Lafayette Hotel booked solid; waiting list stands at 700
Fact Box
Festival facts
Marietta's hotel/motel "bed tax" is 6 percent.
Taxes from rooms sold at city hotels during the annual Ohio River Sternwheel Festival and throughout the year are split 50-50 between the city and the Marietta Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Between July and October 2007, the visitors bureau averaged about $25,500 a month from hotel taxes.
Revenues from this summer's "bed tax" have been running about 4.8 percent above the same time last year.
Source: Marietta City Auditor David Locke and Marietta/Washington County CVB Executive Director Kelly Blazosky.
By Sam Shawver
The Marietta Times
Like many other sternwheel festival enthusiasts, Dale and Vicki Carner of London, Ohio, have a standing reservation at the Lafayette Hotel.
"We've been coming here for 20 years, and this is the place to stay. You can just park the car and go," Dale Carner said. "We reserve a couple of rooms on the second floor with a great view of the river. And we get to know a lot of people who come back every year. Marietta's just a great place."
The historic hotel's 77 rooms are booked up this weekend as they have been just about every Ohio River Sternwheel Festival weekend in the event's 33-year history.
"We actually have a waiting list with more than 700 names of people who want to be notified when a room becomes available," said Jennifer Auville, the Lafayette's general manager.
"Years ago the same people got the rooms year after year, but about 10 years ago we changed that a little to open up a few rooms each year," she said. "We ask, and if someone says they're not coming back next year, we remove them from the list and that creates a vacancy for someone else.
"Every year we may have eight to 10 rooms that become available, so we encourage anyone interested to get their names on the list," Auville said.
License plates on cars in the hotel parking lot Friday were from a variety of states, including Virginia, New Jersey and South Carolina.
"They come from all over," Auville said. "And we keep in touch with other area hotels and motels so we can refer any overflow guests there."
Although a few rooms were still available at some other local hotels on Friday, most were expected to be filled on Saturday. And Marietta has lost one 100-room motel business since last year's Sternwheel Festival as the America's Best Value Inn closed in late 2007. A new Microtel Inn, currently under construction at that same location, won't be completed until early 2009.
The Holiday Inn at 701 Pike St. is one business that has benefited from the Best Value Inn closing.
"We've seen some increase in customers this year as people had to find another place to stay," said Andy Benson, hotel manager. "Most folks are here for the Sternwheel Festival, and probably 50 percent are return customers every year."
All in all, Benson said this year has been better for the Holiday Inn than last year as the economy is improving and people have grown more used to paying higher fuel prices.
Across the street, at 700 Pike St., the Comfort Inn was also filling up on Friday.
"We're full up for both days, although Saturday usually fills up first," said Jessica Dixon, sales director for the Comfort Inn. "We get people from all over, Virginia, Colorado, and many other states. One family group comes in every year from several states."
Dixon noted that all of the area hotels help pay for shuttle service for guests who want to attend the festival and don't want to drive.
The Super 8 Motel at 46 Acme St. has picked up quite a few guests since the Best Value Inn closed last year.
"We're sold out and doing much better than last year," said Tammy Wilburn, front desk supervisor at Super 8.
David Bricker, manager at the Hampton Inn located next door to the former Best Value Inn, said rooms at his hotel were not sold out on Friday.
"We mostly have our normal business travelers today. Sternwheel is a great event, and last year we were sold out," he said. "We used to be sold out on both Friday and Saturday, but with higher fuel prices people are watching their budgets more this year. Also there are a lot of football games that families attend on Friday nights."
The festival also boosts business for Parkersburg-area hotels.
Kate Swisher, director of sales and marketing at Parkersburg's historic Blennerhassett Hotel, said the sternwheel festival is a very well-known event and draws folks from all areas and age groups to the Mid Ohio Valley.
"Many who stay here come from Charleston (W.Va.) or from Athens and the Columbus area in Ohio," Swisher said. "We see a lot of return business, and we'll be full up on Saturday night."
She noted that for the last three years the Blennerhassett has offered a popular package that includes a Saturday night riverboat cruise to the sternwheel festival fireworks display in Marietta. The cruise also includes dinner and music for about 150 people.
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beddyrn
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09-06-08 12:41 PM
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700 ON A WAITING LIST. DOESN'T SOUND TO ME LIKE THEY NEED TO HAVE BEER AT THE FESTIVAL!
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