{"id":191235,"date":"2016-09-29T20:23:50","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T02:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=191235"},"modified":"2016-09-29T20:44:18","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T02:44:18","slug":"lawmakers-will-find-few-hotel-vacancies-in-santa-fe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/09\/lawmakers-will-find-few-hotel-vacancies-in-santa-fe\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers will find few hotel vacancies in Santa Fe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_56542\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-56542\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Kids-at-Roundhouse-771x504.jpg\" alt=\"A statue outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.\" width=\"771\" height=\"504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Kids-at-Roundhouse-771x504.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Kids-at-Roundhouse-336x220.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Kids-at-Roundhouse-768x502.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Kids-at-Roundhouse-1170x764.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Kids-at-Roundhouse.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Heath Haussamen \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A statue outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>State Rep. Andy Nu\u00f1ez will rise at <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158202\"><span class=\"aQJ\">5 a.m.<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158203\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Friday<\/span><\/span> to drive 250 miles to represent his constituents in Santa Fe for a special legislative session that starts at <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158204\"><span class=\"aQJ\">noon<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s just not sure he\u2019ll have a place to sleep.<\/p>\n<p>The Republican from Hatch has been coming to Santa Fe since 2001 and usually stays at La Fonda on the Plaza, the historic hotel just a few blocks from the Capitol. During the regular session in January and February, the hotel has a special $99 per day rate for lawmakers.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Santa Fe New Mexican<\/a>. NMPolitics.net is paying for the rights to publish articles about the 2016 special legislative session from the newspaper. Help us cover the cost by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/donate\/\" target=\"_blank\">making a donation to NMPolitics.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>But when he called <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158205\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Thursday<\/span><\/span> to reserve a room, there was no guarantee that one would be available \u2014 and if one is, the price might be more than twice what he pays in winter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I don\u2019t get a room, I have a pickup truck with a back seat,\u201d Nu\u00f1ez said. \u201cThere\u2019s no shower but I\u2019ll manage. I may be out there on Cerrillos Road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The governor calling a special session that begins on a <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158206\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Friday<\/span><\/span> is unusual, but having it on the first weekend of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta presents a particular challenge as House and Senate members from outside the commuting area have to find a place to spend the night. Legislators say the session could last two or three nights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBalloon Fiesta means we get an overflow from Albuquerque,\u201d said Cynthia Delgado, director of marketing for Tourism Santa Fe. \u201cIf their hotels get booked, they move north.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Mexico legislators do not receive a base salary but get $163 a day for expenses such as meals and lodging. Lawmakers from Santa Fe and many from Albuquerque can drive back and forth, but other, more distant legislators have to pay for a room, even if it costs more than the reimbursement.<\/p>\n<p>Last year\u2019s Balloon Fiesta drew a record 955,000 visitors across nine days. Delgado said tourists often choose to stay in Albuquerque for a few days, then come up to Santa Fe to see Northern New Mexico.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>In addition to accommodating overflow from the Balloon Fiesta, Santa Fe is hosting the annual meeting of the New Mexico Oil &amp; Gas Association. The convention includes two golf tournaments this weekend, one at Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe and another at Las Campanas Country Club.<\/p>\n<p>The association is expecting 850 people will occupy about 500 hotel rooms from <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158207\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Friday<\/span><\/span> through <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158208\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Tuesday<\/span><\/span>, said Wally Drangmeister, a spokesman for the association.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Eldorado is our host hotel, but people are staying all over downtown and beyond,\u201d he said Thursday. \u201cI\u2019d say we\u2019ll see a really big number of people come into Santa Fe <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158209\"><span class=\"aQJ\">tomorrow.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Santa Fe has about 6,000 hotel rooms and perhaps 1,000 short-term vacation rentals.<\/p>\n<p>The typical hotel vacancy rate in January and February, during the regular legislative session, is less than 50 percent, and many lawmakers can find a room downtown for under $100.<\/p>\n<p>Rates climb in the summer, and even in October, rooms downtown cost more than $200. A search on <a href=\"http:\/\/hotels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/hotels.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1475287909757000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG-JEn_MSCdB2s1S1ECdcKiLwzkYg\">hotels.com<\/a> shows there is availability this weekend at the Drury Plaza for $250 a night and $269 at the Eldorado.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, there is just not a lot of availability,\u201d said Jane Weiske, director of marketing at La Fonda. Room rates are $379 for <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158211\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Friday<\/span><\/span> night, $429 for <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158212\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Saturday,<\/span><\/span> and <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158213\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Sunday<\/span><\/span> is sold out.<\/p>\n<p>She said the hotel will be able to accommodate a few lawmakers, but as of <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158214\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Thursday<\/span><\/span> afternoon, just four rooms were available out of 180.<\/p>\n<p>Cerrillos Road properties are running $122 a night at La Quinta, $114 at the Baymont and $142 at Best Western. The Motel 6 in Espa\u00f1ola was showing a nightly rate of $50 for the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>La Fonda also mails 2-for-1 meal coupons to lawmakers during regular sessions so they can dine with a colleague for half-price.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no way we can do it this weekend,\u201d Weiske said.<\/p>\n<p>State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn will be one of the speakers at the New Mexico Oil &amp; Gas Association forum <span class=\"aBn\" data-term=\"goog_1794158215\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Monday<\/span><\/span>. If the special session is still going next week, he said, \u201cI\u2019m thinking maybe I can rent out my couch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Contact Bruce Krasnow at <a href=\"mailto:brucek@sfnewmexican.com\" target=\"_blank\">brucek@sfnewmexican.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The governor calling a special session that begins on a Friday is unusual, but having it on the first weekend of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta presents a particular challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3305,107],"class_list":["post-191235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2016-special-session","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}