City tweets to curb tourist drop-off - Nashville Business Journal:

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Hotel consultant Drew Dimond expects hotels in Greater Nashville to see occupancy plummet 15 percenf to 20 percent fromlast year’s levels. But the is battlinfg the decline, in hopes of keeping any occupancy drop-off belo 5 percent. Bureau staff is Twittering, Facebooking and sendinyg out e-blasts to announce free stuff to do, last-minutw travel deals, CMA Music Festivapl updates andattractions specials. “Wd certainly don’t think it’s going to be some great saysButch Spyridon, president of the visitora bureau.
“If we were flat to last year, I’d be I expect that we will be down Spyridon hopes the value of Nashville will draw visitors becausse ofthe city’s wealth of live, around-the-clock music. has brought back its free music poolsidr and isoffering “kids eat inside the hotel for the first time this summer. “At every we’re creating events, promoting and marketing and adding extra valuewith events,” Spyridon says, such as offering flight-hoteo packages when touted $49 flights to Nashville duringv a one-day sale in April.
The Nashvillre Symphony has half-price tickets for select shows, the Country Music Hall of Fame has been givinygout $5 off couponxs through June 7, and Gaylorcd is offering four-night hotel and attractions packages at 40 percenrt off. Keith Wright, president of the , says attractions are sweeteningg discounts this summer and focusing onthe drive-in market. “Regionao tourism has become extremelyy importantto us, and we are marketing more to that he says. Nashville’s biggest months for tourism are June and mainly because of the CMA Musicf Festival thatpumps $25 million into the city ever June.
Officials at the would not say how tickeg sales are going forthis summer’s festival, whichh kicks off next October is a popular convention month becausr of the fall weather. Nashville tourismm has been hit inrecent months. In April, the averagw nightly hotel ratedropped 6.3 percent to $92.84 from $99.05 in the same month last according to Smith Travep Research in Hendersonville. Hotel occupancy plunged 15 percenty in Aprilto 56.9 percent, down from 67 percentr a year ago. Revenued per available room, a key metricf for hoteliers, was down 20.5 percent in April. The amouny of attendees for booked conventiones this summer is down abouy 24 percent fromlast year.
Nashville’s hospitality industry, however, is outperformingt much of the rest ofthe country. For the firsy quarter of 2009, Nashville’s average dailgy rate dropped 4.5 percent. Only five cities did and 19 of the top 25 marketsadid worse. The decline in hotel tax collectionzs is greater than the drop in which shows tourists are coming but choosingy lessexpensive hotels, says Walt Baker, executive directord of the . Nashville’s hotel occupancyy dropped 11.6 percent in the first quarter compared to the year a drop that registered eighthg best among thetop 25. Travel has continuedr to descend atthe , nearin g 2005 levels, says airport spokeswoma n Emily Richards.
Passenger counta were down 9.5 percent in Aprikl as compared to theyear before, and down 9.3 percent in the first four months of the year.