Survey Shows Gulf Show Helped Local Businesses

A survey was done of local Gulf Coast hotels to determine the success of the Jimmy Buffett & Friends Gulf Concert back on July 11th and the results were mixed. There’s no doubt the concert helped businesses the weekend of the show, but there doesn’t appear to be lingering benefits:

A survey of 25 hotels located within 75 miles of the concert in Gulf Shores, Ala., reveals that the concert packed local hotels – yet, despite the mass exposure for the destination, it didn’t boost future hotel bookings.

The Knowland Group, a meetings and convention industry tracker based in McLean, Va., conducted the survey on July 19 and 20. The results give us a glimpse into how travelers perceive Gulf Shores as much as how much help a benefit concert may provide, at least in this situation.

Highlights from the McLean, Va.,-based Knowland Group’s survey:

* 49% of responding hoteliers said that more than half their guests on the night of July 11 attended the concert.
* 45% of the hoteliers who responded to the survey said that less than half of their guests attended the concert.
* Of the responding hoteliers’ concert-going guests, 41% of guests stayed one night and 53% stayed two nights.
* 89% of the hoteliers said the event was “very helpful” to their business, with the rest saying it was “somewhat helpful.”

Despite the influx of concert-going guests, however, Gulf Shores-area hotels haven’t seen many people make plans to return to the area. Based on survey results, none of the hotels reported an increase in future room bookings after the concert was over and 59% of hoteliers reported a decrease in future hotel bookings.

Read the full article at USA Today.