Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Event firm hopes to cash in on DNC

Rooms 45 minutes from downtown now being booked

David Montero, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 26, 2007 at midnight

Text size  

More Denver Democratic National Convention 2008

More stories »

An Englewood-based company has 400 rooms left for the week of the Democratic National Convention and believes that all will be booked by Friday - even though the properties are at least 45 minutes from downtown.

The prices aren't cheap, either.

MorEvents, which bills itself as a "full-service global event firm partnering with clients to deliver unforgettable DNC events," is charging between $289 and $369 per night, and rooms must be booked in blocks of 15.

Myles Mendoza, strategy and sales director for MorEvents, said Tuesday that the prices aren't outrageous - even though they are above the prices of downtown Denver rooms secured by the Democratic National Convention Committee.

Prices for those rooms range from $128 to $279 per night, depending on the hotel.

All of those DNCC locations are in the metro area and within 20 minutes of the Pepsi Center, according to DNCC spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth.

The first blocks of rooms will go to the roughly 5,000 delegates coming to the convention and will be released in November, she said.

Mendoza said that his firm, which has done similar bookings for events like the World Cup, provides a needed service.

"Some of the biggest companies and lobbying firms and even media aren't prepared and don't realize they can't wait until three months before the convention," Mendoza said.

"Everything is gone now, unless you're a delegate."

Not quite, said Richard Scharf, president and chief executive officer for the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Scharf said that the week of the convention - Aug. 25 through 28 - is traditionally a slow time for the hotel industry in the Denver metro area and that he is surprised anyone would be willing to book at those prices this early.

"I find that strategy surprising," Scharf said. "They may be taking advantage of people that don't know the market that well."

Scharf said there are 40,000 rooms in the six-county area. Even with 17,000 rooms blocked off for delegates, party officials and media in town for the convention, there will still be places for people to stay, he said.

Scharf said he doesn't think price gouging will be an issue during the event.

He said the convention is expected to draw more than 30,000 people and that the number would have to double to create that kind of problem.

Mendoza said that his company is confident it will book all of its rooms.

As the convention draws closer, prices at places that have held rooms back will look more expensive by comparison, he said.

"You won't see gouging yet," he said. "But when it gets closer, you'll see double the normal rates."

Comparison shopping

$128 to $279 - the nightly rate for the 17,000 rooms the DNCC has secured for delegates, media and Democratic Party officials.

$289 to $369 - the nightly rate for the 400 rooms outside the Denver area that MorEvents has available and plans to book by Friday.

or 303-954-5236