CAVB CELEBRATES ANOTHER RECORD YEAR OF HOTEL OCCUPANCY AND REVENUE
2022-23 was the busiest ever for Cadillac with record breaking visitor occupancy and revenue generated through our lodging properties, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Get all of the details and a complete picture of our strategy in the tourism recap document below.
We have focused efforts in many areas including: destination development, hospitality support, collaboration to create efficiencies within the community, festival & event support, outdoor stewardship & sustainability in tourism.
HOSPITALITY PARTNER WORK SESSION
We were thankful for so many participants in our marketing meeting in the hours leading up to our tourism celebration. Lots of new faces, plenty of great information exchanged as well as some productive networking time!
MARKETING, DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT & PARTNER SUPPORT/SUCCESSES
In the most basic sense, we can measure our success as an organization by the revenue that is generated through the visitor overnight stays in our lodging properties, as we are able to track these things very accurately. Then there are the things we work on every day to ensure that our visitors continue to enjoy their stays in the Greater Cadillac Area for years to come.
These things include…
- generating awareness and shining a light on the best of what the Cadillac area has to offer, for example content creation, advertising, trade shows & public relations.
- improving visitor experience, including upgrades to our website, print collateral & tourism kiosks.
- taking an honest look to identify what we can do to improve Cadillac as a destination people want to stay in, and then creating positive change with self audits, surveys, data collection & destination development investments.
- improving hospitality partner support through shared tools, training & showing appreciation.
Lastly, success means connecting with local stakeholders and residents to promote stewardship and sustainability as we work to protect what we have for ourselves and future generations.
We thank and appreciate all those who were able to attend our event this year but also those who couldn’t. To all of our front line hospitality staff, working hard in our hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and more – your jobs are not easy and Cadillac is a better place because of the good work you do each day.
Below is a highlight reel of just some of the things we have been working to document over the past year. There is so much to do in the Cadillac Area – we hope you enjoy it!
2023 TOURISM & HOSPITALITY AWARD WINNERS
Our Hospitality Business of the Year Award is given to a business that has continually evolved the past several years, getting better and better with each change. What once started as a market expanded into a popular destination for residents and visitors looking for unique and specialty items. Within just a few short weeks of becoming new owners of an established business, Covid turned everything upside down but it was a vision to create a new place to gather that took this space to the next level. Bustling with live music, trivia, book clubs, chess nights, and other specialty events; now a new wine room has brought an even cooler vibe to this business. 2023 Hospitality Business of the Year Award: Jason Towers of Willow Market, Primo’s BBQ, and The Greenhouse.
The Recreation Excellence Award is an annual award recognizing area businesses or organizations who demonstrate excellence in providing recreational opportunities to our visitors. We have chosen a business that has expanded their recreational opportunities for visitors and created one of the more popular & unique recreation options in our winter season, winter rafting. You’ll frequently find them out on the river guiding a trip, doing seasonal clean ups, supporting responsible recreation practices, or possibly even headstand yoga in a canoe, all with their dog Hoxey. They have been great for us to work with and we’re excited to watch them continue to grow! 2023 Recreation Excellence Award: Pine River Paddlesports Center – Jake & Alaney Miltner.
The Allan Green Award for Recreation Excellence is an annual award to recognize an individual who is a dedicated advocate for the advancement of outdoor recreation opportunities in the Greater Cadillac area. This year’s winner is a board member of Cadillac Winter Promotions, Michigan Snowmobile and ORV Association, the CAVB.& CAFE. As a business owner he has worked to create a destination for live music and great food. To our team, he’s been a key resource for us as we work through our new initiative that promotes ORV tourism in the area. 2023 Allan Green Recreation Award: Pete Finch of Coyote Crossing Resort.