TAKE TWO
Book Smarts of Tech-Centric Sports Travel Housing Platforms
M
easure twice, cut once. Like so many other industries, tourism is seemingly in its umpteenth iteration of that old carpentry adage as the world enters the last quarter of 2021. The lingering nature of COVID-19, including more recent complications from the Delta variant, has left the lodging side of the industry in a start-stop cycle of fog. Thankfully, as the pandemic haze lifts periodically, there are many positive signs about the health and wealth of sports travel. From fully integrated cleanliness and safety programs to the continual sophistication of amateur athletics, sports travel groups may be primed for housing’s impending glory days. “Sports travelers are savvy travelers now, and that’s something that we may not have said 15 years ago,” said Shaun Keough, director of events at Traveling Teams. “Team moms and dads take on roles of handling travel for their teams and sometimes that time spent can equate to a full-time job. They have much more experience both in planning and staying in hotels. Now more than ever due to COVID, they want clean, quality hotels and utilize many resources such as online reviews to consider their options. Expectations have elevated for sports travelers tenfold.” Since Traveling Teams was established in 2001, the team has navigated through major economic disruptions a few times while watching the youth sports segment it specializes in grow exponentially. Sports tourism’s resiliency has been driven largely by the privatization of the sector that has propelled revenues into the hundreds of billions annually, including the last year and a half when venue feasibility studies and grand openings persisted. With the influx of sports facilities and competition, destinations market smarter and hotels are taking notice. During the ebbs and
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Sports Planning Guide
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Francisco, Unsplash
By Nick Povalitis, Plus Seven Company
@SportsPlanGuide #SportsPG
