Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 11, 1995 TAG: 9508110019
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium
A year to go before the Summer Games, and it's already an Olympic challenge to find a hotel room within two hours of Atlanta.
Hotel rooms are virtually booked solid in the Olympic city. Rooms also are hard to find in outlying areas, forcing many Olympic visitors to contemplate the joys of a long commute from neighboring states.
From Chattanooga, the two-hours-plus drive will get visitors to suburban parking lots, where they will switch to mass transit for a ride of an hour or more to the venues in downtown Atlanta.
``I am a little disturbed that, for the American consumer who wants to see the Games, it's going to be a crapshoot to get a hotel,'' said Miles Zaremski, a Chicago lawyer who is resigned to staying in Alabama or Tennessee for the Olympics.
Zaremski ordered about $1,500 worth of Olympic tickets but won't find out until next month which tickets he's getting.
``It's inconvenient, but how often do you get to see the Games?'' he said. ``Maybe the benefit of attending the Games will outweigh the risk and discomfort of the daily travel.''
Olympic organizers have secured many of the hotel rooms in Atlanta - and thousands more across the state - to house officials, dignitaries, media and sponsors. Corporations and tour groups have gobbled up most of the rest.
A recent survey of 230 hotels by the Journal and Constitution in Atlanta estimated that only 1,500 rooms in metropolitan Atlanta would be available to the general public. About 2 million visitors are expected in Atlanta during the 17 days of the Games.
Many hotels in outlying Georgia cities, such as Macon, 90 miles south, and Dalton, 90 miles north, also are booked. Hotel space is tight in cities such as Athens (65 miles) and Columbus (110 miles) because Olympic events will be held there.
Atlanta's Olympic organizing committee said there's no reason to panic: As the Games approach, many corporate reservations may be canceled, thus opening up rooms. Many homeowners also are renting rooms during the Games.
Birmingham is attractive to some, despite its 150-mile distance from Atlanta, because of its airport and proximity to Interstate 20. Olympic soccer preliminaries and a stock car race are being held there at the same time.
``We feel like we're not going to have a worry in the world of selling all 10,000 rooms for every night in the Olympics,'' said Jim Smither, president of the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Callers seem undaunted by the prospect of the long commute, Smither said.
``After standing in line all day, they don't relish getting in the car and driving back. But they'll do it because it's the Olympics,'' he said.
Georgia prohibits hotels from charging excessive rates during the Games, but neighboring states have no such restrictions.
Jim Kennedy, president of the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he expects some rates will increase but most hotels don't want to risk alienating future business by gouging during the Games.
``Chattanooga is looking forward to the opportunity to roll out the red carpet of Southern hospitality,'' he said. ``The best way to undo that is by dinging somebody for a room.''
by CNB