Flood Closes Gaylord Opryland; Resort Works to Rebook Groups

The floods that ravaged Nashville also have closed the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center and the Grand Ole Opry Entertainment Complex.

The 2,881-room Gaylord Opryland receives more than one million visitors a year and had 181,600 room nights in group business on the books for the next three months. The resort represents 10 percent of the total number of hotel rooms in the city of Nashville and generates

Events slated for the landmark Grand Ole Opry have been rescheduled at other Nashville venues such as the War Memorial Auditorium and the historic Ryman Auditorium, both former homes of the Opry.

To date, the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center has officially transferred more than 8,800 room nights to other hotels in downtown Nashville, and another 811 room nights are confirmed for hotels in Franklin, Tenn.

“Our top priority for booked guests is to find the best alternative solution that meets the needs of our customers and their convention plans,” said Pete Weien, senior vice president and general manager of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. “Whenever possible, we are transitioning them to other Nashville hotels. Other customers have chosen to relocate their events to another facility within the Gaylord family.”

As part of this process, Gaylord is also working closely with Nashville officials and a number of downtown hotels to ensure a smooth transition. 

“We’re doing our best to mitigate the disruption in Nashville’s tourism and entertainment industries by keeping convention travelers coming to Music City. That includes two groups who have agreed to hold their events at the Nashville Convention Center,” said Weien.

Other groups prefer to remain at a Gaylord facility for their conventions. There are approximately 58,000 room nights in this category at this time.

“Gaylord is committed to helping Nashville recover from these devastating floods,” said Weien. “We’re working hard to get the hotel and all of our Nashville attractions back up and running even better than before.”

The Grand Ole Opry is also committed to keeping Nashville’s country music concerts operating without interruption. ” Our hearts go out to all of those affected in the Middle Tennessee area but it is important that Nashville’s most treasured tradition continues,” said Grand Ole Opry vice president Pete Fisher. “We look forward to coming together both as the Opry family and as a great American city just as we have every week for nearly 85 years.”