Depending on the time of year, a full hotel in the Marion area usually means a special event’s in town.
When occupancy in local lodging places is up this August, the reason could be 29 miles away at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, local hotel managers said. Or in September, the draw to Marion might be the Little Brown Jug in Delaware.
Closer to home, golf, baseball, softball, wrestling, robotics competitions and the occasional dog show can keep service bells ringing on hotel counters, said Diane Watson, director for the Marion Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“We’re one of those residuals of the car races over in Mansfield,” Watson said, referring to Mid-Ohio’s larger municipal neighbor. “Anytime they have an event over there our hotels will fill up, but then when you look at the robotics we were pretty full, and this year there were a number of robotics things.”
While it may come as a surprise to some, hoteliers are familiar with the business boost they receive from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which this weekend hosts Mechanics Bank Vintage Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio and which later this summer is the site of Buckeye Super Bike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200.
“Indy motor car is by the far the biggest draw in this area,” said Bruce Jenkins, manager at Holiday Inn Express & Suites, 1842 Marion-Mount Gilead Road.
Shelly Booker, general manager at Best Western Plus University Inn, 2117 Marion-Mount Gilead Road, said the 60-room hotel just east of the city of Marion sees an increase in its number of guests for the “major” races at Mid-Ohio.
“Basically it’s near Mansfield, but they only have so many hotels and they fill up quickly so we get the overflow,” Booker said. “Many of (the race fans) don’t want to be right in that mix. I have some that come here every year.”
She estimated the Best Western fills “at least 30 to 40 rooms for the Indy races.”
Guests for the Indy race at Country Inn & Suites, 2091 Marion-Mount Gilead Road, occupy about 30 of the hotel’s 63 rooms, Michelle Alexander, front desk manager, said.
“It just depends on how big an event is,” she said. “Another big one really for us is the Little Brown Jug.”
The annual September harness racing event brings a number of “regulars” to the Best Western and typically fills about 20 rooms, Booker said.
Watson said not only Marion’s proximity to Delaware attracts Little Brown Jug fans to local hotels.
“We do get people from Delaware who will stay in Marion because it’s that overflow thing or we maybe have a cheaper rate than they’re going to find when they get closer to the city,” she said.
The Marion Popcorn Festival “brings a lot of money downtown,” she said, adding the bureau had tried, but not been able to calculate the impact in dollars the annual September event has on the local economy.
“We have other groups that come in like tour groups where we have buses of people,” she said. The bureau has worked with 41 groups planning to make such visits this year, compared to 52 in 2012.
The top hotel draws among local events are summer baseball/softball tournaments such as those hosted by River Valley Baseball for Youth, an American Legion golf tournament in August, high school wrestling invitationals such as the Harding Wrestling Classic, and the National Robotics Challenge in March at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
This week the Veteran Motor Car Club of America’s Vintage Buckeye One and Two Cylinder Tour was expected to bring about 60 participants to Marion, which they will use as a home base while visiting surrounding communities.
“Of course, they’re going out to eat, they’re spending money on gas and their incidentals, that’s a big draw,” Watson said.
Occupied hotel rooms mean bed tax revenue for the Marion Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which receives a 3 percent tax (minus the 5 percent share of that received by the Marion County Board of Commissioners for administrative costs) on the price paid by the guest for the hotel stay.
As of May 31, the bed tax generated $51,931 in revenue. The bed tax generated $153,752 in 2012.
“I think we’re doing pretty good,” Watson said, adding the summer months typically generate the largest portion of bed tax for the year. “We’re right at where we were last year at this time, so we aren’t doing too bad. I’m not sure if it’ll be up a little,” because of improvement in the economy.
Tourism sales generated nearly $95 million in business activity in 2011 in Marion County, according to Tourism Economics, a tourism analysis company based in Philadelphia and Oxford in England. In addition to direct tourism industries, the manufacturing and business services sectors are “important tourism beneficiaries as suppliers,” the company states. Of the dollar value generated, direct output, or sales from business to customer, comprised $61,743,105; indirect output, sales from business to business for supplies, comprises $16,892,241; and induced output, additional household income generated by direct sales, comprised $16,013,253.
While the bureau uses the bed tax revenue in its ongoing promotion of the Marion area as a tourist and event destination, all residents can help attract dollars from elsewhere into the local economy, she said.
“If you’re a part of an American Legion group or a bowling group that has regional events here, you can be a part of that,” she said. “We can be a host of that in Marion, and that’s helping your community bring money into your community. River Valley Baseball for Youth has done a great job with that. It makes a better, attractive community for bringing in the dollars.”
The Professional Disc Golf Association Amateur World Championships drew about 500 competitors in 2010 to a week-long competition at the Marion Campus.
“People thought, ‘Marion, Ohio? How can they make that happen here?’” she said. “And we did. It always puts us on the map if we can host events like that. And when you’re talking about golfing events or bowling or baseball or softball, even swimming at the Y(MCA), people just need to be aware when you go to these types of events to think about your community and see if you think it’s something that could be in Marion.”
When occupancy in local lodging places is up this August, the reason could be 29 miles away at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, local hotel managers said. Or in September, the draw to Marion might be the Little Brown Jug in Delaware.
Closer to home, golf, baseball, softball, wrestling, robotics competitions and the occasional dog show can keep service bells ringing on hotel counters, said Diane Watson, director for the Marion Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“We’re one of those residuals of the car races over in Mansfield,” Watson said, referring to Mid-Ohio’s larger municipal neighbor. “Anytime they have an event over there our hotels will fill up, but then when you look at the robotics we were pretty full, and this year there were a number of robotics things.”
While it may come as a surprise to some, hoteliers are familiar with the business boost they receive from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which this weekend hosts Mechanics Bank Vintage Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio and which later this summer is the site of Buckeye Super Bike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200.
“Indy motor car is by the far the biggest draw in this area,” said Bruce Jenkins, manager at Holiday Inn Express & Suites, 1842 Marion-Mount Gilead Road.
Shelly Booker, general manager at Best Western Plus University Inn, 2117 Marion-Mount Gilead Road, said the 60-room hotel just east of the city of Marion sees an increase in its number of guests for the “major” races at Mid-Ohio.
“Basically it’s near Mansfield, but they only have so many hotels and they fill up quickly so we get the overflow,” Booker said. “Many of (the race fans) don’t want to be right in that mix. I have some that come here every year.”
She estimated the Best Western fills “at least 30 to 40 rooms for the Indy races.”
Guests for the Indy race at Country Inn & Suites, 2091 Marion-Mount Gilead Road, occupy about 30 of the hotel’s 63 rooms, Michelle Alexander, front desk manager, said.
“It just depends on how big an event is,” she said. “Another big one really for us is the Little Brown Jug.”
The annual September harness racing event brings a number of “regulars” to the Best Western and typically fills about 20 rooms, Booker said.
Watson said not only Marion’s proximity to Delaware attracts Little Brown Jug fans to local hotels.
“We do get people from Delaware who will stay in Marion because it’s that overflow thing or we maybe have a cheaper rate than they’re going to find when they get closer to the city,” she said.
The Marion Popcorn Festival “brings a lot of money downtown,” she said, adding the bureau had tried, but not been able to calculate the impact in dollars the annual September event has on the local economy.
“We have other groups that come in like tour groups where we have buses of people,” she said. The bureau has worked with 41 groups planning to make such visits this year, compared to 52 in 2012.
The top hotel draws among local events are summer baseball/softball tournaments such as those hosted by River Valley Baseball for Youth, an American Legion golf tournament in August, high school wrestling invitationals such as the Harding Wrestling Classic, and the National Robotics Challenge in March at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
This week the Veteran Motor Car Club of America’s Vintage Buckeye One and Two Cylinder Tour was expected to bring about 60 participants to Marion, which they will use as a home base while visiting surrounding communities.
“Of course, they’re going out to eat, they’re spending money on gas and their incidentals, that’s a big draw,” Watson said.
Occupied hotel rooms mean bed tax revenue for the Marion Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which receives a 3 percent tax (minus the 5 percent share of that received by the Marion County Board of Commissioners for administrative costs) on the price paid by the guest for the hotel stay.
As of May 31, the bed tax generated $51,931 in revenue. The bed tax generated $153,752 in 2012.
“I think we’re doing pretty good,” Watson said, adding the summer months typically generate the largest portion of bed tax for the year. “We’re right at where we were last year at this time, so we aren’t doing too bad. I’m not sure if it’ll be up a little,” because of improvement in the economy.
Tourism sales generated nearly $95 million in business activity in 2011 in Marion County, according to Tourism Economics, a tourism analysis company based in Philadelphia and Oxford in England. In addition to direct tourism industries, the manufacturing and business services sectors are “important tourism beneficiaries as suppliers,” the company states. Of the dollar value generated, direct output, or sales from business to customer, comprised $61,743,105; indirect output, sales from business to business for supplies, comprises $16,892,241; and induced output, additional household income generated by direct sales, comprised $16,013,253.
While the bureau uses the bed tax revenue in its ongoing promotion of the Marion area as a tourist and event destination, all residents can help attract dollars from elsewhere into the local economy, she said.
“If you’re a part of an American Legion group or a bowling group that has regional events here, you can be a part of that,” she said. “We can be a host of that in Marion, and that’s helping your community bring money into your community. River Valley Baseball for Youth has done a great job with that. It makes a better, attractive community for bringing in the dollars.”
The Professional Disc Golf Association Amateur World Championships drew about 500 competitors in 2010 to a week-long competition at the Marion Campus.
“People thought, ‘Marion, Ohio? How can they make that happen here?’” she said. “And we did. It always puts us on the map if we can host events like that. And when you’re talking about golfing events or bowling or baseball or softball, even swimming at the Y(MCA), people just need to be aware when you go to these types of events to think about your community and see if you think it’s something that could be in Marion.”
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