Issue/Solution: Girlfriends Getaways

Issue: Girlfriends Getaways were identified as an untapped marketing opportunity for Gaylord Palms. However, the news media had "cooled" on the girl getaway concept, and such packages were met with a "so what?" response.

Solution: While other resorts were throwing together elaborate girl getaways, we took a step back to further examine the phenomenon - hoping to reinvent the experience.

With the hotel’s group focus, we had an opportunity to target "large" groups of girlfriends (those requiring 4 or more rooms). After talking to several groups who had recently traveled together, we identified many "headaches" for the group organizer. For instance:

• The group organizer felt that she needed help with itineraries, as this usually fell on one person.

• The group organizer felt that her room usually ended up as the "gathering place" for the girls, which was a bit awkward.

• The group organizer felt that splitting the bill was a challenge, and wished the hotel could help with this.

Our program (which we called Girlfriends Truth or Dare Getaways) focused on solutions to the headaches of group travel, providing a "concierge" to help with itineraries and splitting the bills, and providing a complimentary suite upgrade for the group organizer. This appealed to potential group travelers, but also gave us credibility with the news media. We were not simply hawking a package, but had something interesting to say about the girlfriend getaway trend after having, in effect, re-invented the experience.

Results: A new story that was covered heavily by Florida travel media, and bloggers.

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