Innovative Marketing Program, Miami Escapes, Announced at the Toronto Film Festival

Online, September 19, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Miami Escapes offers the discerning traveler the opportunity to indulge in world class experiences in South Florida. From exclusive hotels, amazing activities, fine dining, shopping and member only events. Miami Escapes delivers access to unforgettable experiences on the "American Rivera". During the Toronto Film Festival, the company participated in a high profile celebrity gift lounge and exclusive events to meet with celebrities, press and the film industry to promote the program and their member hotels.

The Miami Escapes team participated in the IT Lounge which is a celebrity gifting suite hosted by NKPR during the festival. At the IT Lounge, Miami Escapes met with celebrities to discuss promote Miami's top resorts and experiences. Celebrities will be hosted for a Miami Escapes weekend enjoying the finest experiences the area has to offer. Jennifer Garner, Catherine Deneuve, AnnaLynne McCord, Matt Damon, Tim Robbins,Edward Norton, Ricky Gervais , Perez Hilton, Ryan Gosling, Martin Sheen, and Paris Hilton among others have previously attended IT lounge.

Additionally Miami Escapes participated with the Artists for Peace and Justice (www.apjnow.com) non profit organization in two celebrity events during the film festival. APJ Now is lead by Paul Haggis, Ben Stiller and Gerard Butler with the immediate goal of addressing issues in Haiti. The organization includes Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Daniel Craig, Jane Fonda,Maria Bello,Josh Brolin, Russell Crowe, Penelope Cruz, Clint Eastwood, James Franco, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Keith Urban, AnnaLynne McCord, Sharon Osbourne, Susan Sarandon, Madeleine Stowe, and Charlize Theron amongst others. Miami Escapes donated a holiday in Miami beach featuring a stay in the Ester Rolle Suite at the Raleigh Hotel along with dinner, excursions and more. The retail value of the stay is over $25,000. Miami Escapes personally met with Gerard Butler and made commitments to continue to support the organization with various initiatives in the future.

Miami Escapes is designed to reach the most discerning travelers in the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America through a comprehensive program. By invitation only, the program features only 50 of South Florida's most highly regarded hotels.

"Marketing to the luxury travel niche provides an untapped opportunity to stimulate highly profitable travel to the South Florida area. To be successful, it's necessary to have a campaign targeted at high net worth individuals. The campaign should reach them directly with a comprehensive and multifaceted strategy," said Glenn Harris, Principal of Miami Escapes. "Miami Escapes offers that through integrated efforts of a world class multimedia website experience, social media marketing, an alluring coffee table publication, and a high definition television series. For the upscale hotel, in South Florida , it's the perfect supplemental marketing solution."

Miami Escapes features the top hotels as well as the best of dining, shopping and active experiences in South Florida. The hotels invited into the program are four and five-star resort properties with many affiliated with Relais & Chateaux Hotels, Preferred Hotels and Resorts, and The Leading Hotels of the World. This program will produced bookings for jetsetters from around the world to the properties selected for participation. Some of the properties in the program include Acqualina Resort and Spa One Bal Harbour, Canyon Ranch Miami Beach, and The Raleigh among others.

The luxury boutique property The Betsy South Beach is the latest property to be invited into Miami Escapes. "We were pleased to be one of the resorts to be invited to be a part of this exceptional program. We have reviewed the website and multimedia application for Miami Escapes, as well as the publication and television programs and were very impressed. The Betsy is a luxury boutique hotel offering a special, personal experience for our guests. We feel that our participation in the Miami Escapes program is the perfect opportunity to showcase our property to an expanding audience of affluent travelers" said Jeff Lehman, General Manager of the Betsy and Vice Chairman on the Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Authority.

The program has already received enthusiastic support from the travel industry and is supported by the Miami Beach Commissioner and Vice Mayor Michael Gongora. "The business model and concept are quite unique" said Michael Gongora. "The innovative marketing strategy is designed to provide the affluent consumer with a multiple array of luxury travel options available in South Florida. We are excited about the opportunity to showcase this beautiful area and bring additional travelers who will learn about upscale travel throughout the region."

Highlights of the program include the interactive booking website, the publication, a series of high definition luxury travel television programs, as well as print advertising, public relations and targeted celebrity and travel industry marketing efforts.

The focal point of the program, the chic, over sized publication Miami Escapes impresses every reader with its 11" x 13" size and with over 300 pages of inspiring photography and editorial. Miami Escapes has gathered a team of leading travel writers to author the publication. The experts will know each of the featured South Florida destinations and about the experience for which the affluent traveler aspires. The publication reveals each areas renowned landmarks, activities, restaurants, and luxury retailers.

This is the essential information that the learned reader yearns for and which was previously only available by word-of-mouth. The publication is designed to educate and inspire travelers to experience the good life available during their South Florida vacation. The publication, besides being placed in guest room of the featured hotels, will also be distributed through global subscription sales, high profile local events, travel agent conferences as well as cross marketing on the Web site, television series, as well as sales through leading bookstores, with an initial readership expected of over one million affluent travelers.

In addition, Miami Escapes will feature a luxury travel television series. This luxury travel program will include a series of thirteen 30-minute shows focusing on each destination, participating resort, and a selection of unforgettable experiences for the affluent traveler. Each show visits a South Florida destination and showcases the area high lights as well as the featured properties and other featured experiences. In addition, the region's best golf, spa, nightlife, shopping and dining will be profiled in each program. The series will air widely in the US and other key markets around the world.

Miami Escapes is a comprehensive website designed to provide potential guests with an informative and enticing pre-travel research and purchasing experience. The website provides extensive information on each participating resort property including room categories, rates, restaurants, available services, as well as editorial content. The visitor will also be able to book her/his vacation instantly via the booking engine.

"We developed Miami Escapes to embrace the opulence of the Miami paradise and share these tantalizing options with the affluent traveler. Prior to Miami Escapes, a comprehensive information source on luxury travel to South Florida did not exist in one location. By combining an impressive multimedia website, social media, the publication with a widely aired high definition television series, the program showcases each of the destinations and resorts and inspires the consumer to book their vacation. It's a perfect solution. We felt that the Toronto Film Festival and the bevy of well known celebrities was the perfect place to launch this exclusive program." commented Harris of Miami Escapes.

As this is a very exclusive and selective program, only a limited number of partners will be able to participate. To find out more, contact Miami Escapes at [email protected].

Follow Miami Escapes on twitter @MiamiEscapes.
Contact Public Relations: [email protected]