Boutique hotels strive for new tourism marketing plan

UPDATE: 6:08 p.m.

For years, Judy Block has been greeting guests at the La Maison Hotel in Palm Springs.

She said the small resort is known worldwide for it’s quaint charm and hospitality.

“It’s something that we all see as our expertise to make sure that you’re getting that extra special treatment that you may not in a large property or a resort, where you’re more of a number than a friend,” Block said.

But while things may be fairly calm at Block’s resort, builders are hammering out new, larger hotels in the city.

Hotel operators like Block and Michael Green at the Triangle Inn said the recent developments has prompted them to build up small hotels not through more buildings, but through more marketing.

“We recognize that in the next 18 to 24 months, the city of Palm Springs is going to be adding almost 1,000 hotel rooms to our inventory,” Green said. “So, that’s going to have a real big impact on all of our occupancy.”

City tourism leaders say the move would allow any Palm Springs hotel with 49 rooms or less to raise their bed taxes by one percent, to help market their resorts in the city.

“We think it’s great that they’ve taken an interest in their marketing of their product, and that they’re really willing to put their money where their mouth is,” James Canfield, Executive Director of the Palm Springs Convention Center & Bureau of Tourism said.

As operators like Block and Green said they’ll work to keep bringing in more visitors, and offer unique desert experiences.

“For us to be able to get the attention of the writers, (and) of the people that are coming to town, we need a little extra help,” Green said.

City leaders said they’ll begin drafting legislation about the proposed district, and will present it at a meeting next month.

———-

ORIGINAL STORY: 3:45 p.m.

Boutique hotels throughout Palm Springs are talking to city leaders about possibly creating a new tourism marketing plan.

The discussion includes potentially increasing bed taxes by 1% in order to help market the smaller hotels around Palm Springs.

Smaller hotel owners are concerned about the increase of larger hotels opening in the city, and they’re striving to stay on the radar for the local tourism industry.

KESQ and CBS Local 2’s Zak Dahlheimer met with city officials on Thursday and he’ll deliver all the details on KESQ at 5 p.m. and on CBS Local 2 at 6:30 p.m.