Blogs

Picture this, nearly 2,000 athletes, representing 40 states and 15 international countries coming to the Pocono Mountains, all with one goal in mind: complete the first Pocono Mountains Ironman 70.3.

This challenging race began at the Delaware Water Gap and finished on Main Street in downtown Stroudsburg. Planning required hundreds of dedicated staff and volunteers. It was so refreshing to see the faces of the local community swell with pride as the contestants ran toward the finish line and Ironman glory. After biking 56 miles through Cherry Valley and a 13.1 mile run through our rolling hills, these athletes have a Pocono Mountains experience to remember.

Yes, the course was challenging for the participants, but logistics for an event of this magnitude are another story. What I did see was an impressive display of street smarts. Erin Woodward, Branch Manager for Highway Technologies of Berlin, New Jersey, has to be commended for the yeoman's work in getting the roads, highways and side streets secured and race ready.

Beginning at Smithfield Beach and throughout the region road closures and detours had to be conducted with pin point accuracy to secure the safety of the athletes and all pedestrians in the area. This type of service often goes unnoticed and overlooked. Perhaps, that's just the way they planned it. Great job! 

Our sales team is looking forward to next year's Pocono Mountains Ironman 70.3! So, make your plans now. 

Anyone who knows me knows that Halloween is my favorite time of the year. As such, I am taking over the reins of the Simply Sales blog to bring you and your group Haunted Happenings around our region. During the month of October, I become a child again. I am a huge fan of all things that go bump in the night. There's nothing like watching my favorite scary movie with the wind howling on a crisp fall night. With that said, I recommend visiting the historic Sherman Theater for their Severed Sinema. This is a monthly event showcasing horror double features, special guests, and live music! Prior to that I like to go to one of downtown Stroudsburg's eateries in costume!

Traditionally I like to kick off the Halloween season with a trip to the Hotel of Horror. The Hotel of Horror is three state of the art attractions located inside the Legendary Abandoned Lake House Hotel. In nearby Saylorsburg, this attraction is a must! I visit the hotel at least twice during the season as it is by far my favorite place to get my skin crawling with fear!  Every year there is something new to get your blood curdling such as this year's themes "The Doll House" and "Burial Below". While there, be sure to visit Exhibition Macabre which is a display of history's experiments in practicing medicine, preparing the dead, and memorializing life. What's even more chilling is the opening date of September 23, just over two weeks away!  Why not wrap up your fall meeting or event with a good scare? Contact the hotel for details on group discounts! Hope to see you around town scared out of your wits! Happy Haunting!

We've got great news to share... we're moving to Wednesday's! You can now follow our Simply Sales blogs every other Wednesday! I know, you're excited too!

The traditional tradeshow landscape has changed. No longer is it enough for suppliers like the Pocono Mountains CVB (PMCVB) to purchase booth space and wait for potential meeting and event planners to stop by and inquire as to the benefits of sending their clients to the Pocono region.  The Collinson Event Group has turned the tradeshow industry upside down. Now it is the planner who sits in booth with scheduled appointments. This is a much better use of quality meeting time. The PMCVB had 26 scheduled appointments with organizations such as the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, National Congress of State Games, Women President's Association and the National Pharmaceutical Council. Appointments were seven minutes in length. Planners came prepared with proposals for upcoming meetings in hand. Chicago was this year's chosen city. The Connect Marketplace will move to New Orleans in 2013. Rest assured the rest of the meetings industry has taken notice of the Collinson "untradeshow" approach and are making plans to follow their lead.

We were in mid-town Manhattan and I must confess, the shopping available was abundant if not overwhelming! I did squeeze in some time browsing on Seventh and Fifth Avenues. However, the style of back-to-school shopping, presented at the conference, was not the sneakers and jeans type, but rather the shopping for student tour destinations which include new museums, cultural sites, performance venues, student-friendly dining options and student-friendly lodging.

Representing the  Pocono Mountains, I was selling our Outdoor Classroom Experience!  Great Wolf Pocono Mountains was also there in full-force trying to book more student groups. We hit the tradeshow floor running, literally and figuratively, and made over 65 appointments between us!

Interests were CBK Mountain Adventures, Pocono Whitewater, skiing and a few select performance venues including Penn's Peak, Sherman Theater and Mountain Laurel Performing Arts Center.

So, take your studies outdoors in the Pocono Mountains!

It's a tough job...but somebody had to do it! We had the task i.e. pleasure of participating in the 2011 Annual Pennsylvania Association of Society Executives Summer Outing, as a beverage cart sponsor. On a day when temperatures surged into the upper 90s, the cool, icy beverages and Pocono Mountains protective golf caps were well received.

Along the course, industry professionals representing ARIPPA, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Pennsylvania Association of Family Physicians and the Pennsylvania Realtors Association met with Ann Pilcher and David Jackson of the Pocono Mountains Convention and Visitors Bureau. This type of light-hearted networking builds relationships and enhances the chance for these proud organizations to bring their meetings and events to the Pocono Mountains.

Joining us to woo meeting planners to our region, we had representation from The Inn at Pocono Manor and Split Rock Resort. They both do a high volume of association business and took advantage of the event to secure relationships and make new connections. The Pocono Mountains are strongly suited to host Association Meetings as we are easily accessible and give attendees a retreat atmosphere. Wireless internet, AV services, delicious food, spousal programs and the beautiful scenery are all strong selling points.

Here is just a quick list of meeting venues for your next association meeting:

The Inn at Pocono Manor
Split Rock Resort
Woodloch
Fernwood Hotel and Resort
Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort
Skytop Lodge
The Inn at Jim Thorpe
The Chateau Resort and Conference Center
Bushkill Inn and Conference Center

For a complete list of meeting venues in the Pocono Mountains, visit our meeting facilities page on our website.

Let's meet again... either on the course or in our meeting rooms!

Since my last post, it's been all things new...New York, New England, and I might add, a new fiscal year. I return home from the Summit and finished the mission. The Summit I refer to is not Mount Everest at 29,035 feet, it is the North American Journeys (NAJ) Summit East held in New York City on June 15-16, 2011.

During the Summit, I met with European, Latin American, Japanese and Asian tour operators who have offices in Manhattan, with a focus of FIT (foreign individual travelers), special groups and incentive packages. They were interested in Pocono Mountains destination information to help them respond to proposal requests, which in turn helps to develop international visitors to the Pocono Mountains. I had over 20 ten-minute appointments in one whirlwind day and pitched our region. Outdoor adventure, lodging, team building and spa retreats were the best received as well as group excursions to Mount Airy Casino Resort.

Onward to New England. We had nine delegates divided into two teams of Pennsylvania tourism sales professionals canvassing Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut on our sales mission. We met with tour operators in their home turf and encouraged visitation to Pennsylvania. I saw the wheels turning and the itineraries being planned as I briefly highlighted the four counties and their unique group friendly attractions. CBK Mountain Adventures, Penn's Peak, Grey Towers National Historic Site, the Stourbridge Railway and Jim Thorpe sparked their interest.

As I review my notes and business cards,  I am reassured that face to face interaction with tour operators and tour planners, making new connections and solidifying existing relationships is the our best sales strategy. New York + New England = New Visitors to the Pocono Mountains.

Let me know what new attraction or event you have experienced so far this summer!

Representatives from Split Rock Resort, Woodloch Resort, Skytop Lodge, and The Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort joined the PMCVB at 6 a.m. at the Stroudsburg office to get the word out to New York planners that truly "Life is Greater in the Pocono Mountains."

Right from the start we could see that New Yorkers were excited to hear about the many fun and exciting things you can do when you bring a meeting or special event to the Pocono Mountains.

The sales team that consisted of Ann Pilcher of the PMCVB, Dawn Perry of Woodloch Resort, Kristin Bernstiel of Skytop Lodge, and Molly Burnside of Shawnee Inn were broken into teams of two. In all, 14 companies were visited. The Pocono Mountains story was shared in the offices of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, and Planned Parenthood just to name a few.

Plans are in effect to stage a special evening reception in mid-October at an exciting rooftop venue in New York City. More New York area planners will be invited to come share some time and network with additional Pocono Mountains resort properties and attractions. This will be a good way to break the ice, build relationships, and eventually invite these same planners to spend a few days touring the Pocono Mountains in the spring of 2012.  A slice of the Big Apple just got sweeter when mixed with the fresh air of the Pocono Mountains.

A Pow Wow is the meeting of the minds from all walks of life and this Pow Wow held up to its reputation.  The Pocono Mountains was one destination among many as convention and visitors bureaus and tourism offices from all 50 states were represented, as well as from Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Add in the international tour operators and journalists, combined, we totaled over 5,000 delegates.  The Moscone Center in San Francisco was the site for the international sandbox.

During pre-scheduled appointments, I pitched the Pocono Mountains to companies from the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Brazil, Japan, and China. Of course, I played up our proximity to New York and Philadelphia and enticed them with our natural assets and outdoor recreation. Remembering the summer days when playing in the sandbox was a great way to make new friends, I relate that to the trade show floor where over 70,000 business appointments took place in a matter of three days. I certainly made some new international business connections.  I encouraged the operators to send their friends (clients) to play in the Pocono Mountains a.k.a., an international playdate.  OK..I won't go that far.

In the meantime, I plan to brush up on my foreign language skills so we can welcome our new guests to the Pocono Mountains!  Guten Tag, Bienvenue, Bienvenido...Check back to see how we are doing on the language skills and more importantly our international visitation.

Team Building refers to a wide range of activities, presented to businesses, schools, sports teams, religious or nonprofit organizations designed for improving team performance.

The Pocono Mountains is largely considered to be a leisure destination with approximately 10% of its visitors coming as a result of a meeting or conference. However, with growing gas prices and the need for major companies to rebuild the fabric of their employees through teambuilding exercises, the Pocono Mountains is becoming more desirable to the corporate and association sector.

What did the planners see?

Inn at Pocono Manor 

Great Wolf Lodge

CBK Mountain Adventures

The French Manor Inn and Spa

Skytop Lodge

Mount Airy Casino Resort 

Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort

Pocono Raceway

Split Rock Resort and Golf Club 

Blakeslee Inn 

A few of the companies who toured the region included:

• General Motors Corporation
• Pennsylvania Medical Society
• Lockheed Martin
• Pennsylvania Library Association
• Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

The Pocono Mountains Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has embraced the growing sports travel market by creating Pocono Sports as a part of its sales initiative. To further enhance this sports initiative, Pocono Sports traveled to Greensboro, NC for the 19 Annual National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) Meeting and Symposium.

The Pocono Mountains is known for its outdoor adventure, hiking, biking, skiing, golf, fishing and two NASCAR races. In recent months, lesser known sporting activities such as Ironman 70.3, Ragnar Relays, Warrior Dash and the North American Orienteering Championships have agreed to bring their events to the Pocono region. Red Frog Events out of Chicago owns the Warrior Dash and can only be described as a mud-crawling, fire jumping obstacle course designed to challenge the will and stamina of its 15,000 contestants. Ironman, Ragnar Relay and Orienteering USA are no slouch as well. Between now and October 2012 these four events alone expect to draw over 18,000 athletes in only their first year of Pocono Mountains action.

Pocono Mountains Sports Dates to Remember:

• June 10-12, 2011 - Pocono 500
• June 11-12, 2011 - Warrior Dash
• August 5-7, 2011 - Pennsylvania 500
• October 2, 2011 - Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains
• October 8-9, 2011 - Ragnar Relay
• October 18-21, 2012 - North American Orienteering Championships