The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2003-02-20 Regular Meeting fircCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, February 20, 2003 -- 11:30 am WALLIS BUILDING ONE LIBERTY PARK PLAZA, GRAPEVINE, TEXAS AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT IV. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT tir V. OLD BUSINESS A. CHICAGO SALES MISSION REPORT B. NEW YORK SALES MISSION UPDATE C. VISITOR CENTER IN DEPOT D. LOCOMOTIVE 2248 UPDATE VI. NEW BUSINESS A. MALL INFORMATION CNETER B. HISTORIC DISTRICT LIGHTING C. HIGHWAY SIGNAGE VII. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VIII. ADJOURNMENT • STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF TARRANT CITY OF GRAPEVINE MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Philip Cloud Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Tom Smith Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Sue Franks Grapevine Chamber Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Absent: Ev Barnes Board Member Cof Bill Brink Board Member Paul Jennings Board Member Robert Thrailkill Board Member Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation CALL TO ORDER Don Bigbie called the meeting to order. He shared with the board that Ev Barnes had a mild heart attack on Sunday night but that he was doing well. Mr. Bigbie also shared that Robert Thrailkill has tendered his resignation. He has accepted an invite to serve on the CVB Board in Dallas. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Kathee Livengood mentioned that La Casa is not permanently closed as indicated in the minutes, but closed for remodeling. A motion to approve the minutes from the January 16th meeting was made by Phil Cloud and seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that March 17th is the scheduled opening date for P.F. Chang. The B&B, Garden Manor is now open and there was a nice article in last week's Grapevine Sun. The Dallas CVB has named as Chariman, Peter Kline. Mr. Kline has a hotel background. It looks like Irving will be going forward with a new convention center project. The cost of the project has gone from 60 million to 103 million. Tom Smith reported the things are progressing well on the Grand Hyatt. The 3rd floor • The Board of Directors Meeting February 20, 2003 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. slab is poured. The opening date is slated for first quarter of 2005. Hyatt Regency is doing a 32 million-dollar repositioning. They will start on the lobby area in April and the suites in June. March looks great for all the properties in town. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos shared highlights from the month of January. The convention sales division produced 23 leads representing 12,177 potential roomnights and assisted in closing 4 groups representing 6,631 roomnights. They conducted 4 site inspections and participated in 2 industry trade shows. Religious Convention Managers Association tradeshow in Charlotte produced 5 leads and Southwest Showcase produced 10 potential leads. Tourism division generated 2 leads representing 800 attendees and had 3 definite booking with 40 roomnights. Tourism division participated in 2 industry trade shows; International Tour Management Symposium, and Bank Travel Network. December saw 13,741 visitors assisted through the Visitor Information Centers and 37,000 brochures distributed. The Convention Center booked 60 events representing 19,094 people. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad web site had 4,568 visits with the average visit lasting 8:02 minutes and the CVB web site had 1,862 visits with the average visit lasting 5:46 minutes. Communications generated $96,593 in print publicity and $90,782 in electronic for a total media coverage for the month of$188,375. OLD BUSINESS Chicago Sales Mission Report Mr. McCallum reported that the Chicago Sales Mission last week was a success. All preset sales calls were completed in spite of the weather. Staff met with 34 planners and have already published one request for proposal. Staff is following up on 30 other potential leads. The event at Gibson's Steakhouse went very well. New York Sales Mission Update Mr. Kakos shared the New York Sales Mission promotional pieces. The direct mail campaign started on December 18th. This is a six-piece campaign with at least one piece being sent each month. The event will be at the Manhattan Chili Company, which is located in the Ed Sullivan Theatre where the David Letterman show is broadcast. To date there are 26 attendees signed up with a goal of 100 planners. We will have the butt sketch artist, the emcee who did the GrapeFest cork shoot off, a face reader, and musical entertainment. There will be a full trade show as well. To be eligible for the "pot of gold" drawing the guests must visit each booth at the trade show. • (lw The Board of Directors Meeting February 20, 2003 Page 3 of 4 OLD BUSINESS cont. Visitor Center in Depot Mr. Kakos reported that the move of the Visitor Information Center into the Depot went very well and allows up to keep the museum open seven days a week. It gives us better coverage for both operations and we have a paid staff member on site. We are now selling tickets out of the center for all events. This will open the Founder's Building for other opportunities. Locomotive 2248 Update We had a set back on our annual inspection. The boiler tubes showed a high calcium buildup and had to be rebuilt. We hope to meet a March 1 target date to have the locomotive back in service. NEW BUSINESS Mall Information Center (ir Mr. McCallum requested the board think about what direction we should take over the next couple of years with the mall visitor information center. Thirteen million people come on site, but we are mostly answering mall information questions. Staff has looked at property around the mall for a location. The center needs to be something dramatic like a large locomotive, period passenger car, and caboose. The center would need the capability for a visitor to book a hotel room, make a dinner reservation, and purchase Grapevine souvenirs. The train or something like it would be a fun item that would draw people there. The City through the TIF program has control of a portion of the parking lot and the city manager has suggested we may be able to use some of this space. Historic District Lighting Mr. McCallum reported that several downtown businesses have approached us regarding the lack of light on Main Street, especially in the winter. People associate safety with light. The 600 block with Gary Hazelwood's property has done a good job with lighting. The 200 block (City Hall block) is particularly dark. When the 400,000 square foot convention center opens in April 2004, there will be many more people on Main Street, especially at night. We will work with the storeowners regarding lights on their buildings. Ms. Freed suggested the board forward a specific recommendation to council. Mr. Cloud offered to take the idea to the Chamber Board next week for their backing. Mr. Bigbie appointed Kathee Livengood, Phil Cloud, and Paul Slechta to an ad hoc committee to come up with a recommendation for Council. Mr. Cloud will chair the committee. (iw The Board of Directors Meeting February 20, 2003 Page 4 of 4 NEW BUSINESS cont. Highway Signage Mr. Bigbie and several of the historic district merchants have approached us regarding highway signage. With the new exit off of highway 114, people are missing the exit for Grapevine Mills and for downtown. Many coming north on 121 from the south take the Main Street exit but then turn on Mustang. This is creating lots of confusion for visitors and convenience stores, who get the directional questions. Mr. McCallum shared samples of highway signs that had been developed in the past that would meet highway department requirements and the immediate needs of the community. He also shared the entry signs that were presented to Council two years ago. Board members agreed on the difficulty visitors have finding their way and the fact that we have lost some signage with the reworking of some on the highways in the area. REPORTS Heritage Foundation (liv No report was given in Ms. Stinson's absence. Chamber Sue Franks thanked Darlene Freed for working with the Chamber on a better link system between the City and Chamber that can be used with members and new businesses to town. March 1 will be Mardi Gras on the Lake at Paradise Cove. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Proceeds will go to retire the debt on the Chamber building. This event may become an annual fundraiser for the Chamber. March 20 is the date for the annual Awards Banquet at Austin Ranch. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, Phil Cloud made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Tom Smith. ATTEST: DATE: