Southwest Airlines features Ruidoso Hotel as a "Top Hotel Destination"

RUIDOSO, N.M. – The Lodge at Sierra Blanca in Ruidoso learned this week that it is to be featured by Southwest Airlines as a "Top Hotel Destination" in New Mexico. From August 6-13, the airline will feature The Lodge on its Web site and include it in banner promotion to more than 6 million online "click and save" customers.

Sherry Salas, marketing specialist with Southwest Airlines’ headquarters in Dallas, Texas, said The Lodge was selected and featured once before for its proven record in attracting visitors to southern New Mexico.

"We created this promotion in 2001 just after 911 to get people flying again," Salas said. "Since then, it has proven to be very popular for the airline and for the communities and hotels we feature."

For eight days in August, specials offered by The Lodge will be highlighted on Southwest Airline’s Website. Photographs of The Lodge are to be included, as well.

"We also will have a click-on that will allow Southwest Web users to book at the hotel through us," Salas said.

The Lodge at Sierra Blanca is the only hotel in southern New Mexico to be included in the New Mexico promotion this summer. Hotels in Albuquerque and Santa Fe also have been designated. These hotels were given the nod of approval by officials with the New Mexico Department of Tourism which markets the state, in part, through various airlines, and which tracks travel trends on behalf of the state’s hospitality and travel industry.

Salas said the "Top Hotel Destination" promotion is provided to The Lodge, and by extension the community of Ruidoso, at no cost. The advertisement is considered "prime placement," she added.

"It really is something to be selected. But it is a benefit that is shared by the community the hotel is located in due to the tourism it generates," Salas said.

The Lodge at Sierra Blanca, formerly Hawthorn Suites, was opened in Ruidoso in 2001. The conference and resort hotel is affiliated with The Links Golf Course and Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino, through Hubbard Enterprises, and with The Ruidoso Convention Center under a licensing agreement with the Village of Ruidoso.

The property consists of 120 spacious and well-appointed guestrooms and suites, many with private balconies and two-person jetted Jacuzzi tubs. An indoor pool and Jacuzzi is located in the hotel’s two story atrium and along the same corridor in which guests can access a fitness room and massage therapy center. The Links Golf Course, an 18-hole Scottish-style course, designed by PGA Professional Jim Colbert and rated #6 in New Mexico by Golf Digest, wraps around the hotel, offering spectacular 360 degree views of rolling hills.

Deanna Cheney, director of hotel and conference sales, said The Lodge is acclaimed for "Striking the perfect balance between individuals seeking refuge from the hustle of everyday life, families looking for a great vacation getaways, and corporate travelers and groups."

"We are one of few upscale hotels that will allow pets," she said. "Business travelers translate into family vacationers, and then, in so many cases, into conventioneers. It compounds. An individual visits the hotel for one reason and find they like us so much they go back to their association, club, or corporation and insist on bringing their next conference to us," Cheney said.

In addition to being an added attraction, or reason to visit Ruidoso, Cheney said The Lodge employs some 45 locals and generates a payroll in excess of $700,000. It generates more than $250,000 each year in Gross Receipts Tax and Lodgers Tax and brings from 40,000-100,000 visitors into the community each year.

"We also buy locally. If we can’t find something we need through a vendor in Ruidoso, we shop within the state to the tune of about $750,000 each year on goods and services."

The Lodge at Sierra Blanca is located at 107 Sierra Blanca Dr. For more information about the resort property and its designation with Southwest Airlines, call 258-5500.