ABVI and Lexington Collection Receive Gold Magellan Award For Second Straight Year
CLEVELAND - October 21, 2011 - Vantage Hospitality Group's trophy case got a little more crowded recently when Americas Best Value Inn® and the Lexington Collection® captured a prestigious Gold Magellan Award from Travel Weekly for the second straight year, this time for its consumer promotion We've Got You Covered. The Magellan Awards is the premier program for the travel industry, and honors the best in travel and salutes the outstanding professionals behind it all.
Recognized in the Hotels and Resorts | Advertising/Marketing Campaign category, We've Got You Covered was an online promotion from May-September 2010 in which ABVI and Lexington partnered with The Skin Cancer Foundation to educate people about protection from the sun's harmful rays. Visitors to the brands' websites were able to read important tips and articles that promote skin cancer awareness, the importance of sun protection, and the need for early detection and prompt, effective treatment. Sun safety prize packages were also given away each month. Through national radio ads & call-ins, hotel counter cards, opt-in e-newsletters, and a national press release, the promotion generated increased national exposure and contributed to website visits increasing 17 percent and reservations through the websites rising 30 percent overall in 2010.
Vantage Hospitality and its brands have enjoyed an honor-filled year, including being named for the sixth straight year to the exclusive Inc. 500/5000 ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies by Inc. magazine; one of Florida's “Best Companies To Work For” for the second straight year by Florida Trend magazine; and receiving numerous marketing awards of excellence from top national and international organizations. The Americas Best Value Inn brand received the prestigious Hotel Vikas Diamond Award for Best Franchisor for the second year in a row, in part as a result of its successful member affiliation model; and JCF Marketing, Vantage's in-house ad agency, was recognized for the sixth straight year by Cleveland's Council of Smaller Enterprises and Case Western Reserve University as a 2011 Weatherhead 100 winner - a distinction of achieved excellence in every facet of the business.
“Vantage's entire marketing team should be commended for developing another innovative promotion that generated substantial results for our brands and members. Our IT team was also instrumental in giving the campaigns an online presence, which is vital in our collective goal to reach both consumers and hospitality professionals. The promotion certainly contributed to Vantage's continued growth last year,” said Vantage partner & marketing director Peter Frantz.
With entries from across the U.S. and around the world, the Magellan Awards are judged and overseen by a panel of top travel professionals. In determining winners, entries do not compete with one another, rather they are judged against a standard of excellence based on the long experience of Travel Weekly.
About Vantage Hospitality Group, Inc.
Headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla., Vantage Hospitality Group is the 10th largest hotel company worldwide with over 1,000 hotels and the only hotel company to be ranked on the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Inc. 500/5000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Hotel owners worldwide have embraced Vantage's innovative brand model that offers members low, flat fees; short-term contracts; and a voice and a vote in each brand's direction while providing the most comprehensive resources in the lodging industry. Vantage Hospitality's first hotel brand, Americas Best Value Inn, is a leader in the limited-service segment (including Canadas Best Value Inn and Chinas Best Value Inn) throughout North America and China and has been recognized by the lodging industry as the fastest-growing chain over the past decade. The company continues to grow with the Lexington Hotel and Lexington Inn brands (Vantage's midscale through upscale brands) and through affiliations with Brown Nester Hospitality Services (offering comprehensive hotel brokerage and related services) and Vantage Insurance Services (a full-service insurance agency specializing in insurance for the hospitality industry).
For more information visit:
www.AmericasBestValueInn.com
www.LexingtonCollection.com
www.VantageHospitality.com
www.VantageInsuranceServices.com or
www.BrownNester.com
Contact:
Al Cohen
Vantage Hospitality Group
888-316-2378
[email protected]
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