SAVE THE DATE: Greater Fort Lauderdale Marketing Plan Presentation
Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 7 at 11am for the 2011 Greater Fort Lauderdale Marketing Plan Presentation and Luncheon at the Broward County Convention Center. See what's on the horizon for tourism sales, convention sales, multicultural business, gay marketing, public relations and advertising as we gear up to meet the challenges for the year ahead. FRLA is organizing a trade show before the luncheon at 11am. And cultural groups will be exhibiting as well. Contact Lynne Hernandez lhernandez@FRLA.org for exhibition information.
Oil Spill Threat to South Florida Almost Over
On Friday, July 30, the Sun Sentinel featured a very positive story titled “Oil spill threat to South Florida almost over, top federal official says” with the encouraging news that, with the oil leak capped, there is now very little chance that any of the Transocean/BP oil spill will reach South Florida. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen in New Orleans said: “The chances that oil will become entrained in the loop current are very, very low and will go to zero as we continue to contain the leakage at the well with the cap and ultimately kill it.” This is very good news for Greater Fort Lauderdale and we encourage you to reach out to your customers to let them know that they can continue to enjoy our beautiful Blue Wave certified beaches and warm Atlantic waters without concern. Meanwhile, your team at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau will continue its aggressive marketing endeavors to reach visitors with positive messages and images of Greater Fort Lauderdale’s appeal as a premier destination for leisure, business and group travel.
Lauderdale Spa Chic
Take some time to relax during the third annual Lauderdale Spa Chic, August 15 - September 30. Enjoy spa treatments for $99 (up to 50% savings) and Spa Chic Stays, including spa treatments and overnight accommodations, starting at $179. Relax and renew at one of 15 participating spas: The Atlantic Hotel; Contour Day Spa; Diva’s Day Spa; Embassy Suites Deerfield Beach; Grand Resort & Spa (gay); Harbor Beach Marriott Resort; Hollywood Beach Marriott; Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six; Lago Mar Resort and Club; Residence Inn by Marriott Oceanfront; Planet Massage; The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale; The W Fort Lauderdale; The Westin Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale; and The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa. For details visit www.sunny.org/spachic.
Public Relations Efforts
A special thank you to the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Sea Level Restaurant and Ocean Bar, 3030 Ocean and especially Aloha Watersports, for assisting with the Weather Channel’s live television remote, featuring Fort Lauderdale in their Ultimate Summer Beach Party contest. Also, a special thank you to the Pelican Grand Beach Resort for assisting with a national Satellite Media Tour with The Travel Mom, Emily Kaufman, which broadcast live to more than 25 stations throughout the US. The staff at each entity did an amazing job helping us to spread the word about our clean, beautiful beaches to top target markets. View a clip of The Travel Mom on Fort Lauderdale beach here. Upcoming activities include a live satellite media tour with the Larry Hoff syndicated show on CW stations to be broadcast nationally in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Miami; plus a satellite media tour in September to promote Spa Chic and the participating spas.
Advertising Co-ops
Save the Date: On Thurs, Sept 23, the CVB’s Communication Dept, along with Starmark, the CVB’s advertising agency, will review the coop advertising options available for 2011 on at 3pm at the Broward County Convention Center. Bring your questions about sunny.org and social media too. RSVP to Kim Canter kcanter@broward.org if you plan to join us.
Flying High at FLL
Total passenger traffic for the month of June was 1,722,261, up 2.6% over June 2009. June marked the 9th consecutive month of positive growth in total passenger traffic. Available seats for June were up 5.5% over last year. Based on airline schedules, load factor for June was 85.2%, almost 3 percentage points above the historical average. Leading the way in the growth column was Delta up 15.3%, JetBlue up 11.9% and SW up 7.3%. Most international carriers showed positive growth led by Air Canada and Westjet who continued with off season increases in capacity. The Canadian market was up 68% over June last year. Condor continued to do very well with an outbound load factor of 95.4%. The outlook for 3rd quarter is very positive. On the international side, Spirit will begin operations to Barranquilla, Colombia and increase capacity to Central America and Lima. JetBlue will increase capacity to Santo Domingo. Westjet and Air Canada will continue with increased capacity to Canada. Domestically, JetBlue will increase service to JFK, Buffalo, Boston and Dulles, and Delta will add capacity to Detroit, La Guardia, and Las Vegas. In the 4th quarter, we will see new service to Hartford by Southwest and the return of JetBlue and Delta to that market. JetBlue will also begin new service to DCA in November.
US Airways Profile on Greater Fort Lauderdale
Greater Fort Lauderdale will be the featured destination in the October 2010 issue of US Airways Magazine. Profile: Greater Fort Lauderdale will reach 7+ million business and leisure travelers on more than 4,000 daily flights to more than 200 cities in 35 countries. The coverage will highlight tourism and business initiatives. We encourage you to submit story ideas to destinationpubs@paceco.com. The editors will be working on a tight deadline, so please send all submissions for consideration as soon as possible.
Superior Small Lodging White Glove Awards
Congratulations to the 77 properties in the 2011 Superior Small Lodgings program from Deerfield Beach to Hallandale Beach. Recipients of the White Glove Award for best housekeeping practices, properties that score 100% during the annual inspection from the independent Property Review Program, include: Deerfield Beach: Berkshire Beach Club, Deerfield Buccaneer Resort Apartments Fort Lauderdale: Alhambra Beach Resort, Ambrosio's Inn, Beach Guesthouse, Birch Patio, By-Eddy Motel, Estoril Paradise Inn, The Flamingo Inn Amongst the Flowers, Fort Lauderdale Manhattan Tower Apartment Hotel, Napoli Belmar Resort, The Pillars at New River Sound, Pineapple Point Guest House, Summerland Suites, Sun Tower Hotel & Suites, Villa Venezia, Worthington Guest House Hollywood: Atlantic Sands, DeSoto Oceanview Inn, Grenier’s on the Beach, Hollywood Beach Golf and Country Club, Hollywood Sands Resort, Manta Ray Inn, Marine Villas, Neptune Hollywood Beach Club, Ocean Drive Villas, Ocean Inn, Quality Inn & Suites, Sea Downs, Shell Motel, Shell on the Beach Motel, Tide Vacation Apartments Lauderdale by the Sea: Best Florida Resort Motel, High Noon Resort, Sea Spray Inn, Tropic Seas Resort, Windjammer Resort & Beach Club Pompano Beach: Dolphin Apartments & Motel, Pineapple Place.
INN-FORMATION, INN-OVATION, INN-SPIRATION
Greater Fort Lauderdale will host the 2010 Superior Small Lodging Annual Conference, held at the Broward County Convention Center, Sept 12-13. Superior Small Lodging members from the around the state will gather to share ideas and plan for the year ahead. SSL members interested in attending should contact Donna Boucher executivedirector@superiorsmalllodging.com.
Dine Out Lauderdale
Enjoy three-course dinner menus for $35 October 1-November 11 at 35 top Broward restaurants: Aizia at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Blue Moon Fish Co., By Word of Mouth, Cafe Maxx, Cafe Vico, Cantina Laredo Gourmet Mexican Food, The Capital Grille, China Grill at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, Coco Asian Bistro & Bar, da Campo Osteria by Todd English at il Lugano, East City Grill, 15th Street Fisheries, Galanga Thai Kitchen & Sushi Bar, Grille 66 & Bar Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six, Hi-Life Café, Himmarshee Bar & Grille, ilios at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, Ireland's Steakhouse at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure, Johnny V, Le Bistro, Links Restaurant & Lounge at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Lola's on Harrison, Mai-Kai Restaurant and Show, The Melting Pot, Morton's The Steakhouse, North Ocean Grille at the Pelican Grand, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Sea Level Restaurant & Ocean Bar at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Shula's on the Beach at the Westin Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale, SoLita Las Olas, Sunfish Grill, III Forks Steak & Seafood, 3030 Ocean at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Trina at The Atlantic Hotel, Truluck's Seafood Steak and Crab House, Via Luna at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale. Visit www.sunny.org/dineout for details and menus.
Greater Fort Lauderdale Film Commission
The Glades, A&E's premiere of the new drama filmed throughout Broward, scared up the largest audience for a series opener in the network's 26-year history, delivering 3.55 million total viewers on July 11. Current productions in the works: TV Series: The Glades, TVM Productions; Wife Swap (Israeli Version), Kastina Communications; Design Squad, WGBH Educational Foundation; MTV-MADE, New Remote Productions; Telenovela: El Fantasma De Elena, Telemundo; Promotional Station Liners: CMT & Hooters, Country Music Television; TV Commercials: Blend Buddy, The Schwartz Group; Still Photography: Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, Peter Langone; Walmart, KSC Kreate Studio; Documentaries: Satellite Media Tour, Jules Berlin Agency; Solita Hunger, FBC of Fort Lauderdale; Urban Legends 3, Cineflix (Canada); Lifeguard Training Curriculum and Mission Beach, Rival Media (Ireland); Color Splash with David Bromstad, Do or Die/JOHLT Productions; One Square Mile, A Microcosm of the Human Experience: Wilton Manors, Brazos Films; Corporate Video: Chase Beach Event, Sugar NYC, Inc; Game: MooVision, RL Productions.
For Music Lovers: Classic Gold Music Awards
Take a walk down memory lane with your music idols from the 60s and 70s. The Classic Gold Music Awards at Hard Rock Live on Aug 30 will feature original recording artists including legends like Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals, Davy Jones of the Monkees, Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad, the voice of Orleans, Larry Hoppen, Peter Beckett from Little River Band and other unforgettable performances. Visit www.classicgoldmusic.com for ticket and event info.
Convention Sales Team Update
The convention sales team recently participated in the following: GFL Destination Preview and SITE Summer Splash, Chicago Cubs Client Event and Sales Mission, FSAE Annual Meeting in Naples, DMAI Annual Meeting in Hollywood, and MPI World Education Conference in Vancouver.
Catch the sales team at these upcoming events and tradeshows:
Aug 4–6: Kellen Company Summit, Atlanta
Aug 8–10: Successful Meetings Marketplace
Aug 9–13: GFLCVB Minneapolis Sales Mission
Aug 16–19: Tennessee Sales Calls, Memphis
Aug 17–19: Chuck Cook Show, Tallahassee
Aug 19–21: MPI Florida Southeast Education Conference, Tampa
Aug 21–25: ASAE Annual Meeting, Los Angeles
Aug 24–26: IncentiveWorks, Toronto
Upcoming Convention Sales Missions: Want to join us? Contact the group sales team leader listed.
Minneapolis (Stacy Copeland): Aug 2-6
St. Louis (Stacy Copeland): Sept 27-30
Atlanta Sales Mission (Michele Bemis): Oct 11-15
GFLCVB Destination Preview (Christine Tascione): Oct 21-24
August Group Sales Update
Groups meeting in August will generate more than $5 million to Broward County. Sample groups include:
Aug 9-14: Florida Assisted Living Affiliation (300 attendees)
Aug 16-22: Florida League of Cities Annual Convention (1,000 attendees)
Aug 24-28: Women of Word 2010 Retreat (150 attendees)
Aug 26-28: Classic Soul Cruise & Travel (400 attendees)
Aug 27-31: SESA Classic Gold Awards (940 attendees)
Sport Lauderdale
Greater Fort Lauderdale welcomes the following sports groups in August, with more than 3,200 competitors plus family and friends:
Aug 1-8: AAU Diving Championships (1900 attendees)
Aug 14-21: USA vs China Girls Tournament (100 attendees)
Aug 22-28: USA U15 Girls Training Camp (160 attendees)
Aug 20-23: USA Beach Jr. Tour Open Championships (600 attendees)
Aug 29- Sept 3: Canada/Spain/South Korea Soccer Tournament (300 attendees)
Multiculturally Speaking
August is a big month for the Family Reunion market. Through the efforts of Valerie Troutman in Convention Sales, GFL will host more than 20 reunions, creating more than 1,100 room nights for the destination. Also in August, Greater Fort Lauderdale welcomes the National Funeral Directors & Morticians Annual Conference at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa Aug 2-5. Albert Tucker takes the road attending Gospel Choirs & Choruses Convention in Orlando, Aug 2-4; Progressive National Baptist Conference in Orlando Aug 5-8, and Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Annual Convention in Minneapolis Aug 10-13.
Tourism Sales
In July, Alfredo Gonzalez and Josh Winston conducted a multi-city sales mission to vacation package planners across the US. Fernando Harb and Josh Winston attended the DMAI Annual Meeting at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa and Josh also met with the SE Michigan Chapter of NACTA in anticipation of this year's convention in Greater Fort Lauderdale.
Congrats!
The Travel + Leisure “World’s Best Awards” for 2010 have announced The Atlantic Hotel as one of the top 50 resorts in the U.S. and Canada. For the past 15 years readers have cast their votes for top hotels, destinations, airlines, cruises, and transportation companies. The Atlantic Hotel is the only hotel in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties to make the list. Click here to view full list. Money Magazine’s annual ranking of the “Best Places to Live in America” has named Coral Springs and Coconut Creek as one of the top 100 best small cities. They ranked 44 and 48, respectively. Click here to read all about it.
SUNsational Service Training
Join almost 18,000 hospitality industry professionals already trained. Register for the next FREE quarterly training class—only a few seats remaining. This interactive class is presented in partnership with Hospitality Excellence and is designed to help us reach our goal of outstanding service for every citizen and visitor in Broward County. Click here to sign up now or contact Kelly Tortoriello ktortoriello@broward.org for info on customized programs.
Hotel/Attraction News
The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa is now offering a new environmentally friendly way to balance the carbon emissions from the energy use of your group event for a small, flat fee of $250. Carbon Balanced Events, Powered by EarthEra, offers event organizers, promoters and participants a flexible option to reduce the environmental impact of meetings by powering the event with clean renewable energy. Click here for more info. Las Olas designer/retailer Zola Keller will officially launch a ‘Green Initiative’ with her new line of ‘PURE’, a collection of bridal gowns made with organic fabrics. Women is Distress Thrift Store has started a campaign to secure used linens from hotels who are refurbishing. If you have linens to donate, call (954) 760-9800.
HSMAI luncheon features VISIT FLORIDA tourism update
Join HSMAI South Florida on Wed, Aug 18 at the Hollywood Beach Marriott for a state-wide tourism marketing update from Will Seccombe, Chief Marketing Officer, VISIT FLORIDA. www.hsmaisouthflorida.org
Happenings Around Town
Through Aug 15: Nathan Sawaya: Replay, Art & Culture Center of Hollywood
Through Aug 20: Summer Theatre Camp, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Through-Sept 30: Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Vacation Like a VIP 2-for-1 Summer Deals, www.sunny.org/vip
Aug 3: American Idol Live, BankAtlantic Center
Aug 3-5: Florida Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies, Sun Life Stadium
Aug 5-7: Disney High School Musical 1 One Act Edition, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Aug 5: Justin Bieber, BankAtlantic Center
Aug 6-8: Florida Marlins vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Sun Life Stadium
Aug 6-8: Storytime Live, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Aug 9: Aerosmith, BankAtlantic Center
Aug 9: Chrystal Hartigan presents Songwriter’s Show case, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Aug 11: Kathy Griffin, Hard Rock Live
Aug 12-14: Disney High School Musical 2 One Act Edition, Miramar Cultural Center / ArtsPark
Aug 13-22: HUBBLE 3D, Museum of Discovery & Science and AutoNation® IMAX® Theater
Aug 14: Chris MacDonald’s Memories of Elvis in Concert, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Aug 14-15: Gun and Knife Show, War Memorial Auditorium
Aug 14: NBA & NFL Auto Show 2010, Renaissance Hotel Plantation
Aug 18: Donna Summer, Hard Rock Live
Aug 18: Learn the Art of Basket Weaving, Cypress Hammock Park, Coral Springs
Aug 20-22: Florida Marlins vs. Houston Astros, Sun Life Stadium
Aug 20-Sept 26: Mack and Mabel, Stage Door Theatre
Aug 20-21: Monster Jam, BankAtlantic Center
Aug 25: Natalie Merchant, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Aug 29: Hippiefest, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Aug 30: Classic Gold Music Awards, Hard Rock Live
Aug 31: Tears for Fears, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
With all best wishes,
Nicki E. Grossman
President
