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Hotel bookings laggingHyatt, Fairmont undercut by cheaper lodging; NABJ may face penalties for not securing enough room By CAMILLE SPENCER Monitor Staff After an e-mail scolding last week by NABJ President Condace Pressley, the organization is still struggling to fill the convention’s contracted hotels to avoid a financial penalty. The $147 per night room rate at the Hyatt Regency Dallas was apparently too steep for some NABJ members. Last week, the organization got word that members were canceling reservations and booking at other local hotels -- some offering rooms at rates as low as $89 per night. The cancellations alarmed Pressley and NABJ executive board members. Tangie Newborn, NABJ executive director, said the organization has yet to determine whether NABJ might be penalized for failure to meet the guaranteed number of room nights. The NABJ contract with the Hyatt calls for convention attendees to occupy 3,970 room nights during the convention. That means that more than 900 hotel rooms should be in use by conference participants Wednesday through Saturday. The organization must meet 85 percent of the room night goals at the Hyatt and the Fairmont Dallas to avoid paying a penalty. Sharon Kelly, assistant reservations manager for the Hyatt, said there has been a resurgence of NABJ members making room reservations in recent days. Newborn said numbers at the Hyatt may hold up, but there has been a sizeable drop in room reservations at the convention’s other hotel, The Fairmont Dallas. Recent cancellations at the Fairmont, which was charging $146 a night, have brought the organization below its required room block, said Kim Thompson, owner of the Virginia-based TraMar Group consulting, at Tuesday’s board of directors meeting. On July 29, NABJ had met nearly 95 percent of its room block but Thompson said Tuesday that only 1,015 of the 1,400 room nights - or 72.5 percent - had been reserved. The difference appears to be the result of recent cancellations at the Fairmont. NABJ told the Hyatt hotel to expect some cancellations of initial reservations, Kelly said. Despite the cancellations that concerned NABJ officials, she said, the number of reservations has increased again. The e-mail, sent by Pressley to NABJ members on Thursday, urged those attending the convention, which officially opens today, to stay at the Hyatt instead of hotels advertising cheaper rates for convention visitors. “It has come to my attention that recently a number of hotels in the Dallas/Fort Worth area have slashed their rates in an effort to lure NABJ members to their properties for our 28th Annual Convention,” Pressley wrote. “It has also come to my attention that many members of NABJ are canceling reservations at the Hyatt Regency Reunion and instead are taking rooms at these other hotels.” Pressley ended her e-mail by asking members to decide convenience in the decision to stay at a hotel other than the Hyatt, which has 1,122 rooms and charges a regular rate of $159 per night. “Do you really want to spend money on taxis to the Hyatt where all convention activities will be held? Are you really going to walk in the heat?” she asked. NABJ’s potential loss may be a boon for some local hotels. Dianna Ridge, sales coordinator for the Hotel Lawrence, 302 S. Houston St. - less than a half-mile from the Hyatt - said NABJ members have reserved discounted rooms at her hotel. The hotel, which regularly charges $159 a night, offered an $89 rate for convention attendees. She said corporate and convention rates vary, depending on the availability of rooms. “When conventions come to town, we get overflow from the Hyatt,” she said. “They’ll call and hold rooms for guests. We didn’t do a room block this year, just a special rate.” Ridge said that as of Monday, it appeared that people attending the NABJ convention would occupy about 30 percent of Hotel Lawrence’s 118 rooms. She said the hotel was renovated two years ago and changed its name, so business from convention attendees is especially welcomed. “I took about 15 calls myself [from NABJ members], but it’s hard to track,” she said. “This is exposure for us, and if you’re interested in a preferred rate, we’d like people like that to come back.” Staff writer Camille Spencer can be reached at camille81@juno.com. |
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