F1-UT conflict bad for hotel business

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Hotel managers and owners in Austin are voicing their concerns when it comes to next year's Formula One race weekend.

Circuit of the Americas officials are working to change the date the race because it's scheduled the same weekend as a Texas Longhorns home football game.

Hotel managers and owners in Austin todl KXAN on Wednesday that they're near -- if not at -- 100 percent occupancy on weekends for home football games. Ask about F1 weekend, many were booked months or even a year in advance. Hotel executives say the two events on the same weekend is just not practical.

"We have such a great group of (UT) alumni," said Danelle Awtrey, director of sales and marketing at Inter-Continental Stephen F. Austin.  "Many of them are repeat, and they book months in advance. So, the hotels in downtown are booked typically 90 percent to 100 percent on every UT football weekend."

A new addition to the Austin sports scene brings hundreds of thousands of fans with it. Total attendance for Formula 1 for the three days in November was more than 265,000.        

"We were booked about a year in advance," said Awtrey.

She said the Formula One Grand Prix coinciding with the UT vs. Oklahoma State football game in 2013 just isn't logistically possible.

 "The city just simply cannot accommodate both on the same weekend," Awtrey said.

In addition, she said hosting fans at separate times would be best when it comes to business.

"Having two sold-out weekends, versus one, where you would have a lot of unhappy people on both sides," said Awtrey.

While Circuit of the Americas officials work with F1 on changing the date for the race, hotel managers say they're working with the city and with the Convention and Visitors Bureau. All parties recognize the potential for problems; they just hope to find a solution.