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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10-21 Regular MeetingState of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. at the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Joe Szymaszek Mark Terpening Dan Weinberger Chuck Pacioni lain Scouller Debi Meek Sharron Rogers Absent: Cynthia Blankenship Corinna Wenks Board Chair Board Vice Chair Board Member Board Member Board Member Alternate Board Member Council Liaison Board Member Board Member Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Brady Closson Deputy Executive Director Donna Farmer Assistant to the Executive Director CALL TO ORDER Board Chairman Joe Szymaszek called the meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Dan Weinberger, seconded by Mark Terpening approved the minutes from the August 19, 2021 meeting and prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Weinberger, Meek, Pacioni, Scouller and Rogers Nays: None Introduction of New Staff Mr. McCallum introduced staff members new to the CVB since December 2020. Mr. Daniel Horsch is the new Director of Marketing and Brand Management. Daniel came to the CVB from the Miles Partnership. He holds is degree in Broadcast Journalism from Texas Tech University and comes to the CVB with a broad experience in destination and marketing media. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2021 Page 2 of 7 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT 8:08am Mr. Brady Closson reported on the Sales Team activities. From a convention sales team standpoint, the team generated 73 Sales Leads with 158,419 Potential Room Nights, with a potential economic impact of $81,222,069. 20 Definite bookings, representing 27,650 room nights, with an economic impact of $11,715,790. The team hosted/participated in three (3) site inspections in September. Sales team hosted a Familiarization (FAM) Tour during GrapeFest which included twelve clients and their guests from six states. The educational FAM included tours of full -service convention hotels while showcasing Grapevine as an amazing meeting destination. They also experienced a fun and educational Riedel Wine Glass tasting led by Hotel Vin and a closing breakfast with Mayor Tate. Three strong leads cultivated from the Sales FAM which included: o International Society of Beverage Technologists (884 rooms Annual Conference for 2024 or 2025); RFP coming shortly; group particularly interested in Hilton DFW Lakes o Ion Markets (204 rooms for October 2022); strong lead for Hotel Vin o Habitat for Humanity (6,265 rooms for 2025 or 2027 National Affiliate Conference) looking at Gaylord Texan also uncovered at FAM 810 room Executive Retreat for 2023 that will consider both Gaylord and the Great Wolf Lodge The Sales team has had multiple sales missions representing Grapevine and our stakeholders attending Connect Market Place in late August/early September and also participated in Conference Direct Annual Partner meeting 9/19-9/22. Additionally, Codi conducted a New York city sales mission where she participated in the "Meet NY" tradeshow. She conducted sales calls with NY area meeting planners and attended two industry events and made new/key contacts for future lead generation. Codi also capitalized on scouting venues for the 34th Annual CVB's Saint Patrick's Day sales mission in March 2022. Leisure & International Sales Team sourced 6 new leads were sourced, representing 127 potential room nights, with a potential economic impact of $40,326 and 4 new definite bookings, 3 of which are for 2021 business. The team continues to prepare for American Bus Association, which will be held in Grapevine, Texas January 8-11, 2022 at the Gaylord Texan. ABA is experiencing strong registration numbers for the Grapevine Conference with buyers representing a 2:1 ratio. Destination Services team assisted with 8 conferences representing 5,461 delegates with information and registration assistance. Potential economic Impact of $4.2M. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2021 Page 3 of 7 Visitor Information Center at Grapevine Main welcomed 24,813 visitors an exciting element for this new feature. Grapevine Vintage Railroad produced two weekends for Day Out with Thomas, previously conducted in the Spring pushed back to the fall this year. We experienced 90% ridership over both weekends. The team hosted 38 excursions in the month of September for a total passenger count for the month was 10,236. Prior to this the only time we have experience this volume is in December during NPX. Our marketing website experienced strong traffic across GrapevineTexasUSA.com, largely in part to GrapeFest, Peace Circle Dedication and other activities with total visitation to the website was 338,154 with over 799K page views for the month. Average time on the site was 2'/ minutes per visitation. Television / Cable GrapeFest promotion ran over 2,000 spots in September with Core Market producing 202 while Outer Markets produced over 1,816. Total impressions for Core Market exceeded 5.1 M impression through multiple mediums such as: Streaming Audio, Television, Connected Television, On Line Video, Digital Outdoor (Out of Home) ads. Public Relations (Earned Media) Team distributed 16 Press Releases / Media Advisories in September. Print publicity for September had 9 stories / mentions with a circulation exceeding 2.6M while Online placements for September was 56. Stories generated ranged from: o Five ways to celebrate Texas Wine Month in Grapevine / Southlake Style o Celebrate Texas Wine Month in Historic Grapevine / Wine Industry Advisor 0 20-Plus Fall Festivals in North Texas / Community Impact o Come and Taste it! After year off, GrapeFest returns / FW Star Telegram o GrapeFest Returns to Grapevine / Spectrum Local News ONGOING BUSINESS Mr. McCallum reported on the post 35th Annual GrapeFest Presented by Bank of the West restating the Theme, "Texas Wine, Come and Taste It". Sharing the success of the Peace Circle dedication which the Board started following over 5 years ago and the project started a little less than 3 years ago. The dedication had representatives there from all 11 nations and the Director from the Sam Houston Museum in Huntsville representing the Republic (10 Indian nations and the Republic of Texas). We followed the direction from the leaders of the nations in terms of how the dedication should be conducted. Mr. McCallum shared the continues communications resulting from the dedication with the Board. He thanked the Board for their continued support and participation during the dedication. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2021 Page 4of7 The 35t' Annual GrapeFest Presented by Bank of the West itself was an overall success, bringing it back to 4 days. He recognized additional significant sponsors such as TexRail, Benny Keith, Gaylord, Grapevine Mills, DFW Hilton Hotels, Southside Bank, Frost Bank, Texas Gun Experience, Statewide, Sweet Baby Rays, LEGOLAND, Peppa Pig, Sea Life, Southwest Dairy and a dozen more. Mr. McCallum reiterated the theme "Texas Wine, Come and Taste It". He noted that 100,000 plus were in attendance. The goal was to produce an event that had the traditional feel of GrapeFest but at the same time focusing on local merchants and restaurants while offering a safe environment. In order to achieve this, we purposefully reduced food vendor numbers to drive revenue into merchants on Main Street and the Civic & Service Groups. Reports from the merchants and Civic & Service Groups have stated they had the best performances; for some ever and others in many years. Additionally, the rotation of bands every 90 minutes was eliminated and we offered Live Entertainment in the same location, keeping Headliner entertainment secured during 2020 for financial conservation. Offered the ability to have music offerings in more places throughout the festival grounds. This resulted in our dwell time from 90 minutes to 2 Y2 - 4 and 5 hours. People's Choice experienced numbers not seen in many years, selling out in many sessions. There are some opportunities with space which we will be looking at expanding moving forward. The introduction of the VIP Session was hugely successful and will be considered moving forward. At the Gaylord / International Wine Experience at Liberty Park was overwhelmingly successful. Bringing the Tale of Two Valleys together, Napa Valley and Barossa Valley, resulted in the sellout of sold out of wines and over 7,000 guests throughout the weekend. Mr. McCallum thanked the sponsorship provided by Gaylord Texan. He also thanked Steve Haley for their sponsorship at Champagne Terrace, adjacent to Liberty Park. The festival had 1200 Volunteers [what is normally 2,000] who worked more than 8,500 hours, proving to take everyone to operate the various areas during the festival; 23 local civic, service and non-profit groups; 43 sponsors and partners; hosted the 17t" Annual Italian Car Fest showcased 80 vehicles the weekend prior; the Tennis Classic had 400 registered players for the 3-day event; 111 Wines were presented at People Choice; Grapevine Art Project (GAP) hosted 13 artisans. Emily Henvey did an incredible job in getting media in attendance and overall coverage with 56 total online print articles promoting GrapeFest and activities such as the Peace Circle Dedication. 33 TV/Radio broadcast spots appeared on NBC5, CBS, Fox 4, Fox 4 Good Day, NBC 5, KNON, CBS Morning Show, KRLD, KLTY, WFAA and Spectrum News. There were 38 social media post activities between Facebook, Instagram and Twitter reaching over 68K people between June, July and August promoting the event. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2021 Page 5 of 7 Two hotels that took advantage of discounted GrapeFest tickets to package [ Hilton DFW Lakes, 50 and Hotel Vin,100] or offer to their guests Program was offered to all Grapevine hotels (GrapeFest tickets available for a discounted rate with hotel only being charged for tickets sold after GrapeFest). Both sold all of the tickets they requested. Several board members commented on the activities, entertainment and overall success of GrapeFest noting that the rallying behind the volunteers is what makes this town special. Mr. McCallum reported on the post Summertime in Grapevine promotion recap stating that while many other CVB's were closed during the pandemic and well after along with many summer camp and Parks & Recreation activities being placed on hold Grapevine CVB increased promotions highlighting both nearcation and staycation offerings within Grapevine to provide activities to our residents and travelers. Summertime in Grapevine Promotion ran from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Highlighting segments for Book your Staycation, Summerfest of More at Gaylord Texas Resort, Summer Camp -In at Great Wolf Lodge, LEGOLAND, SEA LIFE and Peppa Pig World of Play. The team created a Grapevine Pioneer Summer Passport which was presented as camps (Cotton Belt District and Nash Farm) and instituted a contact tracing program. These programs were tied back to the select service hotels. In addition, we implemented Grapevine Craft Beverage Tour, Jazz on the Plaza, Afternoon Tunes featuring Texas Music Project Artists (Saturdays @ Peace Plaza), Bach's Lunch @ Liberty Park Plaza (Wednesdays), Bastille Day Celebration, International Picnic Day, International Yoga Day, Music on Main, Cars off Main, Fourth Friday Family Fun, Ice Cream Social, Palace Arts Theatre Summer Movie Series. The Summer Movie Series was a success, running from June 8th — August 4th targeted stay at home mothers with children which resulted in serving 994 patrons with 18 movies in the series, 41 of those were redemptions of the passport program. TV/Radio Publicity which included Road Trip Ideas to Gaylord Texan Resort and Great Wolf Lodge, Nash Farm Ice Cream Social, Nash Farm First Friday's, Hop & Sting — Patios in Grapevine and Summertime in Grapevine Events. There were 111 social media post on Summertime activities between Facebook, Instagram and Twitter reaching a little over 67K people. In the Leisure Markets Summertime in Grapevine AAA Blitz, promoted summer activities in DFW area, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Staff attended the Oklahoma City Home & Garden Show (spring 2021) promoting Summertime in Grapevine. Outer Market promotions ran in Houston, Oklahoma City, Shreveport, Tyler -Longview, Waco -Temple -Bryan, Lawton, Abilene, Sherman -Ada resulting in 242,265 visitations to Grapevine converting 141,561 overnight stays. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2021 Page 6 of 7 NEW BUSINESS Mr. McCallum reported on the iconic Christmas Capital of Texas 2021 taking place November 26 — December 23, 2021, exceeding 1400 events. There is a media excursion scheduled Monday November 22, 2021. The kick off for all Christmas activities is the Carol of Light event which is also Monday, November 22, 2021 located at City Hall. NPX tickets went on sale September 28, 2021 at 10 a.m./ currently at 90.17% SOLD (48,000 out of 52,000 tickets available). He mentioned that although ticket sales are almost sold we do not promote this due to the various ways of accessibility to the public such as "no shows" and Facebook sites which sells at cost and is monitored by staff. Out of the 112 runs we have scheduled Mr. McCallum estimates that 90 runs will have 5-20 individuals historically no show/miss their train. Christmas on Main is being enhanced with photo ops something that is really popular so we are pushing areas such as Liberty Park Weems Alley, Town Square, Peace Plaza with over the top opportunities. At Peace Plaza there will be essentially a 50-foot live Christmas tree along with some exciting props as well as Harvest Hall bringing some things out onto the plaza such as beverage and food. Entertainment is scheduled 4 nights of the week on the plaza with Saturday night having a top Victorian Caroling Group beginning 11/27 from 6p-9pm. Live Shows have been expanded for Christmas at the Palace along with the Classis Christmas movies working in the movies and crafts during the week days. Hometown Christmas will be offered 11/26 — 1/9 in the Tower Gallery at the CVB. Also, all decor on Main Street will stay through January 9th due to the American Bus Association will be at the Gaylord beginning the week after New Year's so that the ABA delegates can experience it as well. Grapevine Christmas Market will run weekends beginning 11/27 from 2p — 9p. The Grapevine Christmas Passport — Elf Adventure Friday, November 26—Thursday, December 23. Taking place at Nash Farm, Settlement to City and the Cotton Belt Depot District with over 2,000 passports in advance. Mr. McCallum shared the various musical and holiday activities being shown throughout Grapevine to include things such as: The Parade of Lights is Thursday, December 2, 2021, 7p-9pm. The Twinkle Boat Parade is Saturday, December 4, 2021, 5:30p — 8:OOpm. Lone Star Christmas at Gaylord is 11/12 — 1/2/22 presenting an Elf experience versus ICE. The theme is "Mission Save Christmas" taking you through scenes such as in the movie Elf. He advised the Board that all of these activities are being backed by a very robust inner, outer and social media marketing campaign. Hotels / Attractions / Activities Mr. Brady Closson reported on Longwood International, a large hospitality matrix reporting agency released their updated study noting that the travel confidence improves with the Delta Variant continues to recede. The CVB received from Convention South the Readers Choice Award for the 4th time; the importance to note is that no money is spend a great deal of marketing money with Convention South so this comes directly from meeting planners. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2021 Page 7 of 7 Belong Gaming Arena, a new attraction at Grapevine Mills opened recently. The parent company is located in the UK with two additional locations within the US. The Belong Gaming Arena Grapevine will be home for the Grapevine Guards, the cities local armature a -sports team who will represent Grapevine in tournaments, leagues and scrimmages against other teams both domestic and international. This is a 5,000 sq ft attraction. Lowes has broken ground on their latest addition in Arlington where they will be building an 888-room hotel accompanied with 100,000 sq ft of meeting space and is scheduled to open early to mid-2024, adjacent to Live by Lowes overlooking the ball park. Mr. Closson highlighted a few upcoming events for Halloween, Veterans Day and a flash mob by Gaylord to promote their Christmas activities. Chairman Szymaszek and lain Scouller shared the plans for the LEGO store renovation at Grapevine Mills. Although a renovation was previously completed 2yrs ago, ownership wanted to enhance the interactive, hands on experience and had nothing to due with sales, scheduled to open next week. There being no further business to come before the Board a motion by Chairman Szymaszek, seconded by Mark Terpening to adjourn the meeting at 9:11a.m. prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Dan Weinberger, Chuck Pacioni, lain Scouller, Debi Meek, Sharron Rogers Nays: None PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS ON THIS 18th DAY OF November, 2021. PPROVED- 4 J Szymas C 'rman ATTEST: Donna Farm r Assistant to the Executive Director