BP oil spill’s impact on Gulf Coast tourism is murky
Just how much Gulf Coast tourism is hurt by the oil spill is debatable but hotels are more and more telling visitors a simple premise: if BP oil slimes the beach, you don’t have to pay.
“Only it’s not that simple. And some lodging experts say the no-oil guarantee is more public relations than shrewd crisis management,” reports the St. Petersburg Times.
More than 200 hotels, motels and condo rental firms on Florida’s west coast are covered by some sort of oil-related policy through the end of July. They carry names such as the Natural Beach Guarantee, the 100% Oil Spill Guarantee and the Zero-Risk Vacation Guarantee.
Details vary widely.
The deal for 28 properties promoted on the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau web site promises a free first-night stay if customers "arrive to find our pristine beaches affected by the oil spill in any way.” Other hotels let guests cancel reservations up to 6 p.m. on their arrival date.
Policies "are all over the board,” said D.T. Minich, executive tourism director for Pinellas County. .
"If luck’s with us, this is a low-risk deal,” said Bill Priakos, general manager of the Barefoot Beach Resort in Indian Shores.
But do guarantees give potential visitors enough comfort to take even the small risk of a ruined vacation? Minich doesn’t think so, at least not for out-of-state visitors.
"The big issue is the air travel,” he said. "They don’t want to get stuck with five airline tickets that are nonrefundable.”
Just how bad the situation is for tourism along the Gulf Coast is also debatable.
Room rates were down for the month of August, when there were reservations for 17,993 rooms compared to last year when there were almost 20,000 reservations. Average prices were also down.
TripAdvisor is reporting massive decreases in page views for Gulf Coast destinations, but online traveler interest in Florida’s Atlantic Coast areas remains resilient.
The Knowland Group, a global meetings and conventions data firm, found a majority of hoteliers are finding ways to cope during the spill. They reported 60 percent of hotels saw an increase in room bookings.
Meanwhile, Florida officials and tourism representatives are lobbying BP for more money to promote the state.
By David Wilkening
David
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