Hotels score with Steelers

As the Steelers enter the postseason at the end of their best season in the history of the… As the Steelers enter the postseason at the end of their best season in the history of the franchise, nothing makes Pittsburghers more excited than the playoffs, a great chance to win the Super Bowl and… commerce?

Well, maybe not all Pittsburghers are concerned with commerce, but local hotel owners are. The Steelers hosting a home playoff game is a great chance for hotels in the Downtown area to make some extra money from New York Jets fans and other out-of-towners looking for places to stay.

“We run at 60 percent occupancy this time of year, normally,” said Tom Hemur, director of sales and marketing at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel. “We’ll run 100 percent the night before the game.”

Hemur will benefit from what many other local businesses hope for: more money in the Pittsburgh economy.

The general manger of the Westin Convention Center, Joe Kane, feels the same way.

“A normal Friday and Saturday in January will be between 30 and 25 percent occupancy,” Kane said. “For a playoff game, we’ll sell out. That’s another 433 rooms each day.”

He also noted that they would add 100 to 150 extra employees for each day, as well. He thinks the playoff game translates well into money for the local economy.

“A room in a city is worth $400 revenue in a city per day. And that doesn’t include their tickets,” he said.

But not everyone thinks there is a major increase in the local economy in store. David Dejong, a professor in the economics department at Pitt, said that the overall spending in the city will not be affected.

“Everything I’ve read suggests the civic pride dimension far outweighs the economic impact,” he said. “Things get shifted. Someone might go to one fewer movie and go to a sports bar with their friends instead.”

Dejong said everything involving the Steelers is magnified beyond that of any other event in the area, but he still doesn’t think the impact is very significant.

“If you come in, tailgate, then split right after the game, your cost is your parking fee,” Dejong said.

The director of sales at the Omni William Penn Hotel is nevertheless glad for Pittsburgh to host the Steelers’ playoff games.

“We see a marked increase in business when the Steelers are doing well and when they’re in the playoffs,” Randy Connolly said.

Other cities might not feel the effects as much as Pittsburgh. Bill Patsis, the assistant general manager of the Marriott in Philadelphia, said the number of rooms sold is not really affected by football.

“We may see a slight increase in bookings when the Eagles play,” Patsis said. “It’s not a major increase, because if they’re not playing, we’ll just rent the rooms to another group.”

Maybe a city like Philadelphia, which naturally draws tourists for historic reasons, doesn’t have trouble filling hotels on a normal weekend. Pittsburgh, however, has recently faced problems bringing in people to spend the weekend. Something like a Steelers playoff game could be seen as a shot in the arm for a struggling economy.

“Should the Steelers win this week and make it to the AFC Championship, we’ll sell out the Saturday before the game, and Sunday night, too,” said Hemur, of the Renaissance Hotel Pittsburgh. “From my perspective, the core Downtown area definitely sees an impact.”