Bowling Green hotels fully booked during LS Fest

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – LS Fest is coming up this weekend and nearly every hotel room in the city has been booked up for a while now.

Bowling Green has a large number of hotels, many of which are located near the interstate and this weekend, according to Nora Bryant with the Bowling Green Convention and Visitors Bureau, all of the hotel rooms in the area are sold out.

LS Fest sold out two years ago and is a large contributor to the booked-up hotels.

The other big event going on over the weekend, the Special Olympics, will be taking place and also accounts for some of the filled rooms.

According to Kacie Hood, the general manager of Hyatt Place and a past president of the Bowling Green Area Lodging Association, the influx of people to the area can be frustrating for locals, but the tax revenue the visitors bring is very beneficial.

Hood says having enough employees is the main concern for hotels at this time.

“One of the main things that we are having to worry about right now is whether or not we’re going to be fully staffed to be able to accommodate these guests because with the current job climate, everyone is hiring, and staffing is a struggle for everyone. So that, right now, for the short term, is one of the things that we’re concerned about,” said Hood.

This is a major change from 2020 when hotel capacities were extremely low and one third of the hospitality industry’s employees were let go.