her friends are skipping the hotel scene, staying in RVs instead. Even at $2,000 for a rental, it'll cost less for a group than hotel stays, she said.
Angered by her experiences, Schick posted two online petitions urging the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce to intervene in hotel pricing, one for camping fans, the other for race fans who chose to boycott the event.
"We do not deserve to be so grossly overcharged and would rather stay home and watch it on TV," she writes in the latter. "If the Monterey area hotels only increased their rates by about 30 percent over their normal rates, we would probably attend."
The Better Business Bureau of Silicon Valley received 279 complaints in the past 36 months about Monterey County hotels ranging from canceled and missing reservations to higher-than-quoted room prices and rooms that didn't have the amenities as promised, said Zach Vander Meeden, public relations director for the bureau.
Bad feelings can translate into lost dollars: Grand Prix organizers last year saw a 20 percent decline in advance multi-day ticket sales and an increase in single-day advance ticket sales, Campbell said, compared to 2005, when 70 percent of fans came for the full weekend.
Last year, a task force of local political and business leaders and event organizers held a forum on the issue in advance of the Red Bull Grand Prix, and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca posted a preferred-accommodations list of fair-rate lodgings on its Web site. This year, the task force hired a public relations firm to survey hotels to determine which offer reasonable prices during special events.
It's imperative that service providers — be they hotels or restaurants or limo services — don't price guests right out of Monterey, said Campbell. Only the first three years of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca's contract with MotoGP are exclusive; next year, a second round of the event will take place in Indianapolis. And, for better or worse, that gives fans a choice of destinations.
"There may be cheaper rates there, and people will have a choice," said Campbell. "If people find it less expensive to go to Indianapolis, we're going to lose it."
Campbell said she'd heard of properties demanding five- and seven-night minimums. Not even the teams stay for that long, she said.
"This community, we're all about tourism, and we need to keep bringing people back," said Campbell.
Far-reaching effect|
The implications of a few service providers who took advantage of guests in past years have been far-reaching, said Vince Guarino, whose public relations firm is conducting the hotel survey.
For a region driven by special events ranging from jazz and blues festivals to marathons and wine weekends, there's more at stake than a motorcycle race.
"The amount of publicity that the Peninsula gets from this single event is so large, it's almost impossible to measure it," said Guarino. "It really was an enormous risk to the viability, if you will, of being able to continue to draw (visitors) here."
Only 20 of 200 lodgings have responded to the survey. Most of those said they were charging their regular summer weekend rate, said Julie Cavassa, who was coordinating the survey. While those rates are higher than midweek or winter rates, that's still good news for visitors, she said.
Depending on the outcome of the survey, Cavassa said a 20 percent increase might be considered a reasonable rate hike for premium weekends: But just how much of a markup is acceptable will be determined once the survey is complete, she said. Those lodgings offering generally accepted fair pricing, multiple night requirements and cancellation policies will be included on a preferred provider list to help guide visitors' choices.
"We know the majority of hotels around here are really good, ethical solid businesses," said Cavassa. "We're just trying to be really proactive in being a reassuring voice for the people who come to Monterey because they are so important to us. And that extends beyond the event promoters — it's also really important to the economic vitality of this community."
Marie Vasari can be reached at 646-4478 or [email protected].
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Rodeo/Race week lodging $129 Average room rate in county in Dec.-Jan. $180 Average room rate in county last July-Aug. $250 Least expensive rooms currently in Carmel-Pacific Grove. $300 Rooms closest to the venue are quickly approaching this price.
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Lodgings closest to the race venue have long been reserved.
By MARIE VASARI
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 07/17/2007 08:20:12 AM PDT
Related Articles
Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix
Jul 18:
Hayden going for Laguna hat trickJul 15:
STONER'S BIG SURPRISEREVVED UP FOR A BIG WEEKIf you goFor a region largely driven by tourism dollars, the crush of motorcycle fans when the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix returned to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca two years ago couldn't have been better news.
There was a three-day attendance of 154,000 people, all ready to sleep, eat, drink and spend their way across the Monterey Peninsula and beyond, during a race that draws international attention.
That weekend set a record for venue attendance, but some of the news from those days two years ago couldn't have been worse.
For months, race fans from around the country and outside of the U.S. buzzed in the tightly knit racing community, on online forums, blogs and racing magazines, about exorbitant hotel rates, about canceled room reservations, about whether a return trip to Monterey would be worth their while. The Monterey County District Attorney's office launched investigations into illegal price gouging, and a task force convened to address the issue.
Two years later, as Monterey prepares to host the next Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, the buzzing hasn't entirely stopped.
And as the region prepares to host an estimated three-day attendance of 145,000 beginning Friday, just how area lodgings will handle those fans — and their dollars — is an issue that could affect the event's presence in Monterey, said Gill Campbell, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca chief executive officer.
Summer weekends typically have no shortage of visitors to Monterey County, said John McMahon,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
president and CEO of the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Last weekend, with no major events in town, the region's hotels reached nearly 100 percent occupancy, he said, typical for mid-summer weekends.
9,000 rooms on Peninsula|
Of the county's 12,000 rooms, nearly 9,000 are on the Monterey Peninsula. And by Wednesday, finding one for this weekend will be close to impossible, he predicts.
Two-night minimums are pretty standard, he said, and rates climb as demand increases. So while the county's average room rate in December and January was $129, the July and August rate average last year reached $180.
"Certainly this destination demands a higher price than you would get in Coffeyville, Kansas," he said. "It's basically supply and demand, and history."
But while demand is high for this weekend, the diversity of the region's three biggest events — the California Rodeo, Carmel Bach Festival and the MotoGP — might help spread out the crowds a bit, he said.
Despite the attention generated from hotel issues two years ago, McMahon said it appears lodgings have firmed up their booking policies and are better prepared to handle demand.
On Monday, the phones at Monterey Peninsula Reservations were busy with visitors seeking last-minute rooms. The few rooms available were mostly because of cancellations, said owner Donna Ibens.
"The prices are scaring people a bit," said Ibens. "I've had a lot of calls and they don't want to pay $300 a night."
The least expensive rooms were $250 a night in Pacific Grove and Carmel, said Ibens. Lodgings closest to the race venue — in downtown Monterey and along Fremont Street — have long since been reserved, with basic rooms approaching $300.
One of those who won't be buying a room this year is longtime race fan Susanna Schick, 37, who wouldn't dream of missing a MotoGP.
A former amateur racer, she plans vacations to Europe and across the states around big race events. She's been coming to Monterey since 1997 for the World Superbike races, then when MotoGP returned to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca two years ago, she and her friends came from Los Angeles. This year, she's coming from South Carolina.
Not ready to pay $300|
The racing, she loves. Monterey, she's a bit less crazy about. Last year, she got charged for a room she'd inquired about but never authorized. It took repeated phone calls to get the charges removed.
She's fed up with what she considers unfair pricing. For a luxury hotel with a bay view, $400 would be reasonable, said Schick, but a $300 motel room is out of line.
This year, even though she hates camping, Schick and her friends are skipping the hotel scene, staying in RVs instead. Even at $2,000 for a rental, it'll cost less for a group than hotel stays, she said.
Angered by her experiences, Schick posted two online petitions urging the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce to intervene in hotel pricing, one for camping fans, the other for race fans who chose to boycott the event.
"We do not deserve to be so grossly overcharged and would rather stay home and watch it on TV," she writes in the latter. "If the Monterey area hotels only increased their rates by about 30 percent over their normal rates, we would probably attend."
The Better Business Bureau of Silicon Valley received 279 complaints in the past 36 months about Monterey County hotels ranging from canceled and missing reservations to higher-than-quoted room prices and rooms that didn't have the amenities as promised, said Zach Vander Meeden, public relations director for the bureau.
Bad feelings can translate into lost dollars: Grand Prix organizers last year saw a 20 percent decline in advance multi-day ticket sales and an increase in single-day advance ticket sales, Campbell said, compared to 2005, when 70 percent of fans came for the full weekend.
Last year, a task force of local political and business leaders and event organizers held a forum on the issue in advance of the Red Bull Grand Prix, and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca posted a preferred-accommodations list of fair-rate lodgings on its Web site. This year, the task force hired a public relations firm to survey hotels to determine which offer reasonable prices during special events.
It's imperative that service providers — be they hotels or restaurants or limo services — don't price guests right out of Monterey, said Campbell. Only the first three years of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca's contract with MotoGP are exclusive; next year, a second round of the event will take place in Indianapolis. And, for better or worse, that gives fans a choice of destinations.
"There may be cheaper rates there, and people will have a choice," said Campbell. "If people find it less expensive to go to Indianapolis, we're going to lose it."
Campbell said she'd heard of properties demanding five- and seven-night minimums. Not even the teams stay for that long, she said.
"This community, we're all about tourism, and we need to keep bringing people back," said Campbell.
Far-reaching effect|
The implications of a few service providers who took advantage of guests in past years have been far-reaching, said Vince Guarino, whose public relations firm is conducting the hotel survey.
For a region driven by special events ranging from jazz and blues festivals to marathons and wine weekends, there's more at stake than a motorcycle race.
"The amount of publicity that the Peninsula gets from this single event is so large, it's almost impossible to measure it," said Guarino. "It really was an enormous risk to the viability, if you will, of being able to continue to draw (visitors) here."
Only 20 of 200 lodgings have responded to the survey. Most of those said they were charging their regular summer weekend rate, said Julie Cavassa, who was coordinating the survey. While those rates are higher than midweek or winter rates, that's still good news for visitors, she said.
Depending on the outcome of the survey, Cavassa said a 20 percent increase might be considered a reasonable rate hike for premium weekends: But just how much of a markup is acceptable will be determined once the survey is complete, she said. Those lodgings offering generally accepted fair pricing, multiple night requirements and cancellation policies will be included on a preferred provider list to help guide visitors' choices.
"We know the majority of hotels around here are really good, ethical solid businesses," said Cavassa. "We're just trying to be really proactive in being a reassuring voice for the people who come to Monterey because they are so important to us. And that extends beyond the event promoters — it's also really important to the economic vitality of this community."
Marie Vasari can be reached at 646-4478 or [email protected].
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rodeo/Race week lodging $129 Average room rate in county in Dec.-Jan. $180 Average room rate in county last July-Aug. $250 Least expensive rooms currently in Carmel-Pacific Grove. $300 Rooms closest to the venue are quickly approaching this price.
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