Biketoberfest 2022's impact: Did the event give Daytona a needed boost after Tropical Storm Ian?

DAYTONA BEACH — With its distinctive, gleaming silver exterior repaired from Tropical Storm Ian’s assault, the Starlite Diner rebounded from the storm this past weekend with a welcome influx of Biketoberfest visitors, said owner Kevin Gelnaw.

“It was a really good event for us,” he said. “Things got quasi-back-to-normal. We probably did a little more business than we did last year even.”

Gelnaw has weathered a series of storms — Matthew, Irma and Dorian, among them — in recent years at the landmark eatery just north of the Ocean Center on Atlantic Avenue.

He was among the merchants and hoteliers that reported strong business from the 30th anniversary edition of Biketoberfest, a four-day event that opened only two weeks after Ian’s damaging trek through Volusia and Flagler counties.

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In Ian’s wake, a number of restaurants remain closed for repairs. Likewise, there also are beachside hotels that are either closed or operating with fewer rooms as storm recovery continues.

At the Starlite Diner, such closures likely contributed to the restaurant's crowds during Biketoberfest, Gelnaw said.

“I think the fact that a lot of places still remained closed gave us more bang for our buck,” he said. “People had fewer choices in terms of where they could go to eat, in terms of what was open or not open.”

Main Street crowds 'better than expected'

On Main Street, one of the event’s traditional hubs, the report also was positive from Tom Caffrey, co-owner of the World’s Most Famous Brewery. Even in the wake of Ian, this year’s event topped the 2021 edition at the pub in one key metric, he said.

“We sold more beer than we did last year,” Caffrey said. “It was awesome, better than we expected. The attitudes were great, the weather was perfect. Overall, it was a stellar event.”

Although Biketoberfest — a smaller annual event compared with the larger Bike Week in March — typically draws visitors primarily from the Southeast, Caffrey said customers he met this year had traveled from farther away.

“I was getting a lot of folks from Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut who were in town,” he said. “A lot of them were telling me that they typically come down for Bike Week, but not Biketoberfest, but they came down this year.

“A lot of our customers said they felt so bad about the hurricane and what it had done to Florida that they wanted to come support the state,” he said. “I heard a lot of that.”

Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry also was among the throng on Main Street at points during the event, which he praised as a welcome step “toward normalcy” following the storm.

“That’s always the objective, to feel normal, even though we recognize for many people things are far from a normal state,” he said. “It was a good time for people, the crowd was great. I’ve spoken to several people in the service industry and they made money, even the people who serve. It was a good injection of business into the area.”

Lori Campbell Baker, executive director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, also said she was pleased with the turnout for the event's 30th anniversary.

"Businesses, including our citizens and municipalities, overcame many challenges with the clean-up from the recent storm and succeeded in putting on a great event," she said. "Biketoberfest generated much needed positive economic impact for the destination, and we look forward to welcoming bikers back in March for Bike Week.”

At Destination Daytona, 'really good days'

At Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach, Biketoberfest visitors included Gov. Ron DeSantis, who made a campaign stop on Saturday at the 150-acre complex at I-95 and U.S. Highway 1.

In case you missed it: Gov. Ron DeSantis makes Biketoberfest appearance, then surveys Ian damage at Flagler Beach

“Definitely, our crowds were down a little bit, but we had really good days,” said Shelly Rossmeyer Pepe, general manager of Bruce Rossmeyer’s Harley-Davidson at Destination Daytona. “Friday and Saturday were really good, and the weather was great for everyone to ride.

“We sold a lot of parts and a lot of merchandise,” she said, adding that the dealership also saw a significant number of out-of-state customers. “We are experiencing people traveling from out-of-state, for sure, that came in and bought motorcycles.”

Daytona Beach hotel managers offer positive reviews

In the hospitality realm, accommodations were harder to find on the beachside, with some hotels only able to offer a limited number of rooms due to storm damage. Still, the event’s impact was positive, according to several managers.

At the 212-room Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, only 10 rooms were out-of-service for the event due to storm repairs, an improvement from 87 rooms that were damaged initially, said Rob Burnetti, general manager.

“If you told me two weeks ago that we’d be down to only 10 rooms out and that we had sold 200 rooms for the event, I might have called you crazy, but we made it happen,” Burnetti said. “It took a lot of work over two weeks to get it there, but it happened.”

Biketoberfest offered “a lot of energy and really positive vibes around the whole event,” he said. “There are times that really illuminate the character and spirit of the hospitality business, and this weekend kind of did that for us. Everybody pulled their weight and made it happen.”

At Hard Rock Hotel, rooms were filled to 90% occupancy throughout Biketoberfest, with room rates up 15% over last year’s event, said Androse Bell, general manager. Other than some AC issues, the hotel wasn’t dealt any significant damage from Ian, he said.

For some hotels, a long road back: After Ian: With roofs gone, water-damaged rooms, long road back for some Daytona beachside hotels

Biketoberfest also offered a welcome boost to hotels owned and operated by Ormond Beach-based Premier Resorts & Management, said Domien Takx, the company’s vice president of operations.

Premier properties include Hilton Garden Inn; Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites; and Best Western Daytona Inn Seabreeze; all in Daytona Beach; as well as the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Daytona Beach Shores.

“This year’s Biketoberfest was a great success for all of our beachfront hotels, and even for the hotel we own and operate in DeLand,” Takx said. “We sold all available rooms for the weekend, even though we had a few still out of order as a direct result of (Tropical Storm) Ian at two of our hotels.”

Many of those guests were repeat visitors, he said, a fact that reflects the event’s impact.

“It shows that these signature events attract people to our area,” he said. “They support many hospitality and tourism businesses like ours.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Biketoberfest gives Daytona Beach hotels, businesses boost after Ian