The PYHA Bears were scheduled to travel 450 miles to a tournament on a snowy weekend in January. This was a big deal for the boys with it being their first hard contact/checking tournament. On the Tuesday leading up, they were informed that their hotel had been overbooked and their Thursday check-in date was void.
Normally this would be an easy fix, simply find another hotel in close proximity that could house the team. Unfortunately, every hotel within the event city was completely booked solid. No inventory whatsoever. No hotels, motels, hostels, or dorms. In fact, the closest hotel with any inventory available was over an hour and a half away. It was looking like this big weekend would be a wash.
The Bears were dealt a devastating blow. On the heels of an action packed season, this was looking like a great opportunity for them to showcase the skills they had perfected over the last year. If we couldn’t source them accommodations in time they would have had to forfeit the tournament losing their money and pride at the same time. To us – that wasn’t an option.
Our hotel team sprang into action right away. They began by approaching all of their contacts in the area for anyone who had appropriate inventory for the Bears. Once they found a location (just a mile away from the venue) with available rooms, our team was able to leverage their relationship with that hotel partner to secure last minute accommodations for the entire team at the same price they originally paid.
To us, this is another day at the office. Supporting teams to have amazing tournament experiences no matter the circumstance. But to the Bears, this meant something special because they WON the entire tournament!!! We might not have been on the ice with them for the celebration, but we certainly sent them a big congratulations for their great games.
And the icing on the cake? A star player on the Bears had their birthday that weekend. What a way to ring in a special day! Our hotel support staff was over the moon to have helped this team make such a wonderful memory.