First Indoor Football Game

Maybe it was the April chill in the air or non-stop talk about the NFL draft, but either way I had an itch for some football. With that in mind I headed over to Lehigh University's Stabler Arena for Lehigh Valley Steel Hawks Indoor Football League game. I used a buy two get two reserved seats coupon from Discover Lehigh Valley's website (www.discoverlehighvalley.com) and took my wife and two girls to our first indoor football game.
I found the style of football to be unique and entertaining. The field is extremely short and makes for high scoring and big play after big play action. Kickoffs are a waste of time as most either hit the rafters or are touchbacks. Both QB's threw for 350+ yards which is pretty impressive considering the field is only 50 yards long. The final score was 79-77 with the Steel Hawks coming a two point conversion away from sending it into overtime.
As for the kids, well they agreed that the Lehigh Valley Steel Hawks put on a great show. Continual promotions, a dance team and excellent facility make the team a real family value in the Lehigh Valley. They have another 4 home games on the schedule so visit http://www.discoverlehighvalley.com/29380/play/attractions/lehigh-valley-steelhawks/ to learn more and to purchase tickets.

Phillies Baseball Network?

Every spring I look forward to the start of baseball season only to be disappointed by Comcast electing to cover Flyers, Sixers games on their flagship sports station CSN Philly instead of Phillies games. The Phils get the boot down or up the channel line up to TCN (The Comcast Network). This would not be a big deal if not for the fact that many television providers don't have this TCN channel.
From a tweet this week, I found those on Verizon Fios and Blue Ridge Cable, plus my RCN do not carry TCN. I am not sure which part makes me more nuts, the fact that after 3 years complaining RCN has done nothing to fix, or that Comcast thinks people want to watch Sixers or Flyers over Phillies games. I imagine it is much more complicated as ownership groups and Flyers/Sixers play in the same building as the Network, so I have shifted my displeasure to the Phillies. It is time for the Phillies Network to be launched. I know I can buy a digital package from MLB.TV and that may be the best option. I have a couple of Internet TV's that I assume will work with PC/Tablet to show game on TV, not sure though. Just seems like we are making this more difficult than necessary. I hate having to cheer for the Sixers and Flyers to lose and miss the playoffs, but unfortunately those at the mercy of Comcast have no other choice.

Occupancy is 9/10 of the Law

As the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy continues, the chaos as it relates to hotel rooms will not quickly go away. The decision to cancel the NY Marathon was 100% correct, just 2 days late. Even when the electricity returns and residents return to their homes, a new influx of FEMA, contractors and insurance adjusters will gobble up hotel rooms just before the big Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and holiday season in NYC. Bands, tour groups and individual guests will all be pushed out of the big city as long term hotel guests occupy rooms. No hotelier in their right mind can force a guest to leave once they have occupied a room and have not broken the law and have means of payment. Get ready for an increase in customer complaints and disappointed travelers as they find their well laid plans messed up by Sandy's aftermath. My suggestion for all those planning to travel into New York City is to call the hotel, speak to a Sr. Manager and get verbal confirmation at least three times that your room will be there when you arrive. If you have booked via an online travel agent plan on some type of hiccup. With 25% less profit in these reservations, the hotel will be less likely to honor the reservation. I also recommend arriving early and before dark. No one wants to make their way around NYC in the dark looking for a hotel room, if theirs is somehow not available when they arrive. Groups that find themselves displaced can look to the Lehigh Valley at www.discoverlehighvalley.com for availability, great rates an only a 90 minute highway commute into the city.

My Family's New Summer Tradition - The Great Allentown Fair

The slogan "The Great Allentown Fair, Don't Leave Summer Without It" has never rung more true than these past two years. With my two daughters now 13 and 10, we have taken advantage of the Grandstand concerts the past two Labor Day weekends to also visit the fair and festival portion of the fair. In 2011 we saw the boy band Big Time Rush, and this year @victoriajustice and Max Schneider. Although neither are household names they both put on a great show last night and better yet my kids had a great time. I actually planned ahead (I seem to do this more often in my 40's than I ever did in my 20's and 30's), and bought my tickets at the box office in March (no fees) and bought ride passes for the kids at an advance price discount. Affordable enough I was even able to buy an extra ticket for my 13 yr. old so she could bring a friend.
Since we planned to spend the day, we got to the fair around 2pm and gave the Allentown Civic Theater $5 for great parking across from the main entrance. Although I have not scene a show at The Civic Theater, this makes me feel good about supporting their efforts. Next the rides. We saw a 24" horse and signs to preview the world's largest horse, on our way to a wide selection of spinning, tossing and musical rides. Glad my youngest can go on all the rides and me and my wife settled in for a day of people watching.
Tried to dunk the clown, 12 pitches and a quick reminder why the IronPigs have not called me up this season. After a light rain shower pushed us into the exhibition hall, we got to enjoy cooking demonstrations by local Sodexho chefs, plus see the blue ribbon vegetables, cakes and traditional fair contests.
After the concert we finished off the night with Fried Oreos and Ice Cream, before heading home and saying so long to Summer. Wonder who will be playing the Great Allentown Fair next year?

Penn State and NCAA - Putting Football First Sends a Bad Message

As I continue to follow the Penn State crisis, now in its 8th month, I am disappointed in the decisions that all the parties involved continue to make. The NCAA has never been a popular organization when it comes to managing the process of keeping student athletes students first athletes second. The sanctions placed on Penn State in regards to the football program sure struck me as self serving to the NCAA and did little to scare the day lights out of college presidents or board of trustees. Yes $60 million is a sizable fine and should go a long way to helping abused children in the future, but suspending the NCAA rules on jumping programs and allowing players to put football first again over education and the school puts us back to square one. Division I football programs are running higher education. It's hard to put yourself in the student athlete's shoes, but since the death penalty was not imposed what are the compelling reasons to leave? This nonsense about a bowl ban or ineligible for a national championship holds no water with me. No one can predict the future and to say jumping to another university because they may play for a national championship or a bowl in some south of the Mason Dixon line city this January is just selfish. The NCAA did Penn State and its student athletes a big favor by allowing football to be played this season. The least the student athletes could do is recognize that football is an extracurricular activity while they are getting an education. I would like to hear more talk about job preparation while at college and less talk about going Pro.

NFL Fantasy Owners – Visit to Eagles Training Camp

NFL Fantasy Owners – Visit to Eagles Training Camp

This past Friday I took my annual visit to Lehigh Universityto check out Philadelphia Eagle’s training camp. This year I brought along myuncle Hank and his life-long friend Roy. Both are owners in our fantasyfootball league. I tied in the trip to camp and lunch at P.J. Whelihan’s asreward for help with a furniture move. The food and atmosphere at P.J.’s was as good as advertised. Cold beer,juicy burgers and more TV’s than you can count, helped bide our time till the afternoonsession of camp.  The Eagles haveswitched practice programs this summer to include shorts and pads in the 8:00AMsession and full pads and contact in the heat of the day, beginning at 2:35PM.I assume this will help with those late summer games that are played in theafternoon and not 8AM.

As we arrived at the Goodman Campus of Lehigh, both Hank andRoy could not believe the amount of people who took the pilgrimage to see theirbeloved Eagles stretch and play catch. With close to 5000 in attendance on thisFriday, it is clear that Training Camp has become a big part of the Eaglesbrand.  A giant tent of merchandise forkids, women and of course men's clothing greets you as you enter the practicefield.  This is the prime opportunity forthe Eagles to generate sales from this event. Admission to training camp isfree and the Eagles charge a nominal fee to enter the KidsZone, a fun NFLexperience type setting where kids can run, jump, kick and throw like a Pro.

Excellent seating is available with grandstands surrounding thetraining complex.  We caught specialteams on a satellite field before heading over to the main field.  Sitting across from the East grandstandoffered us excellent seats as we viewed 7 on 7 passing drills and full squadpassing plays. This lasted about 90 minutes and by 4:30 we had had our sunquota for the day. The facility has zero shade, so bring the sunscreen anddress light. I have made the mistake in the past of sneaking out before work orafter lunch in slacks. This is not advised.  I highly recommend getting your fantasy teamowners together for a trip to the LehighValley.  Great golf, brew pubs,grandprix style cart racing, a full-servicecasino and a freemusic festival make for a great vacation. Campruns till August 14^th.

Philadelphia 76ers Have A Plan

Sports fans and radio hosts, have you ever bought a business? Run a business? Time to take a step back and enjoy the Sixers run of 2012 and plan for 2013, 2014 and beyond. The new ownership group undoubtedly wrote a 10 year pro forma and I am sure are more than pleased that the team reached the elite 8 in year 1. They are ahead of schedule. That is uncommon for any business these days. All this talk about they can't win it all without a star player is probably true and they most likely have that budgeted for year 3 or 4. I know it makes good sports talk radio to complain about every move the GM's make or don't make in Philadelphia, but when it comes to the Sixers, I think they have a plan.

10 Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your CVB Partnership

10 Tips For GettingThe Most Out Of Your CVB Partnership

As hotel operators it easy to get caught up in deliveringexceptional customer service to our guests, offering job counseling to ouremployees or hustling our sales team to close the next big piece of business. Thefrenetic pace of the hospitality business can often lead to overlookedopportunities. A key opportunity that often gets taken for granted andunfortunately underutilized is the local convention and visitors bureau. Thesedestination marketing organizations exist for the benefit of their partners andto deliver increased visitor stays to a region. A hotel operator would makeexcellent use of their time if they followed these simple tips when leveragingtheir CVB partnerships.

1. Maximize your exposure on your local and state CVB web sites. These sites often attract thousands of visitors per day to their sites and having your hotel visible in multiple locations will help to increase bookings. The more direct links to your hotel’s booking engine the more likely your hotel will be sold. When participating in a special package, make sure the link to that package page is displayed and do not make the customer have to search for the package on your website. Take advantage of the maximum number of photos and word descriptions offered.

2. Participate in programs. The CVB has many marketing programs to consider. Understanding your market niche and promoting your hotel along side the CVB adds credibility to your offering. 

3. Get involved. Sitting on a committee or volunteering for a board of director position can be very helpful to getting your property noticed.  Offer to host events and board meetings at your hotel. Have your “A” game ready and wow those tourism partners who attend the meeting. Most likely they are the most connected in the region and word will get around about your hotel’s hospitality.

4. Don’t forget about the direct sales staff at the CVB. These sales people are trying to attract business to the area for the benefit of all the partners. They are an extension of your sales office. Make sure the sales managers at the CVB are up to date on your property’s goals and target markets. If you need midweek business in the summer, don’t assume the CVB sales managers are aware of that unless you tell them. If you have special promotions and offers make sure they are armed with the same tools.

5. Public Relations. Remember that your CVB has specialists in this field. They are often fielding calls for information on what is happening in the region. They can deliver your press release to the correct media with more authority. Few hotels have the luxury of a PR staff and the CVB can help fill this role for your hotel.

6. Social Media. In most tourism regions the CVB has taken a proactive role in Social media and has gained more fans, followers and links than your individual property. Including the CVB in any social media campaign will assist in the offer gaining attention.

7. Free Stuff. Make sure your CVB knows you are open to helping out when they are in need of accommodations for writers or meeting planners scouting the area for their next story or corporate event. A bottle of wine and a welcome note, compliments of the CVB will go a long way to winning over the hearts of the visitor and your CVB staff.  

8. Extend employee rates to your CVB staff. Treat them like your own employees.  They will be more likely to remember your hotel if they or a family member has experienced your hospitality first hand.

9. Establish direct billing for your CVB. Treat them similar to a corporate account and establish a business rate for them or honor the government rate. Offer VIP status to any of their guests and communicate the rate and benefits to all reservation and front office staff. This will allow others to handle the special requests when you are not available. 

10. Answer the phone. Make sure your CVB has quick and easy way to contact the decision maker. Often they are working on short deadlines and contacting multiple hotels and attractions. Give them one main contact with authority to make decisions.

Global Visitors Enjoy Lehigh Valley Attractions

Friday June 28th, I had the pleasure to facilitate team building activities for an unique group of young people from all over the globe. Every year over 100 international students visit Lehigh University to participate in their Global Village for Future Leaders program. As part of the leadership training, each work group has the opportunity to visit Dutch Springs in Bethlehem, PA and participate in experiential team building activities delivered by NorthStar Team Development. The team I worked with was Team Magic League. It is incredible how 7 students ranging from 21 -33 years of age, with different cultures and nationalities can quickly come together to work on a common goal. The activities NorthStar Team Development combine experiential challenges that showcase leadership skills like goal setting, risk taking, collaboration and problems solving. After a 1/2 day of team building activities, the 100+ students dined on pizza and salads and then heading to The Aqua Park at Dutch Springs for a refreshing good time in the water. Follow the links for more information on Global Village, Dutch Springs, NorthStar Team Development or the Lehigh Valley.

Free Fishing Day in PA

Memorial Day will always be a day remembered for honoring our fallen veterans, parades and barbecues, but a new tradition is quickly making a name for itself in @visitpa and @lehighvalleypa, free fishing day. http://fishandboat.com/promo/fff/fff_banners/fff_your_holidays.gif
Every Memorial Day and Labor Day, Pennsylvania fish and boat commission allows adults to fish for free, in hopes of catching the fishing bug and become a regular angler. So after several articles in the @mcall and twitter posts by @visitpa, I convinced my two girls to head over to Lehigh County's Trexler Nature Preserve to try our luck at fishing. I picked this location because I knew they could play in the Jordan Creek and visit the @lvzoo if fishing did not hit the mark. The weather was perfect and the girls ventured into the Jordan as I prepared the fishing poles. The water was warm probably in the 70 degree range, and the water level was high and moved rapidly, due to several storms this past week. We had a few nibbles from the fish, added some scrapes and cuts and my oldest found a hammock that was just her speed. I am confident 10 years from now the kids will say, "Dad always took us fishing," and may pass it on to their kids, I am sure that is what the Fish and Boat folks had in mind with this promotion. Next, looking forward to one year taking the Sojourn Down The Lehigh River.
Side note: Even free fishing has an economic spin off. Dropped $26 at a local bait/tackle shop (rod, worms, hooks, etc.).
Another note: first attempt at mobile blogging. Used my Blogger App on my iPod. Feed back welcome!

10 Ideas, Trends and Truths About the Lodging Industry

Just completed a 17 month assignment at the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort and was fortunate to work along side some of the most passionate leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry. The Kirkwood Family and Rob Howell the property General Manager have a one-of-a kind resort nestled quietly alongside the Delaware River in the Pocono Mountains. Promoting the Resort for the past year and half as it celebrated its 100th anniversary was an excellent opportunity to experience first hand some of the fastest growing trends in the hospitality industry come to life. Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort is at the front of the line as it leads the industry towards locally sourced foods for its several restaurants, grows many of the herbs and spices at the Great Shawna Farm, taps its own Maple Syrup and hosts its own honey bee apiary. Not to mention, Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort is home to ShawneeCraft Ales and Lagers, a craft beer served on site at the Gem and Keystone Brew Pub and River Room restaurant. 27 holes of championship golf, a full-service Spa and Salon, River Trips, Gallery and Playhouse all offer a little something for everyone trying to escape the big cities.


Here is a top 10 list of ideas, trends, and truths about the state of the resort, hospitality and tourism industry.


1. Adventure Tourism is quickly becoming a reality and more and more travelers are reaching for an authentic outdoor experience. I experienced first hand Camelback Mountain’s CBK Adventures and can see the adrenalin rush that can lure visitors from the big cities. Combine that with guided fishing and river trips hosted at Shawnee Inn, the Appalachian Trails, Bushkill Falls and of course skiing at six regional ski areas and the Pocono Mountains will be experiencing a boom in this outdoor enthusiast market.

2. Flash Sales and Daily Deal offerings such as Groupon and Living Social can work, but don’t expect to get rich from them. I had the opportunity to experiment several times with these emerging forms of revenue generation and new customer acquisition models and what I found is these programs do offer your organization an opportunity to reach many potential customers and each business needs to evaluate the cost of acquiring a new customer vs. the potential fear of cannibalizing an existing customer. I ran an offer in NYC that targeted males with six figure incomes for an affordable golf, lunch and beer experience and it was successful in attracting approximately 250 new customers to the resort. On the other hand I tried a similar offer with suite accommodations, and dining credit that was not successful as I had placed too many restrictions and did not discount the offer deep enough to capture the impulse buy market. I will create an entire post to this form of sales and marketing in the future.

3. Spa is a big deal! One of the fastest growing segments in the tourism industry is Spa services and having a full-service spa on site is truly a game changer. Considering many of the resort amenities are traditionally weather dependent, having a spa that is open 365 days a year and well into the evening is a clear advantage over those facilities without this amenity. The impact on occupancy is similar to a traditional hotel that offers an indoor pool vs. those hotels that do not, maybe 5% annually. Higher room rates are also a benefit of a resort that offers a full service spa. In addition, spa services assist in closing destination wedding business along with providing a nice employee benefit.

4. Gaming is good for tourism. Legalized gaming and the development of full service casinos in Pennsylvania has created jobs in our industry and is contributing to the overall growth in tourism in our state. Hard to believe some of the casinos are already celebrating their 5th anniversary. The additional revenues from the establishment of casinos in PA have not reduced property taxes as promised nor has it created any crime sprees as others argued, but overall many customers I talked to want to visit the casinos as part of their visit to the region.

5. When it comes to digital marketing keep it simple. It is very easy to get caught up in the buzz as it relates to digital marketing, online travel agents (OTA’s) and social media, but the truth of the matter is know your customer and know your partners. Online travel agents such as Expedia, Travelocity, etc. offer an excellent marketing opportunity, similar to that of a billboard, especially for independent hotels and resorts. If you can create a business model that includes a percentage of your business with a 25% commission structure then by all means use the OTA’s to reach new customers. The cheapest from of advertising and arguably has the highest return is targeting your past customers. Some of the best results in campaigns were delivered by e-mail campaigns targeting our best customers.

6. Social Media makes a better communication tool than a sales tool. One of the best suggestions I heard as it relates to social media is do not let your sales department run your social media efforts. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc., all need to be considered as a communication tool to those that find your organization interesting. Telling them that Sunday Brunch is $25.95 and reservations can be made by calling does not help put the sizzle in the steak. Photos, and customer engagement and interaction are the keys to a successful social media effort. The ROI measurements are hard to quantify, but goals that track interaction and click thus to your website are key performance indicators.

7. Where have all the golfers gone? Amazingly in the 17 months I was at Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, the market lost 3 golf courses and yet we really did not see any appreciable increase in the public play. Weather and the economy can certainly be blamed for this recent trend, but golf has been trending down since its peak in 2000. It will be interesting in Tiger Woods return to the leader board will create a spike in rounds played in the future, or has this sport topped out like tennis did in the 1970-1980’s.

8. Craft beer making is hot! Probably not telling you anything new here, but the fact that one of the most requested things to see or do at Shawnee was to visit the brewery where Shawnee Craft beer is born, really shocked me. But nothing brings a smile to a beer drinker’s face faster than tasting a beer made right on site. Recession or no recession, craft beer is a growing industry and we should be hearing a lot more about ShawneeCraft in the near future.

9. Customer reviews are replacing AAA. The old rating system by AAA of the number of diamonds as a representation of how nice a hotel your were going to visit has taken a back seat to Trip Advisor, Yelp and other customer review sites. Lodging facilities that embrace these customer review sites and do not hide or shy away from clear customer feedback are better for it. It will not be long before the large hotel brands incorporate these customer review sites into their property scoring systems.

10. Mother Nature and Old Man Winter are the two best sales people on your team. Never underestimate the weather when it comes to delivering exceptional sales. The best laid marketing plans and sales forecasts are always at the mercy of the weather. Over the past 22 years I have seen many instances when the weather played a significant role in the success of a tourism season. This past year I started to follow weathertrends360.com (day by day 365 day weather forecast), not so much as a crystal ball, but more as another tool in my business plan toolbox to remind me that what happened the year before as it relates to the weather is not an indication what is going to happen again this year or in future years.

Superbowl Creates Tourism Hole

Judging by the number of vacation, travel and lodging offers I have received this week, it is clear that the Superbowl is a big pain in the neck for hotels and resorts. Consider for example the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, a beautiful full service resort along the banks of the Delaware River minutes from Shawnee Mountain. Booked to capacity for each weekend in January and looking forward to full houses for Valentine's Day weekend and the President's Holiday, the weekend ahead is less than busy. With the best snow in decades on the ground and more on the way, it is hard to believe that a sporting event scheduled for Sunday at 6PM can cause everyone to stay home. But that is exactly what is happening across the Country. My Starwood hotel emails have rates under $100 from California to New Jersey. Half price offers abound from NYC to Washington, DC. I guess there is the pre-party planning and work that involves getting the beer and cooking the wings, but does that really take all weekend? This also leads to my next question. How do you overcome this Superbowl hole? For Baltimore you go in the opposite direction of the Superbowl and book an All-Star Cheerleading competition. My family's butt will be firmly planted all weekend at the Baltimore convention center and the Hampton Inn ($92.00). The CVB sales manager and convention center leadership that recognize this Superbowl hole need to keep this event happy and returning every year on Superbowl weekend. With the event over by 5PM on Sunday, most of us will probably have the ability to catch the second half of the big game in the comfort of our own living room.
I eagerly await the new NFL schedule. Maybe with the proposed 18 game schedule we can finally get the Superbowl on President's weekend. That will accommodate alot of football party hangovers and make for a great winter vacation. For this year my friends at Shawnee Inn have plenty of discounts available at ShawneeInn.com and a great party planned at the Gem and Keystone Brewpub for the smart skiers that already know that the best skiing of the season is always Superbowl Sunday.

Owned Media vs. Traditional Marketing

Owned Media vs. Traditional Marketing
By: Gregg Marzano

Over the past two years I have been retained by companies and organizations to help them understand social media and how it can help their small businesses compete with the big guys. Well, not to say that Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Foursquare can replace the expertise and convenience of having a PR firm at your disposal, but today small business owners are beginning to embrace the concept of “Owned Media” and learning how to deliver this content to their niche audience.

Historically, small business owners that provided product direct to consumers bought an ad in the local paper or billboard on a busy highway and accepted the ROI, even though they knew they were exposing their products to many eyeballs that may never use their products. Today, we can build our database and customer contacts with affordable customer relation management software, and deliver our message affordably and regularly to our core audience in a matter of moments. In addition, many new message delivering tools are out there including social media networks and blogs.

Recently, I hosted a mommyblogger day for Dutch Springs Aqua Park and NorthStar Adventure. I invited bloggers from around the tri-state area to visit the park with their family. Each of the participants has surprised me with their writing skills and hunger to communicate their recommendations to their loyal following. Cameras in hand and children by their side they click and play and chat with employees to get a feel for the park. Each blogger has thousands of Facebook friends, Twitter followers and loyal RSS feeds that read their blogs and buy from their recommendations. These mommybloggers and bloggers in any field are creating their “Owned Media” library and publishing content for those of us interested in what they have to say. As an emerging media, few blogs have been sold to date, but realistically the databases of these blogs and the content of the authors has some real value.

Creating affordable ways to deliver your message to your audience has always been the secret behind a successful small business. Word of Mouth has been relied on to market a business since the dawn of time. Now this loyal recommendation is being called World of Mouth, since so many more people get to hear what is being said about your business.
I truly recommend learning as much as you can about social media and how it can impact your professional and personal life.

Gregg Marzano is owner of Rainmakers Lehigh Valley, a consulting and business development firm specializing in the lodging and tourism business. Gregg is an adjunct faculty member of Northampton Community College, and teaches in the Hotel and Restaurant Division. He is an active member of ASTD and is Treasure of the Eastern PA Chapter.

Pet Friendly Hotels. Do They Make Sense?

Just got a tweet from Poconos Visitors Bureau announcing that another hotel/resort, The Inn at Pocono Manor, had gone "Pet Friendly!" An exclamation point at the end of the sentence indicates that they think this is a good idea. I on the other hand, not so much. Look, pets are great and I agree that leaving them in a kennel is hardly a vacation for your "best friend" or in some cases, your "baby", but think of all the other people in the hotel who have not signed on, to spend their vacation, business meeting, or romantic getaway in a hotel that accommodates pets. These are tough times for hotels as the recession continues to drag on and every market is being looked at very closely to find new business. I get that, but at the end of the day/night is the ROI really there. And if it is not, why do it? I guess my big objection is that most hotels/resorts are still struggling with being guest friendly so how can they go ahead and tackle being pet friendly. Custom room service menus for gourmet dog food with a hotel logo dog bowl, would be cute, if I knew my room service order was going to be perfect and the trays not left in the hallway till noon the next morning. The assurance that the room was deep cleaned after the guests with pets left would be comforting, if I was not routinely picking up pen caps, mint wrappers, etc, form under the bed when I go to make sure I left nothing behind. If a hotel wants to be pet friendly, here are two suggestions:
Put a kennel on the property with an activities director and vet on call.
Have a patio for outside dining for the pet and their family to visit and dine.
I find it interesting that 20 years ago when I sold for hotels that regularly had dog and cat shows, the hotel was looked down on by upscale customers, now the upscale customers are the ones that are suppose to pay for the $100 cleaning fee, gourmet dog food and custom logo dog bowl.

A subsciber's advice to the Morning Call newspaper

I have been a subscriber/reader of the Morning Call since taking my first job in the Lehigh Valley in 1989 at the old George Washington Lodge on McArthur Rd. The paper does a better job than anyone turning over leads for sales professionals in the tourism business. They get all the news and PR releases before anyone else and their stories in the morning paper are a great source. Often the fact that I have read the paper by 7AM allows my first sales call at 8:30AM to be the one early bird that catches the worm.. With that said, one of my recent pet peeves with the paper is their decision not to send a reporter on the road with the Phillies Major League Baseball team. As much as I am sure there are fiscal concerns, I also understand that every decision has a financial impact and one is chosen over another for many reasons. I must say, reading an AP report on the Phillies is painful. Odds are if someone is reading the paper in this day and age, they are looking for insight and content not how the runs were scored. Mandy Housenick has done an exceptional job in her short couple of years covering the team and making the hard task of getting something out of the players and coaches that we didn't learn on tv or on the internet. Having Mandy at only the home games, probably makes the Morning Call a second class citizen when it comes to getting the behind the scenes news. I hope you will give some thought to this idea of sending Mandy on the road. Also, I have a few thoughts on the real estate section, but will leave that for another day....

Lehigh Valley Tourism Tournament

Lehigh Valley Tourism Top 64 Attractions March Madness Style
I got to thinking about how many great places we have to see and things to do in our region and before you know it, I was up to 64 different events, museums, festivals, waterparks,zoos, etc. So I placed them in geographical regions, Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and Lehigh Valley. Ranked them 1-16 in each region and now hope to get some feedback as to who gets to the sweet 16 and beyond. Some interesting matchups early on...I posted the bracket at http://tinyurl.com/y9dxlqd.

New AirTran Routes To Put Lehigh Valley On The Map

Local Lehigh Valley Tourism To Benefit From New AirTran Routes.

When I first saw the press release from Lehigh Valley International Airport’s business development director Susan Kittle about the new AirTran routes to Atlanta it did not make a major impression with me. It seemed like the usual slow growth strategies we have grown accustom to when it comes to major airline announcements here in the Lehigh Valley. But thanks to another snow day, I had time to review the announcement in more detail. Daily service to Atlanta, leaving at 6AM and arriving in Atlanta by 8:00AM, makes the rest of the world’s travel destinations a reality leaving from our convenient, easy to navigate, security friendly, affordable parking home airport!

Imagine this: I can leave Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) at 6:00AM, and be in Los Angeles by 12:15PM for an afternoon meeting for $251 one way. The return trip of $190.40 brings me back to LVIA at 12:15AM the next day. Not that I would suggest this whirlwind travel trip, but hey for $441.80 (tax inc.) round trip this could make a lot of business travelers and their CFO’s very happy!

The flip side to this equation is how it opens up the Lehigh Valley and Poconos tourism markets! In the past this same flight into ABE would cost you $600+ (tax inc.) These higher prices would drive meeting business into Newark or Philadelphia airports and often cause meeting planners to choose a hotel or conference center closer to that airport for obvious reasons. Now if Olympus decides to bring all their sales associates into Center Valley, they can conveniently and affordably fly them into ABE.

If it keeps snowing, I will check out some other hot spots for a Spring Break!

Perfect Storm Delivers Big Results for Northeast Ski Resorts

Perfect Storm Delivers Big Results for Northeast Ski Resorts

If you think you have read all there is to know about snow after this past weekend, think twice. The story that will be hitting the airwaves and print media this week will revolve around a “Perfect Storm” of love, sport and cabin fever. While the traditional ski areas missed out on the monster storms of last weekend the Northeast resort managers are still having images of dollar signs dancing in their head! Here’s why….
Ever so often the February calendar aligns Valentine’s Day (February 14th) with the official President’s Holiday weekend (a quasi non-decipherable combination of President’s Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays), this year celebrated on February 15th. This tends to make the 2nd weekend in February the most popular weekend for ski resorts. Add a 30 inch snow storm 7 days earlier and a possible repeat three days later in the big cities of Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia and you have the making for historic lift lines at the Pocono and Lehigh Valley ski areas this upcoming weekend, not to mention $200+ room rates in the surrounding resorts and inns. If the room you want has a hot tub or fireplace you can guarantee it is not available! So if you are a skier or a romantic and have not made plans for this weekend, I say forget it. Do something romantic close to home, enjoy the long holiday preparing your taxes or painting the bathrooms. You can take that ski trip any of the other 4 weekends between now and St. Patrick’s day,and I promise you the lift lines will be shorter and your wallet a little fatter after the trip.

Christmas City Holiday Parade

New Clients for Rainmakers Lehigh Valley

Rainmakers Lehigh Valley Adds Custom Restaurant Software,
Area Caterer and Local Sports Newspaper to Offerings

Employing a full-time sales and marketing professional for most small businesses and non-profit organizations is quickly becoming a thing of the past. “Hiring an outside agency for business development needs for a small business may soon become as common place as outsourcing payroll administration, bookkeeping and IT solutions,” says Gregg Marzano, President of Rainmakers Lehigh Valley. Business owners have so many plates in the air at one time, that business growth is something they think a lot about, but have little time to implement.” “That’s where I come in - I help them find that next sale.” Marzano added.

Rainmakers Lehigh Valley is assisting Spainbdevelopment with the launch of SeatTracker, a customized table management and reservation software for fine dining restaurants, provides new business development for Royal Gourmet Foods, a casual dining caterer located in Easton and NorthStar Adventure at Dutch Springs, the regions leading active learning training organization.

Rainmakers Lehigh Valley is also a marketing representative for Lehigh Valley Sports Extra, a monthly newspaper dedicated to the local sports scene. “I like to work with niche offerings with private ownership,” said Marzano. “Working with the owner directly as an outside vendor allows me to see the big picture and not get bogged down in the day to day details.” “Big corporations have sales and marketing insulated from the operations, but in small business everyone is asked to do everything.” “This is a bad formula for growing the business,” he said.

Rainmakers Lehigh Valley provides sales and marketing solutions for small businesses in the service and hospitality industry and is a member of the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. Contact: Gregg Marzano, 610-248-4389 gmarzano@rcn.com www.rainmakerslv.com.