Press Releases
Share/BookmarkMore than 70 hospitality and tourism professionals attended the
meeting at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country. SCTB staff presented 2008 results
and 2009 strategies during the annual meeting, while industry professionals and
travel writers offered insights during the tourism forum.
"We are looking at the economic downturn as an opportunity to
attract new visitors to Sonoma Country," said SCTB president and CEO Ken
Fischang. "The weak dollar had created an opportunity to lure
international visitors here, and attract domestic travelers to choose us
instead of a European vacation. High gas prices created "staycation"
trippers who live within a 250-mile radius."
As part of the annual meeting, Fischang and his staff shared the
organization's results from 2008. The work of the sales team resulted in an economic
impact of more than $4,476,008 million and over $8,436,924 million in total
potential estimated economic impact from July 2007 to June 2008.
The public relations and marketing teams influenced stories in publications
that netted more than 44,000,000 in earned circulation. New websites and social
media became an important tool for SCTB to connect with travelers and media.
The tourism forum provided learning opportunities as industry
insiders discussed the impact of research and how to plug into social
marketing. Also, the forum offered a glimpse into the inner workings of travel
writers' minds and how to effectively work with them to get your story told.
Mo Sherifdeen, interactive marketing manager with Travel Oregon,
discussed successful e-marketing strategies, saying, "These challenging
times give us an opportunity to experiment. There are interesting ways to
market through social media.
"People are social by nature and seek connections to others,"
he said. "People who respond to your message through social media, such as
facebook or twitter, are more likely to order visitor materials."
Mo explained that journalists and consumers look at blogs, follow
on twitter and are aware of the conversation going on about individual
properties and organizations.
"You need to listen to the chatter," he said. "Find
out what people are saying about you. Social media is a conversation. You need
to listen and respond. Don't interrupt the flow with a sales pitch."
Vail Brown, vice president global sales and marketing, Smith
Travel Research, encouraged people to understand how research and trends can
help planning for the future. Smith provides monthly, weekly, and daily STAR
reports to more than 38,000 hotels, representing 4.5 million rooms worldwide
Brown offered a current snapshot of Sonoma County that shows room
supply up 3.9 percent and demand down .5 percent. Occupancy is at 61.3 percent,
which is down 4.2 percent. Average daily rate is $123.69, down 1 percent.
"As we go through downturns, don't drop your rates,"
Brown said. "Entice visitors by offering other incentives along with their
stay - stay two nights and get a third night free, wine tasting packages. When
we had a downturn in 2001, people dropped rates and it took six years to get
the rates back to the previous levels. Your customers who are paying $60 today
will be less willing to pay your former rate of $150 when the economy rebounds.
"We know from the past, these downturns rebound," she
added. "The best way to weather this is to be optimistic."
Matt Villano and Suzanne Rodriguez offered insights on how to
engage with travel writers. The challenge for writers is the number of outlets
available to write for is shrinking; magazines and newspapers are downsizing
and, in some instances, closing.
"I'm always aware of the market and I write what people want
to read," Rodriguez said. "Now, it's value travel stories. For people
who want to attract travel writers, remember to give them the same awesome customer
service experience you would give your customers."
Villano said the key for him is packaging. Newspapers are
shrinking and more publications want more quick bites from several places, than
one long story from one location or property.
"If you get together with some of your colleagues and throw a
package together, I can use that," he said. "For example, five inns
along the Russian River; the best Victorian B&Bs."
Both writers said don't over-pitch stories to writers. If you have
a good idea, keep it succinct and send it in an e-mail.
"Also, don't pitch to a writer unless you have
high-resolution photos to go with it," Villano advised. "Once the
story is ready, have the photos accessible with a caption and photo
credit."
The tourism forum is part of SCTB's ongoing program to bring in
outside experts to discuss new trends in tourism. The next forum is scheduled
for May.
# # #
Editors: A pdf of the
presentations can be found at www.sonomacounty.com/partners. The link is 2009
Annual Meeting Presentations.
The
Sonoma County Tourism Bureau is the Destination Marketing Organization for
Sonoma Country. The SCTB markets Sonoma County as a leisure, business and group
travel destination. Tourism generates in excess of $1 billion annually for the
local economy. The Sonoma County Tourism Bureau offices are located at 420
Aviation Blvd., Suite 106, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. For more information call (800)
576-6662 or visit www.sonomacounty.com.
Tina
Luster
Sonoma
County Tourism Bureau
(707)
522-5818
tluster@sonomacounty.com