Posted on 09/03/2018 4:21:17 AM PDT by Drango
LEXINGTON — Rockbridge Regional Tourism approved a recovery plan to boost its marketing after The Red Hen restaurant controversy brought a slew of negative national media coverage this summer.
The regional tourism board, with members from Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County, met with the Lexington City Council on Thursday for an update on tourism initiatives and numbers.
The board had initially approved the recovery plan soon after news of The Red Hen controversy was spreading across the country. At the end of June, the restaurant’s owner declined to serve presidential press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders when she visited the restaurant.
Sanders tweeted the day after the incident that she had been asked to leave because she works for President Donald Trump. Soon after, Lexington was flooded with protesters who stood outside the restaurant, chanted and held signs. Others posted both positive and negative reviews of the restaurant online.
All three localities met and decided to pull together emergency funds to increase digital marketing and spread positive messages of the area, especially Lexington, which brings in the largest number of tourists.
Rockbridge Regional Tourism agreed to spend an additional $5,000 per month from the office’s emergency fund from July through September.
The tourism office receives 0.8 percent of the lodging and meals tax collected from each locality. About 20 percent of its annual budget, which is around $800,000, is put into a reserve for emergencies.
Typically the money is saved. But each locality agreed the region was in desperate need of positive coverage after The Red Hen incident.
Director of Marketing Patty Williams said the area is still feeling effects from the controversy — the tourism office received a letter Thursday from a family in Georgia who said they would never come back to the area because of what happened. And during the immediate aftermath of the incident, the tourism office received thousands of phone calls and emails.
“For a town our size, it was a significant impact,” Williams said.
The tourism office also decided to conduct a perceptions survey in its top four markets — Roanoke, Richmond, Norfolk and Washington, D.C. The office is working with a survey company to find frequent travelers living in those areas to answer questions about whether they recall the incident, where it took place and whether it would affect their decision to travel there. A total of 400 people will be surveyed.
The responses will help indicate where marketing money should be spent and what kind of messages need to be sent out, Williams said.
“We would certainly try to portray ourselves as a friendly, welcoming place,” she said. “And focus our marketing toward accomplishing that goal.”
The tourism office is already working toward that goal with a new video in the works that will feature that message.
In addition to the perceptions survey about The Red Hen, the office is also conducting three surveys that focus on the types of groups that stay in hotels in the area, the activities and spending patterns of visitors, and people who request information on Lexington, but never visit.
These surveys, which are typically done about every five years, provide the basis for tourism and marketing decisions. The last time the surveys were done, in 2011, the research showed baby boomers were the largest segment visiting the area looking for natural beauty and historic sites.
Williams said the office doesn’t think those numbers are as accurate now that baby boomers have gotten older. Now, the tourism office is focusing on attracting younger generations and has switched its marketing to focus more on outdoor recreation.
“For years we’ve used history as our hook,” Director of Tourism Jean Clark said. “But as visitors change, we have to change with them.”
fyi
The county (Rockbridge) went Trump (around 62-percent). The city itself might have been closer to a 50-50 split. In general, all non-urban counties of Virginia....are ‘red’. Cities like Arlington, Richmond, etc....usually are 70-percent ‘blue’.
I wouldn’t go there.
1. It’s dirty
2. They gang up on visitors and run them out.
Ha! VMI is anything but left.
To help repair the damage, perhaps the town could spend some of those funds apologizing big time to Sara and inviting her back for a chance for them to show her that she is welcome there. But I am betting that they will not do anything like that being the leftist they are.
And what major institution of higher learning is in Lexington? There is no bleed over into VMI.
#GetWoke and become a joke.
See # 18
We were on our way north on I81 in mid-July, and we actually drove past there as I wanted to see just what this dip-stick joint looked like. Afterwards, we went to the local Walmart to use the rest rooms before continuing our journey north. So we did our little part to help the local economy by contributing to the sewer system there....all thanks to the Red Hen as we’d probably never have stopped there otherwise.
The
Tourism Board should give the money to Lexington to ‘tar and feather’ the Red Hen owners and haul them out of town!!!
“””Please Note: We will charge your credit card $45 per person. The total amount will be subtracted from your final bill when you dine with us. If you cancel more than 72 hours before your reservation, you will be fully refunded. Thanks for your understanding.”””
Imposing a $45 charge to make a reservation will turnoff anyone. What a way to make my day!!!!!
So sad that their overt and premeditated rudeness to a customer caused a town emergency. That reminds me - I need to post another Red Hen review. I may post about their neighboring businesses that are trying to protect those disgusting people too.
Very blue leftist city. They don’t want to honor the history of that area.
Bad chicken will not draw tourists.
Yes, but the leftist on city council don’t like Lee. They don’t want to promote the cities history. So they re screwed. The radical left.
The Red Hen is now #6 of 61 Restaurants in Lexington on TripAdvisor. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g57896-d1115746-Reviews-The_Red_Hen-Lexington_Virginia.html
Before the Red Hen owners engaged in anti-social behavior by booting Sarah Sanders from the restaurant the Red Hen was the #1 rated restaurant in Lexington. Good to see the Invisible Hand of Capitalism at work in a Socialist Totalitarian restaurant.
I thought the most recent review was interesting.
MissTBlu West Hollywood, California had this say: “As a locavore restaurant it is natural that their menu will change frequently. When I first sat down I was concerned as there didn’t seem to be any offerings for this pescetarian/vegetarian.”
It appears Locavore pescetarian/vegetarians really like the Red Hen. Only problem is there are only a few of them.
The Red Hen may not need tourists if it’s got a sugar daddy. Though if it does have a sugar daddy, I doubt the largesse is being spread around the other affected businesses.
Wife and I were in Lexington last week. I was a bit surprised that the Robert E. Lee hotel still stood old and proud but happy to see that. The historic district is nice and is dominated by restaurants, artist and other specialty shops. My wife (a very selective shopper) even found a dress to purchase and we ate lunch at a local restaurant. All of the shop owners were most pleasant. While I would never consider eating at the Red Hen, I’m not going to boycott the entire area because of one shop. If the other merchants banded together in support of the Red Hen, then I would boycott the general area.
They already are trying to erase Lee from memory. Though they were kind enough to recommend the school not be renamed “at this time.”
Is that true?? I only go there when travelling to meet friends in NC. We always stop and say hello to the General. I’ve never eaten in the town although I have bought coffee at one of those fancy yet crummy coffee bars.
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