If you need ways to study dining out, then a simple barometer is the number of promotions that flood your email, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. Social media has become the key communication tool to let potential guests in on ways to save money. The strategies were the saving grace during each of the major snow storms as followers received messages that said ”we are open,” or not. Double and triple point nites were a common incentive to get loyalists in the door.
This has truly been a long month of limited outings whether from record snows or unceasing inches of rain. The Coasts have been clobbered, and the spots with normally full outdoor tables have been holding court inside as record lows have walloped the FL sun. Enough about February; what’s to come in March?
It looks as if restaurants have come out of the gate in flying colors with multiple promotions to get us out of our homes. In Washington, DC, The Restaurant Association coordinated a one-week (March 1-7) “Unleashed” deal in the hopes of creating a buzz again as too many people have been stuck at home and not taking advantage of the conviviality of dining in a more spirited space.
Chicago restaurants, at all price points, have banded together and offer any number of food and drink specials via Open Table. This site is a particularly easy way to see who’s offering what during the coming weeks throughout the country. Hey, Minneapolis, get out, you still have til the 5th to enjoy Restaurant Week.
Resorts are getting into the act, too. One of my favorite properties, Meadowood in Napa Valley, has instituted a rain check. If your visit includes a rainy day during your stay from now through April 2010, they’ll give you a complimentary night’s lodging when you stay again before the end of July. It’s been raining a lot in California. The fields still have their mustard color display, and the restaurant always offers a quiet respite with exciting food.
Regardless of the city, coupons, social media tactics, and the old-fashioned Internet are ready to help move you from the doldrums to the tables. Let’s welcome March by getting out and helping the restaurants stay in business and be there for us when accessibility is even easier.
I’m on my way.
