Around Town – July 2011- PART 2

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

Southeast Florida:

Fort Lauderdale was the lowest tax burdened city in a recent study by the Global Business Travel Association. The study looked at 50 U.S. cities with the lowest and highest tourism taxes. Fort Myers was second and West Palm Beach was third. All are in both general sales tax and travel-related services such as car rental, hotel and meals. (Detroit #4; Portland, OR #4).The 5 highest-tax imposing cities on travelers were, in order, #1 Chicago, #2 New York City, #3 Seattle, Boston #4 and Kansas City, MO #5. This information is of extra special interest to all travel managers planning meetings and conferences.

Greater Fort Lauderdale has been marketing to the GLBT visitor for the last 15 years. Now that New York is allowing gay marriages, the GFLCVB is launching a new webpage featuring the area as a GLBT honeymoon destination. In addition, they are sponsoring a contest to win a gay honeymoon on Fort Lauderdale beach called the “Honeymoon with Pride”. Prizes include a five-night stay at the Royal Palms Resort & Spa, couples massage, candy, roses, and dinner for 2 or the “Preferred Pride” package at the Atlantic Resort & Spa with a couples massages, welcome cocktails. For more information and/or to enter to win, visit www.sunny.org/honemoonwithpride.

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and Kolter Group LLC have broken ground on a new 134-room Hyatt Place hotel in downtown Delray Beach.

Florida Atlantic University will be offering a Hospitality Management Certificate Program. Dates are Saturdays April 14 thru May 12th, 2012 from 10 am to 4 pm, on their Boca Raton Campus, College of Business. The program will benefit participants from all segments of the industry who desire to move into a supervisory role, wish to move up within their organization, seeking formal training, are new to the industry, or have a formal education in another discipline. The 5-module program covers core components required for success as a hospitality professional. For more information, contact Sarah Gaffney at sgaffne3@fau.edu

Southwest Florida:

The Ritz-Carlton Resorts of Naples announced the appointment of George Fistrovich to the position of executive chef. Chef Fistrovich will lead more than 100 culinary professionals in overseeing all food and beverage operations and culinary services for the 10 dining venues and group banquets at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples beach resort and The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples.

Several members of the Collier County hospitality community have been accepted into the Leadership Collier Class of 2012. Congratulations to Jenny Foegen from the Naples Princess, Clark Hill from Hilton Naples, and Tom White from Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Naples.

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB’s ad agency, Paradise Advertising & Marketing, announces the hiring of Scott Johnson as their new Creative Director.

Starwood Hotels has presented Four Points by Sheraton in Punta Gorda Harborside with its most prestigious award, the “Starwood North America 2010 Four Points Hotel of the Year Award”. Stephen Svecak, GM, and John Zaccari, CEO of A2Z Hospitality Management, accept the award on behalf of their hotel. In addition, the property had earlier in the year won awards for the “Highest Ranking Guest Service Score” and “2010 Overall TripAdvisor Ranking” for the four Points by Sheraton Brand. Congratulations!!

Charlotte County area residents are participating in a series of discussions about the future of tourism in their County. Teams have been formed on various tourism-related topics. Recommendations will be presented to the Charlotte VCB in late August/early September.

Renovations to the Holiday Inn Downtown Historic District in Fort Myers will start soon as part of a plan to focus on business travelers and corporate conferences. The project will renovate guest rooms, expand the business center, add retail lobby space, and reinvent the onsite restaurant.

Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa in south Fort Myers is offering an Island Drive special savings package that comes with $25 in free fuel, a free rental car, and a free bike rental on Sanibel Island or kayak rental at the hotel. Available through Oct. 31, 2011, the package features a 15 percent savings, with rates from $126 per night.

Several Lee County Hotels are currently offering girlfriend vacation packages. These include the Casa Ybel Resort on Sanibel Island; Gulf Breeze Cottages on Sanibel Island; the Hyatt Place Coconut Point in Bonita Springs; the Outrigger Beach Resort on Fort Myers Beach; and the Sanibel Arms West on Sanibel Island

In its June 2011 issue, the Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s 2011 Spa Poll named the Gasparilla Inn Spa in Boca Grande as one of the Top 25 U.S. Hotel Spas. The spa operates now on its special summer schedule: Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during July and August.

TripAdvisor has presented the Tarpon Tale Inn on Sanibel Island and the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers each with a 2011 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, an honor given to properties that consistently receive excellent ratings from the travel website’s members.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To submit items for future blog editions, please send to jwfranklin1@gmail.com
Best, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider