By Tim Barker, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
Dec. 10--During the past few months, Central Florida hotels and New Year's Eve revelers have been tangled up in
a battle of wills, not unlike a game of chicken.
You had the hoteliers on one side, with heads full of dreams about customers willing pay anything to spend the
millennium's final night in a strange bed.
And then you had the consumers, who were not quite as enamored with New Year's Eve as once thought.
Guess who blinked first?
Here's a hint: If you've waited until the last minute to find a hotel room for New Year's Eve, your procrastination
paid off.
With New Year's Eve fast approaching -- and many rooms still unclaimed -- many hotels are starting to drop prices
and restrictions.
That's quite a change from just a few weeks ago, booking a room for the year's final night -- particularly at any
of the nicer hotels -- meant paying top dollar for a minimum of three or four nights. And you had to pay in advance.
You can still forget about Disney -- you won't find any rooms there. But there are other deals.
The Wyndham Palace Resort & Spa, in the Disney resort area, has revised its New Year's Eve package three times.
It's now offering a three-night stay for $199 a night. That's a significant change from the last deal, which was
three nights for $1,000.
"The demand is definitely much softer than we expected," spokeswoman Laura Mancine said.
Tepid interest prompted the Radisson Hotel Universal to eliminate its room-night minimums. The hotel has about
150 rooms still available.
General Manager Bob Walter is hoping some of those rooms will be grabbed by fans of Michigan State University and
the University of Florida, whose football teams are slated to do battle in the New Year's Day Florida Citrus Bowl.
"We are hoping for some impact there," Walter said.
This spirit of generosity -- some might call it desperation -- also has extended to cruise lines.
"We've had to lower our rates by and large to stimulate bookings," said Jennifer de la Cruz, spokeswoman
for Carnival Cruise Lines of Miami. "Right now, a number of our ships are sold out, but we have limited availability
on a few vessels, and there are some good deals to be had on the space that is remaining."
For example, Carnival's 2,056-passenger Fantasy ship, which sails out of Port Canaveral, is now offering an inside
cabin with two beds at $1,135 per person for a seven-day New Year's cruise to the western Caribbean. The cruise
was priced last year at $2,219 per person.
Several factors have been cited for what is shaping up to be nothing more than a typical New Year's Eve celebration.
For starters, all of the hype about this being the party to end all parties may have turned some people off. The
high prices generated by the hype have not helped.
Instead, it seems that many people are choosing to spend the evening at home with family and friends. Others are
being forced to work by employers concerned about possible Y2K problems.
This means there are rooms scattered through the area, including some in prime locations -- Disney, however, says
its own hotels and cruise ships are booked solid.
Still, not everyone is ready to panic and start offering rooms at fire-sale prices.
The Hyatt Orlando, in Kissimmee, is not expecting a sell-out, yet the hotel has refused to back away from its three-night
minimum stay or its $149 a night price tag.
"This year, we should be real close to where we finished up last year," when there were a handful of
rooms left over, said Mel Bettcher, general manager.
Still, he said it makes sense for hotels to start discounting their prices.
"It's pretty typical that you would want to sell your premium packages. But if they aren't selling, you have
to figure out what people want to buy," he said.
For some of the higher-end properties -- such as Universal's new Portofino Bay Hotel -- that means offering customers
more options.
The hotel has been selling three- and four-night packages at $885 and $1,155 per person. The package includes theme-park
tickets and treats, such as a celebration kit including champagne and party favors.
But a third choice was added recently: two nights at the hotel starting at $385 per night. The option is for a
room only.
The hotel hopes the new deal might encourage a few more people to cast aside the comforts of home in favor of a
night on the town.
"I think are a certain amount of people out there who are waiting to find out what last-minute deals are available,"
said Michael Sansbury, regional vice president for Universal partner Loews Hotels.
But not everyone -- particularly outside the tourist corridor -- seems to be affected by fickle New Year's revelers.
At the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, life is going on pretty much as it has in previous years. The
hotel is offering rooms for about $200, along with a four-course dinner for another $200 per couple. The rates
haven't changed since debuting six months ago.
"We've never been one of those hotels that does a big blowout," said general manager Pat Engfer . "People
don't fly in to spend the millennium at the airport."
Richard Verrier of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
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(c) 1999, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.