Interactive Experience

About Me

It's Jerm

Hi! This is Jeremy and I’ll be your tour guide as we take you through the ins and outs of how to make your website user experience a great one before, during, and even after your visit. In this blog you will see and hear about the latest website and interactive updates, as well as general tips on using the World Wide Web to plan your Tampa Bay vacation. Don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed (link to the top-right) and be notified of my latest blog posts.

Feel free to check out my blog, as well as our website, and shoot me responses to the topics I cover so that we can make www.VisitTampaBay.com better for you and your vacation planning and Tampa Bay meetings needs.

Until then, have a great day in Tampa Bay and stay tuned for more.

For the Penny Pincher in You!

Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2008 by jeremy fairley

I don't know about you guys but I like saving money and am a sucker for a good deal! So before you take that family vacation and start to book a hotel be sure to check out the Hot Deals section of our website.
As we get closer to the end of the football season and approach events like the ACC Football Championship, Outback Bowl, and that small little event known as the Super Bowl (insert sarcasm here), you might want to get an early start on making sure you got a place to lay your head!

Hot Deals in Tampa Bay

Lately we seem to have more hotel deals than we know what to do with! Properties like the Intercontinental Tampa, Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, and the Doubletree Hotel Tampa Westshore Airport just to name a few.

Of course we got you covered on the dining and nightlife front from free drinks, early seating coupons, to free beignets! We add to this list on a regular basis so be sure to check it out save some cash!

What about Bob... kind of...

Posted Wednesday, November 12, 2008 by jeremy fairley

So last week when I did my post on our new Tampa Bay&Company online store, I think I thanked everyone but one very important person. I know the title may be a little confusing, but I needed a catchy title and that seemed to fit for Robert!

2008 Robert La Follette. All Rights Reserved

Robert La Follete is one of the Tampa Bay area's premier freelance photography and graphic designers and works with Tampa Bay&Company on numerous projects. In fact, a good portion of the imagery you see on our website was probably done by Robert. When it came time to start putting product images together for the online store, we couldn't have thought of a better person to help us out, and the results (as you can see when you visit the store) speak for themselves!

Robert has had his other works featured in publications like Shutterbug Magazine, Informant Guest, and Creation Magazine, just to name a few and has also won numerous awards for his work. He even has a book based off of the beautiful imagery of the Tampa bay area for sale at retail book outlets like Barnes and Noble, as well as Amazon. Robert will even be doing some work for the Super Bowl here in February so he is without question in demand, and rightfully so.

If you want to see more of his work, check out the website I mentioned above, or simply visit www.robertlafollette.com. Thanks again Robert for all of your help!

He's at the 20...10...5...Touchdown!

Posted Tuesday, November 11, 2008 by jeremy fairley

As we get ever so closer to the ACC Football Championship, those guys over at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission always manage to think up something new and creative. Leave it to me to find a fun game to play that will keep your attention for hours when you should be working...shame on you! Technically this is work for me so its no big deal.

Things to do in Tampa Bay: ACC Interactive Football Game

The game doesn't really have a title so we will just refer to it as ACC Football Game...catchy title right! Cool, game with a simple concept...just don't get tackled and make it to the end zone. Its pretty tricky though as the guys chasing after you are allot quicker than they let on to be.

The high score to beat is 267 yards at the moment and I can't seem to get over 132, so I challenge you all to beat that score! If you beat the high score then you can submit your info and be eligible for prizes.

Don't get too excited though as I have been playing for about a half hour now and can't seem to win anything! So hop on and prove you are better than jerm at this! Let me know what your high score ends up being.

p.s. Big shout out to the guys at Performix Marketing for putting such a sweet game together!

OutBack Bowl in Tampa Bay!!!

Posted Monday, November 10, 2008 by jeremy fairley

Let's go OutBack tonight! Hola internet peoples, Jerm here with a partner website update for ya! As we draw ever so near to the end of the college football season, and the numerous New year's day bowl games, fans of the SEC and Big Ten, should pay close attention to www.OutBackBowl.com to see if their respective hometown teams will be making plane trips to Tampa Bay.
Beanie Wells and the OSU Buckeyes

Beanie Wells and the OSU Buckeyes

The Outback Bowl is Tampa Bay's New Year's Day college football game matching teams from the SEC and Big Ten Conference (3rd pick from each). If the season were to end today, it looks like we would see an Ohio State vs Georgia matchup which would be an awesome matchup and sure to draw a sellout crowd. You never know though, as this college football season has provided one surprise upset after another so you can never be to sure!

If you are wondering if your team will make it to Tampa for the game then I suggest bookmarking this site, as the team announcement is most likely to break at this website first!

In addition to team announcements as far as who will be playing in the game, you can expect to find information on fan housing, tailgate parties, hotels, things to do, and schedules of game week events!

Be sure to log on and check it out!

Have a Little Piece of Tampa Why Don't You!

Posted Thursday, November 6, 2008 by jeremy fairley

So, lets say for instance you came to Tampa on vacation or for a meeting and wanted to stop by our retail center in Channelside to pick up a few souvenir items. Ya know, so you can take something back to the family as a memento. Somehow, though you had a brainfart (as I often do) and realize that your plane is leaving in an hour and you have to hightail it to the airport!

Well have no fear... the online retail store is here! Today is the official launch of our retail store in an online format just for that occasion when you lose track of time, or just can't make it here and want some "Tampa Gear". Log on to our site at www.VisitTampaBay.com/Store, and browse around our selection of a pparel, merchandise, gift packages, and spa products and have a little piece of our great destination delivered to your door.

This selection of merchandise is hand picked from our physical retail center and is ready to supply you with Tampa Bay themed: playing cards, golf balls, plush toys, baby-wear, and other collectible items. We ship anywhere in the continental US, but at present will not be able to ship internationally.

We are all crazy excited to have gotten this one off the ground so thanks to the team around here for helping me put it together, and be sure to check it out and feel free to order away.

Offbeat Guides... An Awesome Way to Plan your Travel!

Posted Wednesday, November 5, 2008 by jeremy fairley

So when I was out in San Francisco last month one of the sessions that we were at, was about this new start-up company based out of San Francisco called Off Beat Guides. I really do hate it when people come up with brilliant yet simple concepts that I couldnt think of first!

Off Beat Guides: Plan Your Trip!

Off Beat Guides is a really cool concept where you basically can build your own comprehensive guide book of the destination you are getting ready to visit.

Very easy concept as all you really have to do is tell it where you are leaving from, where you are going to, hotel info, and the dates you travel. Once it populates your guide you have the option to sift through and decided which info is most importatnt to you regarding your trip.

I took the liberty of creating one for my sister, as she has always wanted to come down for the annual Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival in January, and it turned out great!

This is just another great tool to use in support of some of the maps and tools that you can use at the VisitTampaBay.com website.

If you don't believe me as far as the simplicty goes, then visit the site and check it out for yourself! First person that responds to this post I will even build one for you and pay for it myself! If you happen to be visiting Tampa (hint hint), I would even be willing to give you the one I created for my sister!

November in Tampa Bay...E-Newsletter Alert...

Posted Monday, November 3, 2008 by jeremy fairley

Tampa Bay Area Events

Its the start of a new month here in Tampa Bay and you know what that means! Yup you guess it, its E-Newsletter time here in Tampa Bay. I just sent out this month's edition on Friday and man was it loaded with stuff to do in November. I thought Thankgiving would be the highlight of my month, but I was wrong.
Click here to view the latest edition so hurry up and book your flight and hotel info here, as this is the most beautiful time of year here in Florida with the sunny warm weather. Pay particular note to the calendar of events as we got a lot going on this month.

Also, a big congrats goes out to the AL East Champion Tampa Bay Rays for an awesome season!

Visit Tampa Bay on Facebook!

Posted Friday, October 31, 2008 by jeremy fairley

As promised in one of my posts last week, I told you guys we were going to be doing our Facebook thing here at VisitTampaBay.com. It took me long enough, but I actually got it up and running and we are officially on there now!

If you already have a Facebook profile, be sure to log on and become a fan of ours and participate in discussion boards, check out photos and imagery, and be the first to know about blog posts & calendar of events updates! If you don't have one, then hop in my Volkswagen and let me drive you into the year 2008, as its really easy to setup.

Use the link above to get you there, or if you want something easy to remember, then just log on to www.VisitTampaBay.com/Facebook.

So stay tuned as I should be getting us on Flickr and possibly Linkedin sometime in the near future.

Its All About the Arts...

Posted Thursday, October 30, 2008 by jeremy fairley

Just a quick update here gang on a new site that I want you to check out if you are looking to find out abouts the arts and culture scene here in Tampa Bay. We have partnered with our friends over at the Arts Council of Hillsborough County to put this site together.

Visit www.TampaBayArts.org to plan your vacation around, or just get the beat on what all we have to offer here in Tampa Bay.

This site has a list of monthly updates, contacts, and a list of all of the places in Hillsborough County where you can get your art and culture on! From museums to theatres, you can be sure to find it here.

Lastly, while I normally jump at the opporunity to hog all of the credit for cool stuff, I want to say thanks to LeeAnn and Michael over at TBPAC for putting this site together and really doing the hard work...thanks guys!

Got Gas???

Posted Thursday, October 30, 2008 by jeremy fairley

Okay so I know the title may be a bit misleading, but I couldn't think of a better way to start this one off! Seeing as how times are rough economic wise and all I figured this would be an awesome site to share with my faithful readers.

So if you don't have the cash to fly for the holidays and want to take that road trip you have been planning since senior year of college and never got around to... then let me help you and your gas tank out. Cost 2 Drive is a slick new trip planning tool that lets you calculate how much money you can expect to spend on gas when traveling.

Even though the price of gas has fallen in recent weeks, this would still be some good info to know. The Galculator as its called (get it... "gas calculator") is the tool that determines the mileage from your trip, make&model of your car, and current gas rates to. I really do wish I was smart enough to think of stuff like this!

So when you are drivign to Tampa, for to see that big event, like the Super Bowl, ACC Football Championship, or Gasparilla, be sure to give this site a look-see to plan your trip.

It's Twitterriffic!!!

Posted Thursday, October 23, 2008 by jeremy fairley

Hello all, Bandwagon Jerm here with a social networking update! Of course I have my own facebook, myspace, and linkedin pages, but I keep hearing the buzz out there about this Twitter thing from the great "Paul Brand," whom I refer to as the "Yoda" of social networking... Big Ups to Jersey! Anyway, before I get off subject, back to Twitter!

Tampa Bay&Company is a Twitterer Now!!!

I setup a Twitter page for us so that in addition to this blog you can follow what is goin on around here down to the minute in many cases. For those of you not familiar with Twitter, I suggest you hop on there and check it out as its such a simple yet engaging concept. Seeing as how we got all these cool events in town, World Series, Howl-O-Scream, and the others that will be here ina few months, I figured now is a good time to hop on and tweet like ther's no tomorrow. So if you are at work reading this like I am, or if you are at home relaxing, check us out at www.Twitter.com/VisitTampaBay and follow us.

Whats next in the social networking pipeline you ask???!!! Facebook and Flickr of course, but I will post another blog once I got those up and running. In the meantime Tweet your hearts out! Oh wait, I almost forgot about our Technorati site also, so if your on there look us up!

Phillies Phans...come one come all!!!

Posted Tuesday, October 21, 2008 by jeremy fairley

Tampa Bay Sports: Rays vs. Phillies

Welcome back Phillies Phans! I hear you like to be called Phans so I will be accommodating cause while we are excited to have you guys here, but hopefully by the time you leave we will be up 2-0! HAHAHA, you know I had to say it, but its all in the sport of competition.

If you are scrambling now and trying to make those last minute arrangements, let ol Jerm help you out in that department. Come to our website and check out the Phillies Phans, or just visit www.VisitTampaBay.com/WorldSeries page I created just for my northern peeps! Here you can get all the info you need with regards to "Phanning" it up here in the Bay area with everything that there is to do.

Before you even get here check out the site anyhow and take care of your airfare, hotel, and downtown when your not at the game or one of our numerous bars checking out the game!

Keep checking the blogs here as we will keep posting about places to watch the game as well as the beautiful weather and how you can take time out to enjoy our many attractions!

As usual if you want to ask me a question or or make a game prediction, then I am game, but until then safe travels down and good luck!

Start Spreading the News...

Posted Monday, October 20, 2008 by jeremy fairley

So you may have heard about a certain Bay Area professional sports team last night

Tampa Bay Rays AL Champs

taking care of business in the ALCS. Darn skippy as the the Tampa Bay Rays advanced to the World Series last night for the first time in franchise history, with a great pitching performance by Matt Garza.

So for all of you local Rays fans as well as the non local Rays fans I suggest you hop onto the Rays website and start getting your merchandise, game times tickets, and whatever else you need!

If you are like me and can't get enough of the imagery, and video, then check out the game clinching ground out to seal the game and send the stadium wild!!! GO RAYS!!!

Stay tuned throughout the rest of the day as we will be posting more info about hotels, hot spots to watch the game, things to do, and local parties and celebrations.

As always, TAmpa Bay&Company is your official visitor source for local info before and after the game so log onto www.VisitTampaBay.com/WorldSeries

More Recognition for Tampa Bay!

Posted Monday, October 20, 2008 by jeremy fairley

TravelMuse: Tampa Bay Tours

I was recently forwarded a link to this travel website someone wanted me to look at, and low and behold who was on the home page...? You guessed it people...TAMPA/ST.PETE!!! I swear it just seems like we are all over the place here lately with new updates and accolades.

Travel Muse is a fairly new and very engaging travel planning site. While still in its early beta stages, I found a lot of useful tools for planning a trip to Tampa for your family getaway, or that girlfriend getaway you've been planning for so long. The Travel Muse Inspiration Finder was a nifty little tool to help you define where is the best suited place for you to visit by defining your budget, preferred flight time, departing airport, and time of year to help you find that perfect trip. If you don't want to take my word for it, here are a few other things on the site that will peak your interests:

Invite friends to connect and collaborate on Trips in the TravelMuse Planner.
Organize schedules and build day-day plans for each trip.
Create Trips for all the places you want to visit and save research-stop e-mailing links and manage all your cool travel pages in the TravelMuse Planner.
Participate in the TravelMuse community: rate and comment on articles, hotels, restaurants and points of interest.

They did an awesome write up on Tampa/St.Pete so check it out when you get a chance. All in all this site gets a thumbs up from Jerm, and no that is not because I am biased... (okay maybe a little), but you should still go and check this one out and let me know what you think!

A Visit Tampa Bay First!

Posted Sunday, October 19, 2008 by jeremy fairley

If you haven't been to the Tampa Bay&Company website lately, first of all let me say that you should go there now before I get angry! Just kidding of course, but for those of you who have been there lately then you should notice that Tampa Bay & Company has recently begun servicing ads on our website.

From my point of view I would like to let out a big Wahooooooooooo, as this has been a long process of research and back-end development on the part of us and our two technology partners Adify and Simpleview Inc.

Sample ad size on Tampa Bay & Company Website

So how does it work you ask? Well let me tell you! Participating partners’ rotating banner advertisements will enable visitors browsing the Tampa Bay & Company website to see their ads on various pages, allowing those visitors to learn more about partner business.

Additionally, through the ad, those website visitors can potentially visit the partner’s website, providing additional exposure and increased customers.

With these ads you can expect to see special deals and rates from Tampa Bay & Company Partners, as well as national brands, and local calendar of events items.

Well gang its time for me to check out for the evening as I am currently babysitting Lindsey's two kittens sophie and Chloe and they seem to craving attention once again so i am going to find a tennis ball or something to throw around! in the meantime check out the ads and if your an industry partner reading this then contact Bob Atkins at our office to aquire about advertising opportunities.

Research it, Plan it, , Book it!

Posted Friday, October 10, 2008 by jeremy fairley

Experience Finder: What to Do

At long last its here! Tampa bay & Company along with the St. Pete Clearwater CVB launched the beta version of its long awaited Travelocity Experience Finder. Now in addition to our wonderful website, you the visitor can use this interactive tool to plan your vacation down to the "T"!

Plan your trip to the best beaches in America, a shop till you drop adventure, golfing or plan a fun filled day at one of Tampa Bay's many fun filled attractions with interactive photos and mapping technology built into the interface!

Choose from four themes from: Adventure, Family, Culture, and Beach to narrow down your choices of things to do before you get here! Select your hotel and choose from 20 different fun and engaging activities for you and your family & friends.

So visit the site and check it out! Feel free to drop me a line and lwet me know what you think!

Jerm's Favorite Travel Sites

Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 by jeremy fairley

So i been doing a bit of travel here lately and its always a headache for me when I have to start shopping online for the best rate with regards to airfare.

Historically, I have always been a big fan of Southwest Airlines, as I am always able to find the best rate on their website, plus I like the open seating policy on their flights. As much as I love them though, they are not always the cheapest option.

I may be blessed with riches in the form of good looks and great personality, but even Jerm has to watch how he spends his pennies these days, so I exhaust every option when searching for flights online.

I always have a few other airlines in mind when booking travel as I try not to really committ myself to one brand. Southwest, Airtran, Delta, and Continental are the only ones I have ever flown, so I have used the Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia type websites to give me options as well as make sure that I got the best rate.

I have heard good things about Kayak, and have used Farecast also to book flights. Farecast is cool becuase it has an algorythm that can predict when fares are going to increase, stay steady, or drop.

So now that you have options, here are some of the tips that always help me find good flights:

Book early. Normally I am a procrastinator, but when it comes to airfare, I always try and book at least a week out from the trip.
Use the flexible dates options. It may be cost efficient to fly early in the morning the next day as opposed to that evening flight.
Instead of booking round trip, try booking two one way flights to and from your destination. I know it sounds crazy, but I have actaully saved money doing that one before.
Shop around! Use all the sites I mentioned above, plus try and find a few more. There is always a deal out there to be had somewhere!

Got any insight or other ways to get cheap travel? Drop a line and let me know.

Newsletter time!

Posted Monday, October 6, 2008 by jeremy fairley

BOO! Wow I know that scared you, but don't be too alarmed it's only me Jerm. It's newsletter time here again as the October edition of the Tampa Bay Traveler was sent out early last week.

As always, October is a great month to be in Tampa Bay with all of the Halloween themed events going on like Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens, Zoo Boo at Lowry Park Zoo, and tons more, but as always you need to take a gander at the newsletter to see more, as I refuse to spill the beans more so than I already have...lol

Check it out! Be sure to sign up and receive the newsletter each month.

On the Road at E-Tourism...

Posted Friday, October 3, 2008 by jeremy fairley

Well gang, I can officially say I am exhausted! I have been cramming my brain here at the Annual E-Tourism Summit in San Francisco and I am beat. Its a little past 11 pm PST and I am still up as my internal clock is all over the place.

Great conference I must say with regards to the line-up of guest speakers and presenters speaking on a wide variety of topics ranging from, effective email marketing strategies, to social networking trends in the travel industry. It seems like I have my work cut out for me as far as coming back to the office and applying many if not all of the topics mentioned over the course of the last two days, but hey, its not like I have a life any, so who better for the job than me right!

Tomorrow should be the greatest day of my life as we are taking a road trip to the Google Headquarters for most of the day, so we will get to see the center of the internet universe over there and hopefully catch a glimpse what those guys have going on over there!

Check my next few post in the coming weeks as I begin to put to practice some of the tools and techniques I picked up at these last two conference and as always feel free to drop me a line!

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