If the Sun Goes Down on Your Vacation...

You can blame it on global warming if you want, but we've seen some unusually damp weather in some areas of the country this season. While the past couple of weeks have found the sun shining brightly on Virginia Beach, there's always that 30% chance of afternoon thunderstorms meteorologists warn us about. The following is information provided by the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitor's Bureau to assist tourists with "rainy day" activities should the sun take a little break while they're in town. As you can see, there are plenty of sights to see.

Check with cities you may have plans to visit this summer to see if they have similar lists so you can have a "Plan B" in place before the sky opens up!

When the Sun Does Not Shine, Virginia Beach Still Brings Adventure to Your Beach Getaway

With a mild climate year round, Virginia Beach offers the ideal vacation for any season. But every once in awhile, Mother Nature delivers thunderstorms and rainy weather. When she does, Virginia Beach offers a variety of exciting indoor activities perfect for all ages – which are listed below. From exploring the city’s rich history to shopping in unique boutiques, Virginia Beach beckons you to “Live the Life!” For information and images, visit www.vbfun.com or www.vbpressroom.com.

Explore the Aquatic World at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center
No stay in Virginia Beach is complete without a trip to the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, the state’s largest and one of the most-visited aquariums in the nation. The aquarium is a perfect place to enjoy a rainy day with the family, featuring more than 700,000 gallons of aquariums and live animal habitats, as well as more than 300 hands-on exhibits and an IMAX® 3D Theater. The Virginia Aquarium is preparing for a new exhibit, “Restless Planet,” to open summer 2009 which will chronicle Virginia’s ecological history and the spectacular forces that shaped the Commonwealth’s environment. The new interactive exhibits will include a volcanic display, coastal desert and peat swamps.

Delight in a Day of Shopping Mania
From sophisticated to hip to classic, shopping choices abound in Virginia Beach. With malls, boutiques and shopping centers nearby, a rainy day at the beach can be a blast. The Resort Area offers 40 blocks of souvenir shops, surf shops, boutiques, art galleries, and craft shops. While strolling along Atlantic Avenue, stop in at one of the best restaurants in town and savor the succulent, Coastal Cuisine. The new downtown area of Virginia Beach, Town Center, offers luxurious shopping, dining and entertainment. Town Center is home to premier restaurants and retail stores, such as Sonoma Wine Bar, Funny Bone Comedy Club, Ruth Chris Steakhouse, Ann Taylor LOFT, Cache, Jones Art Gallery, and The Royal Chocolate. Lynnhaven Mall, one of the largest malls on the East Coast, features over 180 specialty stores, services, eateries and a movie theater. For a wide variety of shopping centers, check out the Hilltop Area of Virginia Beach, where shops range from popular merchants such as Williams-Sonoma and Talbots to unique boutiques such as Simply Selma’s and local fine dining establishments such as Aldo’s Ristorante.

Discover a new Masterpiece at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia
One of southeastern Virginia’s leading art institutions, the Contemporary Art Center’s mission is to teach visitors about contemporary art through changing exhibits, studio art classes, and special events. Regularly scheduled changing exhibitions feature painting, sculpture, photography, glass, video and other visual media from internationally acclaimed artists as well as artists of national and regional renown. Founded in 1952, the CACV has produced Virginia Beach’s Boardwalk Art Show for nearly 50 years.

Enjoy Music and Entertainment at Area Restaurants
Throughout the year, local restaurants pulsate with music and entertainment. From area bands and local musicians, to outdoor bars overlooking the oceanfront, there is never a dull moment in Virginia Beach restaurants. Or, explore the 17 city blocks of the Town Center, where you can enjoy a night of laughs at the Funny Bone Comedy Club, or enjoy free entertainment in the plazas.

Step back in time at the Historic Homes and Museums
Peek back in time at The Old Coast Guard Station, a 1903 former U.S. Life Saving Station. The museum features rescue equipment used by turn-of-the-century surf men to save shipwrecked crews from a watery grave. Explore the lives of Virginia’s first permanent residents at the Adam Thoroughgood House (1680), as well as other historic homes such as the Lynnhaven House (1725), the Ferry Plantation House (1740), and the Francis Land House (late 1700s). All homes are open to the public for tours and host interpretative programs.

Lift your Soul at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Located in Town Center, the breathtaking new Sandler Center for the Performing Arts is a 1,300 seat venue hosting regional and national artists in the arenas of dance, music and theater. With only 100 feet separating the front of the stage and the furthest seat in the house, the Sandler Center generates a European feel because of the audience’s proximity to the performers. The Center features flawless acoustics, and a comfortable interior. The flexible acoustical environment is capable of conveying both precise intelligibility of the spoken word and the full, warm resonance of a symphony orchestra. A state-of-the-art sound system clearly showcases such genres as jazz, pop, and musical theatre.

Test Your Culinary Skills
Children learn the importance and value of cooking in a safe setting that encourages creativity and discovery at the Young Chefs Academy. With a different cooking theme every month, and new recipes each week, in one month you may discover new tastes from a culinary master while another you may learn how to prepare traditional old world dishes of Italian Cuisine.

Indulge in Your Sweet Tooth
Anyone who has a sweet tooth can indulge in a chocolate tasting at the Royal Chocolate at the Virginia Beach Town Center. Learn about the origins of chocolates from all over the world, help you understand how chocolate beans are grown and processed, tour the facility, and of course, savor delectable chocolate.

Enjoy Local Indoor Pools
There is no better time to enjoy an indoor pool than when the weather is rainy. Many of the oceanfront hotels offer indoor pools or check out the local recreation centers. The Seatack, Princess Anne, Great Neck, and Bayside Recreation Centers all offer indoor pools and are located within minutes of the oceanfront. A visitor pass for adults 18 years and up is $7; for children 3-17 is $5.

Old Fashion Games with a Twist
Combining the classic games of tag and hide and seek with a high-tech twist, Laser Quest is fun for the whole family. Using the most sophisticated laser tag equipment available, people of all ages will play in a large, multi-level arena featuring specialty lighting, swirling fog and heart-pounding music.

Test Your Skills Climbing the Rock Wall
Enjoy an afternoon of rock climbing with the family at Virginia Beach Rock Gym. The state-of-the-art climbing facility features a climbing tower, boulders, and a pro shop. Climb the 32-foot Main Wall, a rugged textured surface with realistic edges, corners, and bulges. The Rock Gym has everything you need from rental equipment such as shoes and harnesses, to group classes that teach you the basis of climbing.

Virginia Beach entices visitors to “Live the Life” every season of the year! Virginia Beach is four hours southeast of D.C. by car and within a day’s drive or less from two-thirds of the U.S. population. For visitor information, call 1-800-VA-BEACH (800/822-3224) or visit the Web site www.vbfun.com for online trip planning.

Happy 4th of July!

Get A Room! Moves Up the T-List

Remember my surprise back in January 2008 when I discovered that "Get A Room!" had actually ranked on the prestigious "T-List?"

Click here to see how the T-List looked back then, when "Get A Room!" was listed at #247.

I am happy to report that a little over a year later, Get A Room! has moved up to #168 on the T-List, according to the April 2009 update from the Happy Hotelier.

My thanks to the Landmark Hotel Group for indulging me and tolerating this little side project of mine. I'd also like to thank the managers at the fine hotels in the LHG Family. Without your expertise in the industry, your commitment to hospitality, and your willingness to share promotional ideas, experiences, challenges and successes, I'd surely run out of things to write about.

Thank you for sharing posts on your Facebook pages, for tweeting about "Get A Room!" posts on Twitter, and--most of all--for reading.

Hotel Promotions that ROCK!

Check out the Candlewood Suites Classic Rock Summer Tour '09 promotion. You get additional Priority Club rewards points, free music downloads, and a chance to win a $1,000 Ticketmaster gift card.

I love it when rock and roll and hotels come together. And I love the slogan for this promotion: "Check in. Rock out!"

You can get registered by logging onto www.candlewoodsuites.com/classicrock. Also, look for promotional materials at Candlewood Suites, including Candlewood Suites Virginia Beach-Norfolk, and the Candlewood Suites Richmond Airport.

Also, to take advantage of an IHG Friends and Family rate this summer, look me up on Facebook, where I periodically post a link for you to follow to receive the discount, and while you're there, make sure you become a fan of The Landmark Hotel Group page.

Thanks for traveling this summer!

On the Road Again...

I'm off to represent the Landmark Hotel Group at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Bus Association in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

It's my first year visiting this event, and I'm looking forward to meeting some fresh faces and running into familiar ones!

I will have information with me on the latest from our family of hotels, including the opening of The Comfort Inn North Oceanfront in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. LHG now has two Comfort Inns on the Outer Banks!

Also new this year is the Candlewood Suites Richmond Airport in Virginia, and the Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront in Virginia, who joined us about this time last year. Happy Anniversary!

If you're headed that way, look for me at the Sales Retreat on Friday, June 19, 2009!

Virginia Beach Hotel Offers Family "Bail Out!"

In a previous post, I shared hotel packages that were popping up in order to add value to a hotel's product with the hopes of increasing demand for hotel stays in one market or another.

With government bail outs making the news so frequently these days, the clever crew at the Crowne Plaza Virginia Beach-Norfolk has created their own "Family Bail Out" Package:

Our Family Bail Out package includes overnight accommodations, a beach pail, shovel and sand toys for the kids, free parking in a designated area at the oceanfront and a 1-hour rental of a surrey at the boardwalk.

Outstanding! Added value and a bucket to boot! Check on the availability of this package at www.cpvabeach.com.

Crowne Plaza's "Sisters in Laundry" Clean Up!

Congratulations to Miss Ella King and her sister, Miss Geraldine Henry, sisters who have kept up with the laundry at the Crowne Plaza Virginia Beach-Norfolk for the last 25 years for receiving the 2009 Virginia Beach Hospitality Award for Hotel Employees of the Year.

Yes. I said 25 years. I thought I should repeat that since that sort of longevity in any job is virtually unheard of these days, and is--in my opinion--an accomplishment in and of itself.

And yes, the Crowne Plaza felt it was important to nominate them together. Here is the letter that was written to nominate the pair:

It is with extreme pride and pleasure that I co-nominate Miss Ella King and Miss Geraldine Henry for this years’ National Tourism Awards.

Ella and Geraldine are an institute around here. Ella started working at the hotel 24 years ago before the doors officially opened. Geraldine joined her shortly afterwards. These ladies represent a time forgotten. They are refreshingly old fashioned. It’s like having two grandmas in the laundry to talk to. They never complain. They’re always on time and they go out of their way to help anyone in the hotel that needs assistance. They show up each day in their white dresses, white hose and white shoes. They make the laundry room sparkle. On any given day you can walk in and even in the busiest of times, they will engage in conversation and ask personal questions about your family. They listen because they care, and then they take it one step further, they REMEMBER the details of their co-workers lives. They both exude a wonderful laughter – a laughter that is indeed contagious. Something we all need today.

Any time that a new program is rolled out at the hotel, these two are champions to promote such programs. They are filled with pride and a competitive, yet generous, sharing nature. I often wonder how two sisters can be so close, both at work and at home. They both have a very gentle demeanor. That’s probably the trait that helps them to be the mentors that they are.

The Virginia Beach Public School System works with students that have different levels of challenges. The kids are at the hotel several days a week, in various departments, however, they most enjoy spending time in the laundry with these ladies. The kids are here to learn life skills. The ladies teach them to fold and press linens and various other jobs. They are very loving and caring towards the students and the students love them too.

As far as their after work activities are concerned – they are both big soap net fans – especially "All My Children" and "General Hospital." I can ask them for an update at any time and I get the lowdown. They keep me straight since my college days of watching soaps!

I cannot say enough kind or loving words about these wonderful ladies. I also cannot separate them. They are truly SISTERS IN LIFE AND SISTERS IN LAUNDRY. On behalf of the entire Crowne Plaza staff, I ask that you please consider Miss Ella King and Miss Geraldine Henry as the co–winners of this years Hotel, Laundry Queens of the Year.

Rita Matthews
Director of Sales and Catering
Crowne Plaza Virginia Beach

The Landmark Hotel Group is fortunate to have employees like these two ladies. Congratulations Miss Ella and Miss Geraldine. I'm personally very proud of all that you've accomplished, and am grateful for the work that you do.

Omega World Travel's "Travelganza!"

I'll be at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor this weekend for Omega World Travel's Travelganza on Saturday May 9, 2009 from 10:00am to 6:00pm. Travelganza promises to be a fun day for the whole family, as it features travel opportunities within the DC Metropolitan area, as well as locations near and far.

In addition, Omega World Travel will be giving away some fantastic prizes from their sponsors. This looks like one heck of a travel show for DC Locals to attend to see what sort of travel options are available to them for 2009 and beyond.

As tiring as these sorts of shows can be for hotel room "suppliers" like me, there is opportunity to meet people who are looking for places to go to get away for a weekend or a week. With more and more people looking for destinations closer to home, it looks like a good place for Landmark Hotel Group to showcase the seven hotels within a few hours drive of the DC area.

Details on Travelganza are here.

Omega World Travel's website is here.

Information on the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harboer is here.

The Outer Banks Knows the Value of a Smile

In a recent Associated Press article printed on Forbes.com, a Landmark Hotel Group co-worker from the Comfort Inn North in Kill Devil Hills, NC helps explain how attitude is everything in the "OBX."

You can read the article "Beach Chamber Promoting Hospitality and Smiles" by clicking on the link.

Hamptonroads.com also covered the goings-ons in the Outer Banks in this article: Hospitality Seminars Help Outer Banks Put on a Smile.

Nice job, Marian! I can't imagine my visits to Nags Head being any more pleasant, but something tells me that if this simple concept takes off, OBX hospitality workers will have found a way to improve on perfection!

If I may, I'd like to take the concept one step further. When I was a radio program director, I used to place a mirror in front of the announcers so they could make sure they were smiling when they spoke. Yep. It was on an easel in front of them so that they could view the reflection of their mouths while they were on the air.

People can actually hear a smile, and are more likely to listen to what's being said than they would be if the words were being delivered through the lips of a scowl.

Listen for it the next time you call a company that does business by phone. Did they sound like they were genuinely happy to hear, assist, or serve you?

To tweet or not to tweet

People who know me know that I spend a good deal of my time in the evenings catching up with friends on Facebook, and it's some of those friends who continue to ask me "Should I get on twitter?"

There are many reasons why the answer is "yes," but for the purposes of readers on this blog, I recommend you read Darren Cronian's great post called "The beginner's guide to Twitter for travel consumers" over on Travel Rants.

Once you're all set up, you can follow me @getaroom.

(If you're on Facebook, look me up and join my mafia in Mafia Wars!)

Earth Day 2009: Dive into "Going Green"

This year I'm participating with Bloggers Unite for Earth Day, and in doing so found myself combing through posts that shared some of the things Landmark Hotel Group hotels are doing to reduce the carbon footprint of the properties they operate in Virginia and North Carolina. As it turns out, I've written a fair amount on the greening of the hotel and travel industries, so instead of recreating a green wheel, I'll just share with you the posts that have appeared on "Get A Room!" over the past few months that promoted the greening of these industries.

The "Go Green, Don't Clean" package at Crowne Plaza Virginia Beach, for example, offered up a unique way for hotel guests to participate in a "greener" experience while saving money at the same time.

The American Bus Association's "Save A Penguin" campaign has plenty of people looking to the motorcoach industry for greener travel. But that's just one reason to take a bus. Check out "12 Reasons Why You Should Choose Motorcoach Travel."

Two Landmark Hotel Group hotels, the Candlewood Suites Virginia Beach-Norfolk, and the Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront in Virginia made great strides and became leaders in the hotel industry when they became "Virginia Green" Certified hotels. To see the original post, check out "It Ain't Easy Bein' Green."

So, what have you done to lessen your impact on the Earth and save money at the same time?

Photo by Emily Herrera

Book It Again, Dan-o!

Looking for some new reading? Great News! Hotelier and blogger turned novelist Daniel Edward Craig has released his latest novel! Here are the details...

It’s No Mystery that Executive Hotelier Draws from Real Life in His Fiction
Mystery novelist Daniel Edward Craig combines murder with five-star character

ST. PAUL, MINN, April 16, 2009—What goes on behind the scenes at luxury hotels may not be all that adventurous: No one’s life is usually in danger, screams aren’t heard in the night, and bodies aren’t discovered dead on the floor—or are they? Novelist Daniel Edward Craig draws on his career as a hotelier to delight readers with his hilarious novels that reveal how things are never quite as calm and dignified as they seem to the guests.

In his latest novel released this month—Murder at Graverly Manor—the young and dedicated hotel professional Trevor Lambert—once manager at the posh (but now burned to the ground) Hotel Cinema in Hollywood is on the brink of fulfilling every hotelier’s fantasy: managing his very own inn. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean stands the perfect B & B, a Victorian mansion called Graverly Manor. But he first must impress the elderly owner, Lady Graverly, who swans around in ball gowns and spins tall tales of her royal bloodline, and who won’t sell the manor to Trevor until he lives and works there for one month.

Trevor accepts, but screams in the night, foul odors, and the sudden disappearance of a chambermaid have him looking over his shoulder. And grim rumors of Lady Graverly’s husband, who disappeared over fifty years ago, only add to the home’s eerie atmosphere. Trevor is dying to see Lady Graverly’s private rooms, but she refuses. What dark secrets is she hiding?

Daniel Edward Craig, author of the Five-Star Mystery series, draws on his years working in luxury hotels for his writing inspiration. Most recently he was general manager of Opus Hotels in Montreal and Vancouver. Craig currently spends his time writing, consulting, and traveling, and his insider’s blog has attracted a worldwide following for its frank and entertaining look at the hotel business. He is particularly passionate about hotels, having stayed in—and worked for—some of the best in the world. For more information please visit www.danieledwardcraig.com.