ThisWeek CW 09/13/2012
Area hotel guests will soon be getting special discounts at Canal Winchester businesses as part of a new program sponsored by Destination: Canal Winchester.
Executive Director Bruce Jarvis presented the promotion to Canal Winchester City Council members during the Sept. 4 Old Town Committee meeting.
The hope is that this promotion will add another incentive to draw tourism dollars into the city, Jarvis said.
“If the coupons work the way they’re intended to, they’ll drive people to come down here and they’ll end up shopping in those shops part of the promotion,” he said. “We’ll start with the Baymont Inn & Suites at Rickenbacker because they’ve been such a good partner, and if it works with them, we’ll export the idea to other hotel locations.”
Twelve businesses, primarily in the downtown area, have signed on to provide coupons, he said.
According to Jarvis, the organization will distribute an initial 100 copies of the coupons to the hotels. After that, the hotels will be responsible for making copies, limiting Destination: Canal Winchester’s expenses and administration of the promotions.
“All the businesses I talked to were interested in doing something, but the problem is always coming up with strong incentives without giving away the store,” Jarvis said.
“I think this coupon and info packet is a great idea,” Councilman Steve Donahue said.
Councilman John Bender asked if the businesses thought this promotion and others being undertaken by the city were benefiting them.
“It’s a mixed bag, like with the festivals,” Jarvis said. “Maybe 60 percent are saying the events help their business while the others feel it is an inconvenience, but they all seem to feel that all boats rise in a tide.
“Also, the visual things we’re doing, like the outdoor dining, it gives us an appeal that makes people want to pull over and stay,” he said. “So all of these things are working well together. It isn’t an individual brick that builds a wall, so over time, each brick is building this up for us.”