Daytona area hotel bookings off to slow start for Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend
As the Coke Zero Sugar 400 looms at Daytona International Speedway, hoteliers in Daytona Beach are offering mixed reports about the race’s impact on occupancy in the waning days of the key summer tourist season.
With roughly a week to go before the big race on Saturday, Aug. 26, only about 50% of available rooms had been booked at the 64-room Quality Inn Daytona Speedway, right across the street from the track, said Deborah Bailey, general manager.
“I really don’t know what’s going on,” Bailey said. “I just know that we’re challenged by everything going on, that’s the best I can say right now. If I had a crystal ball, I’d able to tell you.”
At the Quality Inn, some fans that were annual visitors during the race's former calendar slot in July haven't returned as regularly since it moved to its new August home in 2020, Bailey said.
"Everybody’s in school, people have plans," she said. "It hasn’t worked with us. We just take it each year hoping for the best. We usually sell out on Saturday and we look forward to that."
Bailey was among the hoteliers who responded to an informal online survey about expected bookings for the Coke Zero weekend by Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County.
Responses ranged from anticipated sold-out occupancy to much lower expectations, Davis said.
“From what I’m hearing, it’s a very mixed bag,” he said. “I predict a moderate occupancy at this stage, but everyone’s still taking reservations.”
For hotels, Coke Zero weekend caps slower summer
This year’s Coke Zero marks the fourth year that the race has unfolded in its new end-of-summer calendar slot, after NASCAR moved the event from its traditional home over July 4th weekend.
For tourist-related businesses, it also comes at the close of a summer that has been characterized by a decline in record-setting tourism bed-tax collections that had boomed over the past two years when Florida was the first state to reopen for visitors in the wake of the pandemic.
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This summer, many visitors are opting for other destinations or holding off on vacation plans amid concerns about the economy, according to industry observers.
Some of those factors could be affecting advance bookings for the Coke Zero weekend, Davis said.
“It’s the end of summer, people are holding back. They spent all their money last year,” Davis said, adding that because the Coke Zero race primarily draws fans from Florida and the Southeast some might delay their travel decisions until the last minute. “We’re staying optimistic.”
Mixed expections for Coke Zero weekend from area hotels
The outlook for race weekend was upbeat at the 744-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, the area’s largest hotel, said Jim Berkley, general manager.
“We will be sold out on the Friday and Saturday of the race weekend with room rates holding to last year's performance so far,” Berkley said.
Likewise, rooms are expected to be sold-out at hotels owned and operated by Ormond Beach-based Elite Hospitality Inc., said Manoj Bhoola, president and CEO.
Elite’s roster of area hotels includes the Ormond Beach Best Western Castillo Del Sol; the Best Western Plus International Speedway; Hampton Inn by Hilton Daytona Speedway Airport; and the Hilton Garden Inn at Daytona Beach International Airport.
“We’re above last year in terms of occupancy and ADR (average daily room rate) for the Daytona and Ormond Beach properties,” Bhoola said in response to the Lodging Association survey. “We expect to be 100% capacity for the three Daytona Beach properties.”
Rooms also are expected to be sold-out at beachfront 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 the Best Western Daytona Inn Seabreeze; all in Daytona Beach; as well as the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Daytona Beach Shores.
The outlook is less promising at some other hotels, including the beachfront El Caribe and Conference Center in Daytona Beach, which had booked 47% of its rooms with a week to go before the race, according to Robin Camacho, director of sales.
In Port Orange, the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson had sold 30% of its rooms, according to the survey response from the hotel’s general manager, Tom Clapsaddle.
In Daytona Beach Shores, the race was expected to yield sold-out rooms on Friday and Saturday at the 212-room Shores Resort & Spa, said Rob Burnetti, general manager.
“Occupancy will be similar to last year, maybe a little bit softer, with rates up from 5-10%,” he said. “We’ve become more dependent on group business, with teams and media, to sell us out. In the past, when the race was in July, we had more of a leisure push with race fans.
“That was vacation time, the kids were not in school. In August, you rely more on the group stuff to fill you up. It’s a different time.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Coke Zero Sugar 400 slow to spur bookings at some Daytona hotels
