Our HSMAI South Florida chapter’s March meeting was held at Michael’s Kitchen at the Newport Beach Resort in Sunny Isles. The evening began with a networking reception followed by an educational presentation by Armando Lopez, president, Navigant Marketing, and then dinner.
During the reception, I had a chance to chat with Harry Hogan, former GM of the Oakland Park Inn. He is currently “available”; Spoke with Mark Akst, recent GM of the Hyatt Place in Fort Lauderdale. He is also currently exploring opportunities; Met Pamela Gadol, National Sales Manager of Expo Convention Contractors Inc; Also met Catherine Resek, Strategic Planning Director, Navigant; As well as, Patricia Robinson, CEO of Hospitality & Tourism Associates. Her Miami company is celebrating 26 years!
At dinner (the food was wonderful), had the pleasure of dining with Dave Crory, VP of Business Development, Cendyn. Their company does internet marketing. Dave told us about a great online product that hotels can use when responding to requests for meeting planner information. No more mailing those kits in bulky packages! Dave, who was the lucky winner of our evening’s raffle, graciously treated our table to adult beverages. Dave resides in Oregon, but is in South Florida often as the company is based in Boca Raton. Also at our table from Cendyn was VP, Operations, Jochen Esser. We exchanged names of our favorite Boca restaurants. Francesca Smith, the Regional Acct. Manager for Venere.com joined us at the table. Her company is the largest online hotel reservation network in Italy (the number 2 in Europe), but has a large American clientele. She’d like to direct some of this business to Florida hotels. (By the way, they generated over 3.6 million room nights for affiliate hotels world wide).Let me know if you want Francesca’s contact info. In the small world department -- Jochen and Francesca found out that they were originally from the same off-the beaten track area in Germany.
The educational portion of our meeting was so wonderful, that I took some copious notes. I’m going to devote two future blog articles with a summary of the key points. You’ll get to read just a taste of what you missed by not being at the March meeting. See you at the April meeting at the Mai Kai. Oh, and don’t forget to save the date of our 25th annual auction on June 12.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Mar 21: Looking Back at 2007 – Facts and Figures
Here’s the latest info regarding local tourism statistics for last year.
Greater Fort Lauderdale reported welcoming 10.7 million visitors in 2007. This number reflects a three percent increase over its previous mark of 10.35 million which was set in 2006. Palm Beach County had 4.3 million visitors reflecting a decrease of one-half of one percent. Miami-Dade County had 12 million visitors and was also up three percent. Others numbers showed that Fort Lauderdale expenditures rose to $8.76 billion dollars (an increase of 1.3% over 2006).
Greater Fort Lauderdale’s average daily rate was $125.64, up 9.3 percent compared to 2006. Bed tax collections were nearly 5 percent over the previous year with the year-end hotel occupancy averaging out at 70.4%. Palm Beach’s occupancy was 65 percent and Miami-Dade was 72 percent. Florida, overall, had a state occupancy average of 64.1% (and welcomed approximately 82.4 million people – down 1.7 percent).
In other tourism areas – The FLL airport served approximately 22,682,000 passengers. This represented a six percent increase mainly attributed to the impressive twenty percent increase in international traffic. Port Everglades reported an increase in cruise ship passengers of 4.5 percent over 2006.
So, hoteliers, how do your numbers compare to the county’s facts and figures? How would you rank your 2007 occupancy and revenue numbers against those of other hoteliers in Florida? Let us know.
Greater Fort Lauderdale reported welcoming 10.7 million visitors in 2007. This number reflects a three percent increase over its previous mark of 10.35 million which was set in 2006. Palm Beach County had 4.3 million visitors reflecting a decrease of one-half of one percent. Miami-Dade County had 12 million visitors and was also up three percent. Others numbers showed that Fort Lauderdale expenditures rose to $8.76 billion dollars (an increase of 1.3% over 2006).
Greater Fort Lauderdale’s average daily rate was $125.64, up 9.3 percent compared to 2006. Bed tax collections were nearly 5 percent over the previous year with the year-end hotel occupancy averaging out at 70.4%. Palm Beach’s occupancy was 65 percent and Miami-Dade was 72 percent. Florida, overall, had a state occupancy average of 64.1% (and welcomed approximately 82.4 million people – down 1.7 percent).
In other tourism areas – The FLL airport served approximately 22,682,000 passengers. This represented a six percent increase mainly attributed to the impressive twenty percent increase in international traffic. Port Everglades reported an increase in cruise ship passengers of 4.5 percent over 2006.
So, hoteliers, how do your numbers compare to the county’s facts and figures? How would you rank your 2007 occupancy and revenue numbers against those of other hoteliers in Florida? Let us know.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Mar 18: GOING GREEN – PART 3
(For part 2, See March 5th article)
Our Chapter recently participated in the online educational HSMAI program on “Going Green”. We were so very fortunate to have the Webinar sponsored by the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB who also hosted at their downtown offices. I was able to attend the first one-hour seminar (“The Cost of Both Going and Not Going Green”) of the three-part series held on March 4th.
Barry Giles, a member of the Leadership in Energy and Environment Development (LEED) faculty and the company, Building Wise, outlined several key selling points for why our companies should “go green”. We know that this is the right thing to do; however, it will also make you better than your competition, it will improve your building with potential increases in property value, and you will experience significant economic returns by reducing your overall operating costs. Mr. Giles provided some background on the United States Building Council’s program and the certification process for LEED.
Most importantly, to get you started in the right direction, it was suggested that you do an analysis first of where you are – for example, look at your current energy use. Work together with your engineering and operations departments. Specific examples of a building and its savings were outlined. Whether you commit to the program or not, you should know what’s actually going on in your building to help you better manage it. And if you do some sort of new program, make sure you put it into your advertising and marketing. Tell everyone (on your website as well) what you are working on doing to “go green” and give an outline of current and future steps.
There are two more parts of the HSMAI webinar series, and space is limited. The second part, “The Green Customer Voice Program”, will be held on March 20; the third part, “So What’s Your Next Step in the Greening of Your Hotel?” will be held on April 3. There is no charge to attend (as the CVB is sponsoring), but reservations are a must. Hoteliers, if you are interested in attending, contact Christine Tascione at ctascione@broward.org for more information.
Our Chapter recently participated in the online educational HSMAI program on “Going Green”. We were so very fortunate to have the Webinar sponsored by the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB who also hosted at their downtown offices. I was able to attend the first one-hour seminar (“The Cost of Both Going and Not Going Green”) of the three-part series held on March 4th.
Barry Giles, a member of the Leadership in Energy and Environment Development (LEED) faculty and the company, Building Wise, outlined several key selling points for why our companies should “go green”. We know that this is the right thing to do; however, it will also make you better than your competition, it will improve your building with potential increases in property value, and you will experience significant economic returns by reducing your overall operating costs. Mr. Giles provided some background on the United States Building Council’s program and the certification process for LEED.
Most importantly, to get you started in the right direction, it was suggested that you do an analysis first of where you are – for example, look at your current energy use. Work together with your engineering and operations departments. Specific examples of a building and its savings were outlined. Whether you commit to the program or not, you should know what’s actually going on in your building to help you better manage it. And if you do some sort of new program, make sure you put it into your advertising and marketing. Tell everyone (on your website as well) what you are working on doing to “go green” and give an outline of current and future steps.
There are two more parts of the HSMAI webinar series, and space is limited. The second part, “The Green Customer Voice Program”, will be held on March 20; the third part, “So What’s Your Next Step in the Greening of Your Hotel?” will be held on April 3. There is no charge to attend (as the CVB is sponsoring), but reservations are a must. Hoteliers, if you are interested in attending, contact Christine Tascione at ctascione@broward.org for more information.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Mar 12: Short Takes
Lidia Uhlar, Sales and Catering Assistant, Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek shared the following information regarding her hotels “transformation”. Seems the property has just undergone a comprehensive renovation. To greet their guests, they use their corporate brand “Welcoming Warmth” scents in their lobby atrium (see “Vacation Scentsation” article in this blog, November 26, 2007). In addition to renovating all of the hotel’s 253 suites, they have also newly renovated their flexible meeting space with state-of-the-art furnishings and technology.
The Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB was a big winner at the 2008 HSMAI Awards. They won Gold, Silver, and Bronze Adrian Awards for outstanding special events and web marketing campaigns. The Gold was for creating “coast (954)”, the groundbreaking first-ever travel destination “Pop-Up Store” which brought Fort Lauderdale beach to frigid New York for one week in the dead of winter. The Silver for generating a buzz around our area using Groundhog Day to remind northerners to head south for the winter; And the Bronze for revamping the GFLCVB web site, www.sunny.org.
Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower has formed a Gay Business Development Committee with 13 members. She expressed concerns that the gay community is not welcome on the beach. The formation of the committee is to make people welcome, to bring Miami Beach more business, and to identify what opportunities are being missed. The group is supposed to make recommendations to the Mayor and the City Commission on how to enhance the gay identity of Miami Beach.
The Travel Industry Association (TIA) released its report “Travel and Tourism Works for America” recently. It details trip spending in the United States, gives workforce totals in travel-sector jobs, highlights popular trip activities, among other information, in its overview of travel and tourism’s impact on the American economy. Did you realize that Travel and Tourism is the nation’s FIFTH largest private industry sector? It’s a 740 BILLION DOLLAR industry in the U.S. More than 7.5 million people are employed in travel in the U.S. International travelers overall still spent more in the country than we spend abroad leading to a travel trade surplus for the American economy of $8.3 billion. For more information, visit www.tia.org
The Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB was a big winner at the 2008 HSMAI Awards. They won Gold, Silver, and Bronze Adrian Awards for outstanding special events and web marketing campaigns. The Gold was for creating “coast (954)”, the groundbreaking first-ever travel destination “Pop-Up Store” which brought Fort Lauderdale beach to frigid New York for one week in the dead of winter. The Silver for generating a buzz around our area using Groundhog Day to remind northerners to head south for the winter; And the Bronze for revamping the GFLCVB web site, www.sunny.org.
Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower has formed a Gay Business Development Committee with 13 members. She expressed concerns that the gay community is not welcome on the beach. The formation of the committee is to make people welcome, to bring Miami Beach more business, and to identify what opportunities are being missed. The group is supposed to make recommendations to the Mayor and the City Commission on how to enhance the gay identity of Miami Beach.
The Travel Industry Association (TIA) released its report “Travel and Tourism Works for America” recently. It details trip spending in the United States, gives workforce totals in travel-sector jobs, highlights popular trip activities, among other information, in its overview of travel and tourism’s impact on the American economy. Did you realize that Travel and Tourism is the nation’s FIFTH largest private industry sector? It’s a 740 BILLION DOLLAR industry in the U.S. More than 7.5 million people are employed in travel in the U.S. International travelers overall still spent more in the country than we spend abroad leading to a travel trade surplus for the American economy of $8.3 billion. For more information, visit www.tia.org
Monday, March 10, 2008
Mar 10: 2008 Gold List
It’s that time of year, again, when everyone starts coming up with their lists of bests. Conde Nast Traveler has just released its 2008 Gold List of the “best places to stay in the world” as selected by readers of their magazine.
This survey has been conducted since 1988. This recent survey had about 28,000 respondents. Hotels are rated on food (dining), location, overall design, rooms and service. Each of the ratings becomes transformed into criterion percentages as they represent the percentage of those who rate a hotel excellent or very good. These percentages are then averaged to determine the final overall scores.
In the “Top Hotels” category over 405 hotels made the list. Of these 405 hotels, Twelve (12) hotels from Florida were included. There were four (4) in Miami-Dade: the Ritz-Carlton South Beach; the Four Seasons; the Mandarin Oriental; and the Setai. One (1) hotel was in Palm Beach – the Breakers; One (1) hotel was in Naples – the Ritz Carlton. No hotels from Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward were represented.
This survey has been conducted since 1988. This recent survey had about 28,000 respondents. Hotels are rated on food (dining), location, overall design, rooms and service. Each of the ratings becomes transformed into criterion percentages as they represent the percentage of those who rate a hotel excellent or very good. These percentages are then averaged to determine the final overall scores.
In the “Top Hotels” category over 405 hotels made the list. Of these 405 hotels, Twelve (12) hotels from Florida were included. There were four (4) in Miami-Dade: the Ritz-Carlton South Beach; the Four Seasons; the Mandarin Oriental; and the Setai. One (1) hotel was in Palm Beach – the Breakers; One (1) hotel was in Naples – the Ritz Carlton. No hotels from Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward were represented.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Mar 5: Going Green – Part 2
You may recall the original article posted on September 21, 2007, “Going Green – the Hottest Trend?” (Editor’s note: To view previous articles, you can scroll back to this post via “older posts” or click the appropriate month until you find the date you want). In the blog, I talked about a “new” award at the last Florida’s Governor’s Conference on Tourism that recognized seven hotels that excelled in “going green”.
We’ve recently learned that in Greater Fort Lauderdale, there are 22 properties in the process of being designated “Florida Green Lodging”. This designation means that the hotel features innovational or imaginative programs for conserving natural resources, reducing waste, and minimizing pollution.
The following properties were featured in a press release from the CVB as already instituting green initiatives: The Atlantic Resort & Spa, The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, The Desoto Oceanview Inn and Desoto Ocean Spray and the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure. Also mentioned for having green practices were: the Best Western Oakland Park Inn, Sea Gate Resort, Tropic Rock Resort, Renaissance Plantation Hotel, and the Courtyard by Marriott-Weston.
So South Florida, are you doing something above and beyond to “go green”? Make sure your CVB knows about it. Make sure you add this to your publicity and marketing information, so your potential guests know about it, too. Get on the band wagon. It’s not only good for preserving our natural resources; it’s financially responsible and will enhance your “bottom line” as it is important to our visitors.
We’ve recently learned that in Greater Fort Lauderdale, there are 22 properties in the process of being designated “Florida Green Lodging”. This designation means that the hotel features innovational or imaginative programs for conserving natural resources, reducing waste, and minimizing pollution.
The following properties were featured in a press release from the CVB as already instituting green initiatives: The Atlantic Resort & Spa, The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, The Desoto Oceanview Inn and Desoto Ocean Spray and the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure. Also mentioned for having green practices were: the Best Western Oakland Park Inn, Sea Gate Resort, Tropic Rock Resort, Renaissance Plantation Hotel, and the Courtyard by Marriott-Weston.
So South Florida, are you doing something above and beyond to “go green”? Make sure your CVB knows about it. Make sure you add this to your publicity and marketing information, so your potential guests know about it, too. Get on the band wagon. It’s not only good for preserving our natural resources; it’s financially responsible and will enhance your “bottom line” as it is important to our visitors.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Mar 3: Homeless Need Help with Personal Care Items
Susan Stern, our HSMAI chapter’s Director of Community Relations, has asked me to pass along the following information regarding the annual Hope Tote Campaign sponsored by the Broward Outreach Centers. Their goal is to fill tote bags (they’ll send them to you to fill) with hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.
In addition, they are going to be giving out over 25-30 Easter baskets to the children in their facilities. They’re looking for filled baskets (and will take any number you can bring).
On March 21, Good Friday, they are holding a program called “Thanksgiving in March” where they will be feeding approximately 200 homeless and needy. For this event, they need about 140 volunteers (contact: Diela Chariot if interested in volunteering for this event at dchariot@caringplace.org ) Also as part of this program, they will be “washing the feet” of the homeless and giving out new and used shoes. They are looking for sneakers but will take all kinds, foot washing items (or funds to buy them) as well as food (ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans). Don’t forget the homeless are men, women, AND children.
If any of you would like to participate in helping or helping get the items for these events or need more information, contact Franchine Daley, Community Development Associate, Broward Outreach Center-Hollywood. Her direct phone line is: 954-620-4038 or email fdaley@caringplace.com. Make sure you tell her you read about her program on our HSMAI website.
In addition, they are going to be giving out over 25-30 Easter baskets to the children in their facilities. They’re looking for filled baskets (and will take any number you can bring).
On March 21, Good Friday, they are holding a program called “Thanksgiving in March” where they will be feeding approximately 200 homeless and needy. For this event, they need about 140 volunteers (contact: Diela Chariot if interested in volunteering for this event at dchariot@caringplace.org ) Also as part of this program, they will be “washing the feet” of the homeless and giving out new and used shoes. They are looking for sneakers but will take all kinds, foot washing items (or funds to buy them) as well as food (ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans). Don’t forget the homeless are men, women, AND children.
If any of you would like to participate in helping or helping get the items for these events or need more information, contact Franchine Daley, Community Development Associate, Broward Outreach Center-Hollywood. Her direct phone line is: 954-620-4038 or email fdaley@caringplace.com. Make sure you tell her you read about her program on our HSMAI website.
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