Rolex 24: Hotel rooms are in high demand as fans flock to Daytona Beach

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As race fans flock to Daytona Beach for this year’s Rolex 24 Race, hotel rooms are in high demand.

The four-day event traditionally marks the start of the race season at Daytona International Speedway.

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Many fans said this year, finding a place to stay has been a struggle, with spots at the track sold out and hotel rooms hard to find.

Back-to-back hurricanes left many beachside structures damaged, and those that are still open are filling up fast.

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Gustavo Rosario came from Puerto Rico just to see the races and had to travel to Orlando just to find a room.

“There were like one or two hotel rooms available. There was not a lot of them ready to go,” Rosario said.

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Androse Bell, general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach, said they had been booked solid since last year.

“People really wanna come to this race. This race looks like it’s going to be sold out for both nights, which is great and the first time it’s been sold out in a while, for a few years now,” Bell said.

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Bell said he hopes this weekend is a good indication of things to come as the area continues to recover.

“We look forward to building on this race moving forward,” Bell said.

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