Survey: Host Hotels Near 2014 Global Sports Events Hike Up Rates
Hotel & Resort Ryan Rudnansky January 29, 2014

Hoteliers in host markets of global sports events this year have seen bookings rise dramatically.
And rates have increased, in turn.
Pegasus Solutions— the world’s largest processor of electronic hotel transactions—recently examined the host markets for this year’s Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup.
It then looked at net reservations made in these host markets in the days leading up to the events, comparing the results to last year’s net reservations in the same time frame.
While it’s not a surprise that demand and—consequently—rates increased, some numbers were downright shocking.
One location, for example, has seen bookings increase by 200 percent compared to the same time period last year, while charging guests double what it did on one particular day.
Which location might this be?
You guessed it, the site of the 2014 FIFA World Cup: Sao Paulo, Brazil. From June 12 to July 13, net reservations have increased by 200 percent, while rates on July 8 have doubled, according to Pegasus Solutions.
As for New York City—a market near the site of this year’s Super Bowl—rates have skyrocketed compared to the same time last year. Rates on Jan. 29 are up 41 percent, rates on Jan. 30 are up 77 percent, rates on Jan. 31 are up 97 percent, rates on Feb. 1 are up 83 percent, and rates on game day are up 45 percent.
The world’s largest processor of electronic hotel transactions reports affected hoteliers have smartly managed inventory ahead of the expected surges in demand.
Russian hoteliers—who have tried to keep rates relatively low because of the cost of international travel and event admission at the Winter Olympics—have even increased their rates on Feb. 6 (66 percent), Feb. 7 (41 percent), Feb. 11 (56 percent), Feb. 12 (154 percent), Feb. 17 (97 percent), Feb. 23 (83 percent) and Feb. 24 (58 percent), per the report (the Olympics run from Feb. 7-23).
Hoteliers have even been a little tricky…or smart, however you want to put it. Some hotelkeepers have limited room inventory allocated to third-party sites in order to foster direct sales through their brand websites. For foreign guests who aren’t familiar with the third-party sites and are looking solely at brand websites, you can see how this makes it appear as if these hoteliers are much more popular than their competitors.
“We reviewed bookings made through online sites for destinations that would see leisure travel for the Super Bowl in the US, Winter Olympics in Russia, and FIFA World Cup in Brazil,” said David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions.
“Some booking increases were registered in destinations like Sao Paulo, which are not traditionally considered major leisure hubs. Other booking growth was not as evident because many hoteliers strategically limited room inventory allocated to third party sites to drive more bookings through the brand site. Hotels that were prepared with a website designed to sell to a global audience will have benefitted greatly from this approach.”
Well, you certainly can’t say hoteliers near global sporting events were ill prepared for the rush of traffic they would receive.
Follow me on Twitter @RyanRudnansky.
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