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May 7, 2007 - 3:58AM
Resorts offer their own online auction bargains
Donna Hogan, Tribune
Who needs eBay? Arizona hoteliers have devised their own online auction, offering up rooms at posh properties and extra perks like brunches, spa sessions, even a zoo tour to the highest bidder.
The auction starts today. Would-be vacationers can bid or browse the options at www.discoverazvacations.com.
“We’re trying to have fun and let people know that what you can do in Arizona is pretty amazing,” said Debbie Johnson, president of the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association.
While bids can come from anywhere around the world, the first all-Arizona hotel room auction targets local residents, Johnson said. The lodging group hopes to persuade people to spend some time exploring their own state, she said, and bagging a bargain at the auction might get them on the road.
On the block are such usually pricey treats as a three-night stay in the Presidential Suite — and pampering worthy of the chief executive — at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix. That’s worth an estimated $3,600.
Or opt for a couple of nights and a few rounds of golf at the tony Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa in Carefree, worth about $2,000.
The Westin Kierland Resort on the north Phoenix-Scottsdale border tosses a behindthe-scenes tour of Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and school, into its deal.
If animals rather than architecture are more of an enticement, the Pointe South Mountain Resort in Phoenix offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the Phoenix Zoo along with the room nights. The Pointe package also offers a little Wrightness with a show at ASU’s Gammage Auditorium, which the famed architect designed.
The Westin pitched in a package because the auction proceeds benefit the hotel group’s scholarship program for future lodging industry employees, said Stephanie Dowling, Westin Kierland spokeswoman.
But if it snags visitors who might not otherwise have tried out the resort, all the better. “That would be a wonderful outcome if it happens,” Dowling said.
The Pointe signed on for the same reason, said Larry Colton, sales and marketing director. “From our perspective it’s giving back to the community,“ he said. “And we’re always reaching out to new (prospective guests).”
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