Hotel Del Adds ‘No. 2 Beach’ to Sales Campaign
Marriott’s Kearny Mesa Courtyard Set to Open
Tourism & Hospitality
by Tanya Rodrigues, Staff Writer
The Hotel del Coronado’s marketing department is planning to make the most of the Travel Channel’s recent ranking of Coronado Beach as the country’s No. 2 beach.
The Del’s spring campaign is being designed right now, and will feature the ranking, said public relations director Lauren Ash Donoho.
In fact, Donoho talked about the campaign and plans to promote the ranking via cell phone at a photo shoot at one of the cottages on the property.
The campaign’s creative work is still being hammered out, she said. However, the media buys will include radio, direct mail and print advertising, Donoho said.
The brochures and other print information given by the hotel’s sales executives will also feature the no. 2 beach spot, she said.
The hotel held a press conference Feb. 27 announcing nominees for the top 10 beaches in the United States. The actual rankings were announced in a television special “America’s Best Beaches,” which premiered March 3.
The Travel Channel reportedly used criteria such as sand quality, tide, water, safety, plant life, amenities, culture, nightlife, outdoor and indoor activities, and excitement level.
The No. 1 beach, according to the judges, was Poipu Beach in Kauai, Hawaii.
The judges included: Leslie Brenner, a contributing editor at Travel and Leisure magazine; James Badham, editor-in-chief at Islands magazine; and “Dr. Beach,” a writer whose real name is Dr. Stephen Leatherman.
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New Hotel: The Kearny Mesa Courtyard by Marriott is expected to open March 18.
The 245-room hotel, built in the 200-acre San Diego Spectrum Business Center, cost $25 million, according to the hotel’s sales director, Kevin Reading.
The hotel has a sports bar called Center Court, a full service restaurant called Gazebo Grill and a Starbucks coffee bar.
The hotel is owned by Huntington Hotel Development, which has limited service properties under the Marriott brand, mostly in Southern California, but also in the rest of the state and in Texas.
The company has a Residence Inn and another Courtyard property in Carlsbad.
This month, Huntington is planning to break ground on two Marriott hotels along the Scripps Poway exit from Interstate 15.
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Stuffed Promotions: Denver-based gourmet burrito chain Chipotle is promoting its La Mesa location with a free burrito offer. The company placed paper bags that can be filled with a free burrito from them in Sunday editions of the San Diego Union-Tribune last month.
According to Chipotle’s PR director, Jim Adams, the La Mesa store opened in November, and the bags have been distributed in various nearby ZIP codes over a six-week period since January. Adams said 58,000 bags have been sent out.
Although they still buy other advertising, the company has found the giveaway offer more successful, Adams said.
The company won’t know the campaign’s results for a couple of months, he said. The bags don’t list an expiration date for the promotion.
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Checking In: The San Diego Zoo has recently begun offering botanical tours. The hourlong bus tours will be given in March, May, September and December. They feature staff from the park’s horticulture department discussing rare and endangered plant families. Like the regular bus tours, the cost is $8.50 for adults and $4 for children ages 3-11, but it’s free if they’ve already bought the regular tour. Oceanside-based Crystal Catering signed the employee deli at Sony Corp.’s Rancho Bernardo office. FoodServ Management, a Crystal division, is planning to take over the facility March 11. The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, recently received a $45,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant will help pay for the research and organization of a traveling exhibit and catalogue of the work of Ellsworth Kelly. Last fall, the museum had received a $100,000 grant towards the Kelly project.
The deadline for the next Tourism & Hospitality column is March 14. Rodrigues can be reached at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 107, or via e-mail at
trodrigues@sdbj.com.
