Print your documents from iPhone, Blackberry at Hilton Garden Inn hotels

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino president found dead in Las Vegas home

Comment

Recommend

Need a vacation? Gaylord Hotels thinks you do – and hopes you’ll think of its four, massive properties in theNashville, Washington D.C., Dallas and Orlando areas, just as you woulda Marriott, Hilton or Hyatt hotel.

As part of its new, post-recession strategy, Gaylordrecently launched a new websitethat’s designed to show leisure travelershow good a time they can have at a Gaylord – if,that is,you’re into staying at large resorts and hotels.

VOTE: Do you stay in hotels that serve only Pepsi? Coke?
LUXURY HOTEL: Irish government to take some over

Expect to seerich photos and video footage that emphasize the enormity of Gaylord’sgiant hotel-conference centers and theirfamily-friendly nature (no accident that some footage showskids running around the atriums).The images alsoshow off thehotels’pools,quaint indoor shopping villages, multiple restaurants, lush indoor landscaping and other details that just might remind you of Disney.

The new website, however, is a small part of what Gaylord’s trying to do to battle the travel downturn that began in 2008.

Traditionally, Gaylord relied on corporate and association conferences for about 80% of its business, said Rich Maradik, Gaylord’s chief marketing officer who I spoke with recently.But with thatbusiness still down from prior peak levels,Gaylord is taking a new approachto fill its8,000 rooms on weekends, when the hotels typicallyempty in between large meetings.

“You offer customers a unique experience that is different than what your typical Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott offer, you deliver on it, and you’re going to attract more leisure guests,” Maradik told me.

Gaylord’s goal, however, is not to cater to mainly leisure travelers. The size and physical design ofGaylord hotels mean that they’re best suited to large groups. Nashville has nearly 2,900 rooms; Dallas, 1,500; Orlando 1,400, and the oneoutside ofWashington D.C., 2,000.

If you live near one of the Gaylord hotels, here are some examples of what toexpectin the coming five years:

Special events:Gaylord hotels are programming mini-eventsdesigned to cater to people’s interests, like aLabor Day weekendBeatles tribute festival at the Gaylord National Harbor (it’sabout a 20- or 30-minutedrivefrom downtown Washington D.C.) Last month, when the hotel announced the festival, it started selling discountedrooms for$139, which included resort fee – but not pricey festival tickets.Some of the hotels are also working on food and wine eventsin conjunction withthe Food Network, Maradik said.
Life occasion promos: Last April, the Gaylord chain started marketing an anniversary weekend that gives couples who buy a night a special perk on weekends. “Show us it’s your anniversary and get a free night. That thing has done gangbusters,” Maradik said.
Disney-esque Christmas shows: During the month of Christmas, when fewer conventioneers are around,Gaylord hotels take Christmas decorations to a new level. The hotels create “Ice,”a Christmas “experience”that includes breakfasts with characters, decorations, snowfall in the atriums, story telling times and extravagant ice sculptures. “We do really well,” Maradik said. “We sell 1 million tickets a year at $25 a pop. We’ve become an attraction.”

So why didn’t Gaylord pursue this strategy before the recession? Maradik chuckled when I asked him the question. His reply: “Life was pretty good (before the travel downturn began in 2008). Yougot shocked by what happened to our industry and you say, ‘Wow. What could I have done differently?’”

Still, Gaylord won’t appeal to everyone. Some people, of course, simply don’t like large hotels no matter what’s inside them.

But Gaylord might also miss out on some people who like to travel within a budget.

I sometimes hear complaints from business travelers about how expensive the hotels can be -especiallythe Gaylord National in suburban Maryland -since they typically don’t rent a car and theydon’t want to spend $40 or soin cab fare each way to reachWashington, D.C.

My neighbor Kim Musheno, in fact, called me on Sunday while she was driving back home from the Gaylord Nationalfor a disability community conference to report on her experience (hey, it comes with the territory!) – and to vent about the prices.The food was expensive, she said.

She said rode in an elevator with a group of cheerleaders and their moms who were attending a cheerleading conference and they all compared notes as to where you could get the cheapest chicken dinner.In one restaurant it was $6, in another it was $16, she said.

So would Musheno take her kids there for a weekend getaway?

“I know they’d like the atmosphere, but I wouldn’t take them because it’s too expensive. Even the shopping’s expensive, and I don’t call that family friendly.”

Readers: Have you tried a Gaylord hotel for any reason, even just to see experience Ice? What did you think about it?

Source: content.usatoday.com

Related posts:

1. Hotels To Watch For Sex Exploitation The Manitoba government and the provincial hotel industry are teaming...