Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

Have you ever been asked where you have been? Who have you met? What did you learn? Why did you go?

No… time to get a life.

Yes… Good you have a life.

Over the last two weeks I’ve been out of the office quite a bit and my staff were beginning to wonder if I still worked for Florida Leisure Vacation Homes. Well today we had a staff meeting and some of them nearly collapsed in shock when I walked in the door.

I briefly informed them that yes, I was indeed real and that I had been learning and discovering new things that would help us all to make our business better. I then told them that although this would mean more work it would ultimately improve everything we did so that everyone involved (guests, customers, staff,etc) would benefit.

So, where to start…

Well, lets start two weeks ago when I left to attend a marketing conference in Nashville. I was on a mission to learn more about marketing and also to learn more about the 5 star hotel experience. In the next few days some videos will appear on this blog showing the experience and why I have discovered that I really don’t like staying in hotels. Keep reading.

Anyway, at the marketing conference I had a great time, met some great people and learned new ways to make sure that Florida Leisure continued to deliver a top quality product,  service and experience to our guests.

I met with people like Gene Simmons. Now what a character he is.  His life story is pretty amazing.

Gene was born in Israel on August 25, 1949 and his mother had  survived the German Nazi concentration camps of World War II.  His father had not been a good provider for the family and his mother later told Gene that the reason that they got divorced was that “he didn’t know how to be successful or how to earn a living”.

As a result of this experience Gene came to America with a resiliance and a determination to show his mother how much he loved her. He worked many jobs and realised that if you had the right attitude and aptitude that you could be really successful in the United States.

Since then Gene has achived worldwide stardom with the band KISS and has become one of the most successful businessmen and entrepreneurs on the planet. KISS has sold more records and made more money from merchandising than any other band or artist on the planet… Elvis and the Beatles included.

Another person I had the great privilege to meet was George Ross… Donald Trump’s righthand man and fellow star of the boardroom battles on The Apprentice.  During the time I had with George I learned more about the art of negotiation than I had ever believed possible. The story of how Trump built his empire is simply inspiring and his attitude of never accepting “no” as an answer even when he was at rock bottom is a lesson everyone in life can learn.

 George has a new book out and for anyone who enjoyed reading his previous book “Trump Strategies for Real Estate” is sure to enjoy his new book “Trump Style Negotiation”.  I’ve now got my signed copy and it’s a great read if you are interested in learning how someone can actually buy 702 properties and make a small fortune in the process. The great thing I learned is that even though George is a tough cookie when negotiating, he is also a perfect gentleman. I treasure the time I had with him.

Another person I met recently and another connected with the world of Trump is Kristi Frank. Kristi starred in the first season of “The Apprentice” and has since owned, managed and sold her restaurant in Santa Monica.

 So I’ve had a pretty busy time recently and I’ve learned a great deal from all of the people I’ve met. The one thing that stands out for me though is that none of them gave up when times got tough. All of them battled through and achieved their goals through sheer hard work and determination.

For those of you wanting to learn how you too can be more successful, get out there, meet successful people, read more, watch and study how successful people act and copy them.

Anyone who hasn’t watched Gene Simmons Family Jewels or read his book “Sex, Money, KISS” needs to do so.

So that was two weeks ago… and last weekend I travelled to Atlanta for the Vacation Home Expo. You can enjoy reading about it here… VacationHomeExpo

Atlanta 11-13 April 2008

This weekend saw us visit the great city of Atlanta as we attended the Vacation Home Expo. The organisers haven’t given us the exact attendance figures as yet but we had a rip roaring time and met some great people.

The show was presented by Atlanta Journal – Constituation and is the travel industry’s first and only consumer and trade show focused on the villa and vacation home experience.

As you can see from the pictures, we had a lot of fun as we gave away inflatable Shamu’s, Florida Leisure baseball caps, inflatable beach balls and best of all…. a free 7 night stay in one of our fabulous vacation homes.

This was the event when we launched our

 “Friends Don’t Let Friends Stay in Hotels”

 campaign and as you can see, everyone enjoyed our cartoons and vowed to never stay in a hotel again when visiting Orlando!

For more photo’s … click here

SeaWorld Orlando is preparing to build a roller coaster billed as the theme park’s most ambitious and expensive attraction yet.

It will be part thrill ride and part animal attraction, a theme that visitors will experience from the time they take their place in line until the time they leave the post-ride area, said Joseph Couceiro, vice president of sales and marketing for SeaWorld’s parent company, Busch Entertainment Corp.

“It’s going to have animal components, marine-life components. It will have a very unique, state-of-the-art ride, a roller coaster if you will, that will provide a sensation of gliding,” Couceiro said. “The combination of the animals and the ride is what makes it special.”

Couceiro and other company executives unveiled the project Wednesday evening to a gathering of travel-industry and community VIPs at SeaWorld for the kickoff gala of two other new attractions: Aquatica in Orlando and Jungala in Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

The coaster signals a new boom time for development at the region’s theme parks, combined with the Aquatica water park, which celebrates its grand opening Friday; the multiple-attraction Jungala area in Busch Gardens, which has its grand opening in Tampa today; several attractions about to open or under way at Universal Orlando; and a new simulator ride at Walt Disney World.

The tourism industry may be generally concerned about the soft economy right now, yet the theme parks are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on projects.

“Not that I’m at liberty to discuss dollars, but this is the largest single investment we’ve made at any one attraction at any SeaWorld park,” Couceiro said. “It’s us investing in a destination that we feel very confident about. . . . We want to make sure that we remain as a must-do experience when visitors come to Orlando.”

The SeaWorld coaster should have an effect on the marine-life park similar to that envisioned for another big-dollar attraction announced two weeks ago by rival Universal Studios, which is building its Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit roller coaster.

Both are designed to become bold new focal points for their respective parks’ entrances. And each is to become its park’s new anchor attraction.

Couceiro said the new SeaWorld ride would be visually “both appealing and compelling.”

Few other details were disclosed Wednesday night — not even a name. No cost estimate was announced.

The coaster is set to open in 2009.

“What it’s going to be is the next-generation SeaWorld attraction,” Couceiro said. “What we do well is connect the world with the sea, presenting marine life in totally different perspectives. Also, what we do well is put the guest in the midst of that. This is the next generation of that.”

He and other officials were reluctant to call the ride a roller coaster, though they said it would have roller-coaster components. They said the attraction would combine entertainment with marine-life education.

SeaWorld began clearing land for construction this winter.

The ride will go into the area formerly occupied by a flamingo-habitat exhibit, a backyard-habitat exhibit, other small exhibits and a gift shop.

The Aquatica water park, which opened March 1, features a water slide called Dolphin Plunge that passes through a pool with live dolphins by using clear tubes.

That 59-acre park also includes other slides, rides and beaches.

Jungala combines Busch Gardens’ animals, including tigers, with new rides and dining experiences.

In addition to announcing its centerpiece roller coaster, Universal Orlando recently opened an attraction called Disaster! and will open The Simpsons Ride (with a reported $30 million price tag) in coming weeks.

Universal also is building a new attractions area called “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” with a reported price tag of at least $230 million.

Disney World plans to open its $80 million Toy Story Mania! ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in coming weeks.

SeaWorld officials also announced Wednesday that they will offer more nighttime features this summer to encourage visitors to spend the day at Aquatica and the evening at SeaWorld.

“SeaWorld AfterDark” is billed as a giant nightly rock-’n'-roll party, with music throughout the park, a summertime “Shamu Rocks” show, a new water-ski show and other activities.

The water-ski show — the first offered at SeaWorld in two years — will feature giant kites, live music and a beach concert.