The phone is ringing off the hook at the Courtyard San Diego Solana Beach/Del Mar near San Diego, California, after The Daily Mail in London reported the hotel is planning special packages and renaming a room the Royal Suite after Britain’s Prince Harry “stayed there” recently with a local woman.
The hotel confirmed with HOTELS that it is in the process of creating a special package to stay in Room 202 with an in-room jacuzzi and renaming the room after the young royal. “It has become bigger than life,” says General Manager Tim Earp, who added, “It has been a huge distraction to running our business, so the sooner it calms down the better we can get back to normal operations.”
Earp says Prince Harry was a perfect gentleman while in residence at the hotel and that the staff treated him like all guests – with respect.
Earp has had a flood of calls from the media and potential guests who follow the prince’s life and want to be part of it. “We are considering changing the name to the Royal Suite and more importantly people want to know what he did while he was here, so we are creating a package that allows guests to sort of walk in his footsteps.”
Earp hopes to get a bit of a rate premium by creating a package that includes tickets to a concert at a local venue (the same as the prince attended) as well as an overnight stay in the hotel and a hot beverage in the hotel’s bistro.
“There is only one Room 202,” Earp said. “We should get some premium but we are not in a position to price gauge. It will be a reasonably priced package appropriate for the hotel.”
Earp said he expects to have a package on the hotel’s website within two weeks and will use social media to further generate attention.