If predictions become reality, the May 25-28 Memorial Day weekend could be historic in terms of success for Downtown’s hospitality industry.
The combination of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, the Jehovah’s Witnesses Convention and the USA Men’s National Team vs. Scotland soccer match will likely mean capacity business for the hotels and entertainment venues.
The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field East Division Preliminary Championship is being hosted by the University of North Florida over the same weekend, meaning it won’t be easy to find an available hotel room in Duval County.
“It’s going to be one of the busiest hospitality weekends of the year,” said Dan King, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, the host hotel for the jazz festival.
King said the City’s decision to schedule the annual jazz festival on the same holiday weekend for the past three years has allowed groups and meeting planners to schedule Downtown as a destination with a three-day outdoor music festival included.
“It’s going to be one of the busiest weekends we have experienced in a long time. It’s unbelievable,” said Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk Hotel General Manager Donald Harris.
He said having so many people visit the city and Downtown during the weekend of the jazz festival will have positive long-lasting effects in terms of group and leisure travel business.
The Omni is the co-host hotel for the jazz festival and the host hotel for the Scotland National Football Team. General Manager Barry Sondern said he expects the hotel to be at capacity, which is usually not possible the last weekend of May for a hotel that’s not near the ocean.
“Normally, downtown hotels are ghost towns,” he said.
The Omni is serving a Sunday morning “jazz brunch” and Sondern said an additional culinary experience will be added this year.
“We’re planning a late-night buffet Saturday night for the jazz and soccer fans. We’re thinking about chicken and waffles,” he said.
Katie Kurycki, marketing director for Visit Jacksonville, the sales and promotion arm of the Duval County Tourist Development Council, said hosting such diverse groups at the same time is an excellent opportunity to showcase the city to new markets.
In addition to thousands of local jazz fans, the festival is a strong regional, if not national draw. The soccer match is expected to bring at least 1,000 international visitors to EverBank Field, said Kurycki.
“There will be so many different audiences and we’ll get to show off Jacksonville on a bustling weekend,” she said.
“Our visitors will see a lot of activity,” said Harris.
“We need more partnerships between the City and the hospitality industry,” he said.
Kurycki said that scheduling the jazz festival for the same weekend for three consecutive years is proving to be a good decision for hospitality.
“The goal is to turn the jazz festival into an event that can fill Downtown’s hotels by itself. That will take awhile – maybe 10 years,” she said.
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