Super Bowl XXXVII was a resounding success for the NFL and the City of San Diego.  The pinnacle event of American sports broke like a cresting tidal wave over the city, the teeming masses flooding in on the highways, on trains, and at the airport.  On freshly swept streets, among buildings scrubbed of grime and graffiti, San Diego was radiant with Football Fever.  Athletes, celebrities, tourists and locals alike ate, drank and were merry in restaurants, bars and hotels throughout the area.  On game day, clear skies and record-setting temperatures provided a setting that couldn�t have been more telegenic had city officials scripted it themselves.  Transit and security plans worked just as they had been planned.  To top it off, the locals got what they wanted: a humiliation of the hated Raiders.  The event and the game itself came off without a hitch, despite NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue�s statement two days prior to the game that �it's unlikely that there's going to be a Super Bowl in the immediate future in San Diego."  To which ABC on-air analyst John Madden responded, �What�s he thinking?�  After the game, ABC�s Al Michaels added, �Not bringing the Super Bowl to San Diego.  Yeah, right.  With a week like this?�

Michaels alluded to what was obvious to all who were here for Super Bowl week: San Diego is the perfect city for an event like this.  We have the hotel capacity (okay, it was pushed to its limits, but more rooms are on the way), great restaurants and nightlife, perfect weather, and, despite the whining of the NFL and its local franchise, a stadium that has very successfully hosted three Super Bowls, not to mention baseball�s All-Star Game and World Series, the annual Holiday Bowl, and a myriad of other events. 

�I think it should move here permanently,� Michaels said during the game, without a hint of sarcasm. 

However, Oakland�s hopes and $8 souvenir beer cups weren�t the only things left behind when the game was over and the circus left town.  For those of us that live, work and spend our discretionary income in San Diego, the price gouging on the part of the local hospitality industry left a very bad taste in our mouths. 

Not to say that some changes on the part of local operators weren�t reasonable.  Hotels originally posted five-day minimum stays.  That made sense, because hotels needed to ensure that Super Bowl visitors could reserve rooms through the weekend.  This contributes positively to the city�s TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) revenue.  The planes were full, cars and limos rented, the Gaslamp, Sea World and the zoos hopping with activity.  As local residents, we expect that, understand that, and want that.  It�s good business.  After all, the host city aggressively bids six years out for an event like the Super Bowl--then they calculate the tax benefit.  Like anyone else, be it a person, company, business, or the government, they allocate and spend that money before they have it.  The problem is, it never works out, and the reason why is excruciatingly obvious: greed. 

Greed overwhelmed hospitality.  This is a shame.  Though this happened here in San Diego, big cities commonly forget that hospitality is the main ingredient of success when hosting high-profile events.  Bars, restaurants, hotels, parking lots, retail stores � they all do it, without a single thought to their regular customers.  What is it they all do?  They all raise their prices for the days prior to, and during, the event.  They forget their regulars, the locals, who pay their rent, the electric bill, the insurance, and all the other fixed costs.  Short-sighted greed overtakes hospitality, and that�s not right.  Nor is it in their best interest, not to mention that of the local economy as a whole.

Greed = Gouging Regulars Expecting Easy Dollars

There�s no such thing as an easy dollar.  If life was that easy, we�d all own businesses or work in the hospitality industry, because it�s easier to be greedy than it is to be hospitable.  You have to work at being hospitable.  Being greedy comes naturally.  However, we are in the hospitality industry.  Operators should keep in mind that the dictionary definition of hospitality is �Cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests.�  Gouging doesn�t fit anywhere in that definition.  The concept of raising prices for these events is contrary to the long-term goals of any service-oriented business.  The regulars might come back sooner or later, but if the time-honored adage holds true � that word-of-mouth advertising is the best advertising � then the practice of gouging does much more damage than good, because that word-of-mouth advertising has a dramatic negative effect. 

Regular customers may return, but not immediately, and this is costly.  When they return, it is not until after they�ve bad-mouthed the operation to everyone they come in contact with.  The regulars may return, but not without reservation or hesitation.  The amazing thing is, it�s usually over a couple of dollars per customer.  Not much more.  That may not be a big deal to some, but if I�m a regular customer, it�s clearly inhospitable. 

It�s far from a win/win situation.  Yes, the operator�s cash flow increases for that 5-day period.  However, if you alienate even 1% of your regular customers for any period of time, you�ve created a serious problem.  If comments made by local friends and associates are any indication, it�s a lot more than 1% who are being alienated.  Across San Diego County, restaurants and bars raised their prices for everybody that came through their doors.  Some even had cover charges days before the game.  Long-term or not, this results in lost revenue.  It�s simply bad business.  Would you like 100 customers paying $8 per drink, or 100 tourists and 70 regulars paying $6.75 per drink?  That�s a simple example, and the actual problem may very well be worse. 

This simple equation does not account for the regular customer�s perception of being cheated.  Once you cheat someone, it�s not easy to be hospitable.  How do you explain it?  �Look, Ms. Local, it�s only five days.  What�s the big deal?�  Well, what if every regular customer responded by saying, �Okay, fine.  From now on, I�m going to visit your establishment five less times a year.�  What if every regular customer came in five less times a year?  The long-term effect of greed during high-profile events like the Super Bowl is revenue loss and negative public relations. 

Simply put, Super Bowl inflation is a Super Insult with a long-term negative effect.  Greed supercedes hospitality--at least until the game is over, and �they�re gone�.  Then it�s back to normal, or so they think.  Local owners and operators shouldn�t mess with the time-tested formula of hospitality.  Hospitality wins every time, regardless of all other factors.  Be hospitable and everyone wins.  Raising prices for a short period of time leaves a very bad impression on your regulars.  Don�t let the dash for the Golden Goose�s eggs drive away your loyal customers once the goose has flown.