By Kathleen Dayton, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Oct. 6--Deciding where you'll be when the year comes to an end is proving to be a big decision for many people
-- one that ultimately will benefit hotel owners.
"Hotels are already reporting very heavy scheduling," said Ashby Ward, president of the Myrtle Beach
Area Chamber of Commerce. "There will probably be an increase in tour buses as well. "
The Fairfield Inn Marriott Briarcliffe has had two motorcoaches booked for the New Year since summer. The groups
will take up 57 of the hotel's 86 rooms. A dozen golfers also are bringing in the New Year at the hotel.
Sue Price, director of sales, said only four rooms for the special dates were left, and two were on hold.
The Hampton Inn at Broadway at the Beach sold out for the big weekend a month ago. "I think this year's going
to be more of an aggressive celebration," said Jaque Hill, front desk manager. "People started booking
[for this year] last New Year's. Also, it's on a Friday, and people are going to Broadway at the Beach for the
weekend."
The Celebrity Square nightclubs at Broadway at the Beach plan a late-night street party complete with live bands,
champagne, keepsake ticket stubs and souvenir champagne flutes. Marty Richardson, entertainment director for two
of the complex's clubs, Revolutions and Crocodile Rocks, said ticket sales are brisk."They are going very,
very fast," he said. "A lot of out-of-town people already bought their tickets. We are doing packages
with several of the major hotels and some of the smaller ones."
The Yachtsman Resort Hotel is one that is promoting a package in conjunction with Broadway at the Beach. By booking
now, guests can get a $10 savings on Celebrity Square's New Year's Eve celebration, which is expected to increase
from $75 to $85 per person in December.
Yachtsman guests are going home with everything from engraved glasses to souvenir towels, and the anticipated bottle
of champagne will be waiting in every room.
Bookings are up from last year, marketing director David Waller said.
At the Wyndham Myrtle Beach resort, a grand New Year's Eve party is in the works.
"It's actually a full hotel party, with a band and dancing in the lobby," said Lori Fitzsimmons, director
of catering.
The package includes accommodations, a reception at check-in, a buffet dinner, a midnight continental breakfast,
a dessert bar, a New Year's Day Brunch and all beverages. Guests pay $499 per couple for the bash, and the public
can attend for $299 per couple.
The hotel is already 75 percent booked. "We had people calling right after last year's party," Fitzsimmons
said.
At The Litchfield Golf and Beach Resort, one group booked 40 rooms for the coming new year two years ago.
This year's celebration will be more elaborate, according to Kathi Guertin, the resort's director of sales and
marketing.
And because entertainment costs have doubled in some cases due to "Millennium demand," guests will be
paying $150 per couple to party -- a $50 increase from years past.
The usual three-night minimum stay for the New Year packages has also increased to five nights.
"Our occupancy is going to be up because the stays are longer," Guertin said. "Everything this year
is advance tickets. In years past, we've let people come the day of the party and pay at the door. We're not expecting
that to be a possibility this year."
Even smaller lodgings expect a full house this New Year's Eve.
The 38-room Buccaneer Motel and Apartments in North Myrtle Beach already has reserved a third of its rooms.
The city of North Myrtle Beach plans a New Year's Eve street party at the end of Main Street, and the Buccaneer
is within walking distance.
The Association of Carolina Shag Clubs also is planning a Millennium Celebration on Main Street on New Year's Eve,
an event expected to draw 3,000 people.
"I feel certain those 3,000 shag tickets will be sold," said P.J. McGowan, director of the Myrtle Beach
Area Chamber of Commerce Visitor's Center in North Myrtle Beach. "That in itself is an influx."
Stephen Greene, spokesperson for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said between 30 percent and 35 percent
of telephone callers to the Chamber's visitor centers request information on New Year's Eve events he said.
Area hoteliers say most of their guests this time of year come from nearby states such as North Carolina, Georgia
and Virginia.
Sarah Henshall, vice president of travel for AAA Carolinas, said half of the people going away for the big holiday
are driving and half are flying, but that trend may soon change. "As it's getting closer and closer, I think
the drive market is going to jump ahead of the flying."
-----
Visit The Sun News on the World Wide Web at http://www.myrtlebeachaccess.com
(c) 1999, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.