With two years to go before the world's equine athletes take the stage in Lexington, the World Games 2010 Foundation's Housing Bureau has already fielded requests for more than 70,000 room nights, according to Krista Greathouse, director of events for the foundation's housing partner Short's Sports and Events. That equates to an average of more than 4,000 rooms per night needed over the 16-day span of the 2010 World Equestrian Games to cover the needs of athletes, officials, sponsors, groups, trade show exhibitors and volunteers, in addition to individual spectator requests to date.
Fayette County's total hotel inventory currently stands at 7,300 rooms, according to the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau, with more scheduled to come online in the Hamburg Place area this fall. Area hotels interested in partnering with the Foundation were expected to return contracts by July 31, but the housing bureau does not foresee any problems in meeting its demand, in part because of the inventory it has already contracted to have with hotels in Lexington, Georgetown, Frankfort and other surrounding areas, in addition to some in northern Kentucky. The Bureau also plans to enter into discussions with more hotels in Louisville for additional accommodations after the city's attention turns from the Ryder Cup in September, Greathouse said.
"Because Louisville is so interested, and so is northern Kentucky, we don't have to rely that heavily on the inventory in Lexington," Greathouse said. "Obviously, we want the Lexington hotels to participate. Ö All the people that the Foundation is already working with, they are looking to us for those rooms, so hopefully the hotels would see the benefit in that in working with the Housing Bureau."
In addition to working with attendees who have already placed deposits on tickets and made financial commitments to attending the Games, the Housing Bureau also establishes a four-night minimum for the inventory it manages, Greathouse said. Participating hotels pay a 15 percent commission, which Short's will split with the World Games 2010 Foundation to cover costs for services such as shuttle transportation. Hotels in Lexington and adjoining communities that have contracted with the Housing Bureau will be granted access to a shuttle stop for their guests as part of the Game's official transportation system, Greathouse said. In Aachen, partnering hotels were charged a 12 percent commission, but no additional transportation was provided.
For local hotels, planning for the 2010 event has already started, and many have been making some hefty investments in sprucing up their facilities, both for the long term benefit and, in part, as preparation for the Games.
The Hyatt Regency in downtown Lexington has launched a $17 million renovation of its facilities, starting with the recently completed refurbishment of its guest rooms. The hotel will have the chance to host international visitors for the Ryder Cup event being held this month in Louisville, said Larry Bell, general manager and current president of the Bluegrass Hospitality Association.
"We'd like the folks involved to understand that hospitality and tourism is an important business, and it's something we should really excel at because we have such a beautiful area for people to visit," Bell said. "We have a lot to be proud of, and we want every opportunity to take advantage of making folks understand what a special place this is."
The Hilton Suites at Lexington Green, which also just finished a multimillion-dollar renovation of its facility, has signed up to participate with the Foundation's Housing Bureau to sell roughly 80 percent of its inventory during the Games, said Jeff Webb, general manager of the Hilton Suites at Lexington Green, who also serves on the board of the Bluegrass Hospitality Association.
"I think a lot of the preparation for us is going to come when we finalize how the transportation is going to work," Webb said. "European countries have such good public transportation, which most American cities don't. So I think that's going to be the biggest challenge (in catering) to a worldwide stage - how will we get them around as conveniently as they are used to in their home countries?"
In recent years, the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort has invested $21 million to improve its facilities, including the addition of spa amenities, more meeting space, a new Starbucks, a redesigned restaurant, outdoor reception space and improvements to its golf course. The improvements were not made as preparation for the Games, said general manager Mark Jeffrey, but local hotels are well prepared for the challenge in 2010. The Bluegrass Hospitality Association has also submitted a list of recommended projects to the city for consideration in preparation for 2010, ranging from long-term goals such as the development of a downtown entertainment district to the improvement of directional signage, said Jeffrey, who is vice president of the BHA.
"The hotels are certainly ready," Jeffrey said. "I have not heard what the city has committed to having ready. There's a lot of people wondering what the city's going to do."
As of early September, the Housing Bureau had also fielded inquiries from 517 local homeowners interested in providing their homes for rent and 266 potential renters. While Greathouse said she expects the number of visitors interested in renting homes to rise as the event draws closer, it is unlikely that it will exceed the number of homes available.
"I wouldn't say that its going to double," Greathouse said. "But as tickets become available and hospitality becomes available, that could potentially drive the number up."
Most renters are looking for homes with amenities for entertaining or those that offer a more quintessential Kentucky experience, such as a horse farm guest house, according to Greathouse, but there is also limited demand for basic three- or four-bedroom homes in close proximity to the Kentucky Horse Park.
"Really people are looking for not just your garden variety home," Greathouse said. "They are really coming and looking for something special."
Even with two years remaining, local hospitality leaders are already taking steps to keep themselves and their industry apprised of the planning efforts, but most are looking to see how improvements might improve their city and their business for years after the Games.
"We've had more meetings about this event than any other event I ever remember having dealt with," Webb said. Most recently, the BHA's scheduled its monthly general meeting on September 17 to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park, with a two-year update to be given by World Games 2010 Foundation Chairman John Long and Kentucky Horse Park Director John Nicholson.
"I think the most important thing, and it is happening, is that we think beyond the Games as we make changes and improvements to our community," Bell said, "and that there will be a longer-lasting legacy benefit that will enable us to do other events in the future and make our community nicer."
While Lexington's hospitality market currently enjoys greater stability than many other areas of the country, the improvements at the Horse Park could offer the city a significant advantage by strengthening its equine event capabilities, said David Lord, president of the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"By having a covered, heated and cooled arena, it will expand (the Horse Park's) season into what is really our most 'down' time," Lord said. "The Horse Park will create demand. Ö It's much easier for us to compete in the equine world than just the convention world, because everybody can host a convention, but not everyone can host a world-class equine event."
Bell and Webb are also hoping the development of Manchester Street as a downtown distillery district, for example, will offer new opportunities for evening entertainment in the future, for both tourists and locals.
As the event draws closer, the Foundation's Housing Bureau will also be working with the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau in their Ambassadors Program, as a form of elevated concierge service, Greathouse said. They also expect to put together plans and programs with possible marketing opportunities for hotels as well as local restaurants and other attractions, Greathouse said.
"I think that those opportunities will come," Greathouse said. "It's just going to be a little while before we have all that mapped out."
Although much remains to be done before 2010, the Foundation still appears to be ahead of schedule in its communication and accommodations planning, as compared to the two-year mark from the 2006 Games, Greathouse said.
"From everything that I've seen from what Aachen sent out, I don't think they communicated this far out with the teams," Greathouse said. "We want to be proactive and kind of get ahead of the game, and so we're going to be reaching out to them in the next few months with some information so they can start putting their plans together."