There is a fantastic article in today’s Niagara Falls Review about the Destination Marketing Fund (DMF). Apparently there will be another article tomorrow.
Guests staying at Fallsview hotels like the Embassy Suites and Hilton, as well as motels like the Blue Moon and Candlelight Motor Inn a little further afield, see a three per cent destination marketing fee added to the pre-tax room rate on their bill.
Guests at the Great Wolf Lodge and the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, however, do not.
Diners at Applebee’s and TGI Fridays in the city’s tourist sections have the extra charge added to their bills.
Those who eat at Niagara Parks Commission properties only pay the applicable government taxes.
Pick up a T-shirt or trinket at Souvenir City on River Road or the Fallsview Mini Mart and pay a premium; be spared the extra change at Jo-An Souvenirs on Victoria Avenue.
Golf at the Grand Niagara, Eagle Valley or Willowdell and there’s no charge added to your green fee.
At Thundering Waters, you’re charged three per cent more.
Ask what the charge is for, and expect to be told anything from, “It’s a Niagara Falls tax” to “It pays for the lights and the fireworks at the falls.”
Or get the correct answer - given only once in about 40 requests for an explanation: “It’s a fee added to bills in the tourist district used to improve the streetscape, pay for part of the new convention centre and advertise Niagara Falls outside the area.”
I saw this in a press release the other day, and I wasn’t going to mention it, but since they do have one location in Niagara Falls, I figured, “Why not?!”
Super 8 hotel has a special deal:
- Starts August 8, 2008 (8/8/8) - that’s today
- Runs for 8 nights
- Starts at 8 pm each night
- 800 rooms are available each night
- Special rate of $8.88
- NOTE: Did you notice that I posted this on 8/8/8 at 8 am?
So, you can book a room at any participating Super 8 for $8.88 between now and the end of the year. As I said, there is a hotel in Niagara Falls, but I’m not sure if it is participating or not.
If any of you book a room, let us know for where…
As many of you noticed, Vince DiCosimo Jr left a comment on my last posting about the Hilton progress. I emailed him and asked about the height of the building and this is his response:
It is every difficult to explain floors as not all the floors in the hotel are the same height. You will notice when looking at the building the lower floors are almost three stories in height for each floor. The typical room floor height is 8 feet but we do have several room floors in the building which are closer to 12 ft for mechanical reasons. With all that being said, I would say the building will be 53 stories in height which includes some higher floors at the top for mechanical and roof.
It’s still confusing to me, but we’ll go with the 53 number from now on. Incidentally, Vince said after Labour Day he’d take me through the building…
From the Niagara Gazette:
An expanded advertising and marketing campaign helped the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. offer Niagara Falls a 16-to-1 return on its funding investment in 2007, according to a presentation made this week by NTCC President and CEO John Percy.
Though NTCC represents the entire county, the bulk of its $2.8 million annual operating budget comes from hotel bed tax revenue and casino money in Niagara Falls. In exchange, Percy said the tourism agency helped generate approximately $46 million in tourism dollars in 2007. That estimate is based on the total number of visitors serviced by NTCC and results of a survey asking tourists how much they spent during their stays.
In addition, more than 3,600 hotel rooms and 15,000 tours were sold by NTCC information centers resulting in nearly $1.5 million in revenue.
Someone with a Live Journal blog posted about a recent trip to Niagara Falls:
-Arrive in Niagara Falls, at the Marriot Hotel at 1:00
-Check in immediately - room has an absolutely breathtaking view, as well as a king-size bed and a Jacuzzi tub. We are in heaven.
-Spend a couple hours walking by the Falls
-Supper at the Skylon tower’s revolving restaurant at 5:00
-Clifton Hill fun from 7:00 to 9:00 (visited the Ripley’s Believe-it-or-Not museum as well as the Louis Tussaud’s Wax Museum - both were loads of fun).
-Viewed fireworks from hotel room at 10:00 (loved the fact that we avoided the crazy crowds and still had a wonderful view)
A lot of the local hotels have packages that include local attractions. A common package includes passes to Marineland. I received an email recently from the Doubletree Resort Lodge & Spa Fallsview with information about a new Marineland package they have:
This summer create long lasting family memories at Marineland, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The Doubletree Resort Lodge & Spa Fallsview offers a Marineland Family Package which includes; one night stay in selected room type, one $50 voucher for Buchanans Chophouse (on-site), two adult and one child (5-9 years of age) one day admission to Marineland Canada (2 miles away, transportation not included) Child 0-4 free admission. No refund on unused portion(s).
The package is live on the Doubletree Resort Lodge & Spa Fallsview web site, under Hotel Specials.
Yesterday I received the latest issue of the Clifton Hill Resorts Update newsletter. They are promoting a Marineland package and the new Fun Pass again. They also have some good mid-week rates.
You can subscribe to the Clifton Hill Resorts Update newsletter by visiting the Clifton Hill Newsletter page.
On Friday I received the latest newsletter from the Hilton Niagara Falls Fallsview:
To subscribe to the newsletter, fill out the form on the left-hand side of any page on the Hilton Niagara Falls Fallsview web site.
This morning I received the latest newsletter from NiagaraFallsBestHotels.com:
To subscribe, fill out the form to join the Best Hotels Mailing List.
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