The Dayton to Daytona committee announced a record number of registrations and hotel assignments at its lottery event Saturday, Feb. 11, in the RecPlex MAC Gym.

The committee has booked 414 rooms at five Daytona Beach, Fla., hotels for the trip so far, according to Megan O'Mera, a junior public relations major and Dayton to Daytona trip coordinator.

O'Mera said it was fun revealing who was chosen for the first hotel, the most desirable one because it hosts the event's special activities from May 8-13.

"It was kind of a mixed emotion thing for everyone but I think most people were happy where they ended up," she said.

O'Mera said the committee received a record number of trip registrations compared to this time in the past five years. She said there were 2,137 reservations as of Sunday, Feb. 12. There were 1,769 as of Feb. 12, 2011, the day of last year's lottery.

O'Mera said registered groups for the lottery received preferential hotel placement based on seniority. The Plaza Ocean Club is the first hotel because it's the host site of Dayton to Daytona, and it is filled entirely with seniors, she said. The Conch House is the second hotel, located nearest to the Plaza Ocean Club, and also is full of seniors. The third hotel is Ocean Shore Resort, comprised of juniors and seniors, O'Mera said.

If groups drop out after the hotel lottery, the next most senior group will take their spots, O'Mera said. It's likely The Conch House's first group will move to the Plaza Ocean Club, she said.

University of Dayton students who are at least sophomores still can book their trip up until the day it starts, she said. Those participants either will stay in the Mayan Inn or Daytona Inn Beach Resort, the fourth and fifth hotels, respectively.

"After today, nothing is based on seniority anymore, it's just totally random," O'Mera said.

David Cahill, a senior accounting major, said his group received a spot at the Plaza Ocean Club. He said he expected his group would be chosen for the hotel because all five members are seniors.

He said he also went to Dayton to Daytona his sophomore and junior years, but never stayed in the first hotel.

Cahill said it's advantageous to be in the first hotel because it houses free beer, live music and the annual pig roast.

O'Mera credited the increased sign-ups to heavier social media marketing and a stronger committee.

"We've really been able to do a lot more programming and social media, but I think a lot of that has been a result of sort of the restructuring of Daytona committee that we did this year," she said.

She said the committee restructured this year so members had more realistic goals and held each other more accountable.

O'Mera said trip coordinators also collaborated with campus organizations and local businesses, such as Timothy's Pub and Grill. She said while it's not the first time the committee used Facebook and Twitter as marketing tools, it's the first time it relied upon them heavily.

She said the committee also announced the winners of discount announced the winners of discounted trips from the Dayton to Daytona passport program at a separate event in the RecPlex before Saturday's lottery.

The committee began the passport program this year to reward students for attending campus events, according to a Dec. 1, 2011, Flyer News article. Students had to receive stamps from two campus events from the four categories of arts, service, athletics and academics. The first 60 students to submit a completed passport received a discounted trip cost from $218 to $150.

But O'Mera said the committee decided to extend the program's deadline, which originally was Saturday, because only about 25 students submitted their completed passports. She said the committee met Sunday, Feb. 12, to discuss the extension, and details will be available at d2dpassport.blogspot.com.

O'Mera said the committee's biggest upcoming event this semester, "The Run for One," will be a competition to give students a chance to win one of 10 remaining rooms at the Plaza Ocean Club. She said the committee will announce details for the event at a later date.

For more information, visit daytontodaytona.com or facebook.com/Dayton2Daytona.