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Rays' Playoff Run Gives Boost To Pinellas Hotels

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 29, 2008

Updated: 09/29/2008 03:37 pm

ST. PETERSBURG - When the Tampa Bay Rays clinched a spot last week in Major League Baseball's postseason, it could not have come at a better time for Pinellas County's visitors industry.

Typically, October is the hotel industry's slowest month of the year. Plus the poor economy has sliced into the number of overnight visitors staying at local hotels.

The Rays open play Thursday at Tropicana Field in an American League Division Series, and prospects that the team can build a playoff run into the AL Championship Series or even the World Series are providing a boost, particularly for St. Petersburg hoteliers, visitors industry officials said.

"There is no question that people are trying to book each of the series with the hope that their team will be playing in St. Petersburg at some point in October," said Russ Bond, general manager of the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club.

The Vinoy is a frequent headquarters hotel for visiting teams during baseball's regular season, but there's already a space crunch for October.

"We are fortunate to have several groups and conventions booked throughout October and are working with the Rays and Major League Baseball to accommodate the demand as best we can," Bond said.

There's no way to tell the purpose behind individual reservation requests and how many rooms baseball fans have sought, but hoteliers believe the Rays' playoff run will enhance business.

The Don CeSar Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach is among the hotels seeing interest in room bookings with the Rays in the playoffs. Officials anticipate more room requests once it is announced who will play the Rays, said Chris Bracken, director of marketing for the resort.

The TradeWinds Islands Resorts on St. Pete Beach is also getting calls and reservations from fans who want to come from out of town to see a playoff game, president and chief executive Tim Bogott said.

"The Rays success should have a significant impact on the county overall," Bogott said.

The unanticipated demand for hotel rooms provides additional bed taxes in an otherwise tough economic year, Bond said.

In addition, the nationally televised playoff games produce multiple references to Tampa Bay, which boosts the local image. The first-round games will be on TBS. The championship series and World Series will be televised by Fox.

"We can get exposure to a nationwide TV audience on a repeated basis over the next one to four weeks," Bond said. "If we do it right, I am convinced it will lead to future vacationers, at a minimum."

"For any of the people who actually come to the games from either Chicago or Minnesota, they will see what a wonderful place this is to visit and bring their families back for a vacation," Bracken said.

Visitors are unlikely to find rooms priced much higher than usual, but they aren't likely to find discounts, either.

Hoteliers by law are not permitted to charge more than the "rack rates" listed at the hotel, including signs inside each room, said David Downing, public relations director for Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater, the Pinellas destination marketing group.

The three hotel executives said rates would not be raised beyond what's currently offered, but some promotional discounts might be removed for the expected home game dates.

The majority of fans who sought tickets for first-round games from the Rays are from the Tampa Bay area. But the ALCS, which begins Oct. 9, and World Series, which begins Oct. 22, could draw visitors from beyond the area and Florida.

In addition to the visiting teams' traveling groups and local media, the number of national media representatives and out-of-town visitors is bound to grow — with multiple World Series games a local bonanza..

"The benefits are wide open," Downing said. "If the team continues in the playoffs, it could snowball, which would be welcome business."

The numbers of nights booked in hotel and motel rooms through July is down 2.4 percent in 2008, to 4.3 million, compared with a year ago. August figures aren't available yet, but preliminary counts show they lag compared with last year.

There are 5,102 rooms in St. Petersburg among 30,701 in Pinellas County, the county's tourism consultant, Walter Klages, reported.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817 and tjackovics@tampatrib.com.

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