LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With pandemic restrictions still in place and capacity limitations at Churchill Downs, several local hotels still have rooms available for Derby weekend.
"Historically, we'd be sold out at all three hotels by months in advance," said Skip James, vice president of sales and marketing for AJS Hotels, which includes Crowne Plaza, Embassy Suites and The Galt House. "We still have some availability, but we're going to do over 90% at The Galt House, which is very strong for a 1,310 room hotel. Our other hotels are over 85%, and we still have a few weeks to go."
The Galt House was able to remain open during 2020, although the hospitality industry was hit hard with a lack of tourists and travel concerns due to COVID-19.
The Omni Hotel, also in downtown Louisville, did close for several months in 2020. The general manager said he is excited to be open this year for Derby and welcome back guests.
"Based on 2020 — of what we all went through — we're thankful that people are here even at whatever capacity, that Derby is going to be running with fans," Louisville Omni General Manager Eamon O'Brien said.
O'Brien said he's seeing a mix of local and regional guests who are ready to get out of the house but also a wide range of guests from across the country coming to stay at the Omni.
"We've been sold out twice since reopening on Saturday nights," he said.
But the Omni is not sold out for Derby weekend. Like many other area hotels, there are still several rooms available.
Louisville's downtown Omni Hotel. Louisvillle, Ky. (WDRB photo) April, 14, 2021
"Right now, we're around the capacity of Churchill Downs, in that 50-60% range so we have plenty of availability for rooms," O'Brien said. "But part of that is by design, because we want to give the experience people expect coming here for the Kentucky Derby."
He said in a typical, pre-pandemic year, rooms for Derby would start selling out right after the previous year's running, with another wave wiping out any available rooms by January.
"Certainly by April, except for maybe a handful of rooms, we could be sold out in a normal year," he said.
According to data from Louisville Tourism, the most recent numbers show so far 49% of the city's overall hotel rooms are booked for this Derby Day. Data from 2019 shows around the same time, that number was at 80%.
A Louisville Tourism spokesperson said there are a handful of hotels that are sold out in east Louisville for Derby, but rooms are still available this year around the airport, downtown, southern Indiana and in Bullitt County.
Data is based on 21,510 hotel rooms in the area.
Many hotels are requiring two- to three-night minimum stays for Derby weekend.
James said pricing for Derby weekend at the Galt House starts around $1,300. O'Brien said the Omni is running weekend packages at $1,999 per night.
Derby Day is May 1.
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
