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Picture a bunch of sports-crazed guys, packed in a room, eating high-cholesterol food, guzzling cheap domestic beers and not leaving until a cloud of cigar smoke and some testosterone fill the air. Sounds like a bachelor party, right? Now, throw out the whole wedding thing and you've got yourself a fantasy sports draft. Or, as Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino is banking on, the latest niche to hit the travel world. Next year, the 258-room resort, located in Aruba’s capital of Oranjestad, is offering its Destination Draft Package 2009.
Before we get into the details, allow us to give you a quick lesson on fantasy sports. For those who aren’t familiar with this Internet-based sports game that has become a phenomenon in the last decade, fantasy sports is where owners build a team that competes against other fantasy owners based on the statistics generated by individual players or teams of a professional sport. The most popular fantasy sports are baseball and football. Now, whereas the actual game is fun in itself, the drafts, or recruiting sessions, for every fantasy sport have become somewhat of a ritual amongst fantasy sports traditionalists.
“Fantasy drafts have basically become bachelor parties without the weddings,” said David Heinzinger, spokesperson for Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. “Fantasy sports is a market that still has a lot of growth, that is still getting bigger every year, so we’re just looking to capitalize on it.” The package includes four resort rooms for three nights at the Renaissance Marina Hotel, the adults-only portion of the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino complex. It also comes with $400 in casino credit, $400 in beverage credit and a suite for one day. The package prices are $3,161 from February 1 to April 16 (baseball) and $2,294 from June 1 to September 1 (football). Agents should contact Mildrid Willems, sales coordinator, at [email protected].