In The Society’s backyard of Vail (OK, about 90 miles west of our office), The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa is running an interesting special to generate ski season business.

“Book your holiday getaway during the month of July and receive more than 50 percent off standard ski season pricing on our studio suites and spacious 1, 2, and 3 bedroom condominiums.” For additional information, “www.enjoychristmasinjuly.com”.

In addition, the promotion advises:

• “Book now and take advantage of a spacious studio suite starting at $149 over the dates of 11/20 – 12/25, 2009”.
• Spread out with a generous living room and fully stocked kitchen in our expansive two bedroom condominiums, starting at $329”

The moral of the example above is to 1) try to reverse the trend towards last-minute bookings, 2) increase interest for the up-coming ski season, 3) book early for discounts which may not be available in the future and 4) upgrade to a larger unit. Have you considered working with The Society concerning a similar promotion(s) targeting our database and/or the affluent audience associated with our Global Bundle?

For many of us in the vacation/hospitality industry, we have cornered ourselves into the “last-minute” discount vacation. It will take many months if not years to reverse this trend. We look forward to the day when we can say “I am sorry, we sold out months ago for those dates.”

It may seem that every hotelier is offering a sale on inventory. Of note recently is the “48 Hour Sale” when hoteliers sell off inventory at a steep discount, usually 50% rack rate. While we at The Society understand the practice we feel as property managers and owners it is important to understand such a promotion may NOT be in your best interest:

• Alienation of Existing Bookings: Be forewarned, your existing bookings may contact you and demand the same discounted rate.

• Future Clients Expect Discount: While you may be filling your coffers immediately the long-term impact is unknown. Will clients now expect discounted rates in the future and if not available, book elsewhere?

• You Are Not a Hotel: In general most hotels offer a standard product with slight variables. Vacation home rentals are unique and individual. If discounting, place incentives on the inventory which historically has been least in demand.

• Price By Bedroom/Occupancy: Most hotel room rates are based on Dbl. Occ. Be creative, break down rates based on a per person basis based on total occupancy.

The staff at The Society has been working diligently composing a “White Paper” concerning the Top 10 Marketing opportunities for property managers and vacation home owners. We are all aware, due to present economic conditions; travel related spending is at a level not seen since the aftermath of the attacks of 9/11. While the economy may be stabilizing, the overall zeitgeist concerning discretionary spend for leisure has changed as the “Stay-cation” trend becomes part of the vernacular.

While researching and composing the “White Paper”, we noticed one trend being mentioned in interviews, The Last-Minute Booking. Vacationers seem to believe all last-minute bookings will be heavily discounted. Even CNN, the respected news source ran an article last week advising “Procrastination Pays Off For Some Summer Travelers”.

We at The Society know the logistical issues concerning last-minute bookings and the demand for discounts. In the White Paper we address this issue and others to provide guidance in these un-chartered economic times. When available we will be sending you a link to the posting on TheSociety.com.