Rolex 24 At Daytona offers boost to Volusia hoteliers

DAYTONA BEACH — As a field of world-class drivers await the start of the Rolex 24 At Daytona endurance race on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, hospitality workers already are shifting into high gear to accommodate fans expected to sell-out hotel rooms at the World’s Most Famous Beach.

“I’m excited,” said Deborah Bailey, general manager of the 64-room Quality Inn Daytona Speedway, just across the street from Daytona International Speedway. “We are pretty much sold-out, and we do have a five-night minimum (length-of-stay requirement). We are doing well.”

At the Quality Inn, room rates also are strong, fueled by demand from race fans who might not have made the Rolex trip last year due to pandemic-related issues, Bailey said.

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“A lot of people who didn’t get to come last year are coming this year,” she said. “We have a premium rate because we’re right across from the Speedway. Rates this year are as good as they’ve been.”

The outlook also is upbeat 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 three properties near the Speedway — the Best Western Plus International Speedway; Hampton Inn by Hilton Daytona Speedway Airport; and the Hilton Garden Inn at Daytona Beach International Airport — as well as the Ormond Beach Best Western Castillo Del Sol.

“We are expecting to fill all three of our hotels by the Speedway at higher rates than last year,” Bhoola said. “The restaurants and retail shops we talk to are all expecting record numbers for that weekend with upscale customers with spending power that will help our economy.”

Volusia hotelier expectations are high

A similar optimism was reflected in responses to an informal online survey of area hoteliers this week by Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County. The Rolex tends to attract a younger crowd than NASCAR races, Davis said.

“Younger folks enjoy the speeds of the Ferraris, the Corvettes and whatever those other foreign cars are,” Davis said. “They are more into that than anything else. I’m expecting a better Rolex (for the hotel industry) than last year.”

At the 744-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, the area’s largest hotel, bookings and room rates already are ahead of last year’s pace, said Jim Berkley, general manager.

“We are seeing solid demand and bookings for Rolex 24 with measurable growth vs. last year in occupancy and rate,” Berkley said. “We anticipate selling out this weekend.”

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Other hotel managers echo that outlook.

“We are sold out for the Rolex 24 with a strong week heading into the event, sold out on Thursday- Monday,” said Nancy Guran, director of sales at The Daytona Marriott Autograph Collection hotel and the Fairfield Inn & Suites at One Daytona, the dining, retail and entertainment complex across the street from the track. “Rates are holding up, and at pre-pandemic levels.”

Expectations also are high at hotels owned and operated by Ormond Beach-based Premier Resorts & Management, said Domien Takx, the company’s vice president of operations.

“All of our hotels have more business on the books than last year actuals with several booking days to go until the weekend,” Takx said. “We believe that this year will be as good as 2019 and 2020, when the pandemic had not yet started to impact our business in January.”

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

Group business tied to the race is helping to power occupancy and rates at the 212-room Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, said Rob Burnetti, general manager.

“We’re not sold out yet, but we have a chance for selling out,” Burnetti said. “Maybe not for midweek, but certainly for the weekend. Everything with rates is up.

“We expect it to come together well,” Burnetti said. “We’re just looking at weather. If we get nice weather, we expect transient business will fill the rooms that the group business hasn’t taken up.”

The outlook is less upbeat at the 91-room Sun Viking Lodge in Daytona Beach Shores, where bookings are lagging behind previous years although rates remain strong, said Greg Brown, general manager.

“It doesn’t seem to be as busy for us as it has been in the past,” Brown said. “Usually, we get to 80% or 90% (occupancy) and we’re at 65% right now. Usually, we get two nights out of it as a minimum stay, and we’ve dropped down to a one-night minimum.”

The prospect of another cold weekend weather forecast could hurt the potential for last-minute bookings, Brown said. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Melbourne was calling for daytime highs in the 50s and a nighttime low of 34 on Saturday.

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“If it is that cold, we don’t anticipate a ton of last-minute business,” Brown said. ”People don’t want to go stand out in the cold if it’s in the 30s like it was last weekend.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Rolex 24 At Daytona offers positive impact on hotels in Daytona Beach