Industry News That You Can Use!     December 2007 Newsletter  
  In This Issue!   What a December!
   dot Top Ten Marketing Ideas to Consider for 2008
 dot Travel Industry Prospects Bright Despite
    Economic Uncertainty
 dot The Etiquette of Holiday Gift-Giving
 dot Men Buy, Women Shop
 dot Ten Commandments of Media Press & News
    Release Submittals for the Online World
 dot Better Leads in Seven Steps
 dot Closing the Sale
 dot The Top Ten Restaurant Commercials for 2007
 dot Is the Entrée Heading for Extinction?
 dot Managing Productivity
dot Use Travel Review Sites to Increase Market Share
    

With several big storms and lots of flurries so far this month, the start to this winter’s season is all the industry could hope for. “At this point last year, many areas were struggling to remain open,” according to Karl Stone, Marketing Director of Ski NH. “This year they’re busy managing the regular snowfall and gearing up for what we hope is a very busy holiday period.”

Indeed, in a recent (informal and totally unscientific!) survey of representative lodging properties around the state, News You Can Use learned that advance reservations for Christmas week were coming in strong earlier this month, and that situation has only improved in the last two weeks. As Karl observed, “We’ve been really lucky in that not only have we received snow at the ski areas, but many of our critical markets such as Boston have also received plentiful snow, too, so skiing is on people’s minds.

This year’s snowfall is especially beneficial for NH’s cross country areas which have dealt with slow starts the past few years, but this year they have a deep base with amazing winter scenery for the holidays. Some areas will open for the Christmas vacation week for the first time in nearly 10 years. Snowmobilers are also happy so far this season.

“If this weather continues,” concludes Stone, “we should have many of our ski areas 100% open for the holiday week with some of the best conditions ever for this time of the year.”

 
       
       
        
       
       
       
       
       
       
  Top Ten Marketing Ideas to Consider in 2008      
 

Few marketing programs completely fulfill one's hopes. In the New Year, marketers should avoid over-hyped opportunities to focus on measuring success by one satisfied customer at a time. Here are the key ideas you should consider.

      
       
       
       
  Travel Industry Prospects Bright Despite
   Economic Uncertainty		    
   
 

A new Deloitte Survey highlights the emergence of niche travel, continued blurring between business and leisure travel, growth of internet use for travel planning, and more.

      
       
       
  The Etiquette of Holiday Gift-Giving      
  Gift-giving etiquette in a corporate setting can be tricky. What's fitting for one person could be taboo for another. Here are tips to help you choose the right gift for your employees and clients.      
       
       
  Men Buy, Women Shop      
  When it comes to shopping, women are from Nordstrom's and men are from Sears. Read on >      
       
  Ten Commandments of Media Press & News Release
   Submittals for the Online World		      
     
   Here are ten suggestions if you really want your materials to be respected and ultimately reach a much wider audience.      
  Better Leads in Seven Steps     The Top Ten Restaurant Commercials of 2007  
  Read on to learn how to maximize email's role in your lead-generation program.      
      Most of this year's best-recalled restaurant commercials are humor to set the stage for business-building messages. Consumers like a good laugh. But these days they love saving money even more. Read on >  
  Closing the Sale  
  Ask most sales people what the most difficult part of sales is, and they are likely to say "Closing the sale!" Here are some suggested ways of moving a conversation toward a booking.  
   
      Is the Entrée Heading for Extinction?  
  Managing Productivity     The entrée, long the disputed centerpiece of an American meal, is dead. O.K., so maybe it's not quite time to write the entrée's obituary. But in many major dining cities like New York, San Francisco and Chicago, the main course is under attack.  
  In the business world there are different schools of thought about the importance of praising people. Some managers think it's essential to give people pats on the back regularly and often. Others think that an occasional good word to an employee is plenty, and others are like the fellow who says, "My people know they're doing a good job when they DON'T hear from me." This kind of manager reminds me of the curmudgeon who tells his wife, "I told you I loved you when we got married. If I change my mind, I'll let you know." Read on >  
   
   
   
   
   
      Use Travel Review Sites to Increase Market Share  
  Reminder!     As our vocabularies have become peppered with words like Google, YouTube, TripAdvisor and “del.icio.us,” a sea change has occurred in hospitality marketing.  Not only has the playing field been leveled for many small- and medium-size hotels, but marketing has been turned on its head as the consumer has taken charge.  Read on.  
  Please remember that we are designing an online Press Room that will serve as a clearing house for news that would be of interest to your industry colleagues as well as to the general public. If you have news that we can use, please send us an email to news@NHTravelCouncil.com  
   
   
   
     
            dot Become a Member Today!
     dot Save the Date!		  
         
  Save the Date:
May 6 & 7, 2008		   Thanks to our Sponsor
      RR Donnelly  

The New & Improved Governor's Conference on Tourism, to be held at the Mt. Washington Hotel, will be THE event to attend for members of New Hampshire's Travel & Tourism Industry.

That's you!   Details to follow in upcoming issues.

      
    For Your Print and Direct Mail Needs Contact: Tom Estabrook thomas.estabrook@rrd.com
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  In Closing  
 


On behalf of the Travel Council, best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a happy, successful 2008!
Susan Logan, Editor, News You Can Use!
Member, NHTC Board of Directors

  
     
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