KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Each room at Hotel Kansas City is booked Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights as the Big 12 Conference's men’s and women’s basketball championship tournaments bring thousands of fans to Kansas City this week.
Sarah Beck, Hotel Kansas City’s director of sales and marketing, said those fans want more than a place to stay when in town for the tournament, they want an experience.
“People are ready to get out of the house,” she said, referencing COVID-19’s impact on daily life over the past two years.
Hotel Kansas City was built with experiences in mind. From a specialty J. Rieger & Co whiskey not found anywhere else to Kansas City Magazine’s 2021 Restaurant of the Year winner The Town Company and the Nighthawk basement bar open Thursday through Saturday with its own canned hard seltzers called “Night Claw,” based off the popular White Claw brand.
“Guests who are in town for the Big 12 [tournaments] are usually pretty happy. They’re here to have fun,” Beck said. “They’re going to have a good time.”
Beck said it's the hotel industry’s responsibility to roll out a great welcome mat for visitors so they’ll return to Kansas City when there isn’t a basketball tournament.
