Friday, January 14, 2011
The snow that blanketed Chattanooga Sunday night and has hung around throughout the week has had a mixed effect on downtown Chattanooga hotels.
Several hotel officials said their properties had increases in occupancy rates, especially Monday and Tuesday, but the winter weather has caused massive cancellations for others.
Tanya Gray, guest services manager at the Days Inn Rivergate on Carter Street, said the hotel lowered its prices for local businesses and mainly downtown workers staying at the site on Monday and Tuesday.
"It has been a little busy," she said. "A lot of different local companies and things like that, who have to be at work, have been here."
Business began to slow as the roads were cleared Wednesday, and things were mostly back to normal by Thursday, Gray said.
At the downtown Marriott, cancellations racked up during a time that already is known for its low occupancy, said general manager Joe Duperry.
"We have probably gotten 50 cancellations a night since Monday," he said, adding that only about five or 10 people came in looking for a place to stay as a result of the weather. "Obviously the cancellations far offset anybody coming in."
Duperry said the lost revenue didn't dramatically hurt business, because things were "already kind of slow to begin with."