Hotel and motel operators, particularly in the central portion of Kentucky, have been busier than usual for early March. Extended power outages prompted many Kentucky families to find a room with electricity. Hank Phillips with the Kentucky Travel Industry Association said the lodging business is seeing an uptick generally.
“Hotels business right now is strong and therefore this weekend’s bookings were already strong and then the outage and the people needing accommodations pushed them, many of them, to full capacity.”
Phillips said hotel and motel workers anticipate a surge in activity during any type of event affecting electrical service. He noted operators didn’t raise room rates in the aftermath of the high winds.
“They're not really in a situation in a last-minute situation to lower rates but they definitely don’t raise them in the face of demand and especially demand brought on by an emergency.”
In a check of association members, Phillips said far western and eastern Kentucky areas didn’t see as much lodging demand as central Kentucky.
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