(Editor’s Note: Here are several recent trends and hospitality marketing hints collected from various websites, releases, etc. Best, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider.)
--According to a recent study, 25% of all Americans who travel (within the US and overseas) do so alone. The travel industry has been slow in recognizing this fact and has continued to base most rates on double occupancy. Some forward thinking companies are now changing to a flat rate (e.g., the hotel room rate is the same for a single or double).
--Most hoteliers understand that loyal guests are important because it costs three to five times as much to attract new guests than to retain existing ones, and because previous guests strongly influence others by “word of mouth”. Companies that have more satisfied guests experience higher guest loyalty, and companies with higher guest loyalty, perform better financially.
--A recent study by Cornell University showed that there are four key performance indicators that particularly affected guests’ evaluations: reservation was accurate, check-in was completed within five minutes, no problems were experienced during the stay, and no billing errors occurred. Guests who experienced all four of these performance indicators were most likely to grant the hotel a top satisfaction rating.
--Another survey stated that the most important amenity for hotel guests today is wireless internet access. (Note: there’s even been a growing backlash against paying for guest-room Wi-Fi at upscale hotels. A number of full-service hotels are starting to offer their VIP guests free WI-Fi or their regular guests a menu of rates for their daily internet access - accessing your email at one price point, and letting you do things like watch movies at another cost.)
-- Hoteliers have lost revenue in recent years from in-room telephone charges and in-room movies. A Chicago Tribune article talked about ways that local hoteliers are trying to substitute for these previous revenue sources. They mentioned spa services, live music venues, adding Sunday brunches, etc. What creative ways have South Florida hoteliers used to supplement income? Are you up selling guests to higher priced options?
--There’s so much info out there about social media, that I don’t usually include anything in these summaries. One item caught my eye -- Hotels that have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts need to publicize this fact within the hotel. Have signs at the check-in desk. Put the symbols on every printed collateral piece in-house (and on marketing materials too; Don’t think I have to say: put the links on your website, but you never know.)
----A new trend in lodging is the small, specialized and unique “boutique” lodging concept. Now, even the big hotel companies are jumping on the band wagon to have a boutique brand concept as part of their property mix. And we’ll be seeing more of this in the future as more chains want to compete.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Around Town – December 2010
(Editor’s Note: Here’s a collection of newsworthy items from our industry members and the South Florida community. HSMAInsider, Julie Wernick)
Southeast Florida:
Congrats to Cindy Malin who was named as Head of Business Development at ME Productions. She will be promoting ME Productions as South Florida's premier event production and destination management company. Cindy previously held positions of
Communications Manager and Marketing Consultant for the Seminole Tribe of Florida; Communications Manager at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau; and assisted SportsMark in providing destination management services to the U.S. Olympics' "Dream Team" and Americans attending the games.
The Miami Beach Convention Center was ranked first on the South Florida Business Journal's list of largest convention and meeting sites, as published Oct. 8th. The Miami Beach Convention Center was first on the list based on its 627,000 square feet of total meeting space. Also in the top 5 are: Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center; Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood; Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center; The Doubletree Hotel; and the Miami Airport Convention Center. The complete list included 25 convention and meeting sites with contact information.
The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau said 10,000 attendees were at the Jewelers International Showcase, which took place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Oct. 8-11. The event had an estimated $595,700 economic impact.
BizBash reported that the University of Miami celebrated the grand opening of the Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center in Coral Gables. The 72,000-square-foot building, which houses the university's alumni relations department, can be booked for private events by alumni and non-alums alike. There are six spaces suited for meetings, cocktail parties, dinners, and other special events for groups of 35 to 500.
NCL’s Norwegian Sun, which was based in Miami was moved (in October) to Port Canaveral. NCL had based its biggest ship, the Epic, in Miami this past summer. In fact, the arrival of the Epic helped the Port of Miami breaks its own record for cruise traffic in a fiscal year. The port processed 4,145,053 passengers in the year ended Sept. 30, up from 4,110,100 for the prior year – an increase of 34,953. The July-September quarter was up 10 percent, which coincided with the arrival of the Epic.
After six years at Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, Wannado City announced it would be closing in the near future.
According to officials at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport: FLL will have 7.7 percent more seating capacity during the first quarter of the 2011. FLL will then be the fastest-growing airport in Florida, and the fourth-fastest-growing airport in the U.S. for capacity. Capacity will begin ramping up in the fall to correspond with the high travel season. There will be an additional 6,200 roundtrip seats a day in January, 2011.
In other FLL airport news/statistics: The airport handled 10.3 percent more passengers in September than it did during the same month last year. FLL grew total passengers to 1.44 million from 1.31 million last year.
From January through September, the airport handled 5.1 percent more passengers than during the same time last year. The rise in September marks 13 straight months of passenger growth, which started in September 2009 after 14 straight months of losses that began in July 2008. Overall, the number of international passengers has grown at a faster percentage rate than domestic passengers this year.
October marked the second month in a row that FLL Airport had double-digit percentage passenger growth. The airport added 164,000 passengers in October, growing 10.7 percent over October 2009, according to airport data. That was the largest percentage gain so far this year, exceeding September’s growth.
In other airline news, American Eagle added two daily non-stops from MIA to Cleveland in November and Delta announced it would begin MIA – Jacksonville service in March 2011.
According to STR (formerly Smith Travel Research): Occupancy and rates grew at local hotels in September, compared to the prior year period. Miami Dade: 59.3 % (up from 52.9); Broward 53.6% (up from 49.5%); Palm Beach 46.4% (up from 44.3%). Occupancy across the U.S. grew to 59.9 %.
Occupancy and rates grew October: Occupancy in Broward County grew to 66.5 % from 60.6 percent in the prior-year period. Occupancy in Miami-Dade grew to 68.2 % from 62.3 %. In Palm Beach County, it grew to 55.1 % from 50.7 %.
Southwest Florida:
According to the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB, lingering misperceptions about the Gulf Coast oil spill continued to cause some risk aversion impacts to visitation to Collier County, according to the September visitation report from Research Data Services. Visitation for September 2010 was down 1.0 percent from September 2009. On the positive side, the economic impact from visitors for the month increased by 1.2 percent to $37,743,323.
Congrats to the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club who received a prestigious honor as it was presented with "The Green to Gold Award" by the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Collier County, Florida, for "best exemplifying green leadership." The award was presented to the Southwest Florida resort during the EDC's "27th Annual Excellence in Industry Awards."
Three Paradise Coast resorts appeared in the Conde Nast Traveler 2010 Readers Choice Top 100 List for Mainland U.S. Large Resorts. The Ritz-Carlton, Naples beach resort is number 14; The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples is number 18; and the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa is number 70 on the list. The designation is reached by surveying readers of Conde Nast Traveler.
The Hawthorn Suites of Naples was honored as the Hotel of the Year for 2010 by the Wyndham Hotel Group. The boutique all suites hotel was honored with the award during a dinner at the Wyndham Hotel Group's global conference in Las Vegas.
The Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) was recently recognized by Airline and Airport News & Analysis with a U.S. Annie Prize 2010 for the "Fastest Growing Airport in the 5 to 10 Million Passenger" category.
The Naples Botanical Garden opened its new cultivated gardens of Asia and Florida and a new water garden on Nov. 13. This marked the final stage of the major redevelopment of Naples Botanical Garden as a new area attraction.
Naples Bay Resort, a Four Diamond property on Florida's Paradise Coast, has announced a special winter spa package ideal for couples looking to refresh, renew and relax. Named Blissful Intervention, included is pampering at Naples Bay Resort's Spa, lounging at the resort's pool complex in a private cabana, lunch poolside, and guest accommodations.
--------------------------------------
To submit items for future editions, send to jwfranklin1@gmail.comBest, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider
Southeast Florida:
Congrats to Cindy Malin who was named as Head of Business Development at ME Productions. She will be promoting ME Productions as South Florida's premier event production and destination management company. Cindy previously held positions of
Communications Manager and Marketing Consultant for the Seminole Tribe of Florida; Communications Manager at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau; and assisted SportsMark in providing destination management services to the U.S. Olympics' "Dream Team" and Americans attending the games.
The Miami Beach Convention Center was ranked first on the South Florida Business Journal's list of largest convention and meeting sites, as published Oct. 8th. The Miami Beach Convention Center was first on the list based on its 627,000 square feet of total meeting space. Also in the top 5 are: Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center; Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood; Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center; The Doubletree Hotel; and the Miami Airport Convention Center. The complete list included 25 convention and meeting sites with contact information.
The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau said 10,000 attendees were at the Jewelers International Showcase, which took place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Oct. 8-11. The event had an estimated $595,700 economic impact.
BizBash reported that the University of Miami celebrated the grand opening of the Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center in Coral Gables. The 72,000-square-foot building, which houses the university's alumni relations department, can be booked for private events by alumni and non-alums alike. There are six spaces suited for meetings, cocktail parties, dinners, and other special events for groups of 35 to 500.
NCL’s Norwegian Sun, which was based in Miami was moved (in October) to Port Canaveral. NCL had based its biggest ship, the Epic, in Miami this past summer. In fact, the arrival of the Epic helped the Port of Miami breaks its own record for cruise traffic in a fiscal year. The port processed 4,145,053 passengers in the year ended Sept. 30, up from 4,110,100 for the prior year – an increase of 34,953. The July-September quarter was up 10 percent, which coincided with the arrival of the Epic.
After six years at Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, Wannado City announced it would be closing in the near future.
According to officials at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport: FLL will have 7.7 percent more seating capacity during the first quarter of the 2011. FLL will then be the fastest-growing airport in Florida, and the fourth-fastest-growing airport in the U.S. for capacity. Capacity will begin ramping up in the fall to correspond with the high travel season. There will be an additional 6,200 roundtrip seats a day in January, 2011.
In other FLL airport news/statistics: The airport handled 10.3 percent more passengers in September than it did during the same month last year. FLL grew total passengers to 1.44 million from 1.31 million last year.
From January through September, the airport handled 5.1 percent more passengers than during the same time last year. The rise in September marks 13 straight months of passenger growth, which started in September 2009 after 14 straight months of losses that began in July 2008. Overall, the number of international passengers has grown at a faster percentage rate than domestic passengers this year.
October marked the second month in a row that FLL Airport had double-digit percentage passenger growth. The airport added 164,000 passengers in October, growing 10.7 percent over October 2009, according to airport data. That was the largest percentage gain so far this year, exceeding September’s growth.
In other airline news, American Eagle added two daily non-stops from MIA to Cleveland in November and Delta announced it would begin MIA – Jacksonville service in March 2011.
According to STR (formerly Smith Travel Research): Occupancy and rates grew at local hotels in September, compared to the prior year period. Miami Dade: 59.3 % (up from 52.9); Broward 53.6% (up from 49.5%); Palm Beach 46.4% (up from 44.3%). Occupancy across the U.S. grew to 59.9 %.
Occupancy and rates grew October: Occupancy in Broward County grew to 66.5 % from 60.6 percent in the prior-year period. Occupancy in Miami-Dade grew to 68.2 % from 62.3 %. In Palm Beach County, it grew to 55.1 % from 50.7 %.
Southwest Florida:
According to the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB, lingering misperceptions about the Gulf Coast oil spill continued to cause some risk aversion impacts to visitation to Collier County, according to the September visitation report from Research Data Services. Visitation for September 2010 was down 1.0 percent from September 2009. On the positive side, the economic impact from visitors for the month increased by 1.2 percent to $37,743,323.
Congrats to the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club who received a prestigious honor as it was presented with "The Green to Gold Award" by the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Collier County, Florida, for "best exemplifying green leadership." The award was presented to the Southwest Florida resort during the EDC's "27th Annual Excellence in Industry Awards."
Three Paradise Coast resorts appeared in the Conde Nast Traveler 2010 Readers Choice Top 100 List for Mainland U.S. Large Resorts. The Ritz-Carlton, Naples beach resort is number 14; The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples is number 18; and the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa is number 70 on the list. The designation is reached by surveying readers of Conde Nast Traveler.
The Hawthorn Suites of Naples was honored as the Hotel of the Year for 2010 by the Wyndham Hotel Group. The boutique all suites hotel was honored with the award during a dinner at the Wyndham Hotel Group's global conference in Las Vegas.
The Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) was recently recognized by Airline and Airport News & Analysis with a U.S. Annie Prize 2010 for the "Fastest Growing Airport in the 5 to 10 Million Passenger" category.
The Naples Botanical Garden opened its new cultivated gardens of Asia and Florida and a new water garden on Nov. 13. This marked the final stage of the major redevelopment of Naples Botanical Garden as a new area attraction.
Naples Bay Resort, a Four Diamond property on Florida's Paradise Coast, has announced a special winter spa package ideal for couples looking to refresh, renew and relax. Named Blissful Intervention, included is pampering at Naples Bay Resort's Spa, lounging at the resort's pool complex in a private cabana, lunch poolside, and guest accommodations.
--------------------------------------
To submit items for future editions, send to jwfranklin1@gmail.comBest, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
