Partner News January 2012

BookDirect – Turning Website Visitation Into Business Conversion

FLTA is very proud to announce the launch of BookDirect. BookDirect is an online reservation booking system that will allow Finger Lakes visitors to view availability of regional accommodations and convert directly to a reservation if they so choose. This exceptional program was negotiated and approved by the Board of Directors and the BookdDirect team so that no costs will be passed on to FLTA partners. As an FLTA partner, you are receiving this feature at absolutely no cost to you but as a value added program to your partnership, delivered by your Board of Directors. How does it all work, you may be asking yourself? The BookDirect availability widget can be seen on the homepage of FingerLakes.org as well as on the accommodations pages where you can find partner accommodation listings. This widget, seen primarily on the top left hand corner of the page, allows visitors to select a date range for when they plan on visiting the Finger Lakes. BookDirect links in directly to the reservation system your business currently has in place to determine availability for the dates selected. This sweep of availability will bring the visitor to a landing page that will show all of the accommodations that have availability for the dates selected. Which businesses appear on this page will be in no specific order and are randomly generated to ensure partner equality. In the future, there may be discussion to include premium placement on this page, but at this time the Board has elected to keep placement random. BookDirect assures FLTA that we will be able to track through analytics the number of referrals that go from the FingerLakes.org site to a partner’s site. Since going live just 14 days ago it has been reported that over 2,100 referrals to our partners has occured. FLTA is looking forward to the busy tourist season. The FingerLakes.org track record continues to break numbers of unique website visitors year round. Now visitors will be able to quickly and easily find availability and book a room here in the Finger Lakes. If any additional questions come up after reading this, please do not hesitate to call the FLTA office at 315-536-7488 for future clarification as we would be more than happy to assist you.   

Partnership Plus – We Need Your Involvement

In November of 2011 FLTA launched the Partnership Plus program. For those unfamiliar, this program enables you to have 3 additional photos for a total of 4 photos on your business listing page on FingerLakes.org. In addition to added photography to promote your business, you also have the ability to feature a coupon on the Coupons Page of FingerLakes.org. Your business will be able to feature a coupon through the remainder of 2012. One coupon can be listed at a time, but you have the ability to change this coupon at any point that you wish. The Packages page where the Coupon Page is housed is one of the most highly viewed pages of FingerLakes.org. The Coupon Page has been and will continue to be featured in Public Newsletters to get added exposure out to visitors. If you have signed up for a Partnership Plus, be sure to send in your coupons and get your photos uploaded to your business listing page. In order for this page to be successful, we need everyone’s involvement. A collective mass of business coupons will be an integral part of this page’s continued success. If you’re not sure if you purchased a Partnership Plus program or would like to become involved, please feel free to contact Mark Illig at 315-536-7488. If you know you’re signed up for the program but would like a refresher on how to get started or how to best utilize the program please contact Jessica Robideau at the same number listed above.

Life In the Finger Lakes – You Advertise With Them Already, Now Get The Same Exposure For Less!

Life in the Finger Lakes is a beautiful glossy magazine that features the stories of business owners and businesses within the Finger Lakes. Interesting readership numbers you may want to know about the publication include:

Age: 18-55: 45% Age: 56+ 55%

Female 58% Male 42%

86% current Finger Lakes residents

Household Earnings: 70k+ 58%

Print Circulation: 75,000

Paid subscriptions: 15,692

Newsstand Distribution: 9,740

Doctor’s Offices: 2,570

Accommodations: 2,000

Online Digital Version: 7,412

E-Newsletter: 6,600 subscribers with an average of 3,142 opens

FLTA has partnered with Life In the Finger Lakes to pass on an average of $600 yearly ADVERTISING SAVINGS to you. To find out more information about this program and to discuss rate options, contact Mark Illig at 315-536-7488 or marki@fingerlakes.org

FLTA to Participate in the Empire State Tourism Conference & Legislative Action Days

FLTA will be participating in the NYSTVA Tourism Conference in Albany on March 6-8. Cindy and Jessica will be in attendance to take notes and to be able to pass on valuable travel, vacation, and tourism information directly to our partners. For more information or to join FLTA, please contact Cindy Kimble at cindyk@fingerlakes.org or at 315-536-7488.

FLTA will make its annual trek to Albany for legislative action days on March 6, 2012. Mark your calendars as FLTA is once again asking for partners to join us for office visits to our NYS legislators. Currently, FLTA is working on tourism talking points that will be shared with legislators but what works best is to have our partners share directly with the legislators their successes and concerns. Please contact Cindy Kimble if you are intrested in car pooling arrangements.

Congratulations to Our Outstanding Managers of the Year!

Earlier this month, a select number of individuals were awarded Stars of the Industry designations from the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Assocation. Three FLTA partners to be awarded this prestigious honor include Misty Purdy, Anthony Fusco, and David Heymann. Purdy is Director of Sales at the Holiday Inn Elmira, Fusco is the General Manager at the Holiday Inn Horseheads and Heymann is the General Manager for the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center.

The Stars of the Industry awards program honors employees of the hotels, motels, and tourism-related businesses throughout the state who best represent the quality service and spirit of the hospitality and tourism industry.

Please join FLTA in congratulating our award winners on their extraordinary accomplishments! From all of us at FLTA, best wishes and congratulations!

To read more information on each individual's award, please find the press release below:

Misty Purdy Press Release

Anthony Fusco Press Release

David Heymann Press Release