“Hospitality Marketing Medley” – April 2011

(Editor’s Note: Here are several recent trends and hospitality marketing hints collected from various websites, releases, etc. Best, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider.)

Some mid-market chain hotels are getting rid of their traditional front desks. Feeling that these counters may be too “imposing”, they are switching to more welcoming desks or to kiosks using virtual check-ins.

Train your front desk/reservations staff to “take the booking”. Most people do research online first, but then will call a hotel directly for a variety of reasons. Make sure your front desk knows what rates are online (and not to match certain exclusive agreement rates), and what fees you have to pay those other booking sources. This will encourage “best practices” at your hotel, keep costs down, and ensure your callers don’t book at another property.

In 2011, Smith Travel Research (STR) is projecting increases in all three key performance metrics. Occupancy is expected to rise 1.6 percent to 58.3 percent, ADR to increase 3.9 percent to US$101.73, and RevPAR is projected to end the year up 5.5 percent to US$59.35.

At a fall AH&LA meeting, it was suggested that now is the time to bring hotel rates up in small increments. As corporate travel, et al, has rebounded, hotel guests recognize that the cost of business is going up and therefore rates will too. Once a consumer sees that they can’t get what they want when and where they want it, they conclude they have to pay more. Key phrase here is “small” increments. At an HSMAI/Amex roundtable meeting, it was noted that raising rates to meet demand is important, but hotels must keep in mind, at the same time, the need to remain competitive in the marketplace.

Everyone knows that proper pricing is more critical than ever for hoteliers, today. The importance of revenue management doesn’t need to be stressed. More than just setting prices, however, is to make sure revenue managers are “customer-centric”. That is, RM’s must make sure their prices are “fair.” If buyers perceive your price is fair, they will become loyal, repeat customers.
Another challenge, now that the recession is over, is to get the public weaned off deals, the “rock-bottom” price, and get them to focus more on value. Consumers are still conscious of how they spend their money. But will spend it where they think they can get the most value.


Corporate/Business Travel is on the increase again. A recent survey of business travelers found that the “overall hotel experience” is important to the majority of them. They often work in their room and they also expect a lot more from a hotel than just a clean room and comfortable bed. Important decision factors include amenities as well as technology (wifi; room set up/fees to access internet, etc.).

With so many hotels these days seeking new ways to please increasingly tech savvy guests, USA Today surveyed readers re: which electronic device they'd like to borrow from the front desk. The winner was the iPad by a 61% vote. It seems a growing number of hotels have been buying the iPad for their guests to use – either at the concierge desk (e.g., InterContinental Hotels) or in their suite (e.g. upscale Peninsula Hotels).

Our “International” South Florida Chapter of HSMAI?

(Editor’s Note: This information was passed along by Ellen Serra, Chapter Board Member. Julie Wernick, HSMAinsider)

“The Chapter’s Program Committee met in Aventura (last Thursday) to discuss the (meetings) program for the rest of the year. What's interesting is that there were 6 of us – all from a different country:

Haydee Casanova -- Puerto Rico;
Stella Quintero -- Columbia;
Ellen Serra -- Canada;
Gail Spier -- USA;
Carlene McLeod -- England; and
Saul Sarmiento -- Bolivia.”

Ellen’s email got me wondering what OTHER countries are represented by our HSMAI-South Florida Chapter’s members. Won’t you send in your country names/origins? You can either post this as a comment on the blog or email the information to jwfranklin1@gmail.com.

Women in Distress can use your amenities!

HSMAInsider, Julie Wernick, says:
This is a good time during spring cleaning to look through your hotel or home and get rid of old logoed items or amenities you may have collected in your business travels and aren’t planning on using. What better way to help someone else in need than by donating to Women In Distress? Travel size toiletries go very quickly there and are always needed.

When possible, all donations should be brought to the location below:

Women In Distress Jim and Jan Moran Family Center (Temporary Location)
Northridge Medical Center is located at 5757 N. Dixie Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334 (That’s between Commercial Blvd. and Cypress Creek Rd.)
Parking is on the north side of what had been the main hospital entrance (but if you have heavy boxes you can pull up temporarily in front of the entrance to unload). Their hours are Monday - Thursday: 9am to 9pm, Friday: 9am to 5pm
Donations Accepted: Any new donations are only accepted at the Family Center, as well as small gently-used items. Large donations of gently-used items and furniture are accepted at the Thrift Store.

You can also mail them to: Women In Distress of Broward County, Inc.
P.O. Box 676, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33302.

Have other items you wish to donate? Here's a list of the needed items and all the information: http://www.womenindistress.org//others-ways_32_3058584791.pdf

Please mention when you make your donation that you heard about them through our HSMAI-South Florida Chapter. On behalf of Women In Distress, thank you!

Around Town – March/April 2011

(Editor’s Note: Here’s a collection of newsworthy items from our industry members and the South Florida community. HSMAInsider, Julie Wernick)

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA: Welcome! ME Productions has hired Noëlle Liger-Burton as Director of Inbound Destination Management to provide service to international clientele in the MICE market (meetings, incentives, conference and events) in South Florida as well as throughout the US. Prior to joining ME Productions, she held the position of Director of Meeting Operations at JMT Events in Miami, Florida.

Congrats! Jay H. Guttveg, owner/operator of Creative Focus Inc., has been published once again, in the prestigious Florida Connects Magazine, a Joint Publication of Meeting Professional International, Florida Chapters. Jay has been offering photographic services for social and corporate events for more than 26 years.

Welcome! The Howard Johnson Plaza in Deerfield Beach is now a Wyndham resort. The 172-room hotel recently completed a multimillion dollar renovation and modernization.

Welcome to the following “new” Broward folks: Joseph Maijala, Director of Sales, the Pelican Beach Grand Resort; Jamie Jordan, Director of Group Sales, the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa; Yvette Pallens, Marketing Manager, the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa; Susan Aichele, Director of Sales and Marketing, along with Andrew Volkmann, Sales Manager at the Atlantic Resort & Spa.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau was recognized by Coastal Communications Corporation for outstanding service from the respective subscribers of Corporate & Incentive Travel, Insurance & Financial Meetings Management and Association Conventions & Facilities.

Congrats to The Seagate Hotel & Spa (Delray Beach) on being voted “Best Beach Getaway by Southern Living Magazine’s “Best of the South Travel Awards”.

Congrats to Expo Convention Contractors! Two of their clients: FIME International Medical Expo and Jewelers International Showcase (JIS) won the Trade Show Executive Magazine’s Fastest 50 Tradeshows Award.

Congrats to The Tides – South Beach (Miami Beach) for placing at #14 in the “Top Hotels in the U.S.” part of the Travelers’ Choice 2011 Awards by TripAdvisor travelers.

The Clevelander (South Beach) has a job opening for a Director of Sales and Marketing. For more details and information, contact Karlene Palmer-Mcleod, Marketing Manager, at kpmcleo@clevelander.com

The Village at Gulfstream Park is hosting a variety of events in April. On Wednesdays (April 6, 13, 20, and 27) they will be holding a Green Market from 4pm – 9pm in Champions Plaza.

Outpacing the rest of Florida, Greater Fort Lauderdale recorded a 2.6 percent increase in total visitors in 2010, according to year-end estimates. Spending in the local economy by the 10.84 million visitors also rose from $8.47 billion to $8.69 billion.

Traffic at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport jumped 6.4 percent. Statewide, Florida saw a 2.1 percent increase in visitors. Fort Lauderdale Airport reported a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase in passengers in January. The airport had 16.3% growth in international passengers and 3.1% growth in domestic passengers.

Miami Airport report a 4.7 percent increase in January, led by a spurt in international passenger growth. The airport had 1.59 million arrivals this January, up from 1.51 million in January 2010. International arrivals were up 5.8 percent, hitting 791,553. Domestic arrivals were up 3.6 percent, to 794,601. Miami was among the top U.S. cities where demand for luxury hotels has seen an increase at five-star properties in 2010, according to a report released by Hotels.com Hotel Price Index. The year-over-year increase for Miami was 10 percent (following #1 Boston at 21% and Chicago at 20%).

Miami International had 8.03 million international passengers in 2010, up 3.4 percent, to continue its second-place ranking behind New York's JFK, which had 11.26 million passengers, according to the US Department of Transportation.

PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) said it expects higher occupancy levels and room rates across South Florida this year. West Palm Beach should see: 1.2 percent increase in occupied rooms, to 62.6 percent occupancy; 4.9 percent increase in average daily room rates (ADR), to $137.54; Fort Lauderdale: 3.1 percent increase in occupied rooms, to 69.6 percent occupancy; 2 percent increase in ADR, to $115.70; and Miami: 4.4 percent increase in occupied rooms, to 72.5 percent occupancy; 2.2 percent increase in ADR, to $150.79.

SOUTHWEST Florida:

Congrats! The Business Research & Consulting Firm Frost & Sullivan presented Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) with a 2010 U.S. Air Travelers' Choice Award in the category of Most Problem-free Airport for Travelers Arriving by Surface Transportation in early January.

The Inn on Fifth (Naples) recently released its 2011 Super Summer Meetings Deal. Throughout the summer, meeting planners will receive a host of benefits including holding their meetings at the Inn on Fifth.

The Doubletree Suites by Hilton (Naples) won Hilton Hotels' top performance awards again for 2010, marking this boutique hotel as the only Doubletree in the world that has achieved more than two of Hilton's top "Connie" awards. This is the seventh "Connie" for the hotel. The hotel also received the Annual CARE Cup, a Pride Award, the Housekeeping Award of Excellence, the Hospitality Award of Excellence, and the Environmental CARE Award.

Statewide:
WORLDWIDE: Some of you, who have been in the area for awhile, may remember Bernadette Dennis when she was with the Marriott in Fort Lauderdale and active in our HSMAI chapter. After a number of years at various properties, she “returned home” to Australia. Happy to announce and offer congratulations to Bernadette who is now the Managing Director, HSMAI Asia Pacific, the newly inducted third global region in HSMAI’s worldwide network (joining Europe and the Americas). --------------------------------------

To submit items for future blog editions, please send to jwfranklin1@gmail.com Best, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider

You Too Can Be A Certified Hospitality Sales Executive (CHSE)

The following information on the CHSE designation comes from Peter Ricci, Director, Hospitality Management Program, FAU, and HSMAI-South Florida chapter Board Member. Editor’s Note by Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider. --------------------------------- It's a pleasure to let all of you know that HSMAI is offering a new designation, the Certified Hospitality Sales Executive (CHSE). As a member of the South Florida HSMAI board, I offered to take the certification earlier this year and go through the process so that I can, in turn, assist our members who wish to obtain the CHSE. To make sure it was feasible, I ordered the materials, read the study guide, and took the modules (before the actual exam) AND the actual exam all within one week. The actual course content is suitable for someone with short-to-medium tenure in an actual sales, marketing, or related role. However, anyone will pick up a few useful pieces of information along the way. Also, I took some minimal notes as I was reading and created a study guide. This study guide is available from the local chapter as a resource for you. Lastly, here is a link to the HSMAI web site that has information regarding the CHSE and the application process: http://www.hsmai.org/resources/chse.cfm Our goal is to have as many of our local chapter members join me in becoming a CHSE. I'm happy to assist you with any questions you may have, putting together a study group if necessary, providing the study guide via Judy who is our chapter manager, etc. I found the process easy to do on my own and I completed the entire process from application to approval of experience to study materials to on line modules to actual exam all within ONE week. Please let me know if I may be able to help you in the journey toward receipt of the CHSE! Cheers, Peter Dr. Peter Ricci, CHSE, CHA, Director, Hospitality Management Program Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road; 320 FH, Boca Raton, FL 33431 (561) 297-3666 (phone), PRICCI1@fau.edu