Meeting News - March 9, 2009 - (Page 39)

Planners Guide to Florida Small Destinations Leverage Leisure Travel to Market Meetings For destinations like Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, leveraging brand equity with leisure travelers can be a key to growing meetings business, especially now. “People who know us primarily have vacationed here or know someone who has,” said Pamela Johnson, sales director for the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. “They may not be aware that we can host groups here.” To entice leisure travelers to come back as group visitors, Johnson and her team promote the destination as group-friendly at consumer shows and in its leisure travel marketing materials, including a quarterly e-mail newsletter sent to leisure guests who have requested visitor guides in the past. “We always make sure that we include a feature that has to do with meetings or group travel,” said Johnson.“We always try to mention our capability to host groups.” She continues to market Sanibel and Captiva islands as primed for incentive groups. But coupled with the Fort Myers area, she reiterated a drive in 2009 to capture the small corporate business market, as well as government and social groups. “We’re not a large-meeting and convention destination,” Johnson said, “but the majority of the meetings out there are smaller meetings, and we think that we’re poised to capture a great deal of that business.” She said the ideal group size for the area is around 300 attendees. —Phillip Hennessey Naples Openings & Renovations L ast December, the 297-room Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort & Spa opened a new luxury destination spa with a full-service menu and a retail boutique. The 10,000-sf spa has 10 treatment rooms and a fitness center. Also that month, the 450-room Ritz-Carlton, Naples resort debuted $6 million worth of new venues and enhancements, including the new Vanderbilt Ballroom. The 10,000-sf space offers non-traditional ceiling features, more than 40 hang points, and high-steel access for dramatic decor opportunities, such as fabric swags or floral centerpieces suspended over each table. Meanwhile, last November, the 102-room SpringHill Suites Marriott Naples opened off Interstate 75. The hotel features all-studio suites and offers a 300-sf meeting room, as well as free high-speed Internet, a 24-hour business center, and a fitness center. —PH www.meetingnews.com March 9, 2009 MeetingNews 39 http://www.hyattgrandcypress.com http://www.hyattgrandcypress.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - March 9, 2009

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