We Get the Press in "imPRESSive" Site Visits

I remember one of our first Sales meetings with the then new Director of Sales, Dan Fitzgerald who told us to think outside the box and create the most imaginative site visits we can, that nothing is impossible. Well, that proved to be more than true! If the hotel is our baseball field and we build it, they will come!

My own personal site experience was with a company that sponsors a car in NASCAR. The client flew in from Dallas, TX along with another meeting planer. They were dropped off at our property after visiting another hotel and instead of showing the usual "here's our guestrooms", "here's our meeting rooms", I involved the entire hotel staff including housekeeping, banquets, sales, operations and presented her with a cake in the shape of their sponsered NASCAR along with a champagne toast and dessert. The client was so taken back that she nearly missed her next appointment. Needless to say the business was awarded to our hotel. From a helicopter landing in our valet entrance to police vehicles in our lobby, I know one thing is for sure, it takes the entire hotel staff to put on the most memorable experience!

Recently, our unique site visits have been taking notice and was recently featured in a Hilton news article. The Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa took on the appearance of a military base as its marketing and sales department cleverly camouflaged the property to welcome representatives of the Army National Guard Bureau Environmental Workshop, who were in town for a site inspection to determine if the hotel would be a good fit for their March 2009 event. To demonstrate the desire to win the business, the hotel was decorated with a pair of Humvees and an enormous military crane displaying a huge welcome sign. A structural engineer from the City of Costa Mesa inspected the area where the crane would be parked as it was atop the hotel's underground parking facility.To round out the military look and feel, there was even a color guard to greet the representatives and a tongue-in-cheek assortment of fresh food and military MREs (self-contained, individual field rations in lightweight packaging) were served. City officials met the representatives in the hotel lobby, expressing their interest in having the event in Costa Mesa.The representatives were so impressed with the hotel and the effort to win their business that they awarded the contract on the spot. "I am proud of our team for putting together an awesome presentation and grateful to Costa Mesa officials, whose enthusiasm and strong support helped us to win this important business," said hotel General Manager Shaun Robinson. For the full press release: https://cms.hilton.com/NR/rdonlyres/57595B69-DC46-41E0-9BBF-6C20C69A95CC/0/military_site_visit.pdf

--Christine Weijland, Sales Manager