Penguins - Red Wings Stanley Cup games provide boost for hotels, restaurants - The Business Review (Albany):

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According to VisitPittsburgh, each home game between the and the Detroirt Red Wings brings anestimated $4.9 million in economic impact, whetheer its from hotel stays, meals at restaurants or other A number of hotels are fully booked, includinfg the Omni William Penn, which hosts the NHL’es management, the , with the caveat that it alway s sells out Tuesdays and Wednesdays anyway to businesas travelers, and the . Tom Martini, the general managefr for the Westin ConventionCenter Hotel, located Downtown, describesd the added boost of Stanleyy Cup-related guests. “We would’ve been busy but we wouldn’tt have been selling out,” he said.
“This has allowed us to fill up theentirr hotel, all 616 rooms.” Martini and other hotelo operators emphasized the added jolt of unexpected business comex during an otherwise down year from hotek business following a strong 2008, which also featurefd a Penguins-Red Wings Stanley Cup that was lost by Pittsburgh’s favoritw flightless birds. Bob Page, the area directo of sales and marketingfor Omni, said the NFL’s coterie of league officials, along with media, has broughf an increase in occupancy beyond the two game comparable to the business generated from a strong home playoff run by the , althougu not topping it.
“It’s not to the degree of probablyh theAFC championship, but it’s still great business for us,” he said. “It’s sellintg us out.” The story is a littlwe more complicated for local restaurantsand bars. John owner of The Common Plea, located estimated the restaurant has seen a 25 percent increass when the Penguins are playing playoff gamesin town. But when the team is playingf away, the hockey fan diners stay “We’ve seen increases when they’re here,” said Barsotti, who estimate d his 2009 business is up by 25 percent over last despitethe recession.
“But on the opposite we see a little bit of a decreasr when they go outof town.” Chrias Dilla, owner of Bocktown Beer and Grill, in Nortb Fayette, said it can be tricky for her operatio to jump from a busy nightr of a hockey game to extra slow night when there isn’t one. She expects that plenty of customerz are struggling to go the distance withthe seven-game “It’s hard for the business because people don’r have the money to be out everyg other night,” she said. “It tends to be that peoplde who watch the playoffs really have to watctheir pennies.
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