Macon hotels welcome evacuees and utility crews as Idalia moves through

Macon hotels are seeing varying levels of occupancy from evacuees and utility crews dealing with the impact of Idalia.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Macon hotels are seeing varying levels of occupancy from evacuees and utility crews dealing with the impact of Idalia.

David Quackenbush, Manager of the Macon Marriott, said Wednesday the hotel hadn’t had a significant influx of evacuees but that it mainly accommodates power companies when hurricanes approach the Georgia’s southern coast.

“Typically where the hurricane tracks go through, Macon’s usually spared, so we’re just outside of the areas where the affected areas are gonna be,” he said. “With the parking spaces within the convention center in the arena, (it) makes a great staging place for all of their big equipment trucks.”

Ramada Wyndham in Macon did report an uptick in guests fleeing the hurricane.

Owner Shiv Patel tells 41NBC the hotel’s location off I-475 makes it a convenient stop for Florida evacuees.

“Definitely with storms like this, especially in this area since we’re off 475, so we see a lot of the Florida Traffic like that, we get a lot of evacuees or people coming from Florida,” he said.