Nov. 17–South Florida hotels are going beyond the traditional holiday tree and decorations and are adding bells and whistles to attract new and repeat business during the festive season.
The new attractions can help properties stand out when consumers are making vacation decisions, industry specialists say.
“The added attractions differentiate the hotels and encourage the consumers to travel [there],” said Bob Diener, a Miami-based industry veteran who’s president of hotel booking website GetARoom.com. “Also, this encourages travelers that have been to the hotel to come back for something new.”
At Fort Lauderdale’s Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, the pastry shop team is creating a giant holiday display made of desserts and other edibles continuing a recent tradition that’s become a hit with local and out-of-town guests.
This year’s much bigger display should be completed just after Thanksgiving and will feature a Snowman deep-sea fishing with a working six-foot lighthouse, assorted palm trees and tropical foliage in the background- made completely of sweets, a hotel spokesperson said.
“Our decadent display adds even more to the festive atmosphere,” Director of Sales & Marketing Jay Marsella said. “Now in its sixth year, many of our repeat guests are eager to see what our pastry chefs produce.”
Last year’s ‘Penguin Surf Shop’ display took “more than 400 hours of labor, 300 pounds of gingerbread and 160 pounds of chocolate to create,” and was a favorite among family visitors to the property, Marsella noted.
To launch its holiday season, the Boca Raton Resort & Club opened a new pink ice skating rink on Nov. 1, which will run through January 1, possibly longer, for guests and club members to enjoy.
The ice rink is already creating buzz in the community and some organizations want to rent it for private holiday events, a hotel spokesperson said.
“It’s part of our overall strategy to introduce innovative and experiential programming to this legendary resort,” President Richard Hayduk said Thursday of the rink, and a surf school that opened in May.
asatchell@tribune.com, 954-356-4209 or Twitter@TheSatchreport.
