RNC: Not quite the elephant in the room

Don’t count on a stampede of elephants when the Republican National Convention comes to Florida during the last week of August.

More than 50 miles separate the Tampa Convention Center, where the event will take place, and the northern-most tip of Longboat Key.

But local tourism officials still hope to market the Key to convention goers as an attractive option for an extended stay in the region or a future vacation — and to promote the area as an alternative to visitors who typically head to Hillsborough and Pinellas counties in August and don’t want to be among the 50,000 expected to converge for this year’s convention.

Reports have indicated a mild boost in bookings for hotels closer to the convention in Manatee County, but Sarasota County hasn’t seen any major bookings, according to Erin Duggan, director of communications for Visit Sarasota.

The Tampa Bay region is the agency’s No. 1 target market during the months of August and September, so even during a typical summer, it would advertise in the area, according to Duggan.

But this year, the organization is also planning an advertising campaign to market the area in August and September to Tampa Bay residents looking for an escape.

At Longboat’s Casa Del Mar, General Manager D.M. Williams said Monday that the resort had just sent a message to the resort’s 4,000 email list inviting convention goers who can’t find a room in Tampa to make reservations at the resort.

Sandra Rios, director of communications at the Longboat Key Club and Resort, said the effect of the RNC on bookings has been “negligible.”

Rios said the resort reached out to RNC representatives in Tampa but found that the distance would be prohibitive for daily travel because of nightly convention activities.

The resort did, however, create a promotion with Travel by Appointment in Tampa to offer RNC special rates for bookings arriving Aug. 27 and departing no later than Sept. 1 in hopes of enticing attendees to consider a longer stay.

Karen Rangel, director of regional sales at Ocean Properties Ltd., the parent company of the Longboat Key Hilton Beach Front Resort, Lido Beach Resort and Holiday Inn Lido Beach, said that the company is offering pre- and post-convention rates but predicted that any RNC-related business for its three resorts in the area would be from guests who might have otherwise gone to the Tampa Bay area.

“But I think what will happen is that some of the leisure travelers will end up in our area trying to escape the craziness,” said Rangel.

RNC rundown
Here is the traffic the Republican National Committee is expected to bring. But don’t worry, Longboaters. It will stay almost entirely in Tampa, more than 50 miles away from the Key.

50,000 — The number of people expected to come to the Tampa Bay area during the convention
13,000-15,000 — The number of media members that will be in attendance
15,000 — Hotel rooms booked
500 — The number of private vehicles that will be in use
350 — Full-sized charter buses
Source: Tampa Bay Host Committee, 2012tampa.com