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× Upgrade s, resulting in increased visitor attendance and local media coverage. Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa: Visual Events Storytelling The property is known for its savvy events calendar, creating unique experiences for hotel guests and attendees. Its twist on "Alice in Wonderland" became a Halloween night party called the Mad Hatter’s Mischief Tea Soiree,” while its Greenfinch Bar transformed into the floral-powered pop-up In Bloom. Combined, these brought in additional revenue and increased organic social media impressions. Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground: House of the Retro Future Leaning into the nostalgia for Disneyland’s House of the Future and Southern California’s embrace of midcentury modern design, the Howard Johnson redesigned a marrying of the two. With dedicated familiarization trips, influencer visits and the hotel’s Director of Sales fondness for wearing a custom-made "space girl" costume for public meetings, the room has become a fan favorite of the property, driving higher-than-expected bookings. Palisades Tahoe: Surf Report California’s largest ski resort wanted to provide the best on-site experience for its visitors wanting to better understand the 6,000 skiable acres. Enter the Surf Report,” a fun and informative take on coastal surf reports, but now on a mountain. The resort’s athletic team filmed live from the slopes regularly, providing information about weather conditions and runs. The video was shared widely on social media channels, providing an additional content stream for skiers and snowboarders. Best Content Marketing: Destination San Francisco Travel: A Royal Welcome — WINNER (tie) San Francisco Travel and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) partnered with Virgin Atlantic Airlines to crate a cheeky campaign tying the United Kingdom’s Queen’s Royal Jubilee to two drag queen stars from "RuPaul’s Drag Race UK," Kitty Scott-Claus and Vanity Milan. The campaign boasted San Francisco’s welcoming and inclusive spirit, promoted SFO as a leading gateway into the state and drove consumers down the funnel to book packages and rooms via video segments shared on social media and tour operator sites. LGBTQ+ publications provided an additional boost, increasing views by more than double the expected target. Visit Greater Palm Springs: An Oasis for All — WINNER (tie) After conducting internal assessments and learning sessions about diversity, equity and inclusion, Visit Greater Palm Springs knew it needed to now turn outward to the sometimes-overlooked travel segments. To that end, the DMO partnered with Cory Lee, a wheelchair traveler; Lily Yu, a deaf traveler; several members of the LGBTQ community and local members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians — with each traveler creating video and blog posts highlighting how all travelers are welcome in Palm Springs and what their specific audiences can enjoy there. Visit Oakland: Oakland Vegan Trail To embrace the growing plant-based culinary movement, Visit Oakland created the Oakland Vegan Trail to highlight the abundance of vegan eateries found in town. Working with a popular Bay Area-based food writer, Visit Oakland created a fun interactive map highlighting a multitude of cuisines found at brick-and-mortar restaurants, pop-ups, farmers markets, and more, providing travelers with a unique lens on Oakland while also creating a new community for locals. Visit Sacramento: Breaking Bread Sacramento’s DMO wanted to highlight the diversity of the farm-to-fork movement’s capital and to keep Sacramento top of mind for culinary travelers, so it turned to a video production team to create a 10-part series called Breaking Bread.” The high production docuseries interviews chefs who discuss covering procurement, stimulating the local economy, the importance of farm workers, diversity and culture, and mental health — making the show about much more than what you’ll find on your plate. Best Strategic Partnership: Business Palisades Tahoe: Toyota + Palisades, Made for the Mountains” Targeting the Palisades’ audience of high-income households who seek adventure, the property joined forces with Toyota and Olympic icon and freestyle skier Jonny Moseley. While driving a Toyota truck through snowy roads leading to the resort, Moseley, in a voiceover, tells his story of coming to Palisades every winter since he was a kid. The campaign, launched during the Super Bowl, was viewed in over 35 million homes. Parc 55 San Francisco – A Hilton Hotel: Bloom 55 Parc 55 partnered with the Union Square In Bloom” campaign by creating an over-the-top floral-themed pop-up car called Bloom 55 in an underused space in the hotel’s restaurant. Mixologists created eight specialty cocktails, and the house chef created a menu of Bloom Bites that guests could indulge in. The Instagrammable space drove up sales of drinks and food by double digits. San Francisco Giants: MLB Mexico City Tourism & Hospitality Showcase — WINNER The San Francisco Giants joined the San Diego Padres and Major League Baseball, along with their respective DMOs with support from Visit California — to host multiple groundbreaking events across two days in Mexico City. The events connected with media, planners and tour operators within Mexico — California’s largest international group of inbound travelers. The showcase was highlighted by two Giants-Padres MLB games played in Mexico City. Best Strategic Partnership: Destination See Monterey: See Monterey + USGA: Inaugural U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach The U.S. Women’s Open — the oldest women’s golf tournament and the one with the largest purse, came to Pebble Beach Golf Links for the first time in July 2023. See Monterey partnered with USGA and Pebble Beach Company, using the event as a global platform for destination promotion and an opportunity to use the tournament to tell women-led stories from around Monterey County. A new content series called Monterey Pro V Pro” showcased not only the athletes but other women at the top of the game in Monterey, including an award-winning baker and a classic car enthusiast. While embracing golf, the campaign demonstrated that there was so much to Monterey beyond the links. Travel Paso: Travel Paso + Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Sponsorship The two organizations came together in 2022 to support the rebound of tourism. Travel Paso is the destination marketing organization stewarding the region to benefit its lodging partners, and the PRWCA is a cooperative marketing alliance made up of wineries, vineyards and related business. Joining forces, the two groups organized four separate events, each a different touchpoint across the tourism landscape: a three-day retreat with Wine Enthusiast magazine, a wine tasting road show visiting four key out-of state markets, a consumer facing event at PayPal Park in San Jose and the co-sponsorship of the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival. Visit Ventura: A Small-Town Story of a Big-Time Event: The Journey of X Games 2023 Coming to Ventura — WINNER Visit Ventura set three goals for itself while hosting a huge event for partner the X Games: deliver an impressive economic impact on the local economy, engage the local businesses and community and elevate Ventura as a smaller beach town that can host a large-scale event, all while celebrating the roots of surfing and skateboarding in California. Sustainability is woven into Ventura’s ethos, and Visit Ventura was able to expertly demonstrate that by relying on public transportation partners, including Amtrak, Ventura County Transportation, Metrolink and others, and a local bike and skateboard shop (among 40 businesses who participated). This first-of-its-kind partnership for everyone involved managed to get thousands and visitors around while keeping an additional 3,000 cars off the road during the event — there was even a bike valet and a free skateboard check to make it easier for visitors to get there by any mode. Best Public Relations...