How much business did the Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend generate at Daytona Beach hotels?

DAYTONA BEACH — Although heavy storms played havoc with the schedule of this past weekend’s marathon rain-delayed running of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the outlook on the event’s impact on the area’s hotel business was overwhelmingly sunny.

With NASCAR fans chased indoors because of the bad weather, hotels such as the 744-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, the area’s largest, saw big increases in guests at hotel restaurants and bars as well as sold-out rooms, said Jim Berkley, general manager.

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“Weather delays and rescheduling activity by NASCAR also enhanced our hotel's Saturday and Sunday food and beverage activity significantly since many of our guests simply retired back to the hotel for the night,” Berkley said. “Guests were having a wonderful time all weekend here at Hilton (and we) did not hear any negative feedback on the delays at the Speedway.”

At the Hilton, the race also generated average daily room rates that were higher than rates during the same event a year ago, Berkley said.

At the track, driver Austin Dillon eventually won the Coke Zero Sugar 400, a race that didn’t conclude until late afternoon Sunday after the scheduled Saturday night start was postponed to Sunday morning because of heavy storms. On Sunday, drivers and fans also endured a rain delay of three-plus hours.

At the Hilton, that delay also contributed to a big weekend, said Berkley, who praised Speedway and NASCAR officials for handling the weather complications.

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“We did have many guests extend their stays through Sunday night, especially those attempting to change flights versus those who drove-in to our destination,” he said. “(It was a) smart move by NASCAR to make the call as early as they did on Saturday evening instead of waiting very late in the night to reschedule for Sunday.”

'A great job of adapting'

It was a similar story at the Hard Rock Hotel, where both occupancy and average daily room rates were up over the 2021 edition of the race, said Androse Bell, general manager.

“Our occupancy year over year was much better for Thursday and Sunday,” Bell said. “ADR (average daily room rate) was much better, up 10% year over year. The storms kept hotel guests inside at the restaurants and bars, so that did boost our food and beverage for the weekend.”

When NASCAR moved the Coke Zero Sugar 400 from its traditional Independence Day weekend time slot two years ago, the decision was generally cheered by hoteliers as filling a special-event void at summer’s end, when summer family visitors start to decline as schools resume.

From 2019: Farewell Firecracker Daytona's summer NASCAR speed week moves to August

In 2020, attendance at the Coke Zero in its new August time slot was limited to an estimated 25,000 fans due to COVID restrictions. Fully open, the grandstands can accommodate up to 101,500 fans, with several thousand more usually in the various infield areas.

From 2020: Volusia hotels see few race fans over Coke Zero 400 weekend

Without the COVID restrictions, crowds have been significantly larger in the years since. The Speedway doesn't release official attendance figures.

“I believe it’s working out well,” Bell said of the August race. “Like anything, when a major sporting event changes it’s difficult for people to adjust, but I believe the NASCAR team and the fans have done a great job of adapting.

“The NASCAR brand is stronger than ever," Bell said. "I think everyone understands the value of moving it off a holiday weekend at a beach destination. Fans have a better chance of booking accommodations, there are fewer issues with traffic control and you’re not jamming everything into one big weekend.”

NASCAR’s decision to move the Coke Zero to August is a good one for the area’s tourism and hospitality industry, said Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County.

Davis also praised the Speedway and NASCAR for its handling on the race during the difficult weather conditions.

"I'm very grateful to the Speedway for calling the race early" on Saturday, Davis said. "They did a fantastic job of putting the race on with all the weather. Most of the hotels I've been hearing from were up in revenue and most were sold out."

At the 212-room Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, the rainy race weekend also offered an unanticipated boost in food and beverage sales, said Rob Burnetti, general manager.  The hotel topped 90% occupancy for the weekend, with “a bit of an increase” in year-over-year room rates, Burnetti said.

“I don’t think the pre-sell (advance reservations) was what it was when they had the race earlier in the year, so that makes it harder to get to a sell-out when people didn’t book as far out," Burnetti said. "It’s still a great weekend. I think the weather got in the way a little bit of last-minute demand.”

In its former July 4th weekend slot, guests often considered advance reservations to be more of a priority, Burnetti said.

“I think there was more of a sense of urgency for guests when it was over July 4th to make plans further out because they know it’s a busy weekend anyway,” he said. “In August, people are a little more comfortable waiting longer to make their plans. Still, it’s the Coke Zero 400, it’s still Daytona, and it’s still the last race of regular season. People are going to come.”

Speedway-area hotels also packed

Despite the rains, the race also powered sell-outs at hotels near Daytona International Speedway.

At One Daytona, the dining, retail and entertainment complex across from the track, race visitors were undaunted by weather at The Daytona Marriott Autograph Collection hotel and the Fairfield Inn & Suites, said Nancy Guran, director of sales for both hotels.

Both hotels were sold-out Thursday-Sunday, Guran said.

“I think race fans understand weather delays and are just excited to be in Daytona,” she said. “They seemed to have taken the rain in stride and just enjoyed some extra time in our restaurant and our bar — The Blue Flame. All the feedback we received was positive.”

It was the same story at hotels near the track owned and operated by Ormond Beach-based Elite Hospitality Inc., said Manoj Bhoola, president and CEO.

Elite’s roster of area hotels includes the Best Western Plus International Speedway; Hampton Inn by Hilton Daytona Speedway Airport; the Hilton Garden Inn at Daytona Beach International Airport; as well as the Ormond Beach Best Western Castillo Del Sol.

“Our International Speedway hotels with 388 rooms were sold out like last year but with a substantially higher rate,” Bhoola said.

“Our customers had to deal with the rain but made the best of the situation that was not in anyone’s control,” he said. “We tried to accommodate them with complementary amenities including beverages to help them cope with the delays at the track.”

Rooms also were sold-out on Friday and Saturday at the 64-room Quality Inn Daytona Speedway, just across the street from track, said Deborah Bailey, general manager. Only a “handful of guests” booked an additional night on Sunday because of the rain-delayed race, she said.

“Mostly, people parked their cars here and left when the race was over,” she said. “We did a little bit better than last year when we weren’t sold out on Friday, but we were on Saturday. This year we sold-out on both Friday and Saturday.”

Still, Bailey isn’t yet a fan of the new August time slot.

“The kids are in school, people are not traveling,” she said. “It’s just more convenient over the July 4th holiday. I know my race fans don’t like it being in August. I (my hotel) am not on beach either, so it might be different for me.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Coke Zero 400 offered business boost to Daytona Beach area hotels