Albany- Most weekends it's easy to find a hotel room in Albany.
"Weekend business is slower than weekday business so anything for weekend business for the whole entire city is a good thing," said Diane Blazer Director of Sales for Holiday Inn, Albany.
That's not the case this coming weekend. The Spring Sports Championship for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is bringing many to town. The Baptist Women's Association and the Capitol City Cyclists of Tallahassee are also coming Friday and Saturday causing many hotels to turn guests away.
"We've got three groups in town and the economic impact we're looking at right now is somewhere around $340,000 for this week alone," said Sara Underdown, VP Chamber of Commerce.
"Wedding season is gearing up. I know this weekend there is baseball, and the SIAC tournament is also this week and then corporate business keeps us pretty well booked up during the week," said Blazer.
This is what the chamber of commerce has been waiting to happen, tourism.
"As our venues grow such as the Riverquarium and Thronateeska expansion, and the Civil rights museum is expanding, we expect this market to continue to develop for us," said Underdown.
They say, they hope to keep filling hotel rooms and keep people coming to Albany.
"We'll continue to promote Albany as a destination as a place to come and hold your meetings. We've heard a lot of people say, they've looked at other areas but when they compare all the things we have to do here for families that they much prefer coming here," said Underdown.
Hotels say that means, everybody profits.
"It's good for the malls, it's good for restaurants, it's good for businesses and for hotels and anything that has to do with Albany," said Blazer.
This the first year of a three year agreement with the S.I.A.C. Chamber officials hope events like these will get the word out about Albany and draw in other groups.
posted by jennifer.emert@walb.com
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Worldnow and WALB, a Raycom Media Station. 
