Expected Profits During the Storm?

By Arthur Mondale
Reporter
Published: September 5, 2008

And while the storm is on many peoples minds, so is ECU’s big game between the pirates and the mountaineers.
But what kind of economic impact it will bring, is still up in the air.
On Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium thousands of fans are expected to brave the elements as they watch the pirates take on the West Virginia Mountaineers.
They’ve come from West Virginia. 
Florida…
And the Carolina’s.
Even with the storm businesses expect to have the clientele.
“We still have plenty of arrivals that are on their way that have guaranteed reservations--a lot of the true die hard football fans this is not scarring them away that’s for sure,” said Greenville’s Hilton GM John Van Coutren.
All 141 rooms booked for Saturday’s game.
But Coutren says he knows how unpredictable the weather is and he’s prepared to keep his guests happy.
“We’ve taken all the proper precautions necessary in case we loose power for up to most of our hotel,” Coutren said.
Down the road at the Motel 6 it’s the same story and when it comes to the eateries.
Applebee’s assistant manager Matt Webb says they expect usually $7,000 to $8,000 on the weekends, with the storm he doesn’t see a problem.
“I believe our business will stay steady with the game and everything tomorrow,” Webb said.  “We don’t usually get hit until after lunchtime and that’s when the storm will be heading out hopefully so we should be busy tomorrow.”
How the economic cards will play is just as unpredictable as the game.
The Greenville Hilton and Motel 6 did report about 10% in cancellations last week, but we’re told they were quickly re-booked.