With hotels already filling up for this year's Commencement weekend in May, it may seem like those who wait to make reservations won't have a place to stay or a table at a Federal Hill restaurant. But the recent expansion of several Providence hotels means rooms may be easier to come by this year, and restaurant owners say most people don't make reservations for Commencement weekend until the spring.
Though he could not provide a figure for the actual financial impact of the weekend, Neil Schriever, vice president of sales for the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that Commencement - like Parents Weekend - has historically generated a boost in business for local shops and restaurants and created "sell-out opportunities" for local hotels.
Last year, the University awarded over 2,000 degrees, and Director of University Events Cynthia Schwartz said over 11,000 people attended the Commencement festivities. The University expects to award roughly the same number of degrees this year, Schwartz said.
Though Commencement weekend still promises to stimulate the local economy, visitors to Providence may have an easier time finding a hotel room this year. The Westin Providence recently added 200 additional rooms, and the new 274-room Renaissance Providence Hotel opened downtown over the summer, Schriever said, adding that other hotel expansion projects are in the works and that hotel availability will increase further for Commencement 2009.
Still, several local hotels are already booked for Commencement, which is the weekend of May 24 and 25, 2008. The Westin has no availability for the nights of May 23 and 24, and the State House Inn - a bed and breakfast with only 26 rooms - started receiving reservations last May and is also entirely sold out for the weekend. The Providence Biltmore has reserved over half of its 300 rooms, but doesn't expect to fill to capacity, said reservation agent Eunice Tazares.
"Sometimes people call frantically and say, 'Can I book? I heard you're all sold out,' " Tazares said. "They have the impression that it sells out, but it usually doesn't, especially because Brown has a different commencement day than Providence College."
Restaurants, on the other hand, almost always fill up during Commencement weekend. But owners say they don't start getting reservations until January, with most coming in April and May.
Lexi Dantzig, the office manager for Al Forno, said the restaurant does not start taking reservations for Commencement weekend until January, but added that she has already received requests from five or six parties. Each year the restaurant receives about 10 calls before January and then receives about one call every other week until the spring.
"We usually end up being totally booked for that weekend," Dantzig said.
Blue Grotto, a restaurant on Federal Hill, has already taken a couple of reservations for Commencement Weekend, and bookkeeper Amanda Nichols said May is the restaurant's second busiest month after December.
"Brown's Commencement usually falls on a weekend where our local customer base may be headed away for Memorial Day, so we appreciate the economic impact it brings," said Mark Danahy, the restaurant's owner.
But Danahy added that the rate of cancellations and no-shows during the weekend is "much higher than any other time of year" because many families make reservations at multiple restaurants for the same night. The emergence of menus, reviews and information about restaurants on the Internet will "hopefully tame that somewhat," Danahy said.
Commencement becomes the main focus of the Office of University Events after Parents Weekend, though Schwartz said planning is "a year-round process." Schwartz said the office is currently updating the Commencement Web site and will post the schedule of several Commencement events as well as an updated frequently asked questions page within the next few weeks.
