With Special Olympics being held this weekend in Ames, hotels and restaurants in town are preparing for an increase in business.

Hotels have not increased their rates for this event because they go with the market. Gateway Hotel and Conference Center said they both have group blocks for those participating in Special Olympics.

The hotels have enough staff members to help during this event because they have already increased their staff sizes for the summer.

The staff at Holiday Inn has taken classes and gone through training to learn how to work with any guests with special needs. If guests call ahead with special needs regarding their accommodations, the hotels are willing to work with them.

“We always appreciate Special Olympics groups coming in. It looks like the city of Ames will be busy,” said Greg Peterson, general manager at Gateway Hotel.

Kevin Cook, general manager at Best Western, felt the same about having the Special Olympics groups as guests and said they are a fun group to work with.

Restaurants in town are preparing for this week as well by ordering more supplies.

Jeremiah Hamilton, general manager at Applebee’s, said there may be a few more minutes of wait time when customers walk in the door, but they always try to get the food out in a decent amount of time regardless of how many customers they have.

Hickory Park already has “many” reservations and they are starting to watch how many more they take. Their servers are scheduled to come in a little earlier and stay a little later.

Applebee’s and Hickory Park accommodate the needs of their guests. The facilities at Applebee’s are in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act. (How? This is where you explain how)

The staff at Hickory Park tries to keep customers with special needs closer to the door rather than taking them to the end of the hall. There are also tables that can be moved if needed.