Eat and Sleep
Raising the bar on the Raleigh area’s culinary reputation, a host of new restaurants have opened their doors, just in time for the holidays, including: Prime Smokehouse serving barbecue and beyond in Garner, Noodles and Company in Cameron Village that gives you numerous choices of Asian, Italian and American noodle dishes, and Sitti, bringing traditional Lebanese cuisine to downtown Raleigh. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in North Hills and Cary announced they are extending their normal dinner hours to include lunch December 10-24. Throughout the month of December, “The Umstead Express” will replace the property’s traditional afternoon tea with specialty hot chocolates accompanied by delectable treats such as peppermint bars, mint patties and homemade marshmallows. Cambria Suites Raleigh-Durham Airport, located at 300 Airport Blvd., is Wake County’s newest hotel to open offering more than 1,800 square feet of meeting space with high-tech AV capabilities, free wireless Internet access throughout the hotel and Reflect, a contemporary bistro-style restaurant serving breakfast and dinner.

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Potpourri
Delta Airlines has begun charging $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second. Customers who bought Delta tickets on or before Nov. 5 and who are traveling on or after Dec. 5 will be charged $50 for a second bag but will be permitted to check their first bag for free…. The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has been extended through Sunday, January 4! In addition, the exhibit will be open longer hours; beginning the day after Christmas, December 26, the exhibit will stay open daily from 10am to 8pm…. The Raleigh Wide Discovery Guide highlighting events November through February has been published and is available at the Visitor Information Center, located in the Raleigh City Museum, or at area hotels, restaurants and attractions….Need a place for visiting friends and relatives to stay or looking for something to do? Click here to find the best holiday hotel rates and events taking place throughout December and register to win a Winter Wonderland Weekend.

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Sales Leads
The Bureau, along with 12 Wake County hotels and the Raleigh Convention Center, have signed a year-long contract with Hinton and Grusich, beginning January 1, 2009. Hinton and Grusich is the leading national sales office representing hotels and destinations throughout the country. The company’s 10 sales staff are deployed throughout key feeder markets, such as Chicago, New York and Atlanta, and work on our behalf to source qualified leads. The Bureau sales department filters those leads to participating hotels and the Raleigh Convention Center. Hinton and Grusich acts as an extension of the Bureau’s six-person group sales department by prospecting, scheduling targeted sales calls, sending qualified meeting leads and hosting client events throughout key markets to build destination brand awareness and greater direct economic impact for Greater Raleigh.

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CVB 101
The Marketing and Sales Departments hosted six CVB 101 Training Classes to discuss how to work most effectively with the CVB, current and upcoming promotional opportunities and sales training. Meetings were held at the RBC Center, Holiday Inn Crabtree Valley, Homewood Suites Cary, Holiday Inn North and Ramada Inn Blue Ridge and were attended by more than 60 hospitality partners. If you were unable to attend the meetings but would like more information on how to become involved with CVB programming, contact Charissa Todd or Jana Rae Oliver.

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A Cirque Evening
Bureau National Sales Managers Kumi Anzalone and Stephen Jackson, along with the Raleigh Convention Center, Sheraton Raleigh Hotel and Raleigh Marriott City Center, hosted 13 clients for Kooza – a Cirque du Soleil event at Washington, DC’s Plateau at National Harbor. Before the show a private reception was held in the Tapis Rouge Tent where planners from organizations such as BioTechnology Industry Organization, American Society of Civil Engineers, Experient and the Society of American Science Technology Centers mixed and mingled with Raleigh representatives.

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Kickin’ It
November was a huge month for soccer in Greater Raleigh. The CASL visitRaleigh.com National Soccer Series got underway, and before it was over, more than 1,100 youth soccer teams from throughout the U.S. visited Wake County, generating more than 35,000 hotel room-nights and $8.5 million in direct visitor spending. In addition, WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary hosted the ACC Women’s Soccer Championship and the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship on consecutive weekends, and N.C. State hosted four N.C. High School Athletic Association State Soccer Championship games on its campus.

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Bookings
The Sports Marketing department can add softball as one of the area’s most popular sports, with the recent announcement of two major bookings for 2009 and 2010.  USSSA has awarded the 2009 Church World Men's and Women's Divisions Tournament to the Town of Cary and Middle Creek Park. ASA has awarded the 2010 18U Southern Nationals Girls Fast Pitch Championship to the City of Raleigh and Walnut Creek Softball Complex. Combined, these events will have an estimated economic impact of $400,000 and more than 2,250 total room-nights. GRCVB is a host partner with these organizations and assisted with the bid process for these events. The Bureau Sales Department booked National Agents Alliance, the first group to hold a convention in the new Raleigh Convention Center, for January 2009 and 2010 and September 2010. This group brings an estimated economic impact of $1.4 million per convention.

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