St. John’s caters to military

ST. JOHN’S, NL—Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital is the last chance for fuel for planes flying overseas.

The city’s location on the Atlantic Ocean means thousands of military personnel headed to missions or returning home to North American soil stay in city lodgings.

In 2007 alone, St. John’s hotels booked 15,000 room nights for both Canadian and foreign members of the military.

Hotels in the city are taking advantage of the business by providing discounts to members of the military as they pass through.

One of those, the historic Murray Premises Hotel, has offered discounts to servicemen and women since the property opened in 2001.

“St. John’s is an ideal stopover for refuelling and crew rest before and after the nine-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean,” said Murray Premises owner Bill Mahoney.

“In 2007, St. John’s International Airport serviced over 1,200 military aircraft.”

Mahoney said military tourism contributes $25 million annually to the St. John’s economy through fuel sales, hotel stays, restaurant visits, transportation and shopping.

The St. John’s International Airport Authority spent $2 million in 2006 to upgrade the airport by providing an area specifically for military aircraft to handle an increase in military takeoffs and landings.

“While we only receive a (small) percentage of the overall room nights brought to the city, given the size of the hotel, we are very pleased with our numbers,” Mahoney said, adding that the response has been positive.

Military tourism is one solution to filling rooms in the less busy shoulder seasons but it does present some problems in peak season, Mahoney said.

“While the level of intensity of the military’s efforts overseas does not decrease in our peak tourism season, we try to accommodate the groups as much as possible in peak season— finding a balance between our military friends and our corporate/vacation travellers,” he said.

The challenge for hotels looking to target the military market is the ability to be flexible and handle sudden changes in booking, including cancellations.

“Sometimes there is a high level of uncertainty as to whether or not the group will arrive due to operational requirements or last minute decisions to land elsewhere depending on scheduling and timing,” Mahoney explained.

“Most groups are looking for a very flexible no show policy which some hotels may not be able to provide.” Location is also an important factor for the military, as they are often want to be close to downtown, Mahoney said.