If the past few years are any indication, this is going to be a very good week for the local hotel and hospitality business.
The Players Championship, the annual golf tournament this week at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, attracts one of the best fields in the PGA Tour.
It also attracts thousands of spectators. Last year, the ratio of visitors to locals tipped for the first time in favor of visitors, with about 55 percent of fans coming from outside Northeast Florida.
“Every year, influential businessmen and decision-makers travel to The Players,” said tournament Executive Director Jared Rice. “This is the ideal location for companies to conduct business, which is shown by the record number of national and international companies traveling to Ponte Vedra Beach.”
Between the business community and golf fans, expect near capacity if not “No Vacancy” signs at hotels and motels this week along the Beaches, with the rest of the region seeing better-than-usual business.
Last year during Players week, area hotel occupancy averaged 80.6 percent, an increase of 18.2 percent compared to 2015, a non-tournament week. Average daily revenue was up 23.2 percent and overall room revenue was $10.6 million, an increase of 45.5 percent.
In 2016, Beaches hotels reported an occupancy increase during tournament week of nearly 8 percent. Lodging facilities in Arlington, Southside and Mandarin reported a 20.5 percent increase in bookings.
Downtown hotels also saw a spike in business last year during The Players, with a 26.2 percent increase in occupancy.
Hotel executives said Monday they expect a repeat this year, with buses available to shuttle guests between Downtown hotels and the tournament.
“The Players is doing well for us,” said Gino Caliendo, general manager of the 963-room Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
He said most of the upcoming weekend business at the Hyatt will be music fans attending the Funk Fest at Metropolitan Park, but this week’s Tuesday-Thursday business is coming from corporate customers who are entertaining clients and customers at the early events at the tournament.
“We’re doing better than we expected midweek,” he said.
The effect of The Players also is being felt at the 354-room Omni Jacksonville.
“This year, we have a lot more corporate groups booking rooms for entertaining clients,” said Mike Islava, director of sales and marketing.
“Each year, it gets better and better,” he said. “We’re predicting a sellout starting Tuesday.”
“The Players Championship always brings a huge number of visitors to the Jacksonville area and we expect visitation this year to Beaches and Southside hotels to be among the best years ever,” said Katy Mitura, spokeswoman for Visit Jacksonville, the tourist and convention bureau for Jacksonville and the Beaches.
“The growing popularity of the tournament and the already positive visitation trend for the destination will lead to another great week for Jacksonville,” she added.
How much business does The Players Championship bring to area hotels? According to Visit Jacksonville, here’s how the 2016 Players week compared to 2015, a non-tournament week.
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