San Diego Hotels See Shift In Super Bowl Business

SAN DIEGO— Some hotels here will see less of a windfall this weekend as compared to 1998 when the city last hosted the Super Bowl, thanks mainly to cutbacks in corporate spending and a weak economy. The truth is, hotels in the downtown area are sold out, but the farther away from downtown you go, the more vacancies you may find. That is because many corporations that typically come to celebrate the Super Bowl have foregone that option this year due to corporate spending cutbacks. Instead, it is the fans filling hotel rooms. However many football fanatics are looking to pay less, book with shorter lead times, and demand flexible minimum stay requirements. All of this means slightly less of a cash cow for San Diego in terms of hotel revenue generated specifically from business related to this year’s Super Bowl. As of presstime, last minute reservations from fans were filling many of the county’s 51,000 rooms. However, it is anticipated that not all of those rooms will be filled. “There is some inkling of truth to the observation that business is down from the last time the Super Bowl came to town, but it’s a different world now when compared to six years ago,” said a local director of sales at one Hotel. “What I mean is that if you go back six years ago we were riding the wave of big business and a booming economy at that time. The main sector that has fallen out is the corporate sector,” the sales director explained. “Historically, the Super Bowl has always been a big corporate event, but we’re noticing that those corporate travelers aren’t showing up this time around.” Indeed, the NFL reduced the number of sponsors and licensed businesses for this year’s Super Bowl. In 1998, more than 30 corporate sponsors and 350 licensed businesses came to San Diego. This year, there are 15 sponsors and 100 licensees. But despite all the talk about business being down, not every hotel is being hit. The 333-room Radisson Hotel Harbor View is sold out for a week, according to Mary Ann Carreon, gm of the 22-story hotel that rises above downtown San Diego. The hotel will have a full house until next Monday, Jan. 27, she said. The same is true for the 1,358-room San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. Ray Warren, general manager said the waterfront property literally has a full house, as it serves both as the NFL headquarters for the league and as the headquarters for media covering the Super Bowl. Terming business “booming” and occupancy “outstanding” at 100%, Warren said, “basically we committed all of our rooms to the league. A good percentage of those rooms go to the league staff.” Warren said the full-blown block of rooms is four nights, running from Thursday through Sunday. However, as the headquarters hotel, Warren said right after Christmas the NFL begins to move its offices into the hotel to begin preparations for the game. “It’s a gradual build up throughout the month of January,” he said. The hotel also serves as host for several key NFL events and parties, such as the 16th annual Super Bowl Breakfast, which will be held Saturday. The property also served as headquarters for the league in 1998. Warren said; “It’s the best convention you could ever book,” noting it represents millions of dollars in revenue. Even so, the one event does not make the numbers for the year. “It’s a big hotel and we need lot of conventions, but it’s certainly a great way to kick it off,” said Warren. According to general manager Nish Desai, “sold out,” is the status of the 88-room newly converted Holiday Inn Express San Diego-Mission Bay at 4610 De Soto St. The property, owned and managed by DKN Hospitality, is located in the business district of Pacific Beach, about 13 miles from Qualcomm Stadium, where Super Bowl XXXVII is being held. Sales Manager Gillian Ware said reservations for rooms started coming in in February 2002, when the property was still a Comfort Inn, “and we were sold out probably by midsummer. It’s fluctuated because