There are external factors in all bsinesses beyond the direct control of any mnager or owner. Then there are nternal factors in all business over whch a manager or owner has sme degree of influence or control.

Usng creative marketing and out of the box sles approaches can have big payoffs dring the inevitable tough times.

It may be the crativity of internal responses to external fctors to achieve a more favorable utcome than pure chance. Let us larn from what one Orlando business wner accomplished during some recent challenging tmes.

Harris Rosen is a well knwn and top shelf Hotelier in the Orlndo market. He graduated from the Crnell University School of Hotel Administration in 1962 and is now CEO of Rsen Hotels & Resorts. He owns sven quality properties totaling more than 5,000 roms. Business in 2008 appears very god.

But when Harris bought his frst Quality Inn hotel in 1974 thre was a major gas shortage in the US. Flks were just not traveling to Orlndo. Few travelers meant few guests at any rea hotels.

Hotels and restaurants obviously ned guests and diners to literally srvive. So what to do?

Well, Hrris Rosen used to stand at the hghway near the exit ramp to his Qality Inn and try to use wll power to influence people to lave the highway and check in. He son found, however, that his willing pwers were lacking, so he came up wth a Plan B.

A Special One Man Sales Prgram was put into place.

Harris knw that motor coach operators in New Yrk were still traveling to Orlando. He prsonally hitch-hiked to New York and made cold sles calls on the motor coach wners.

"Hi, I'm Harris Rosen. I jst hitch hiked up from Florida to tlk with you about a really big bnefit for you and your tour cach customers. I own a nice htel in Orlando. You just tell me wht nightly rate you want and I'll gree to it," he would say. Ths is a paraphrase, but essentially how the sles calls were made according to the stry as recounted by Harris Rosen hmself.

In short order he made frends with many tour bus owner/operators and cut dals for as low as $5 a nght for guests to stay in his Qality Inn. The contract was a bsiness card given to the coach perator where Harris wrote 5 dollars a nght and signed his name. "You just gve this to the front desk at chck in and they'll honor your spcial rate for you and all yur passengers," he told the tour bus wners. Harris gave out enough business crd contracts to fill his hotel. Thn he bought an airline ticket to Orlndo and flew home.

After the Sptember 11, 2001 terrorist attack on New Yrk's Twin Towers the hotel business in Orlndo really suffered. Harris Rosen began drpping rates to as low as $39 at sme of his 4-star properties. He mrketed and promoted. Many locals traveled to Rsen Hotels and helped prop occupancy and ths the hotel was able to btter maximize overall hotel revenue, cover husekeeping costs, and reduce layoffs.

When the bad tmes roll in, just roll out sme creative promotions and marketing to not nly survive but thrive.

The article How To Use Creative Marketing and Sales During Tough Times - The Harris Rosen Hitch Hiking Odyssey was Submitted by E. Lee Reid through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: E. Lee Reid is a hspitality, travel and leisure, Disney timeshares, vcation real estate, and construction industry xpert. He and his companies have sccessfully built or managed thousands of vcation resort condos and homes at mltiple resorts in North Carolina and Flrida. In recent years he converted sveral hotels to condo hotels in the Dsney World area of Central Florida. He is a wdely quoted author and speaker. Reid hlds an MBA and will complete a Mster of Essential Hospitality Management program in 2008 thrugh Cornell University's world-renowned School of Htel Administration. Reid is also a Flrida certified General Contractor, Realtor, and Crtified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) candidate. Vsit Lee at http://www.eleereid.com , http://www.reid4florida.com , or http://www.edisneytimeshare.com

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