 October 2006
» San Diego North CVB Fall Mixer» Sales Update » Marketing Update » Industry News & Member Spotlight » Put the San Diego North CVB to Work for You » Stories from the Watercooler » Welcome Aboard! » Fast Facts - Travel Industry Tidbits » Bureau Contacts San Diego North CVB Fall Mixer 
The Bureau held its fall mixer at the Harrah's Rincon Resort and Casino on September 13, 2006. Cami Mattson, the Bureau's president and CEO, along with Janet Beronio,
General Manager of Harrah's, offered welcoming remarks. Many thanks to Harrah's for hosting the event location, catering, and entertainment. The Bureau also expresses its appreciation to all tabletop exhibitors, door prize sponsors and event attendees.
To find out more about hosting future mixer opportunities, please contact Debbie Mirageas, office manager at dmirageas@sandiegonorth.com.
«back to top Sales Update Sales Report : August-September 2006
Bureau attends Affordable Meetings NationalThe San Diego North CVB attended Affordable Meetings National, held in Washington D.C. from September 5-7, 2006. Anna Wachtel, national sales manager for the Bureau, shared the exhibit booth with co-op partners Morgan Run Resort & Club, Hilton San Diego/Del Mar, Inn at Rancho Santa Fe and L'Auberge Del Mar Resort & Spa. Over 70 meeting planners stopped at the San Diego North booth, resulting in a total of 59 leads. Bureau Attends Incentive Travel & Meeting Expo The Bureau attended the Incentive Travel & Meeting Expo (ITME) Trade Show which took place on September 26-28 in Chicago. Among the estimated 10,000+ delegates who attended the show, 130 planners visited the booth. The Bureau generated 11 immediate leads and 59 future business leads. Stephanie Colby-Aburto, director of sales for the Bureau, attended along with co-op partners from L'Auberge Del Mar Resort & Spa, Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, Homewood Suites Del Mar and Pala Casino Resort & Spa. Bureau Hosts 2nd Annual E-commerce Summit The San Diego North CVB hosted an e-commerce summit on September 14-15, 2006 at the Morgan Run Resort & Club. The event was headed up by Yolanda Hartley, sales manager for the Bureau, and brought together top-producing e-commerce partners and San Diego North hotels and attractions. Discussions focused on new and existing partnerships, covering topics such as: contracting, marketing opportunities, Web site promotion, packaging, increasing room night production and more. E-commerce companies in attendance included Advanced Reservation Systems (ARES), Expedia Inc./Hotwire, Orbitz (Travelport), Quikbook, Travelocity, Travelworm/Jetaway Today and Tripres. Twenty-five San Diego North members participated, and found the summit to be educational, productive and valuable. The event was deemed successful by all attendees and e-commerce partners. The Bureau looks forward to planning the event next year. 
Staff Update - Donna Alfsen Hired as Sales CoordinatorDonna Alfsen recently joined the San Diego North Convention and Visitors Bureau sales team as Sales Coordinator. She brings over ten years of sales and marketing administration experience. Donna is a native of San Diego North and lives in Oceanside with her husband Kevin. Donna is excited to be a part of the sales team and looks forward to helping with the promotion of San Diego North. «back to top Marketing Update 
Bureau Distributes Summer-themed Consumer E-postcardThe Bureau's marketing department distributed its Summer e-postcard in August, garnering a read rate of 35.6%. The e-postcard provides the Bureau an additional means to keep connected with its opt-in newsletter subscribers. With stunning, large photography of popular attractions and sweeping landscapes within the San Diego North region, the e-postcard is designed as a reinforcement tool to remind subscribers of the beauty and uniqueness of the region. To view the Summer e-postcard, click here. 
Staff Update - Krista Wampler Hired as Marketing CoordinatorKrista Wampler has joined the San Diego North Convention and Visitors Bureau as the Marketing Coordinator. She loves marketing and exploring San Diego, so this new adventure is a refreshing challenge for her. She looks forward to helping San Diego North CVB grow to new heights! «back to top Industry News & Member Spotlight Industry News 
The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Aviara was honored in the "Best Spas for Luxury" category in the 2006 annual SpaFinder Reader's Choice Awards. The poll covered six continents, 14 nations and regions and over 1,000 individual spas.Amusement park enthusiasts from around the world have voted LEGOLAND® California as "Best Children's Park" for the third year in a row. First introduced in 1998, the Golden Ticket Awards have steadily increased in popularity to become the most sought after award by amusement industry players. The recipients of these awards are chosen from an international poll conducted by industry experts at Amusement Today, a monthly trade newspaper. The Marine Room won an Award of Excellence for its wine list by Wine Spectator Magazine. Wine Spectator's Restaurant Awards recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers. Member Spotlight 
The Grand Del Mar, slated for a mid-2007 completion, recently opened Addison, the luxury resort's new fine-dining venue. Featuring Executive Chef William Bradley, the menu showcases the chef's classic, artisanal approach to cooking fresh California ingredients with a Mediterranean influence to complement the resort's distinctive architecture and design. 
Actor Isaiah Washington took a break from filming the hit ABC series, "Grey's Anatomy", to bring his family to LEGOLAND® California. Known as "Dr. Preston Burke" on "Grey's Anatomy", Washington and his boys beat the summer heat on the new Splash Battle ride in Pirate Shores.«back to top Put the San Diego North CVB to Work For You Promotion Opportunities for ARES Members Hot Deals - Members who are contracted through ARES can post Hot Deals promotions in the next issue of the Bureau's opt-in consumer newsletter, Getaway Highlights. In addition, the Hot Deals listing will link from the San Diego North CVB Web site, which generated traffic of over nearly 212,000 unique users during the 05-06 fiscal year. Dynamic Packaging - The Bureau's Web site can now feature any combination of attraction tickets with any contracted hotels and distribute it as a packaged product, through ARES' new dynamic packaging capabilities. This new feature provides additional discounts and offers complete customization to the consumer. For information on ARES services click here, or call 1-800-828-0868. The 06-07 Co-op Trade Show Opportunities Are Now Available Co-op trade shows with the SD North CVB are a great opportunity for you to create additional exposure for your business in a cost-effective, productive, and highly visible manner! For more information, contact Donna Alfsen, sales coordinator, or any member of the San Diego North CVB sales team at 760-603-1690, or email sales@sandiegonorth.com. The trade show profiles are available by clicking here. For a listing of the 06-07 co-op trade shows and sign up form, click here. Keep It North and Reap the Benefits The Bureau offers assistance to area hotels and its displaced groups by providing alternative accommodations/meetings space through the Keep It North referral program. Keep It North is designed to keep business within the area and among members. To participate, members simply submit a referral to the sales team and also become eligible for a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas, Utah, Phoenix, Cabo San Lucas or other rewards. For information about the program and to download submission forms, click here. «back to top Stories from the Watercooler Escondido Inspires Title of New Eric Clapton Album The City of Escondido has a new claim to fame worth singing about, according to an article published in the Friday, September 22 issue of Today's Local News, inland edition. Blues-guitar legend Eric Clapton recently collaborated with guitarist J.J. Cale to produce a new album entitled, "Road to Escondido". Many of the album's songs were written in Escondido, as Clapton has ties to the city. He was spotted in Escondido during last year's Cruisin' Grand and used to live in the Escondido area. City residents and community leaders, including Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler, are pleased with the level of attention that can potentially be brought to the city, particularly with the international popularity of Clapton. The album hits stores on November 7. Included are 14 songs that were jointly produced and recorded by Clapton and Cale. The album also includes collaborations with Taj Mahal, John Mayer, Derek Trucks and the late Billy Preston. «back to top Welcome Aboard! We are proud to announce the following organizations which have joined as new members of the San Diego North CVB: Epazote Oceanview Steakhouse 1555 Camino Del Mar, Ste. 322 Del Mar, CA 92014 Phone: 858-259-9966 / Fax: 858-259-0611 www.epazotedelmar.com Mouthwatering menu of traditional fine cuts of steak with glittering view of the Pacific high above Del Mar Plaza and award-winning "shaker margaritas". Stone Brewing Company 1999 Citracado Parkway Escondido, CA 92029 Phone: 760-471-4999 / Fax: 760-471-7690 www.stonebrew.com Stone Brewing Company is famous for making some of the best beers in the world. In addition, Stone is one of the fastest growing breweries in America and one of San Diego's fastest growing private companies. «back to top Fast Facts - Travel Industry Tidbits American Hotel & Lodging Association Releases 2006 Survey The American Hotel & Lodging Association released its results for the 2006 lodging survey. With participation from over 9,300 U.S. hotel properties, the survey covered over 100 topics. Among its major findings, the survey revealed: - High-speed Internet access has grown substantially. Of all responding properties, 89% offers this feature in 2006, versus 50% in 2004. - The number of hotels offering wireless Internet service has doubled in the last two years. In 2006, 82% of properties offered this service, up from 35% in 2004. - 98% of all hotel respondents in 2006 said they acquired their booking through the Internet, compared to 89% in 2004. - The upgraded bedding amenity feature was surveyed for the first time in 2006, with 69% of all hotels indicating having upgraded the bedding in their rooms last year. - Branded amenity products was also surveyed for the first time in 2006, with 85% of all hotels indicating having provided branded amenity products in their bathroom. For more information on this article click here. Business Travelers Open to Receiving Promotions A recent web-based survey conducted by Accenture revealed online shopping behaviors and preferences of U.S. business travelers. The survey included 794 business travelers who traveled more than 300 miles in the last 6 months. Survey findings revealed the following: - 83% said the most important feature an online travel site can provide is the ability to see total price, including taxes and fees, at the time of purchase. - 58% said being able to redeem points or miles was an important feature for a travel site. - 56% said they want to see a picture of hotel accommodations rather than a text description. - Many respondents would be willing to provide hotels with personal information in exchange for more personalized service and traditional perks such as room upgrades, discounts and cash back. For more information on this article, click here. Hotels Go After Younger Business Travelers Wanting to pursue opportunities among younger business travelers, a growing number of hotel brands are developing hotels which cater to this segment of 20- to 30-year-olds. For years, the Marriott's Courtyard brand has dominated the category, followed by the Hilton Garden Inn's brand at second. - Now, Starwood, Hyatt and other chains are developing their own concept in order to appeal to the new generation of business travelers. To address this consumer, hotels are considering edgy design, stylish décor, hipper hangouts beyond the guest room and flat-screen TVs. - Up and coming chains include Cambria, by budget chain Choice; Aloft, by Starwood; Indigo, by InterContinental; Hyatt Place; and Nylo, a start-up chain which is hiring a prominent nightclub designer to create its new look. For more information on this article, click here. «back to top Bureau Contacts Cami Mattson, president and CEO Barbara Bovee, director of marketing and operations Stephanie Colby-Aburto, director of sales Debbie Mirageas, office manager Hilary Townsend, public relations manager «back to top If you feel you've received this message in error, or if you no longer wish to receive news and special offers please Click Here to be removed from this list. |