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photo contributed by Kathy Magers
When
the average traveler pulls into a hotel, all they want is to
grab a clean, safe room and get a good night’s sleep. Their
main considerations are little more than finding easy fuel
and food. But for the touring bass professional with a boat
full of expensive “tools of the trade,” who often stays 3-10
days at a time, it’s a very different story. Touring pros
need special lodging facilities where their needs are
recognized and provided. And it’s the wise hotel that
accommodates them.
Long ago, luring fishermen with boats was not exactly the main
goal of major hotel chains. Instead, boaters stayed at local
motels, state parks, marina cabins or camped out. But with the
dawning of professional bass tournaments, anglers on the road
have become a target market for many of today’s largest hotel
chains.
One such group is Quality Inn & Suites, Microtel Inn & Suites
and Rodeway Inn & Suites in Bossier City, LA – site of the
upcoming Women’s Bassmaster Tour. The event will be held on the
Red River, a liquid dividing line between “Bossier” and
Shreveport.
Jeff Rogers is President of
Southern Host Hospitality (SHH), the hotel management
corporation for multiple well-known lodging brands such as
Quality, Microtel, Rodeway, Best Western, Comfort Suites and
Holiday Inn Express (all “Inn & Suites”.) He understands the
tournament market well. When boat owners drive past his hotel
with boat in tow, Rogers wants and welcomes their
business.
And he often gets it - because
his corporation reaches a little farther than some of the
competition. “We installed 12 outdoor electrical plugs at each
hotel for guests to charge their boat batteries. We put these
plugs at the ends of the buildings because we knew boaters
needed to have easy access to them from their rooms,” says
Rogers.
“We cater to the fact that boaters need to be downstairs.
That’s hard to do since, most Bossier hotels have inside
corridors (which is what we have) but putting the outlets at the
end of the building, opens up at least ten downstairs rooms in
each hotel. And we try to put these guests in rooms on the back
side with windows overlooking the parking lot so they can see
their boats at all times.”
When it comes to hotel / motel security, consider the advice of
Robin Babb, a former threat assessment professional and stalking
expert. Although she never needs a room herself (due to the fact
that she travels in a Zeffer Travel System, a 45-foot
NASCAR-style hauler containing her boat, equipment and full
luxury living quarters,) Babb offers advice for touring pros
looking for the right room: “At a minimum, the location should
offer 24-hour lobby reception, security camera monitors,
well-lighted parking area, doors with a deadbolt or door knob
lock, plus a chain or swing-arm locking mechanism and peep
hole. Also, it is a plus if the location offers night security
patrol.
Joanna Wilson- Southern Host Hospitality’s Regional Sales &
Marketing Director says, “We have 24-hour security – our
managers live on property. We have security cameras and inside
corridors, which provide more personal guest safety. Policemen
continually travel the hotels here, making parking lots more
secure.
We’ve been able to enjoy the fruits of making the Red River
navigable for port and casinos – and since then, it also lured a
lot of fishing tournaments here. Growth of the river gave more
publicity to other interests in the area,” she says. “Just
overnight, it became known as a wonder tournament spot.”
More fishing tournaments mean more hotel business for Shreveport
and Bossier City – a welcome sight - unlike years past when
tournament anglers were not considered a major target. But
today, this market in cities that host major tournaments, is
considered a valuable one.
“Established
tournament trails are desirable because they can provide
economic impact in excess of a million dollars per event” says
Mary Ann Tice, Executive Director and CAO of the Shreveport
Regional Sports Authority, an economic development corporation
that secures sports tourism for it’s economic impact.
Following the first bass event we hosted, the 1997 BASS
Federation Championship," adds Tice, "we rapidly recognized the
potential for bass fishing and the Red River became our primary
venue. That first BASS tournament on the Red River basically
opened the area to bass fishing. B.A.S.S. ushered the advent of
televised bass fishing along with corresponding print media –
B.A.S.S. caused the explosion and we ‘poised to reap the
benefits.’ Bass fishing ranks very high as a preferred sports
tourism event for us to host.”
For more information on the Women’s Bassmaster Tour Red River
Event, Sept. 20-22, 2007 – contact B.A.S.S. Customer Service
Dept. at (407) 566-2277.
For more
information on hotel accommodations and tournament discounts for
Women’s’ Bassmaster Tour contenders, contact Quality Inn &
Suites at 318) 742-7890, Microtel Inn & Suites 318) 742-7882 and
Rodeway Inn &
Suites at 318 747-2400. All are located on exit 22 – (Airline
Drive) in Bossier City.
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YAKIMA BAIT COMPANY
