The DoubleTree by Hilton Grand Key Resort has signed on as an accommodation partner for the Key West World Championship, adding another hospitality backer to one of Race World Offshore's most important fixtures of the season.
Key West has long been the spiritual home of American offshore powerboat racing, and its World Championship draws teams from across the globe, including Kiwi outfits who make the long trip north for a shot at silverware on the circuit's biggest stage. Accommodation partners matter more than they might seem to from a distance. Teams, crews and support staff need somewhere to base themselves for the week, and a resort willing to back the event lends it extra credibility within the local hospitality scene.
The DoubleTree joins a growing list of such backers, following news that three Key West properties under Meisel Holdings have confirmed their return as sponsors for the 2026 event, with race week locked in for 1-8 November that year.
Sitting on Key West itself, the DoubleTree offers the kind of amenities race teams and travelling fans tend to appreciate after long days on the water: a free-form zero-entry pool, on-site dining at Palm Haven Restaurant, and a poolside bar, Gumbo Limbo, for anyone wanting a drink once racing wraps up for the day.
Shuttle services to Old Town and Smathers Beach are included too, sparing visiting teams and spectators the hassle of parking or hire cars during what is always a congested race week.
For New Zealand followers of offshore powerboat racing, sponsorship news like this is a reminder of just how much infrastructure sits behind a world championship event. Crossing the line first is only part of the picture.
Accommodation is just one layer of that support network, alongside sponsors as varied as Key West's own rum distillery, which has signed on to back the championship finale, and other local businesses keen to tie their brand to the island's biggest race week. These hospitality partnerships help fund the broader championship, covering team logistics, media and the spectator experience, all areas that matter when New Zealand teams and drivers travel internationally to compete.
No further details on race entries, schedules or Kiwi participation at the Key West World Championship were included in the announcement.
