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| Trends & Statistics |
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Hotel occupancy up 2.9% in September |
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Hotel revenue per room up 1.2% in September |
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Website visitors up 112% YTD |
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Visitors Center traffic down 58% YTD |
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| Mark Your Calendar |
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Important Deadlines |
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October 31
Space reservation deadline for the Visit Loudoun 2007-2008 Official Visitors Guide to Loudoun County
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November 17
Application Deadline for the LCVA Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund
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LCVA Meeting Reminders |
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LCVA Informational Meeting for Event Recommendations Review
November 14
11:00am
Holiday Inn Leesburg
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LCVA Board of Directors Meeting
November 15
3:30pm
Lansdowne Resort
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| PRINTING TIP: |
| To print the Compass, set your page margins to .25 inches. |
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| October 2006 |
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There are two big deadlines for our tourism industry partners between now and November 17th. First, the deadline for advertising in VISIT LOUDOUN: The 2007-2008 Official Visitors Guide to Loudoun County is October 31, 2006. This is a critical publication that will be distributed in the hotels, bed and breakfasts, and as the primary fulfillment piece for visitors to Loudoun County. The publication will have a two-year shelf life! The second opportunity not to be missed is the LCVA Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund. The deadline to submit an application is November 17th. The Cooperative Marketing Fund is a great way to get matching funds from the LCVA to extend your reach and complete marketing projects that will attract visitors through such things as advertising, websites, and publications.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a Public Hearing on November 29th to hear from the public about the Rural Policy Area. Many changes have been made to the recommendations from the Loudoun County Planning Commission as they relate to event sites, bed and breakfasts, and country inns. The LCVA will have an informational meeting on November 14th to review the various recommendations.
Thank you to everyone who made our first fundraiser a huge success! We appreciate our event host Whitehall Manor and all of the participants who came out to support the scholarship fund.
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- The deadline for the LCVA Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund opportunity is November 17th. Use this link to download the application from the LCVA Industry website: www.visitloudoun.org/lcva/industrynews. If you have questions or need assistance contact Jeremy Harvey at 703-771-2170 ext. 18.
- The LCVA's new publication Towns & Villages of Loudoun County, Virginia is now available for distribution. This 50-page guide offers visitors a cultural overview of Loudoun's seven incorporated towns and several villages. It also introduces them to the people, places, and stories that make them unique. The guide includes a county-wide map that highlights each of the towns and villages mentioned, as well as roads classified as Virginia Scenic Byways, so that visitors can choose the most picturesque routes from town to town. Contact Grafton deButts to be included in the distribution.
- LCVA's Fall Networking and Benefit Auction "Barbecue and Bluegrass" was held on October 12, 2006 at Whitehall Manor. The event was very successful for its first year and raised $17,885 in auction sales and registration fees to benefit the new Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association Scholarship Fund. Guests feasted on delicious barbecue food, networked, and listened to Bluegrass music courtesy of the band, Flint Hollow.
LCVA would like to thank our generous sponsors: Celebrations Catering and Whitehall Manor for providing the location and food, Washington Dulles Airport Marriott and Hampton Inn and Suites Leesburg for sponsoring the beverages, B.F. Saul Co. Hotel Division for sponsoring the entertainment, and Washington Airports Task Force for the colorful bandana giveaway.
LCVA would also like to thank everyone who donated items for the live and silent auctions, members of the Auction Committee, and volunteers:
Donations
AGA @ Domain Home
Fashions
American Chimney
Anna Fasolo
Ashburn Ice House
AV-ED Flight School
Baltimore Ravens
Best Western Inn & Suites, Cooperstown, NY
B.F. Saul Co-Hotel Division
Boodleby's Posh Frocks & Lollipops
Bonefish Grill
Brenda Daeschner with Body Image
Carol Hartley's Esthetics
Courtyard by Marriott - Tysons Corner
Create-A-Basket N' More
DANDY Restaurant Cruise
Ships
Lavonn Donohue
Dulles Golf Center & Sports Park, LLC
Earth and Fire Gallery
Eiffel Tower Café
Embassy Suites Hotel Dulles-North
Eyetopia, Inc.
Andrea Falzarano
Felton Jewelers
Gardens of Delight
GG Café
Glenfiddich Farm Cookery School
Glenfiddich Farm Pottery
Great Country Farms
Greg Harp
Hampton Inn Cascades
Hampton Inn & Suites
Leesburg
Harmon's Horse Drawn Hayrides
Hidden Horse Tavern
Harris Teeter |
Hidden Horse Tavern
Home Farm Store
Homewood Suites Hotel Dulles-North
Images by Jan
Imagine That!
J. Patrick House B&B
Cheryl Kilday
Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association
LCVA Staff
Lansdowne Resort
Leesburg Bookstore
Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets
Leesburg Parks and Recreation - Ida Lee
Lightfoot Restaurant
Roberta Livingston-Communicate!
Lou Lou
Loudoun Symphony
Association, Inc.
M&T Bank
Magnolias at the Mill
Market Salamander
Marriott Corporation
Middleburg Country Inn
Moe's Southwest Grill
Morven Park
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
Nichols Hardware
Oatlands
Otter Creek
Persnickety Palm
Pro-Fit Ski & Skate
Raspberry Falls Golf & Hunt Club
Really Great Finds
Red Hot & Blue
Renaissance Arts Hotel--New Orleans
Reston Limousine
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Salamander Hospitality
Serendipity Day Spa
Serene Acres
Sheraton Hotel in Reading, PA
Sister's Boutique
Southwest Airlines
Springhill Suites Marriott Dulles
Stein Mart
Stephanie Stiles
Tarara Winery
The Fun Shop
The Goodstone Inn & Estate
The Hertz Corporation
The Lavender Moon Soap Company
The Medical Spa at Nova
The National Conference Center
The Potomac Gallery
The Red Fox Inn
The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Creighton Farms
Tuscarora Mill
Twigs
Valley Chiropractic and Sports Center
Washington Airports Task Force
Washington Dulles Airport Marriott
Washington Dulles Marriott Suites
Washington Capitals
Washington Mystics
Washington Nationals
Washington Redskins
Washington Wizards
Westwinds Nursery
Windham Winery
Woodlands Resort & Inn-South Carolina
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In Kind Donations
June Stanich - June Stanich Photography
Hunter deButts
Lynn Bullard
Benefit Auction Committee
Andrea Falzarano
Carolyn Howell
Amy Cross-Monroe
Nicki Bazaco
Holly Heider-Chapple
Alex Mai
Linda Callagy
Julie Doiron
Hunter deButts
Carol Welti
Beverly Morton Billand
Volunteers
Holly Nichols
Linda Hutchins
Brenda Daeschner
Lucy deButts
Contributions to the LCVA Scholarship Fund are always welcome; contact Greg Harp at 703-771-2170 ext. 14 to get more information about how to make a donation.
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| Industry News |
- The Goodstone Inn and Estate was featured in a glowing article on winecountry.com after the travel editor stayed there at the end of September during a tour of the area.
- A great review of the French Hound, the Middleburg French-inspired bistro which opened in August at the former Aster location, was featured in the Washington Post in late September.
- The Inn at Stringfellow Farm, currently operating as a B&B, is up for auction on November 9, 2006.
- Buckskin Manor, a B&B, will close its doors for good at the end of 2006. Its owners are retiring.
- Amy Sirmons is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at the Embassy Suites Dulles. She was the Director of Sales at the Embassy Suites Birmingham for a number of years. Prior to that, Amy was with Embassy Suites Atlanta.
- Southwest Airlines began service from Dulles on October 5, 2006 with two gates in the B Concourse and 40 local employees. The airline offers 12 daily nonstop flights to Chicago Midway (7 daily), Las Vegas (1 daily), Orlando (2 daily), and Tampa Bay (2 daily).
If you have any news about your organization you would like to share with the tourism industry in Loudoun County, please contact Chris Geno, Geno@VisitLoudoun.org.
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| Program Updates |
- October 31, 2006 is the deadline to reserve advertising space in VISIT LOUDOUN: The 2007-2008 Official Visitors Guide to Loudoun County. This guide is the LCVA's primary marketing tool to entice leisure travelers to visit Loudoun County. We are very excited to announce that the 2007-2208 edition of VISIT LOUDOUN: The 2007-2008 Official Visitors Guide to Loudoun County will have a brand new design and will also have some added bonuses: a special weddings section, and in-room and on-site distribution at local hotels. Don't miss out on promoting your business to over 100,000 potential visitors! To reserve advertising space in the new guide, please click on www.visitloudoun.org/lcva/industrynews to access the sales kit or contact Grafton deButts at 703 771-2170 ext. 12. Listing copy and ad artwork is due by November 17, 2006.
- There are still two spaces available in the LCVA Wedding Co-op which is a full page coop advertising opportunity to run in the January 2007 Wedding section of the Washingtonian magazine(circulation: 161,047). This opportunity is only available to a total of six participants. Two 1/6 page formatted ad spaces are available at a cost of $1,950 each. If you are interested in taking part in this great offer, please contact Chris Geno at 703-771-2170 ext. 17 or Jeremy Harvey at 703-771-2170 ext. 18 for a copy of the booking form. The deadline for bookings with full payment is November 15, 2006.
- LCVA developed a new Loudoun County Flat Map for distribution within the county and has incorporated the new hotels that are opening soon, as well as Virginia Scenic Byways. For copies of the flat map please contact Grafton deButts.
- The LCVA hosted a familiarization tour for the Virginia Tourism Corporation's national public relations manager who is actively "pitching" Loudoun County and its jurisdictions to national publications and free-lance travel writers.
- The LCVA worked with the travel editor from winecountry.com during her visit to Loudoun County, which resulted in great online articles about the Goodstone Inn and Estate and the Town of Leesburg. More articles are expected on wine country related topics since the Loudoun Wine Trail was part of the familiarization tour.
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| Sales Activity Report |
- The LCVA coordinated and staffed the VTC table at the Virginia Wine Festival and presented a workshop on touring Virginia. We used the opportunity to promote Loudoun County and worked with industry partners such as Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets and the Town of Leesburg.
- LCVA coordinated the exhibit at TEAMS for sports marketing. The booth was a coop between the LCVA; Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services; and B.F. Saul Company. The Marriott had a separate booth but did coordinate with the LCVA before and during the show.
- The LCVA exhibited at the Virginia Society of Association Executives tradeshow in Richmond and met with meeting planners. The Holiday Inn Leesburg was a coop partner in the LCVA booth.
- The LCVA exhibited at three corporate tradeshows Time Warner, Freddie Mac, and EIT. Leisure opportunities in Loudoun County were promoted to company employees during these events.
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