Travel industry scores big at Super Bowl

Just about everyone (upwards of 171 million) will be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday and the travel industry is also not being left on the sidelines. Creative marketers have come up with a wide variety of travel options.
 

Partly because both teams in the game have long-standing and large fan numbers, there are predictions this will be the most lucrative game in history. And travel tour packagers are expected to be among the most adept at profitability.
 

If you can afford to actually attend the game, Premiere Sports Travel is among those companies offering Super Bowl packages, for example.
 

“We have travel packages for virtually every major sporting event on the planet, but none of them really compare to our Super Bowl packages,” the company says, adding the event this year will be “extra special” because it’s being held in the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
 

Super Bowl tickets are going at an average cost of more than US$4300 but Premiere has them included in packages that give buyers a choice of Dallas hotels, transportation to the stadium and options such as a game day cocktail party with a former NFL star.
 

Bill Wenzel, who runs Titletown Tickets, expects to sell more tour packages than the 3,000 or so that he sold in 1997 and 1998, when the Packers last went to the Super Bowl.
 

“Last time, four nights, nonstop air, tickets ran $3,000 a person, and now it’s $5,000 apiece,” he said.”
 

But even if you’re in an airline during game time, you don’t have to wait to get home to find out the score. No, not every airline will be showing the game. Nor will all digital alternatives work.
 

If you’re at 30,000 feet and want to see the game, the AP says this is all you need to know:
 

— JetBlue, Frontier and most Continental planes will carry the game on DirecTV. JetBlue’s service is free; Continental and Frontier charge $6.
 

— On planes with Wi-Fi, the one option is Slingbox, a $180 piece of hardware that connects to a home TV and allows users to watch programing on their laptop, iPad and some smartphones.
 

Airlines that have Wi-Fi include: American, Delta, Southwest, United, US Airways and Virgin.

Prices range from $4.95 to $12.95, depending on the length of the flight.
 

Only Delta, US Airways, United and Virgin tell passengers whether Wi-Fi is available on specific flights before booking, according to the AP.
 

The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas is in the midst of a month-long game celebration.
 

If you don’t already have a reservation, it’s too late unless you have a friend, but if you are staying here, the spa is offering Super Bowl related treatments that include some fantasies:“Quarterback Sports Wraps, First Down Facials and Tight End Body Treatments.”
 

The Spa has also introduced a new “Rookie Package,” providing a 20 percent savings on Monday-through-Thursday spa treatments for first-time guests of the spa between now and February 28.
 

The Ritz-Carlton also has a roster of hotel football concierges on hand to provide guests with information on the upcoming game, team stats, road traffic updates and driving routes to the stadium.
 

Hotel guests will receive a “luxurious” blue throw blanket commemorating the date. And in-room dining will include an “ultra gourmet” hot dog menu for the Super Bowl weekend.
 

For those not staying at the Ritz-Carlton, the hotel says visitors can watch the game in the hotel’s lobby bar starting at 6 p.m. on game day.
 

For some hotels, it’s not enough to pack in guests.
 

The Aloft Dallas in a promotional effort is being taken over by Bud Light for daily parties that include acts such as Lifehouse and Pitbull. That’s led to USA Today asking whether the beer brewer is getting into the hotel business (only for a week).
 

Since Aloft does not have Super Bowl-sized lobbies, a 53,000 square foot tent is the site of festivities. Hotel officials say billboards and web sites are making the promotion a “marketing bonanza.”
 

Sites for competing teams Pittsburgh and Green Bay are also not left out when it comes to promotions.
 

“Pittsburgh has issued a challenge that the Steeler Nation is bigger than the Packers Nation. We don’t believe it!” says Green Bay’s CVB.
 

Both sites have organized registration drives to win 2011 Opening Day game packages for the Steelers and the Packers. Prizes in addition to tickets include hotel room nights, football jerseys, and free meals.
 

By David Wilkening