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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-08-19 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, August 19, 2004 -- 11:30 a.m. WALLIS BUILDING ONE LIBERTY PARK PLAZA, GRAPEVINE, TEXAS AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. OATH OF OFFICE III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT tor V. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT VI. OLD BUSINESS A. GV TODAY MAGAZINE UPDATE B. GOLDWING REPORT VI. NEW BUSINESS A. MARKETING COMMITTEE REPORT B. PARRAS REPORT C. GRAPEFEST VII. REPORTS A. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE B. HERITAGE FOUNDATION VIII. ADJOURNMENT State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, August 19, 2004 at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Ev Barnes Board Member Bill Brink Board Member Philip Cloud Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Cliff Reynolds Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Sarah Cloud Heritage Foundation Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director tor Absent: Tom Smith Board Member Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Martin Thompson Grapevine Chamber CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie called the meeting to order and welcomed new board member, Cliff Reynolds. OATH OF OFFICE Sallie Andrews administered the oath of office to Board Members, Bill Brink and Cliff Reynolds. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the June 17th meeting was made by Phil Cloud and seconded by Ev Barnes. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum shared the following: • The Hyatt will next renovate the "planet" meeting rooms downstairs. Next year will begin the renovation of the guestrooms. • The Grand Hyatt's projected opening is July 2005. There will be 298 rooms and ,► 17,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. The property will have a pool on the roof. The Board of Directors Meeting August 19, 2004 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • LaQuinta has bought the Baymont Inn. • The target opening date is November 1st for the Springhill Suites. The property has 115 rooms, all junior suites. • The Gaylord Texas has had 3,098 motorcoach tour guests since the hotel opened. Last month there were 1,500 day tours. They have established a Wine and Food Society. Membership includes a monthly invite to a wine and cheese pairing, special invites for other activities, events, and dinners, overnight accommodations once a year, and free parking for events. • The Embassy Suites will host a reception tonight celebrating their 5 years of business and to introduce Mark Wasiak, new general manager. • August 28th through October 24th there will be a Mickey Mouse exhibit at the Gaylord. There will be 15 six foot, 700 pound Mickeys on display in the public areas. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported for the month of June that the convention sales division produced 25 leads representing a potential of 25,991 room nights. The team assisted with 10 definite groups representing 7,742 room nights. The team conducted 12 site (Iiry inspections and participated in Healthcare Exhibitors Association Conference in Austin, sponsored a golf hole at the Texas Society of Association Executives, and attended the Central Texas Chapter Meeting of the Professional Convention Managers Association in Austin. Convention Services assisted 13 groups representing 8,348 delegates. Tourism division produced 3 leads representing 262 room nights and assisted with 10 definite bookings representing 684 room nights and 759 attendees. Staff attended the Frito Lay Travel Fair and a Little Rock Sales Mission. The Convention Center booked 17 events representing 3,100 attendees. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad carried 4,845 passengers in June. Web site traffic was 7,343 visits on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad site and 5,822 on the general site. Public Relations generated $126,245 in print and $27,242 in electronic media coverage. For the month of July the convention sales division produced 37 leads representing a potential of 22,425 room nights. The team assisted with 7 definite groups representing 7,240 room nights. The team conducted 5 site inspections and attended the MPI WEC in Denver. Convention Services assisted 11 groups representing 22,151 delegates. Tourism division produced 3 leads representing 130 room nights with 170 attendees and assisted with 8 definite bookings representing 569 room nights and 609 attendees. Staff conducted 4 site inspections and participated in the Texas Travel Center Sales Blitz. The Convention Center booked 43 events representing 16,382 attendees. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad carried 6,032 passengers in July. Web site traffic was 8,147 visits on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad site and 9,438 on the general site. The Board of Directors Meeting August 19, 2004 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. Public Relations generated $110,876 in print and $113,547 in electronic media coverage. Grapevine will host the opening reception for Texas Society of Association Executives on September 19th at Bass Pro and Big Buck. The convention sales team has produced 301 leads to date for this year compared to 201 for all of last year. OLD BUSINESS GV Today Magazine Update Mr. McCallum reported that after the launch of the Grapevine Today magazine at Delaney Vineyards there was some concern that the magazine had too much of a western feel to it. AA Publishing made a correction to the font used for the cover. Johnny Morris is the featured person for the first issue. Gold Wing Report Mr. McCallum reported that the total attendance was 9,351; total citywide rooms on peak night was 1,629; total room nights were 8,222; average length of stay was 4 nights. The tradeshow had the second best sales in Gold Wing's 26-year history. The restaurant feedback was that most were up 30 - 50% compared to the same week in 2003. The overall impression of the group was that these were the "nicest folks we've ever met". Mr. McCallum shared several letters and notes from attendees and merchants. NEW BUSINESS Marketing Committee Report Paul Slechta reported that the committee met on July 27th and received input from the participating hotel properties. The committee met again on August 12th at which time staff presented a proposal regarding the direction of meeting / convention sales, tourism sales, marketing, and communications. He shared several highlights of the proposal. Mr. Slechta thanked the hotel representatives and Kathee Livengood and Steve Stinson for serving on the committee. Parras Report Mr. Kakos reported that 20 people participated in Parras Sister City Mission, August 7 - 11. A check in excess of$1,000 was presented to the fire department. The funds will finish the roof and congregating room. The orphanage has an addition of a high school and they will now be able to take in students who are not part of the orphanage. The hospital is working on acquiring equipment for the hospital. The have made great Coe strides in the last few years. There has been a challenge to get the people used to going to this small private hospital. The festival had a nice physical setup and large attendance. The Board of Directors Meeting August 19, 2004 Page 4 of 4 NEW BUSINESS cont. Parras Report cont. Mr. Bigbie reported that Cross Timbers will host a series of Parras nights in Grapevine to raise funds to go back to Parras. The first night will be September 24th GrapeFest Mr. McCallum shared the promotional literature for GrapeFest. New events this year include the Chamber's Business Expo on Thursday in the People's Choice area. Also new this year is the Gaylord Gourmet Cooking area and Bob the Builder in the Children's area. Mr. McCallum shared many of the highlights of the festival. The Fams will showcase Grapevine to their attendees. There is a good mix of entertainers scheduled to perform. GrapeFest has made the top 100 for the second year in a row. Grapevine won the Zenith Award at the annual meeting of Texas Festivals and Events Association. Grapevine won several other awards at TFEA as well as some at TACVB (Texas Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus). REPORTS Chamber of Commerce Phil Cloud encouraged people to take the Destination Grapevine course. The Chamber had a mixer at Just For Fun on Lake Grapevine. They are participating in a golf tournament on August 30 with the proceeds benefiting the families of the deceased police officer and fire fighter. September 20th is the date for the Chamber Golf Tournament. Heritage Foundation Sarah Cloud focused on two major events for the foundation; the Classic Chevrolet Concert Series which hosted the Red Neck Tenors last week and was a "sold out" event. The other major event is the Dinner and a Movie series. The first one for this season will be the fist Friday in September and show "The Metropolis". There were 24 events at the palace during the month. "State Fair" will be at the Palace in September. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board; Steve Stinson made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Bill Brink. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: C