Friday, September 25, 2009

Such a Deal! Free Hotel Rooms for Southwest Customers

Innisfree Hotels owner Julian MacQueen has upped his offer of free room nights for Southwest Airlines if the carrier adds service to Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport.

MacQueen said his Innisfree company is increasing its Southwest incentive package by another 25,000 room nights, in addition to the 45,000 pledged earlier this month. "That's a total of 70,000 room nights we're offering over a three-year period," MacQueen said. "The entire package is worth about $6 million."

Earlier this month, MacQueen pledged the 45,000 free room nights at his Pensacola Beach properties if Southwest agrees to establish service at Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach or Panama City's commercial airports. But the addition of 25,000 room nights at Hilton Garden Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Orange Beach, Ala., and a third Orange Beach hotel that will open in 2011, are contingent on Southwest coming to Pensacola exclusively, MacQueen said.

Innisfree owns and operates the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, and the Hampton Inn on Pensacola Beach. The company also has a 206-room Holiday Inn on Pensacola Beach under construction, as well as the Hyatt Place Hotel directly on the Pensacola Airport property that's scheduled to open in 2011.

Innisfree's Alabama hotel room package, valued at $3.1 million, will be used by the airline in creating travel packages to attract visitors to the Gulf Coast.
Harlan Butler, president of Innisfree Hotels, met with Herb Malone of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau on Thursday and presented the additional free-room package.
"The Alabama CVB is working hard to attract Southwest to Pensacola, and we wanted to lead that," MacQueen said. "I encourage all hoteliers and condo rental companies in the Pensacola region and Alabama Gulf Coast to contribute to this vital economic cause."

(Pensacola News Journal)

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