Ithaca/Tompkins County

CVB 2015 Q1 Report

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Q1 2015 CVB Sales Roundup: More Outreach , More Bookings! Conferences & Groups Bring 2,057 Room Nights 26 Conference/Groups Leads Booked in Q1 +20% Leads Distributed +18% Leads Contracted +53% Rooms Booked The Ithaca CVB Group Sales Department had the most successful Q1 to date, with increased leads, bookings, and room nights: 30 Conference & Group Leads Sent 36 Conference & Group Leads Sent +20% 22 Conference & Group Leads Booked 26 Conference & Group Leads Booked +18% } The Heartland Travel Marketplace (March) and the American Bus Association Conference (Jan) yielded over 50 sales appointments for the CVB team. As outlined in the 2015 work plan, the CVB sales team also began outreach calls to the hills. Cornell Human Ecology was the first call, resulting in a faculty retreat secured for La Tourelle. The increase in conference and group leads sent and booked led to a 53% increase in room nights booked in 2015. Problems with a Sports Group A major athletic tournament in March led to a near sold-out weekend for the community, a number of hotels had damage to their guest rooms and public areas from misbehaving parents and a smaller number of misbehaving athletes. We spoke with hotel Directors of Sales who worked with the group to gauge damage, cost of room refunds and interest in working with the group again when it is scheduled to return in 2016. We spoke with: In summary, the Directors of Sales said that tournament participants will see room rate increase next year. A number of hotels indicated that they will welcome individual room reservations but will not be inclined to offer a group room block because guests behave differently as individuals vs. groups. We invited tournament organizers to discuss any concerns directly with the individual Directors of Sales. Not only has attention been focused on group business, but the team has also increased the demand for motorcoaches. • Hampton Inn • Hilton Garden Inn • Homewood Suites • Hotel Ithaca • Best Western Inn • Comfort Inn • Country Inn and Suites • Fairfield Inn nights in 2014 nights in 2015

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