May 30, 2024
Davidson Hospitality Group recently hosted its second annual Marketing Week in Atlanta, featuring 55 participants from on-property and above property teams for productive days of hands-on education and collaboration.
In an effort to create a stimulating and challenging environment for applied learning, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications Patricia Davis developed a high-stakes competition loosely based on the reality television series Project Runway, where marketers from across the country combined forces in several teams to create a flushed-out campaign for a fictional hotel in West Hollywood, California utilizing marketing strategies and tactics to generate $175k in lost revenue after a hypothetical group cancelled with five months’ notice.
All hands were on deck to “make it work.” We were joined by partners and subject matter “mentors” from Hilton; Marriott, Cleveland Menu; Straight Up Collective; Davidson Restaurant Group; Davidson Global Sales; corporate sales and revenue management leaders from Pivot, Davidson Hotels, and Davidson Resorts; and Davidson Agency Services (DH Creative; DH Communications and SocialLite).
The winning team developed an aggressive and robust marketing strategy encompassing email, digital ads, social media, public relations, activations and events, limited-time offers, on-site/ four walls marketing, group business, and more. From Revinate to Buxton to Cvent, they leveraged all Davidson partners and tools to achieve a successful outcome. They left no stone unturned, optimizing revenue from food & beverage; rooms, and banquets & catering to exceed their goal.
Congratulations again to our spirited winners: Alex (21C Museum Hotel Chicago); Elva (Hyatt Regency Cambridge/Boston); Jack (Kimpton Harper Hotel / Le Meridien Houston Downtown), Kelly (DH Communications), Sydney (Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel), and Taylor (Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach/Wyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside Place)!
In addition to the competition, participants also heard from Carl Myers, VP of Learning and Organizational Development, who led a discussion surrounding “Relationships and Results;” Jenny Carr, Corporate Director of Food & Beverage, presented current trends about dining demographics and how to effectively market to respective audiences, and the DH Communications team spoke about PR Best Practices: best approaches for pitching, press releases and targeted media relations.
CEO & President Thom Geshay also gave some inspirational remarks and led an introspective Q&A.
Of course, the fun did not end there. The week was packed with networking opportunities, providing our marketers not only a chance to refine their property marketing plans by learning from their peers, but also to reconnect on a personal, casual level. The evenings were busy with happy hours and group dinners at some of the best local restaurants.
Thank you our attendees for creating value in all that you do. We look forward to seeing you all again next year!
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