Early next year, an estimated 150,000 Super Bowl spenders will stream into North Texas looking for a place to bunk.

The Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel is under construction in downtown Dallas – and still will be when the Super Bowl rolls into the area in February. Although the Omni hotels in Irving and Fort Worth have big plans in hosting both NFL teams, Dallas’ 1,001-room hotel isn’t expected to open until early 2012. (Story, 16A)

For local hoteliers, still shaking off the impact of the Great Recession, occupancy rates will swell to near capacity and room rates will climb enough to bring an estimated $79.3 million into the four-county region.   But there is little hope the big game on Feb. 6 will result in a long-term impact on hotel rates, revenues or even occupancy, experts say.

Ed Netzhammer , regional vice president of Irving-based Omni Hotels, says Dallas could learn from San Diego. ‘That market really took off as a leisure destination after the 1998 Super Bowl,’ he said.  A year after the Super Bowl bonanza, occupancy and room rates generally return to the same levels as they were before the game’s media blitz, and in some cases worse, figures from past host cities show.

That means operators can enjoy the fun while it lasts, but shouldn’t expect the Super Bowl boost to last.

“What they’ll see is a big bump – particularly in room rate and revenue – for a month,” said Bobby Bowers, senior vice president of Smith Travel Research. “After that, it’s gone. What’s the residual effect? Are people more likely to come back? Good question.”

Last year, occupancy rates in the Dallas area (not counting Arlington and Fort Worth) dropped to 51.2 percent, and the average room rate fell 8.5 percent to $86.20, according to Smith Travel.  For more on this from Dallas News click here…