Superbowl Creates Tourism Hole

Judging by the number of vacation, travel and lodging offers I have received this week, it is clear that the Superbowl is a big pain in the neck for hotels and resorts. Consider for example the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, a beautiful full service resort along the banks of the Delaware River minutes from Shawnee Mountain. Booked to capacity for each weekend in January and looking forward to full houses for Valentine's Day weekend and the President's Holiday, the weekend ahead is less than busy. With the best snow in decades on the ground and more on the way, it is hard to believe that a sporting event scheduled for Sunday at 6PM can cause everyone to stay home. But that is exactly what is happening across the Country. My Starwood hotel emails have rates under $100 from California to New Jersey. Half price offers abound from NYC to Washington, DC. I guess there is the pre-party planning and work that involves getting the beer and cooking the wings, but does that really take all weekend? This also leads to my next question. How do you overcome this Superbowl hole? For Baltimore you go in the opposite direction of the Superbowl and book an All-Star Cheerleading competition. My family's butt will be firmly planted all weekend at the Baltimore convention center and the Hampton Inn ($92.00). The CVB sales manager and convention center leadership that recognize this Superbowl hole need to keep this event happy and returning every year on Superbowl weekend. With the event over by 5PM on Sunday, most of us will probably have the ability to catch the second half of the big game in the comfort of our own living room.
I eagerly await the new NFL schedule. Maybe with the proposed 18 game schedule we can finally get the Superbowl on President's weekend. That will accommodate alot of football party hangovers and make for a great winter vacation. For this year my friends at Shawnee Inn have plenty of discounts available at ShawneeInn.com and a great party planned at the Gem and Keystone Brewpub for the smart skiers that already know that the best skiing of the season is always Superbowl Sunday.