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Hospitality planners taking stock of Pyeongchang

The U.S. Olympic Committee is planning domestic hospitality programs during the 2018 Winter Games, covering the bases for fans and sponsors reluctant to make the long flight to South Korea.

For those who are heading to Pyeongchang, planners say they’re dealing with limited lodging options and hard choices about where to stay during the Games.

But optimism is high 15 months before the opening ceremony. Experts who have traveled there in recent weeks report a sense of competence and construction progress far beyond that of the recession-battered Brazilian hosts last summer, and say they’re looking forward to a compact, easy-to-navigate Olympic footprint.

Nevertheless, it’s at least a 15-hour trip from the U.S. East Coast. That’s leading some sponsors and the USOC to think about how they can leverage the Games at home.

The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association has been in contact with sponsors and the USOC about potentially establishing an Olympic hospitality setup in Park City, Utah, said Mike Jaquet, USSA chief marketing officer. Sources also identified Lake Placid, N.Y., as another possible location.

“The time change actually works pretty well for television, with prime time here in Utah being midday in Korea,” Jaquet said. “It’s not a bad situation to do viewing parties at night and skiing during the day, because your access to ski and snowboarding in Korea will be extremely limited.”

The USOC confirmed that it’s looking at domestic options but declined to discuss specifics. The Games-time events would be public-facing, an extension of “Road to Pyeongchang” tour stops building up to the Games.

The USOC hosted one-night, stateside Olympic parties during the 2014 Sochi Games to good reviews. It’s a pattern likely to keep expanding, said Zaileen Janmohamed, senior vice president of GMR Marketing, which represented 15 clients in Rio.

Pyeongchang is the first of three straight Olympics in East Asia, a geographic quirk stressing the American Olympic movement’s marketing and engagement fan efforts.

“Sponsors have a difficult time in hosting U.S.-based clients and customers when the Games are far away, but are thinking of ways to activate their assets domestically,” Janmohamed said. “This is a trend I see continuing as [worldwide] sponsors look for different and more unique ways to leverage their global rights.”

In Korea itself, the relatively small size of the Pyeongchang region is both a virtue and a challenge. To the plus side, travel between the two main venue clusters — the mountain sports and the ice surface sports — is well under an hour, said Ketchum Sports & Entertainment President Ann Wool, who recently scouted the area for clients. Also, the Olympic Village itself is within walking distance to the Nordic skiing events, said U.S. Biathlon CEO Max Cobb.

“[The Alpensia Ski Resort] is going to be really hopping and alive with activities and Olympic feeling,” Cobb said. “It’s so close to the athletes village, I think it will be the go-to spot for athletes.”

But hotels tend toward the extremes, Cobb said, from costly five-star hotels to low-end homes not up to American travel standards. Worldwide Olympic sponsor Bridgestone has decided to put up its guests in Seoul, two hours away by bus, said Phil Pacsi, vice president of sports and event marketing.

“My understanding is there’s not a lot to do in the Pyeongchang area, and you’re focused on just the Games at hand,” Pacsi said. “At least Seoul provides some of the Western comforts, if you will, from the standpoint of food and entertainment outside of the Games themselves.”

A high-speed rail line connecting Incheon International Airport in suburban Seoul to Pyeongchang is being built. If successfully completed in time for the Games, as expected, a one-way trip would be under 90 minutes.

Bridgestone isn’t counting on that train line being finished, though, Pacsi said, and is trying to figure out how to keep a long bus ride from being a drag on the program. Still, Seoul ultimately was an easy choice, he said.

“The accommodations that are in Pyeongchang are extremely limited for the experience we want to give our guests,” Pacsi said. “It’s the right decision for our guests. I’m sure other people will look at it differently.”

The Games kick off Feb. 9, 2018, five days after Super Bowl LII.

While some sources in the Olympic movement said they sense depressed enthusiasm for the Winter Games, Pacsi said the Bridgestone program will be comparable to its Rio program, with about 400 people total. Other planners say traveler interest could still swing up or down depending on reports about construction progress in South Korea.

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