Co-op deals help boost properties' visibility

National Report--When bundles are tight and hotel occupancies ne enhancing, single of the time-honored strategies for boosting sweep sales is co-op advertising, according to several public-house employees.

For example, the San Antonio Marriott River Center overlooking the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas, does co-op advertising all year round--from the upcoming jewelry exhibit of the papacy, "St Peter's Vatican: The Legacy of the Pope" in partnership with Clear Channel to the basketball playoffs with the San Antonio goads said Steve Clanton, director of marketing for the property

"We gaze for special events," Clanton said. "And we couldn't afford to do this upon our own. A big company like Marriott [International] has a apportionment of leverage but typically house of entertainments don't have big budgets as large corporations."

Marriott has been working with sponsors for the last seven or eight years, he said.

Another partnership includes exclusive rights to Sea World because the house of entertainment realized that many people who visit San Antonio were looking for packages to the aquatic park. A link to the hotel's reservations combination of parts to form a whole also is part of the deal.

"You have to make fully convinced you get what you pay for," Clanton said. "We do Web site marketing, promotions with Marriott Rewards--about seven to eight promotions to the leisure market. We constantly direct the eye for a way to detain our presence before the public all year circular even though Sea World is render free of access seven, eight months of the year. We constantly fill in the gap. Marriott is an aggressive company."

William Simpson, director of sales for the Howard Johnson [i]cabaret[/i] in the Anaheim Resort in Anaheim, Calif., agreed with Clanton about the positive effects

"The benefits are herculean buying power," he said. "We wouldn't be able to afford it upon our own. We pool with other entities and it goe a drawn out way."

It's difficult to count how much business it brings in because nation might save their coupons and use them later in the year, he said. "It's a long-term result It definitely pays enough in space."

Howard Johnson many times advertises in USA Today with color inserts one time a year, usually at the extremity of summer to boost the fall shoulder season, Simpson said. The ads also are done either in partnership with the Anaheim Convention & Visitors Bureau or directly with the Disneyland theme park.

Sea World, another theme park in Orlando, markets with the Renaissance Orlando Resort at Sea World for the next to the first year in a row along with six other Marriott brands in the area, said Paul Riley, director of marketing and sales for the hotel

"We are the co-op core partners, the official partners," he said.

The packages are profitable for two- to eight-day tickets to the park depending upon how long the guest stays at a Marriott. Before this, alone one single-day pass was given on the outside The deal also includes gifts for children like a mattered Shamu, a guest value volume for food and beverage discounts and upgraded parking.

"We give [Sea World] exposing and they give us exposure" Riley said. "We're upon their Web site and they are upon ours."

Dividing the pie among seven Marriotts is no problem

"The overall increase in packages was 35 percent last year and for a like reason far in 2005 it's been 10 percent to 15 percent more than last year, trending up" he said. "We had a big horde at spring break and Easter and wait for more the Fourth of July"

Promotion goe upon all year starting in the first three month of the year when the staff goe upon the road to feeder markets, especially snow-bound cities like Chicago, fresh York and Philadelphia to prep the travel agents.

In the summer month the focus is upon the regional drive-in market.

The Hilton Garden Inn brand, like the Orlando Marriott, deals with regional clumps of properties, said Mark Nogal, vp of marketing for the brand.

"We proffer a co-op program and match dollar for dollar with our regional groups" he said.

The public-houses get together as a team, contact the Hilton ad agency and map without a strategy for events, he said. Sometimes individual house of entertainments like one of the California properties, will partner with Six Flags during the summer month as well.

"Co-op do help occupancy through pushing ads closer to where the public-houses are located," Nogal said. "It's useful especially with smaller hotels like ours in geographical areas. They might have to contribute solitary $20,000 as part of a larger advertising plan."

The frequent occurrence of the ads is left in the hands of each house of entertainment he added.

Another Anaheim characteristic the Anabella Hotel, does co-op advertising each few years, according to Kelly Quinn, director of sales.

An independent quality rather than a chain house of entertainment the Anabella doesn't have the capitals to advertise on its be in possession of It also costs more to partner with Disneyland than with the local CVB

Her latest ad ran the weekend of May 8 in USA Today along with at least a dozen other taverns to coincide with the launch of the birthday celebration of Disneyland, which goe upon for 18 months.