RAGBRAI is expected to make a positive impact on each of the communities it rides through and stops in this summer and Perry is no exception.

Providing income for non-profit organizations and businesses, promoting the town’s hospitality and hopefully giving people a reason to come back to town and enjoy the many amenities.

George Pappas, General Manager of the Hotel Pattee says RAGBRAI puts Perry on the worldwide stage.

“We have an opportunity as Perry, Iowa to stand out.  To say ‘hey look, look at us.’  We’re a small town but we can handle RAGBRAI, we can make it happen the way it’s supposed to happen” says Pappas.

Pappas says he expects the hotel will see return visitors and added business.

“The residual from this should be amazing.  I mean, it should just be the type of thing that carries on probably through the summer and then they’ll be people, again depending on what we do, there will be people that say ‘Wow, I had such a great time here we need to go to Perry more often.  We need to ride that bike trail, we need to go downtown and see what they’ve got” says Pappas.

Pappas says they’ve already seen an increase of people dining and staying at the hotel this summer since the completion of the Raccoon River Valley Trail.