August 18, 2010 HSMAI-South Florida Meeting Recap

“Table of Eight” – Our occasional column with comments about Chapter events.

What a nice turn out today for the Chapter’s meeting at the Hollywood Beach Marriott Resort. Will Seccombe, VISIT FLORIDA Chief Marketing Officer, discussed the state's marketing plans, the Gulf oil spill's impact on Florida tourism, and VISIT FLORIDA efforts to combat the resulting negative publicity.(FYI, Will noted that he is a long time member of HSMAI and congratulated our Chapter for being such an active one.)

Saw Hal Herman (Worth/Recommend), long time tourism guru, who I hadn’t seen since last year’s Governor’s Conference; a number of current and past members of the HSMAI-South FL Board; Sandy Mukitarian from the Palm Beach CVB; Judy Erickson with the Hollywood Office of Tourism. All parts of South Florida were in attendance! It’s always great, as well, to see (and meet) a number of “new” people in attendance. Congrats to Susan Dennen on her new position with the Holiday Inn in Juno Beach; and to Brian Hogge, now celebrating his 7th month in the tourism/hospitality industry. Wonderful to hear that tourism pioneer, Jerry Faber (Jungle Queen) will be honored at the Hospitality Awards Gala as Hospitality Legend of the Year come October 20th. Wish I could list everyone I spoke with…

As always, with a presentation, there will be different things that people will remember that may apply to their specific hotel/company. But here are a few key points from my notes:

The Oil Spill – Why should you care? We became even more aware of the fragility of our product. Our state’s growth stalled. The confidence of the consumer in booking a Florida vacation went down. (Amazingly, 6% of those out there thought there was oil in Jacksonville!) So, if consumers are going to be concerned, how do we address this? How do we reach them? 90% of Americans were getting their news about the oil spill on TV. A handout of a chronological calendar of the VISIT FLORIDA “Deepwater Horizon Crisis Response” outlined the large number of activities that were put into effect since the beginning of May.

There were 5 key response elements by VISIT FLORIDA to the Spill: 1. Info Platform; 2.Advertising Campaign (open for biz) 3.PR/Earned Media 4. Industry Outreach and 5.Crisis Assessment & Planning.

They began “Florida Live” on May 11th. They wanted to be open and operate it in real time. They used live web cams around the state, Google maps, and posting of real time photos by Floridians. Over 2000 photos were shared by Florida residents. They initiated the “Share A Little Sunshine” campaign – where photos could be posted on Facebook, and then streamed into the Florida Live sites. Later on they added Video, Blogs, and more photos.

In Paid Advertising they set up tags for partners, they created 900 impressions in the marketplace. In Earned Media, they promoted Memorial Day. They set up a Fishing Co/op with e-blasts, fishingcapital.com, as well as adding this info on Florida Live TV starting August 1st. Will noted that visitflorida.com is the most visited destination website in the U.S. There was a 46% increase in visitors to the site comparing June of this year to last year.

What’s ahead? Moving forward, the state is still surveying Americans every 3 weeks to test the markets --.to see if their advertising has been invested wisely/if it’s working. Unfortunately, there is still misinformation out there (“10% of Americans may pause when considering Florida for a vacation.”) On the positive side, the 2011/12 marketing plan has been approved. In the “Social” area, there will be more blogging, twittering, and Facebook activities. Two more “insiders” have been added this year. Partners can now link their websites to VISIT FLORIDA’s site. In the near future, a mobile version of Visitflorida.com is being launched. They are now allowing anyone in the tourism industry to be on their website for free (not just partners). They are encouraging everyone to sign up at visitflorida.org. They will continue to offer real content on a regular basis in a relevant manner. They have increased coop marketing opportunities. And they are encouraging everyone to increase the reach of the “Share A Little Sunshine” program.
(If you haven’t done so already, please pull this video and post it on your Facebook and your company’s website and ask others to do so as well. Send “postcards” to out of state friends and invite them to Florida. You can get the link at:
Sharealittlesunshine.com)

Next month, the HSMAI-South Florida Chapter is hosting their Meeting Planners Panel program. This year, it will be a breakfast meeting on September 15th. Information and registration will be posted on the Chapter’s website at www.hsmaisouthflorida.org
Best, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider

PS Just a reminder to send in your news/updates for the “Around Town” Column for the chapter blog to jwfranklin1@gmail.com.

Around The (Travel) Websites: What Consumers Are Reading …

(A collection of items from various sources... Editor’s Note JWF)

Orbitz is offering a summer hotel sale where travelers who book a hotel get two coupons worth up to $300 for future travel.

Expedia has opened a website for gay travel featuring “welcoming” hotels. In partnership with the Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, it features 10 domestic destinations (including South Florida) and 5 international ones.

Expedia research shows that 16 percent of people worldwide book online on a Monday (the most popular day). Sunday is the “quietest” day for bookings.

Priceline reports a 52.5% gross travel bookings increase for the first quarter of this year, 2010.

Priceline has a new “Big Deal Guarantee” offering a $25 “bounty” to hotel customers who find a lower price (than what they paid) for their reservations through Priceline.

TripAdvisor launched TripAdvisor for Business, a new “B2B” marketing division.
They have also started a new free iphone app to access reviews which can be sorted by rating, distance, and price and can also send reviews from the road.

TripAdvisor was started in 2000. Now, ten years later, they have launched Trip Friends where people can get advice (through Facebook) from friends who have previously visited a destination.

Fort Lauderdale Hotels, featured recently on TripAdvisor, include:
The Lago Mar (“Way more than I expected”);
Embassy Suites (“Best part of the trip”);
W Hotel (“Best W Hotel stay ever – pleasantly surprised”).

Fodor’s article on “Best US Road trips – 4 Great Drives” featured US Route 1. In their best sights along the route, they included the Florida Everglades and the Overseas Highway to the Keys.

Best, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider. (July/August, 2010)
Reminder to send news to: jwfranklin1@gmail.com