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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-06-16 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, June 16, 2022 — 8:00 a.m. CVB Headquarters 636 S. Main Street Grapevine, Texas AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Citizen Comments Any person who is not scheduled on the agenda may address the Convention & Visitors Bureau Board under Citizen Comments or on any other agenda item by completing a Citizen Appearance Request form with staff. A member of the public may address the CVBB regarding an item on the agenda either before or during the Board's consideration of the item, upon being recognized by the Board Chair or upon consent of the CVBB. In accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, the CVBB is restricted in discussing or taking action during Citizen Comments. 3. New Employee Introduction 4. Approval of Minutes 5. Sales & Marketing Report 6. New Business A. GrapeFest People's Choice — VIP programming Review People's Choice fee structure B. Liberty Park Plaza — Review International Wine fee structure Discuss VIP card for International Wine area 7. Hotels / Attractions / Activities 8. Adj ournment If you plan to attend this special public meeting and have a disability that requires special arrangements at the meeting, please contact the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau at (817) 410-3185 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Reasonable accommodations will be made to assist your needs. In accordance with Texas Government Code, Chapter 551.001 et seq, Acts of the 1993 Texas Legislature, the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board Meeting agenda was prepared and posted on this the 1 Oth day of June, 2022 by 5:00 p.m. ecky Roberson Interim Assistant to the Executive Director State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, June 16, 2022 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 Board Chair Mark Terpening Board Vice Chair Dan Weinberger Board Member Chuck Pacioni Board Member Debi Meek Alternate Board Member Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Brady Closson Deputy Executive Director Becky Roberson Interim Assistant to the Executive Director Absent: lain Scouller, Cynthia Blankenship and Sharron Rogers CALL TO ORDER Board Chairman, Joe Szymaszek called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Mark Terpening and seconded by Corinna Wenks, the minutes from the May 26, 2022 meeting were approved. NEW EMPLOYEE INTRODUCTIONS Mr. McCallum introduced Becky Roberson. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Brady Closson shared that May source leads continue to be strong. Although May sales bookings were flat versus 2019, additional leads continued to be sourced to our stakeholder hotels. Destination Services assisted 15 groups totaling approximately 13,000 attendees in May which is double the number from May 2019. Between Grapevine Main VIC and the CVB Headquarters, May recorded 17,000 touchpoints. 10,000 were Texas residents, 5,000 were out of state visitors and 2,200 were international guests. The CVB website continues to show strong numbers. Since we began recording this data years ago, this May has proven to be the most productive May in, history. We attribute this to the marketing campaign that we utilized for the 38th Annual Main Street Fest. Heather Egan attended IPW, formally known as International Pow Wow, which consisted of 4,800 attendees. This is the single largest international convention where both suppliers and operators meet. The international market continues to come back strong and we feel like we are in a key position in both relationship and location to DFW airport. Sean Donohue, the CEO has stated his commitment to building and growing international flights into DFW which further works to our benefit. Staff participated with the Texas Travel Delegation including Beaumont, Port Aransas, Lubbock, Bandera, San Angelo, Laredo, Amarillo and San Marcos. Many of the larger destinations, such as Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio had their own booths and were part of the Texas Row but were not part of the Texas Travel Booth. That left Grapevine as the biggest player in the Texas Travel Delegation. Heather Egan hosted 38 one on one appointments. One specific highlight was the meeting with American Airlines Europe, which incorporates United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. They have a big FAM that are looking to host in November which would include 50-75 international tour operators. At this time they are looking exclusively at Grapevine to host their closing event. Sales staff has many upcoming missions. Ellie George is currently attending The Smart Meetings in Washington DC. Meeting Professionals International will meet in San Francisco in a few days and Connect Marketplace will meet in Detroit in August. Our commitment to getting back in the field and making connections to bring to our stakeholder hotels continues. NEW BUSINESS Mr. McCallum first presented a proposal to adjust the fees for People's Choice and include additional VIP sessions. After observing the 381h Annual Main Street Fest and reviewing past years' plans of work from GrapeFest, the Director of Festivals and Events, Denton Bricker, shared thoughts on expanding the experiences. One thought was to create more opportunities to elevate the People's Choice experience by creating more VIP events. Last year for the first time, we had a VIP experience within People's Choice which was capped at 300 attendees, as opposed to the typical 800. All tickets sold and the feedback overall was very positive. Mr. McCallum stated that the goal is continued improvement in branding and continued improvement in overall experience. The proposal is to add two additional VIP events, each capped at 300. In addition to the events themselves, sparkling wine, complimentary water, charcuterie board, live background music and a private entrance has all been suggested. Last year the price for the VIP event was $45 per ticket. The proposed price is $50 per ticket. He went onto explain that with the rising costs of goods that the team was recommending pre -sale ticket price increase from $23 to $25, walkup price increase from $25 to $28 and VIP price increase from $45 to $50. Chairman Szymaszek stated his support of the proposed changes and the other members echoed their support. Chairman Szymaszek called for a motion to approve the changes to fee structure and additional VIP sessions. Motion: Mark Terpening Second: Chuck Pacioni Ayes: Meek, Weinberger, Wenks Nays: None Approved 5-0 Mr. McCallum then moved the discussion to Liberty Park Plaza. It was explained that in previous years Liberty Park has been the traditional site of a wine tasting experience. Although this event requires a ticket, everyone has been welcomed into the plaza. Staff is proposing that this area be an exclusive access experience. No one would be allowed in without the purchase of a tasting card. To reflect this upgrade it is recommended that the pre -sale ticket price increase from $14 to $18 and the walkup price increase to $20. Mark Terpening agreed that this would organically produce better crowd control and offer a more enjoyable experience. Chairman Szymaszek stated that the change would likely require more volunteers as patrons would need to be courteously directed to other locations if they didn't choose to purchase the wine tasting experience. Chairman Szymaszek called for a motion to approve the changes to fee structure. Motion: Corinna Wenks Second: Debi Meek Ayes: Pacioni, Weinberger, Terpening Nays: None Approved 5-0 In an effort to better elevate the wine tasting experience Mr. McCallum also presented the concept of a VIP area within Liberty Park Plaza. This area would offer global wines that were exclusive to the VIP area. For $50, guests would have access to a private area, private bar, and two 6 oz pours of exclusive wines in addition to the tasting flight of the showcased wines from Sicily and Sonoma. In order to accommodate a VIP area, the footprint of the event would be expanded. Corinna Wenks inquired about the addition of volunteers needed to efficiently operate a VIP event within a VIP event. Chuck Pacioni stated that if the furniture and other special touches were committed to that he would commit to staffing the area. Chairman Szymaszek called for a motion to add a VIP experience to the Liberty Park Plaza Wine Tasting Experience. Motion: Mark Terpening Second: Chuck Pacioni Ayes: Wenks, Weinberger, Meek Nays: None Approved 5-0 H OTE LVATTRACTI O N SIACT I V I TI E S Mr. McCallum informed the board that two shuttles had been converted by having seats removed to fit 14 passengers and a driver. This conversion means that drivers will no longer be required to have a CDL license, as those qualified drivers have not proven easy to obtain. There has also been an inquiry into a Defensive Driving course for all shuttle drivers. Corinna Wenks stated that once again she is seeing a need for shuttles and that there is great value in Grapevine offering this service, especially considering that it is a complimentary service. Mr. Closson highlighted some happenings with Summertime in Grapevine. Pictures on the Plaza will show the third movie in the series at Peace Plaza this Saturday evening. Sea Life Aquarium is hosting the Hunt for the Golden Treasure. Gaylord Texan is well into SummerFest with art classes, escape rooms, Junior Chef camps, whiskey tastings, and tribute bands at the Glass Cactus. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:58 a.m. Motion: Mark Terpening Second: Chuck Pacioni Ayes: Wenks, Weinberger, Meek Nays: None Approved 5-0 ATTEST: Becky berson Executive Assistant APPROVED: J e Szymas ek hairman