Sina Hospitality operates 34 hotels across six states, all of which see youth sports tourism traffic.
A big part of that business: Working with housing bureaus and travel agencies that serve as brokers between families and operators.
That got Sina CEO Ravi Patel and his team thinking.
“A lot of times you work with a housing bureau, and the housing bureau will charge you whatever fees they have,” Patel told Buying Sandlot. “They get commissions and all that too. So we sat back and we said, ‘As much money as we are paying to the housing bureau, what if we did it ourselves?’”
Enter 804 Travel, which recently launched and will help coordinate accommodations for out-of-town youth sports families and teams visiting the Richmond, Virginia, area for competitions.
804 Travel locates available rooms, negotiates rates with local hotels
Tailored packages, i.e. early team breakfast before food service hours
24/7 assistance
Works with all hotels, not just Sina-owned ones
“With youth sports, you’re on the road every weekend,” Patel said. “Being able to offer a package where the families don’t have to think about it and they just show up, that’s what people are looking for and that’s what we want to try to give them. Come enjoy the event and have your child play. We’ve got everything else.”
Patel said Sina Hospitality conducted a legal review and determined there is no barrier to a hotel company operating a travel agency. But while 804 Travel is co-owned by Sina and based out of its nearby headquarters, it is a separate company with its own tax ID.
Patel’s goal is to reduce his costs through 804 Travel and then pass that savings along, making youth sports tourism more affordable across the entire ecosystem. Nightly rate costs and inventory limitations are two major pain points for families, he said. He wants 804 Travel to make a tangible impact for cost-conscious clients.
“That front end work is very important,” he said. “We want to take the time to do it so they come back and it’s not a one-time thing. The more that you care and show that, the better it is because they’ll remember those guys really helped us and made it super easy.”
Patel said 804 Travel is focused on perfecting its process in the Richmond area, but it could grow to offer services in other parts of the country. The organization is in partnership talks with all of the youth sports venues in the area.
“They all want to figure out how to work with us,” he said. “I think it’s going to be very interesting in the next coming months how that all shakes out.
In our Sports Parent Economy deep dive last week, I wrote about the opportunities in travel. There are many of them. [My idea was a sports parent-focused loyalty or credit card. So many premium cards cater to business travelers, but many of the perks and benefits associated with those cards are irrelevant to a traveling family.]
804, of course, already has skin in this game and seeks to remove costs its sister company, Sina, has to take on. But, Trend Watch™, the important part here is the focus on parents and families. Products and services in youth sports are increasingly being positioned in this way and marketed to this audience.
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