Tahoe South Shore Blog 2.03.10

Thanks to everyone who voted for the Travelocity Gnome to come to Lake Tahoe. Utah pulled off the win in the last minutes of the challenge – beating us by 64 votes -but little do they know the Gnome has been here all week and could use a few days downtime in that sleepy state after skiing and partying it up here on South Shore!

We bid the Society of American Travel Writers group goodbye a few days ago. They were absolutely impressed with our destination start to finish. A sincere thank you to all of our local partners who contributed time, rooms, services, meals, time and activities to making this a huge success. A special thanks to Phil Weidinger and his team at Weidinger Public Relations, particularly Jennifer Boyd, for 24/7 coordination.

Hot August Nights Lake Tahoe is already rolling for us. In the first of what looks like many media hits, USA Today sends us national…

One of the gems we have learned through this recession is how important travel and tourism is, not only to our own destination, but to our country. It’s part of our culture to travel and this past year shows us the power of the industry in economic terms. The US Travel Association has been hard at work on our behalf during this time, earning their keep 10-fold. See letter from Association President and CEO, Roger Dow, and check out USTA’s year in review video to understand this organization’s importance.

I’m off to New York on Monday, representing the High Sierra Visitors Council with the California Travel Tourism Commission at a distinguished media event. Back to you soon with some comments and results of that event.

President’s Week is upon us, so be sure to remind front line staff how important it is to welcome each and every visitor and thank them for their business. The new Events & Entertainment brochure is on the printing press as we speak so we hope to have a supply for you to distribute on President’s weekend.

Carol Chaplin
Executive Director, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Tahoe South Shore Blog 1.28.10

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Fight for the roaming Gnome: 

Vote to have the Travelocity Roaming Gnome come to LAKE TAHOE or risk seeing it spend its vacation in Utah. Get your vote in and ask your customers to do the same!

Don’t forget – you can vote as many times as you like!!!  Click here NOW through February 2.

 The Society of American Travel Writers, Western Region Conference is almost finished.  The LTVA and its South Shore partners have been hosting this group of 34 travel writers since Saturday, January 23.  Thank you to all of our community businesses for helping in making this a successful event, one that will result in print stories about our great destination and the many fun, interesting and unique activities, attractions, restaurants and businesses we have to offer.  One participant has already posted a story online! 

We met this week with our United Kingdom representatives, who are our partners in keeping South Shore top of mind in that country.  The good news is that based upon rebounding economic conditions in the U.K., bookings to California and to Lake Tahoe are expected to be up next year.  Turns out the Brits prefer to book their “long-haul holidays” through well-established tour operators rather than via the internet. 

Speaking of internet, and more specifically “social media”, check out this article by Peter Yesawich on the subject. 

On the radar, I travel to New York for a California Travel and Tourism Commission media event in early February for another opportunity to pitch story ideas for the High Sierra region.  And on the topic of media, if you haven’t heard, Lake Tahoe was named the Orbitz #1 Ski Destination for the third year in a row. 

Don’t forget to check out www.ltva.org for our new industry partner website.  Up and running now for several weeks, we hope this becomes a great resource for you.

I previously mentioned Hot August Nights, coming to South Shore for the first time this year.  After only a week of publicity, registrations are coming in and we will soon have more information on the event program as we get closer.  If you have not sent us lodging rate information for this event, get on it!  

Carol Chaplin
Executive Director, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Tahoe South Shore Blog 1.11.10

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I’m hearing the holiday period was solid at least and some are saying better than that. We should take this as good news in light of national reports. MTrip provides relative information for us on mountain destinations – performance and predictions – and I hope this link is useful as you plan for business this year.

For more great insights, check out our own Carl Ribaudo’s SMG Insights. 2010 looks brighter, but hang on for some bumps.

So for bright – look backwards to the 2009, over-the-top attendance year for the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship. You may recall the $90,000 the tournament donated to local charities immediately following the tournament, and perhaps you read there was more on the way. Well, another $77,000 is about to be distributed through the generosity of our partners at American Century, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and NBC Sports. These funds will go to some of our most important and impactful organizations, including Christmas Cheer, the Family Resource Center, The Women’s Center, Barton Memorial’s cancer screening programs, South Tahoe High School and Whittell High School Athletic Programs, Tahoe Arts Project, CASA, Relay for Life, and the Lake Tahoe and Douglas County Education Foundations. This would be a reminder that when business does well, so does our community. Thanks to our partners for the shot in the arm they are giving in times so tough.

Can you say Hot August Nights? The press release announcing the three day South Shore pre-Reno event is out the door. “Events” is what we heard and events is what you get.

We’ll have the South Shore’s event line up in print and ready for distribution later this month!

Carol Chaplin
Executive Director Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Tahoe South Shore Blog 12.30.09

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Here’s to snow! Here’s to the season and to 2010, when we hope we can all enjoy an increase in visitation and business. But while we are hopeful we’ve seen the bottom of this slump, the US Travel Association says the days and ways of travel have changed for good.

See this link for more on national tourism trends and news. What it means is that we stay nimble, we focus on the core market and as a destination, we deliver a solid product and in the meantime, we continue our various efforts to reinvent and respond.

Not meaning to look backwards too long, we would like to invite you to review our 2009 LTVA Annual Report. I think it speaks to challenges met, solutions discovered and partnerships strengthened. Which leads me to briefly thank all of our volunteer business leaders who have dedicated many long hours towards the results this report boasts. And, if you’re looking for where we’re headed, it will give you a glimpse. Hang with us and here’s to Lake Tahoe South Shore in 2010!

Carol Chaplin Executive Director
Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

News from Tahoe South 10.19.09

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The US Travel Association reports that recent signs of positive growth in housing and in business investment suggest that this economic recession may be coming to an end, though the waiting game continues for the travel industry. Weak consumer spending patterns and bottom-dwelling travel indicators are evidence of consumers’ cautious mood. Recovery seems elusive, at least for those of us engaged in the travel economy. Analysts do seem to agree that travel overall is likely to rebound somewhat over the next 12 months, but a full recovery is unlikely until 2011 or beyond.

When I read these reports (and there are lots out there like this), it reminds me we are not the only destination affected and we’re not the worst, either.  We could use an early winter, and if it comes we should all be screaming it from the mountain tops.  LTVA public relations efforts are poised for just this case.  As we know, if we get out ahead of the holidays we’re likely to gain the momentum sustaining us through the season.  So cross your fingers and start that snow dance!

And while you’re dancing, here’s a bulletin as to what staff, marketing committee and board have been up to:

The Strategic Plan is in final stages of review and sets the stage for a new “community based” marketing approach. 

The LTVA’s new advertising agency, Duncan/Channon, squeezed in a summer campaign video and still photography shoot last week. Six days of work will reap an action packed TV and online campaign slated to begin in May 2010. 

Soon we’ll be separating our community information website from our visitor information website.  Creating this separate identify will allow us to better communicate the LTVA’s message to you – our constituents.  This change will let our partners access industry information and resources much more easily.  Watch this space for details in the coming months.

On October 15 we had the first of a series of meetings vetting out the South Shore “summer kick off” event.  Everyone is welcome to attend, particularly if you represent a group planning an event in late May or June.  We want to support you and would welcome promoting your event along with all of the others.  The meetings are at the Administrative Building at 169 Highway 50, Stateline, NV, in the main conference room.  Next meeting date to be announced soon. 

We’ve just completed some event specific survey work that supports what we thought about visitors and event attendance, but also gives us some insight as to how long they stay and how much they spend.  More on that to come. 

We just closed the Meyers Visitor Information Center for the season.  Between the three VC’s over the summer, we interacted personally with over 42,000 visitors in just four months.

I attended a Sustainable Tourism Summit hosted by the California Travel and Tourism Commission, and I’m providing a few choice tidbits here for your consumption.  My recommendation is to take this information seriously as the trends regarding green product consumer choices are accelerating.  The trend is for more people to make choices based upon green versus price and green vs convenience.  And, it is becoming very to somewhat important to consider environmental impact during travel planning.   Finally, 31% of US travelers are willing to pay a premium for green options. 

The Marketing Committee and Board of Directors approved the development of a new website which will launch along with the 2010 summer campaign.  And btw, you can get to the current and future website by using our new URL www.TahoeSouth.com.  Yep, we’re going south and blue is moving on.  So, I guess we need to rename this blog.  The new campaign is being cooked and will be served up in May, but for now, we’ll just go with TahoeSouth.

Carol Chaplin Executive Director
Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Inside Blue 8.25.09

There’s no excuse for the lack of blog on my part, except for the overwhelming success of the American Century Championship, celebrating its 20^th anniversary here on South Shore at Edgewood.  When there’s no good news about the economy out there, we blasted the past record of 31,000 attendees, with a whopping 16% increase over the six day event. Lodging properties hit 100% occupancy on tournament nights and ran close to full midweek. Saturday’s second round was the largest, single-day attendance in tournament history at 10,500.  Talk about a great event from start to finish!

But actually, we won’t be finished for quite awhile.  The Lake Tahoe South Shore destination continues to bask in the over $5 million worth of media exposure for the tournament, including the NBC national TV coverage of the event over the weekend.  Even now, I am looking at an article that ran on August 9^th in the Chronicle, touting the event as well as local restaurants and the Black Bear Inn. 

As for touting, South Lake Tahoe was included on the TODAY Show on Friday August 21, with an estimated audience of 1.8 million and a publicity value of $26,811.  The TODAY Show host said, “Anytime of the year, [Lake Tahoe] is fantastic. Summer comes alive…it is so gorgeous. The air is crystal clear.” With a lead from Russ Pecoraro at Heavenly we pitched Budget Travel magazine’s editor Nina Willdorf, with South Lake Tahoe on last-minute Labor Day deals. The segment included deals at Lakeland Village Beach & Mountain Resort and is available to view online: http://today.msnbc.msn.com.

More TV…KGO’s Bay Area Half-Off show will feature numerous South Shore activities, products and properties this fall.  Show host Jennifer Coleman will be on site this week filming.  The segments will start airing early-to mid. September and continue each week until the end of December.  View the segments at www.WatchHalfOff.com. 

The LTVA’s strategic plan is in its final stages of review and implementation begins as early as winter.  Developed for the LTVA by Strategic Marketing Group, the plan sets direction for the next few years strategy, aimed primarily at Northern California.  Roll out of the plan and its tactical action steps will be in the coming months.  As always, input is welcome. 

Oh, yeah.  Along with that, website redesign is high on the agenda.  Not to mention our new local industry website development—a separate website specifically for our partners for information on what the LTVA’s current activities are as well as how we can support your business in reaching out to potential customers. 

I’m back on track with the blog, so look for the next real soon.

Carol Chaplin, Executive Director, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Inside Blue 6.25.09

The summer campaign is off and running. I received a report from a hotel operator that his bay area customers have mentioned seeing our 15 second “bookend” tv spots. Complimenting those, our online banner media campaign links consumers directly to a landing page for trip planning tools. Using geo-targeted travel sites, we are reaching audiences closest to the point of purchase and more receptive to messages. The SEM buy works in conjunction with the banner campaign, reaching travel-mindset audiences and supports searches specific to the campaign messaging to close the loop on trip planning. As the campaign progresses, we can change the key words and eliminate any of the several banner options on the fly based upon program results. As of last week, we understand that the SEM (Search Engine Marketing) click through rate is 154% of the industry standard goal (.77%), and the average page views are 2.21, or 111% of the goal. The rich media banners are performing better than the flash banners and are 700% above the industry average in interaction and we can adjust the campaign to rely more heavily on rich media, however we will continue to use the flash so that we can tag them with our upcoming summer events.

The LTVA’s Geo-caching event was once again a success; check out some of the satisfied visitors’ comments on the website. We’re locking in dates for the 5^th annual, so mark your calendars for June 12-13, 2010. That will, by the way, be the Summer Kick-off weekend (a.k.a. Opening Days). Contact Mike Frye (mike@ltva.org) if you have an event scheduled for that time period that we can help to promote and look for more information on LTVA’s event line up as we move into the fall months.

Speaking of fall, winter isn’t long behind, so winter planning is the topic for the PR committee and what’s new/different/enhanced in your business is what we need information on. Forward that information either to me or Jenn Boyd (Weidinger Public Relations) at Jennifer@weidingerpr.com.

Only one more plug for the 20^th Anniversary American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Edgewood Tahoe, July 14-19. With all of this weighty economic recession news, it’s a bright spot in our community, with ticket sales keeping pace with last year. Thanks to all of our community partners for assisting with rooms for NBC crew and VIP’s: Harveys, MontBleu, Lakeside Inn and Casino, Lakeland Village Beach & Mountain Resort and Forest Suites Resort. Of course Harrah’s has a big sponsorship role directly with NBC as the host hotel, and Edgewood Tahoe is the stunning backdrop for the Tournament. Check out the current players list which is updated regularly.

P.S to all LTSCC members and all South Shore lodging properties: All three Visitor Centers are open and busy with summer visitors. Make sure we have information on upgrades, new amenities, events, etc., so we distribute accurate information about your business.

Carol Chaplin, Executive Director, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Inside Blue 5.14.09

Happy National Tourism Week! The LTVA celebrated our community’s largest industry by selecting two visiting couples to enjoy $300 spending money on their vacation to South Shore.

The Tahoe Beach and Ski Club and Lakeside Inn and Casino assisted us in identifying the winning visitors.

Armed with $300 cash, a journal and camera to record some of their experiences for us, they will represent a typical visitor to our destination, further enjoying their stay as our special guests.

Weidinger Public Relations will also video our visitors which will be posted on our website along with their journal entries and some of their photos.

This should be a fun and interesting experiment as we see what our guests decide to spend their cash on. Upon their departure, they will receive an additional $50 for gas for the trip home. Congratulations and thank you for coming!

Speaking of Tourism, I guess the impact of decreased visitation continues to hit home with the recent Horizon lay-offs and restructure.

We’ve been talking about how important it is to keep our destination in the minds of our visitors and this is just another reminder of how important it is for the LTVA to keep our marketing efforts going, even with reduced budget.

And that would lead me to the summer advertising campaign, launching in our drive markets as we speak. With :15 second bookend TV spots running May-July, complimented by a robust web SEM and banner campaign, we’ll be hitting our Northern California markets as they begin their summer vacation planning. This is a very flexible, responsive, not to mention aggressive approach to reaching potential visitors.

I hear from Strategic Marketing Group, who is working on a 3 year strategic plan for the LTVA that the survey invitation I posted is not being taken advantage of. For all of you out there that have something to say about what the LTVA did, does, should do, this is your chance to weigh in. If you don’t, then stop whining. Here’s the link one more time and you’ve got one more week to get it done. It takes about 10 minutes. http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey.zgi?p=WEB2297HNKUMEZ

Carol Chaplin, Executive Director
Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Inside Blue 4.22.09

 

 

 

April 22, 2009

Regarding yesterday’s City Council decision: First, we agree with City Council members in the respect that we didn’t want to fund an event and delete a job, that said; we’re very pleased to have funding for the Lake in the Sky Air Show  and the King of the Hill Masters Track and Field Meet. We are, however, disappointed that the Council chose not to support the Lake Tahoe Marathon or the Labor Day Fireworks. Both of these events have a proven track record of producing room nights, which in turn produce TOT dollars for the City’s general fund and support the City of South Lake Tahoe. It seemed like a good investment to us…

As for Council Member Lovell’s question about Twitter…yes, the LTVA, through the efforts of Weidinger Public Relations, has been tweeting since March. We have over 160 followers, including several media outlets such as NPR News, RGJ.com, KOLO, ABC News 10 Sacramento, Sierra Sun, and various travel websites. Each tweet includes general information about deals, promotions, conditions and what’s happening in South Shore along with a link to www.bluelaketahoe.com. Our Twitter user name is SouthShoreTahoe.

Moving on, the LTVA is working on a three year strategic plan and needs your input. We’d really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete a short survey. Follow this link: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey.zgi?p=WEB2293W44N39Z .
The survey will be available until May 15. I will offer up highlights of the survey results in a future blog.

Speaking of moving on – the TID is proposing an increase in their transient room fees. The Tahoe Tribune has posted an online survey as to whether the fee should be increased in order to fund marketing. That decision is up to the lodging folks, but anyone can weigh in with an opinion. Results will be posted this Friday, so if you do have an opinion vote now on the Trib’s site: www.tahoedailytribune.com. The survey is at the bottom of the home page and it takes about 2 seconds to cast your vote.

Also in the moving on category: The LTVA will represent the South Shore at International Pow Wow in May. This is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and LTVA’s lead role for the destination makes it possible for local businesses to participate under the LTVA’s umbrella. The LTVA’s Sports Commission also takes a lead role in a year-one US Track and Field Association Masters Meet on Saturday May 30. Go to www.adsportstahoe.com for more information. LTVA’s fourth annual Geocaching event is scheduled for June 13-14. The host hotel is Embassy Suites. Check out www.bluelaketahoe.com/geocaching.php for more details.

And finally – the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship will be held at Edgewood Tahoe July 14-19. This is the 20th Anniversary and there’s already a strong field of celebrities confirmed. There are still volunteer opportunities available – and you don’t even need to know anything about golf! Check it out at tahoecelebritygolf.com/Volunteers.html.

Did you know that visitors to the South Shore spend approximately $675 per day for their immediate party? More facts like this available at the Tourism Forum next Thursday, April 30, 3pm at the Lake Tahoe Community College Duke Theatre. Hope to see you there.

Carol Chaplin, Executive Director

Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

Inside Blue 4.08.09

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My apologies for the blog gap of a few weeks, but I couldn’t seem to get out of the funk created by the constant bad news all around us. I was looking for a good news blog topic and I was struggling. If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say it, right? But there is good news and that’s where I’m staying:

In a weird series of events, the LTVA made it on to the South Lake Tahoe City Council April 21 agenda. Undaunted (well, somewhat undaunted) by the slam dunk in February, at which the council voted 4-1 to deny approval of the $335k funding contract, the LTVA’s position is that the City should live up to at least part of its original commitment–since our commitment to some of our partners was based upon that funding promise. Our lodging constituency believes that the Labor Day Fireworks draws visitors and enhances their last fling summer visit and I’m asking the City to preserve that event. The Lake of the Sky Air Show has continued to grow attendance and showcases our general aviation airport, and the Lake Tahoe Marathon is a tradition with 13 years of tried and true participation. On May 31, our newly formed Sports Commission is to host our first US Track and Field Association sanctioned Masters track meet and we think that this could become an annual event. So, on April 21, I’m facing the squad again to ask for minimal funding ($85,000) to keep these four events alive. If you believe that the City owes the tourism community at least this much, then I ask for your attendance and your support.

More good news: The Weather Channel visited the South Shore in January to tape stories on the destination and returned in March to air those segments as part of live programming. The broadcast was live from Edgewood Tahoe on March 23. The stories reinforced our branding efforts and key messages: Why the Lake is blue, the Heavenly Flyer (zip line), year round boat cruises, family friendly activities, high altitude exercise and Lake Tahoe factoids. The entire program will air repeatedly, providing increased coverage and exposure. Thanks to Weidinger Public Relations for lots of groundwork, handholding and their usual creative input for story ideas that caught the Weather Channel’s interest.

More: the LTVA board and marketing committee continue to keep their heads down and focus on driving business for the upcoming summer season. A three year strategic planning process has been initiated and will produce a roadmap for marketing efforts aimed at growing awareness as well as visitation in our markets. Tomorrow, the two groups finish the discussion on the summer creative concepts and media plan to launch in May. And, as a result of an RFP process, the finalist advertising agencies are scheduled for presentations with our board and marketing committee selecting one to move forward with this fall.

As always, you are invited to attend. I continually run into folks that say they don’t know what the LTVA is doing. Along with your Wheaties, I’d love to serve it all up to you for breakfast, but I’m afraid that some of this just can’t go door to door. The invitation to the meetings is always extended and the door is always open. Attend and participate. We will continue to strive towards more outreach, but darn it, if you have opinions or you need information, sometimes you just gotta show up.

Last of the good news: With the help of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (no, it’s not the “Nevada Chamber….more than 60% of its membership is CA based!), we’re dialed in for our Tourism Forum on Thursday, April 30, 3-6pm. Click here for more information. You should join us.

Carol Chaplin, Executive Director
Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority