The most anticipated event of the year on the Monterey Peninsula has begun! The U.S. Open Golf Tournament played on the Pebble Beach Golf Links begins its Championship rounds Thursday and runs through Sunday (June 16th – June 20th ) after several days of practice rounds. It is expected that 37,000+ people will be coming to Pebble Beach every day to watch the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard, and Tom Watson. For the golfers, winning the Open means prestige and a large cash prize. For the gallery, it means lots of fun and enjoying seeing their favorite golfers play against a backdrop of sunlit courses and crashing waves.

As Realtors we view these huge events that bring thousands of visitors to our area as an opportunity to showcase our properties for sale to prospective buyers. Many of our real estate sales on the Monterey Peninsula are to second-home buyers who live in other areas, but like to spend time here. We start planning our marketing months in advance by creating unique advertising for the print media and other innovative promotional efforts. Our Alain Pinel Carmel office came up with a unique idea to promote our sellers’ properties during the Open. Since many of the affluent golf enthusiasts arrive in private jets at Del Monte Aviation in Monterey, why not be there to greet them when they get off the plane with a gift bag full of goodies and promotional materials? For those who come into the terminal, we would provide an espresso bar and frozen yogurt bar so they could have a snack after their long flight.

For the last two days I’ve taken part in this promotional event and what great fun it has been! When a plane landed, we raced out to greet the passengers with our gift bags and invited them to enjoy our snacks. As our visitors sipped on a café latte we chatted with them about where they are from and what’s going on in real estate. Will some of our visitors be lured to find the coveted prize – a home on the Monterey Peninsula? Time will tell – in any case, they will remember Alain Pinel Realtors.

Posted by:  Susan Clark