Usually, the Wichita Marriott 's kitchen staff has two weeks to prepare food requirements for an event at the hotel off of East Kellogg.

This week, though, they had less than 24 hours.

"It's this strange kind of rush that you have," Marriott sales and marketing director Angela Leu-Binyon said. "We could do this every year. It's just a lot of fun."

Teams are expected to fly into Wichita for the NCAA men's basketball Tuesday , bringing with them family members, fans, staff, customized diets, dinners and, of course, basketball players.

Despite finding out the team they're hosting — and their diets and routines — at 6 p.m. Sunday, Binyon and her team weren't stressed.

"We have the best chef in the city and he knows what he's doing," she said. "We've done this before and he knew beforehand what to have on hand."

Leu-Binyon and her team have been working with the NCAA since 2020, when the hotel signed a contract that allowed it to host teams. She was also involved in preparing for the tournament in 2018, which generated approximately $495,000 in tax revenue from visitors, according to an economic study by Visit Wichita.

"There's really no difference — I've got to be honest — on how we perform for these big teams versus anyone else who is going to stay with us during the week," she said. "It's just what we do."

Leu-Binyon said staffing has to be increased at "service points" including the front desk and restaurants to accommodate fans, family members and staff who "fill up" the 295-room hotel. The work at the hotel, which is primarily utilized by business people traveling for work, is "nonstop" during NCAA week.

"I work more hours, every department works more hours because we are busy for five full days," she said. "Our typical pattern of business travel is Monday through Wednesday and then usually you've got a little slowdown Thursday. For this, it's five days on."

Nicholas Wymore, general manager at the Ambassador Hotel Wichita, said to host an NCAA Tournament team, his team works closely with athletes and staff to meet their nutritional requirements and secure spaces for team meetings and recovery sessions after games.

"Every aspect, from housekeeping to food and beverage, is designed to create a comfortable and supportive experience for the athletes and their families," he said in an email. "... We aim to provide an environment where the team can focus solely on their tournament performance."

Hilton Garden Inn general manager Joanna Manalo and her team at 401 E. Douglas Ave. were involved in the NCAA women's basketball tournament in 2022 , which she said brought the same energy to the downtown area as the men's.

"It was very busy," she said. "A lot of the the restaurants, bars, hotels and all the businesses in here, they're all busy and got a lot of revenue."

Along with reaching NCAA standards, her 70-person staff ramps up on security at night for the week of the tournament. The goal is to accommodate everyone and make them happy "from sun-up till sundown."

"Everything needs to be perfect," she said.

Manalo said the tournament will also put an end to a slow period from November to February because of the weather.

"We're in Kansas. We don't have an amusement park or a beach," she said. "We look forward to having the busy month of March when conferences and all the sports tournaments start happening."

Overall, Leu-Binyon said the tournament just brings "a different energy" to the city.

"The most fun is when these teams come here, they are always so surprised about Wichita and so complimentary," she said. "You're just really proud."