Mendocino County Lodging`s Quarterly Update
Transcription
Mendocino County Lodging`s Quarterly Update
BID Year 4 Quarter 3 Editor-In-Chief: Scott Schneider Editorial: Aimee Hanson Newsletter is online: mcla.info Printed on 100% Post-Consumer Recycled Paper Mendocino County Lodging’s Quarterly Update Informing Lodging on BID Has Beens & Have To Bes Introducing… www.visitMendocino.com MCLA Board of Directors North Coast: * Jason Hurst (Harbor Lite Lodge, Fort Bragg) * Pamela Amante (Beachcomber Motel, Fort Bragg) * Jeff Stanford (Stanford Inn, Mendocino) * Jamie Buckner (Hill House Inn, Mendocino) * Jo Bradley (Dennen's Victorian Farmhouse, Little River) * Cally Dym (Little River Inn, Little River) * Christina Affinito (North Cliff Hotel, At Large) * Josie Perla (Coast Getaways, Albion) South Coast: * Pauline Zamboni (Victorian Gardens, At-Large) * Mike Bradbrook (Gualala Country Inn, Gualala) * Renata Dorn (South Coast at Large, 2010) * Kevin Gallagher (Coast Guard House, 2011) Another of the 10 recommended strategies as outlined in the 2008 Mendocino County Travel Research Study is complete! Visit Mendocino County, Inc. (VMC) is VERY Excited to Announce the Launch and Rebranding of a New and Improved goMendo.com. This new website with the full name ―Mendocino‖ will make for improved results in search engines and will enhance the potential visitor experience. Effective Monday, February 8th VMC launched the redesigned goMendo.com website. At the same time, the goMendo.com URL officially changed to www.VisitMendocino.com. The goMendo.com URL will continue to work but VMC marketing efforts will primarily focus on promoting the Visit Mendocino County brand versus goMendo.com. Inland Corridor: * Stuart Marcus (Shambhala Ranch, At-Large) * Deny Shah (Super 8 Willits, At-Large) * Jitu Ishwar (Holiday Inn, Ukiah) * Raakesh Patel (Super 8, Ukiah) * Jan Rodriguez (Baechtel Creek Inn, Willits) MCLA Advisory Board Coastal * Jim Hurst, Fort Bragg * Printha Worthen, Little River The new website has been designed to compliment the updated Mendocino County Visitors Guide to better meet the needs of our community as well as current and potential visitors. In accordance with the Randall Marketing Study recommendations, the new website provides enhanced access to tourism information and resources, becoming a virtual ―cruise ship on land.‖ A clearer regional-based structure, simplified navigation and improved search functions make finding Mendocino County tourism information easier than before. Inland * Anil Bhula, Ukiah * Kurt Fleichtmeier, Yorkville MCLA * Jo Bradley, Little River Visit Mendocino County, Inc. President & CEO * Scott Schneider Inside this issue: Introducing… www.VisitMendocino.com 1 Public Relations Keeps on Rollin’ 2 PR Update: Crab & Wine Festival 3 New York Media Tour - Another Great Success! 3 Save the Date—Gala Launch in Beautiful Scotia, CA! 4 Want to Green Your Business? 4 Trade Shows Galore 5 What’s Happening In The World Of Arts Mushroom & Wine - Best Attendance Ever 5 6 Two New Events - Sure to Bring Visitors in March 6 New Event Guides Now Available 6 Regional Public Relations Tour—South Coast 7 Our President Speaks—Message from Jan Rodriguez 8 If you have not done so already, please visit www.visitMendocino.com/register to create an account and upload your business and event listings into the new site. As VMC is not transferring old goMendo.com listings to the new site, we strongly encourage everyone to upload fresh content into the new system as soon as possible. In order to have the most dynamic and informative site possible, we are asking all visitor-related businesses to upload their information, post photos, a video, links, etc. The more dynamic your listing, the better the results you will obtain from that listing. Once you have created an account, you can upload your content and/or view "How To" video tutorials that will walk you through the process of creating and editing business and event listings as well as creating specials and packages on the new site. Should you need additional assistance uploading your content, please contact Visit Mendocino County Webmaster Robert Brothers at 707-462-7417 or by email at [email protected] between the hours of 8:30am and 5:00pm, M-F. Page 2 Mendocino County Lodging’s Quarterly Update Public Relations Keeps on Rollin’ - Mendocino County In The News! Updates from HypeHouse and the PR/Marketing Team Mendocino County is IN the News - Locally, Nationally and Internationally! Across the country and around the world, Mendocino County is IN the news like never before. Editors, producers, journalists and bloggers are writing about Mendocino food, wine, green/eco travel, pets, family fun and more. The press clips and media buzz are building, and the bigpicture Mendocino County campaign is on track have one of the best years ever. The HypeHouse PR team has been busy with range of activities, from setting up interviews and media visits for editors and producers to arranging county-wide FAM (aka familiarization) tours for top-tier international tour operators and press. From top-tier editors from O, The Oprah Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Coastal Living, Producers Guild of America and more, Mendocino County is on a roll! Wall Street Journal – January 15, 2010 ―Wine Events: Wines of Winter ― Circulation: 2,024,269 San Francisco Chronicle – January 10, 2010 ―Get Crackin’ for a Cause at Crab Feeds‖, Circulation: 306,705 Sactown Magazine – January 2010 ―Crab & Wine Days‖, Circulation: 38,400 Nob Hill Gazette – January 2010 ―License to Travel: Trip to Ukiah―, Circulation: 80,800 Focus Online – November 2009 ―Nordkalifornien: Stippvisite in Mendocino‖ Circulation: 600,000 Vegetarian Times – December 22, 2009 ―Mushroom Hunting in Magical Mendocino‖ Circulation: 262,738 San Jose Mercury News – December 13, 2009 ―Staycation Specials‖, Circulation: 225,987 Marin Independent Journal – December 6, 2009 ―Staycation Specials‖, Circulation: 28,815 Yomiuri Online – November 6, 2009 ―Time to Enjoy the Wine‖, Circulation: 300,000,000 Wall Street Journal – November 6, 2009 ―Wine & Mushroom Fest‖ Circulation: 2,024,269 Santa Rosa Press Democrat – November 5, 2010 ―Wine & Mushroom Festival‖, Circulation: 64,237 New York Magazine – November 2009 ―The Five-Point Weekend Escape Plan‖. Circulation: 4,100,00 And MANY more clips of course. Check out www.visitMendocino.com for more updates. WHAT IS YOUR STORY? More than ever, editors and producers are asking for what is NEW in the County. They want to know about any new additions to your inn, or new services, or new and exciting guests, or even new recipes. Be sure to send us your NEW news! Send to [email protected] Page 3 Mendocino County Lodging’s Quarterly Update PR Update: Crab & Wine Festival New York Media Tour - Another Great Success! 11th Annual Crab & Wine Festival - a Huge Success!! Locally, Nationally and Internationally, Mendocino County is continuing its incredible momentum with editors and producers everywhere. From Bay Area editors, to regional radio producers to national and even international press, the campaign to share the Mendocino County message is on the right track. Over the past few months, the HypeHouse PR team has been busy with shows, events, tours and lots of great news stories. The goal? Awareness, understanding and action. The results? Hundreds of thousands of media imScott Schneider and Susan Wilcox, VP of Commu- pressions. Be sure to nication for the CTTC, at the NY Media Reception take a look at the clip report on page 2 highlighting just a few of the many news outlets covering the County—and ultimately inspiring more visitors. The Crab & Wine Festival is a unique event that residents and visitors alike look forward to all year. It provides an opportunity for Mendocino County to really showcase its local bounty, which is featured on menus throughout the county, as well as at the Crab & Wine Days Event, the signature fundraiser for Mendocino Coast Clinics, Inc. This year’s 11th Annual Crab & Wine Days Crab Cake Cook-off and Mendocino Wine Tasting Competition took place on Saturday, January 23rd, and was a resounding success, thanks in part to the esteemed panel of Celebrity Judges that the HypeHouse team assembled. HypeHouse coordinated the travel and set up extensive itineraries for all six judges, a few of whom stayed in the county for a full week! The judges included: Katie Arnold-Ratliff – Editor at O, the Oprah Magazine Paige Porter Fischer – West Coast Editor at Better Homes & Gardens Julia Rutland – Senior Food Editor at Coastal Living Grisel Diaz Ors –Food & Wine Editor at Skylights (In-flight publication for Spirit Airlines) Mary Orlin – Executive Producer of In Wine Country (NBC In fact, at the time this newstelevision show) letter is being assembled, Olivia Wu – Executive Chef, Google Scott Schneider and Mark Sejvar are just wrapping up Many of the judges/editors now have Mendocino County stories an intensive NYC media tour in the works, and we should see these appear in the near future! and event. While on these tours, they meet directly with All events for the Festival (over 90) were listed in a 24 page top-tier editors, often right at Mark Sejvar at Travel & Leisure event brochure which was distributed all over Northern Califor- their Manhattan media offices, nia to encourage visitation during this usually slow time of year. to share the County story. Mark & Scott are becoming known We have heard many events were either close to being sold out or among top tier editors in New York as the ―dynamic duo‖ selling were sold out completely! the Mendocino County as THE place to visit and write about! This is why we need to know what is happening with you and Evaluation forms will be going out by mid-February and if you your business - media are always looking for “what’s new”!! had an event or a lodging/dining special, or would just like to share your comments we would appreciate your feed-back to our So what is an impression, anyway? It is the number of people Event Coordinator Joyce Beard at [email protected]. who may have seen an article, heard something on the radio or in Crab & Wine Fest 2011 dates are January 21- 30th . a podcast, watched something on television, or read something on a web page or blog. These impressions are directly linked to driving new visitors and even booking room nights . To date, the Also contact campaign has generated millions of impressions and led directly Joyce should to an increase in overall bookings. you have sugARE YOU BENEFITING ALL YOU CAN FROM THE BID???? gestions on IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY RECEIVING REGULAR E-MAILS making next FROM THE MCLA, SIGN UP NOW!!! year’s festival BE A PART OF EDITOR VISITORS & PRESS RELEASES an even big LEARN ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND THE ger success. COUNTY & BE A PART OF WHAT’S GOING ON GET THE LATEST NEWS (AGENDAS, MINUTES, ETC.) AS THEY ARE APPROVED Scott Schneider, VMC & Heather Thompson, Hype House with the Crab & Wine Judges PLEASE CONTACT SCOTT SCHNEIDER TO JOIN OUR LISTSERV—964-9010 OR [email protected] Page 4 Mendocino County Lodging’s Quarterly Update Save the Date Gala Launch in Scotia! The Northern California Redwoods Geo Tourism web site launch, visitredwoodcoast.com is scheduled for March 11th in Scotia, California. The site is live but not yet fully populated. The launch will be a major event with a tour of the mill, a reception at the Scotia Inn and a presentation at the historic Winema Theater. Mike Fay, National Geographic Explorer in Residence will be the keynote speaker. Other presenters include National Geographic, the BLM, Save the Redwoods League and the Redwood Forest Foundation. Please check out the site. It is impressive! The North Coast Tourism Council will conduct a Green Your Business Workshop the next day at the same location. The public is welcome. Gozaic.com The Gozaic website is live and we love it! Check out the Mendocino County page at www.gozaic.com. The site was created by Heritage Travel, Inc. a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Mendocino County is a charter member. VMC Staff spent hours uploading content which meets the site’s criteria for historic interest. This website site has a multi-million dollar marketing effort behind it and will help bring Mendocino County to the forefront of heritage destinations. Please contact [email protected] if you have any comments or suggestions. Lodging Accommodations UPDATE Did you get your FREE Accommodations LISTING in the Visitor’s Guide?….Please let us know if you need to make any changes! If you have a change let us know so we can send you a change form: [email protected] Want to Green Your Business? Workshop: Greening Your Business "Greening" your business can mean more green in the bank. Learn "green" ways to increase your bottom line at the Greening Your Business Workshop, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on March 12 at the Scotia Inn, 100 Main Street, in Scotia. Special Lodging Rates are available! Sponsored by the North Coast Tourism Council, the event is open to business owners in Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Del Norte counties who are interested in learning steps on how to become certified as a green business. Admission is $25 for early registration and $35 at the door. Both require RSVPs by calling (800) 525-3743. Please inquire about RideShare. Topics include: Marketing California as Green and Sustainable; How to Start a Green Business Program; Sustainable Strategies for Greening Your Winery; How to Green your Small Business; Operate as an Alternative Green Business‖ About Scotia: A former lumber town, Scotia is the perfect starting place to explore the ancient redwoods that are synonymous with Humboldt County. Near the northern gateway to the Avenue of the Giants (Highway 254), Scotia boasts historic charm of a logging town that has its roots at the beginning of the last century. North Coast Tourism Council, consisting of tourism bureau leaders from five counties - Mendocino, Humboldt Sonoma Lake and Del Norte - promotes the north coast of California as a premier destination. NCTC markets these five counties as leisure, business and group travel destinations. Mendocino County Lodging’s Quarterly Update Trade Shows Galore!! Trade shows and more trade shows! Since the last newsletter we have participated in three consumer travel shows; the Sportsmen Show in San Mateo, the Sportsmen Show in Sacramento and a bridal show in Claremont. We collected over 1500 email addresses for our database and exposed many groups of people to Mendocino. This was our first Sportsmen show partnering with Humboldt County and we will continue to participate in the Sacramento show as it was extremely well attended and a huge success for Mendocino County promotion. The final consumer travel show for the winter season was Los Angeles Times Travel Show Feb. 13 and 14. More than 3,000 visited our booth and collected our green bags full of information. These consumer travel shows are an important component of our marketing as they offer opportunities to market directly to potential visitors face to face in our target areas of the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. We are always looking for partners for these shows - come and help us pass out our famous green bags, talk about all the A busy booth in Los Angeles. Robert great assets of our County and Brothers of VMC hands out thousands of bags to potential visitors even place your brochure on our display table (while assisting at the booth) to help bring people to your business. For more information on our trade show opportunities, please contact [email protected] Another aspect of our sales efforts are group sales trade shows. VMC attended, on behalf of the North Coast Tourism Council, the GO West Summit in Sacramento last week. This summit brought together tour operators from all over the world and exposed them to suppliers in the Western states. We had meetings with over 40 tour operators from places as diverse as Brazil and Australia. Europe and Asia were also well represented. Most already send customers to San Francisco but very few look beyond the big city. Our job is to push ―Add On‖ 2-3 night side trips to Mendocino County and other Northern California destinations. The tour operators were very receptive and at least half want to enter into contracts with Mendocino County hotels so they can include the hotels in their promotional materials. Each tour operator has specific requirements. Richard Strom, Director of Tourism Development, will be contacting various lodging establishments which fit the tour operator’s needs in the coming weeks. It may take some time, but the net result will be an increase in international tourism to the county, particularly in the shoulder seasons. Page 5 What’s Happening in the World of the Arts By Anna Kvinsland, Executive Director In a partnership with the Skunk Train, the Arts Council of Mendocino County released a Call to Artists and selected artists Casey Koerner and Janet Self to embellish a special rail car of the train. The artists will complete work on the train in February 2010 with an unveiling to occur in April. A photo journal book Casey Koerner and Janet Self to embellish a documenting the prospecial rail car of the Skunk Train ject will be created by Larry Wagner. Kelly -Moore Paints in Ukiah has provided all of the paint and materials for this project. San Francisco based Koerner will receive complimentary lodging sponsored by a number of Fort Bragg lodging establishments during the artwork execution period. A special thanks to the Atrium, Beachcomber Motel, Country Inn, Harbor Lite Lodge, and Weller House Inn for providing lodging sponsorships for this project. The Arts Council and the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden are preparing to launch the second round of the outdoor Sculpture Gallery at the Garden. Please let your guests know about this added attraction. And if you know of any artists who may be interested in this opportunity, please direct them to the Arts Council Website. The Arts Council recently received a grant from the Community Foundation of Mendocino County’s ―Arts for our Future‖ program to develop a new website for the Arts Council and new websites for 12 Mendocino County nonprofit arts organizations. The intended results include an improved Internet presence for Mendocino County arts, the ability to attract more cultural tourists, an enhancement of communications among the arts community, and more. Many efforts will be made to be in sync with the new VisitMendocino.com website including a shared calendar, access to art images, and reciprocal links. Lastly, the Arts Council is working in conjunction with Visit Mendocino County to create a new Mendocino County Arts brochure entitled Mendocino County’s Guide to Artful Living. The guide will include a listing of Mendocino County galleries, art centers, places to hear live music, nonprofit arts organizations, annual art events, and a map of the County. Arts Council: (707) 961-5449 or go to www.ArtsMendocino.org. Wherever you go in Mendocino County, creativity, talent, and inspiration abound! BID Year 4 Quarter 3 Mushroom & Wine - Best Attended Ever!! Mushrooms Blossom There was just enough rain this Fall for the mushrooms to blossom and just enough sunshine for the visitors to enjoy our Wine and Mushroom Festival 2009 without having to head for cover. For the first time in a number of years this is truly becoming a ―Countywide‖ Festival with both inland and coastal events ―sold-out‖ and some over-sold with additional slots created. We received a 25% response rate to the event evaluation from our eventholders and the majority had successful events and positive comments to share: ―We had visitors from out of the area who hadn’t been in before.‖ ―There seems to be a growing interest in mushroom foraging‖. ―It was great to see all the articles in top publications, including Oprah! Brava.‖ ―Event brought a new audience.‖ ―50% more business than usual‖. ―Loved the guide‖. Best of all, we already have folks planning for Wine & Mushroom 2010, including discussions for new events. The Visit Mendocino County Festival Committee meets in February to review the evaluations and start planning for an even bigger and better Festival. Wine & Mushroom Fest 2010 dates are November 5 – 14th. Two New Events - Sure to Bring Visitors This March Two New Festivals Blossom this Spring – March 13 & 14 Two new Festivals are in the planning stages: the Point Arena Merchants Association Annual Flower Power Festival and Daffodil Explosion to be held on March 13th and 14th. Saturday’s festival events include a mural scavenger hunt, scrabble tournament, 60’s art car show, crab Cioppino feed, a craft fair, flower arranging contest and musical events throughout the weekend. The festival culminates Sunday at the newly renovated Point Arena Lighthouse with a day of Wind and Whales. Little River Whale Festival shares these dates with a food and whale watching experience Little River style. The entire town is on sale with specials, events and more... Both events are sandwiched between the Mendocino Whale Festival – March 6 & 7 and Fort Bragg Whale Festival – March 20 & 21. To discuss a potential event, please contact our Event Coordinator Joyce Beard at [email protected] or 707.462.1668. If you would like to submit an event or special on , click the link at the bottom of the Visit Mendocino homepage to ―add your event or business listing‖. Everyone is encouraged to San Francisco Magazine, April 2010 work towards developing and promoting the hundreds of events throughout our County each year. Events & Festivals are what keep our visitors coming! Page 6 New Event Guides Now Available Visit Mendocino County has produced a new event piece, based on feedback from Chambers of Commerce for great events from January - July 2010. 10,000 have been printed and are being distributed within Mendocino County as well as throughout the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. They are also being sent to people who request our official Visitors Guide. If you would like copies of these guides, our Countywide Nature Tourism Guide, PetFriendly Brochure, Wine Guide, Redwood Highway Maps, CA Visitor Guides or Mendocino County Official Visitor Guides, please contact either VMC office! Congratulations Crab & Wine Days Winners! PEOPLE’S CHOICE FIRST PLACE CRABCAKE COOK OFF: Chef Adam Celaya; Def Chef Catering PROFESSIONAL JUDGES FIRST PLACE CRAB-CAKE COOK OFF: Chef Silver Canul; Silver’s at the Wharf won PROFESSIONAL JUDGES FIRST PLACE WINE: Graziano Family of Wines PEOPLE’S CHOICE FIRST PLACE WINE: Toulouse Vineyards BID Year 4 Quarter 3 Page 7 Visit Mendocino County, Inc. & Sonoma County Tourism Bureau Business Showcase - A Must Attend! YOU ARE INVITED Sonoma County and Mendocino County--Regional Tour GUALALA - Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 The Counties are united! Spring is coming up fast—and the entire Visit Mendocino County and Sonoma County team would love to know what you are up to—and hear your plans for the year. Please join us on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at the St. Orres in Gualala for the VMC regional member meeting. The marketing and PR team will share updates on the County campaign---and they would love to hear from you. They are looking to learn about new trends, facts, stories, contacts, success stories and hear YOUR goals so the team can help grow your message—and your business. The team works with hundreds of editors and producers across the country and around the world…and they would love to hear more news from you to share with this great network. Don't be shy! Help us get the word out about all we have to offer by bringing your special perspective. WHERE AND WHEN Feb. 24 from 12 Noon. to 1 p.m. St. ORRES 36601 South Highway 1 Gualala, CA 95445-8583 (707) 884-3335 BRING YOUR LUNCH IF YOU LIKE! LIGHT APPETIZERS PROVIDED WHO SHOULD ATTEND Any innkeeper or resident business from Mendocino County who has a story to tell and caters to visitors Beautiful St. Orres on Mendocino County’s South Coast RSVP WHY [email protected] Because we like you and we want to know MORE ABOUT YOU! 707-964-9010 You Are Invited to the www.visitMendocino.com Launch Party Tuesday, February 23rd 4:00 - 6:00pm Little River Inn’s Abalone Hall Come Celebrate With Us!! RSVP to [email protected] or 707-462-7417 DISCOVER THE LATEST IN EVENTS NEW AND OLD BRINGING VISITORS NEW COUNTYWIDE PROMOTIONAL WEBSITE IS LAUNCHED AND SUCCESSFUL READ THE LATEST IN PUBLIC RELATIONS EFFORTS (866)637-MCLA Www.mcla.info [email protected] Post Office Box 550 Little River, Ca 95456 Our President Speaks—Message from Jan Rodriguez Winter has been long and most of us are hoping for business to pick up in 2010! We are working hard to get those visitors to come to Mendocino County. As you probably have seen by the emails that have been sent – the new website, visitMendocino.com is live. It is really a beautiful site! It was based on the Randall Marketing report, as well as from the web designers, to make it the most effective site we could possibly have. done a fantastic job getting around to the various lodging establishments and assisting them with their events. You have also probably received MCLA Annual Lodging an email regarding the Survey Lodging Survey being conducted by Berkeley Young. It is vital that we gather correct information There are a few properties who have not responded. to make sure that we are marketeMail Josh: ing the county effectively and the Please upload your content. www.goMendo.com has been restatistics you provide enable us to [email protected] placed by www.visitMendocino.com, so unless you have uploaded in case you need a new your content, you will not be on the new website! If you need any do this. It helps us focus on that target audience! survey! assistance, please contact Robert Brothers at Each survey is completely [email protected] or call 707-462-7417. dential! If you have any quesHe will be happy to assist you. tions, please contact Berkeley Young, 704-770-3333. We hope you all had a great response from our two Countywide major festivals: Mushroom & Wine in November and Crab & Wine in January. Sometimes we don’t see the benefits of these festivals right away --- in actual room rentals. However, the festivals are gaining attention from magazines – even Oprah Magazine listed Mushroom & Wine as one of the top 6 festivals not to miss! Crab & Wine had some really great judges and they will go back and write great articles about their experiences in our county. We are trying to build on these festivals so that they do become a source of revenue for our lodging establishments in the off season. Joyce Beard, Visit Mendocino County, Inc, Event Coordinator has Thank you and please do not hesitate to contact me at 707Fort Bragg: 120 S. Franklin Street 459-9063 if you have any questions, or the CEO and President of Visit MendoUkiah: 525 S. Main Street cino County, Inc., Scott Schneider at 707-964-9010. Phone: 707-964-9010 How to reach us: Web: www.visitMendocino.com www.gomendo.org www.mcla.info Thank you and wishing you all the best, Jan Rodriguez