This summer hotel operators in Monterey County, California were caught a little off-guard. For the most part, they underestimated the demand for hotel rooms surrounding the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, leading to overbookings, guests with confirmed reservations being bumped to other hotels and an investigation by the Monterey County District Attorney’s office. Hotel operators appear prepared for the 2006 U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, however, as readers of this website have reported 100-200% rate increases for the same room at the same hotel they stayed in during the 2005 U.S. GP, mandatory minimum-length stays and full payment at the time of the reservation. Still, many popular hotels in the area are quickly filling up for next year’s Grand Prix. And things may get even worse, in terms of hotel availability — and traffic, because the date of the 2006 U.S. Grand Prix, July 21-23, is also the traditional date of the California Rodeo Salinas, in nearby Salinas, California. 2006 will be the 96th year of the rodeo and because of scheduling obligations to the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association (PRCA) and television networks that cover the event, like ESPN and OLN, the rodeo’s date will not change, according to Barbera Balentine, sponsor coordinator of the California Rodeo Salinas. The 2005 U.S. GP was held in early-July, but the 2006 Grand Prix date was moved to July 21-23 as part of a ripple effect of schedule changes prompted by the World Cup of soccer going to Germany in 2006. “That’s a big deal in Europe, and a big deal here to be fair,” said Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca spokesman Reece White. “That pushed the Formula One schedule around a little bit — their North American tour is now about two weeks later, and that pushed it back into our weekend, which in turn pushes the Dorna schedule around a little bit. The new U.S. GP date “is basically where it fits in (Dorna’s) schedule, both in terms of their schedule and TV coverage, which I think has a lot to do with it not only here but on a worldwide level,” continued White. “It just comes down to that’s when it fit into Dorna’s MotoGP schedule, and, unfortunately, we don’t have a large amount of input into that.” White told Roadracingworld.com that the track is aware of the conflict with the rodeo and Laguna Seca management is coordinating with rodeo organizers, who estimate 80 percent of their attendance (45,815 over four days in 2004) is local, meaning they may or may not require lodging. For those still looking for accommodations for the 2006 U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Travelcraft has rooms available with three-night minimum stays for about $200/night, thanks to its long-term contracts with its partner hotels. Travelcraft can be reached at (800) 258-0755.