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Republican National Convention
Tampa 2012
The August 2012 convention should be a business bonanza for Tampa and Florida.
Price Gouging Off-Limits
 Embassy Suites, Tampa [Photo: Embassy Suites] |
August is usually one of the toughest months for Tampa Bay hoteliers. But that won't be the case next year.
"We're expecting to sell out every day over the convention," says Jeff Weinthaler, general manager of the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Tampa.
With heightened demand, room prices will get bumped up a bit, Weinthaler says, but convention-goers should not be worried about price gouging. Under their contracts with the RNC, hotels are allowed to raise their room rates "a little bit up" while still trying to be "fair."
How will the convention impact revenue? "What I'm seeing is that without the convention, it might be 5% to 7% growth in revenue (over the previous year). With the Republican National Convention, it will probably be somewhere between 7% and 10%."
