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Home My WebLink About2008-03-20 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION &VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, March 20, 2008 — 11:30 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II APPROVAL OF MINUTES III INTRODUCTION OF STAFF IV. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT V. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT VI. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT VII. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT A. DESTINATION SHOWCASE B. RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE MEETING PLANNERS C. MPI/DFW SUPPLIER SHOWCASE D. MPI/PEC HOUSTON E. WASHINGTON, DC SALES MISSION F. TACVB OSCAR PARTY & CO-CITY MARKETING BLITZ G. BANK TRAVEL CONFERENCE H. AMERICAN BUS ASSOCIATION I. KANSAS SPORT, BOAT & TRAVEL SHOW J. FORT WORTH HOME & GARDEN SHOW K. SAN ANTONIO HOME & GARDEN SHOW L. DALLAS HOME & GARDEN SHOW M. DFWATC MARKETPLACE N. AA URUGUAY FAM VIII. OLD BUSINESS A. ST. PAT'S SALES MISSION REPORT B. TRANSPORTATION UPDATE IX. NEW BUSINESS A. GRANTS-IN-AID REQUEST B. CONCEPT REVIEW— MESA DESIGN X. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION LIAISON B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LIAISON Xl. ADJOURNMENT (v State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Ev Barnes Board Member Bill Brink Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Ross Bannister Director of Heritage Programs & Preservation ABSENT John Imaizumi Board Member Mark Wasiak Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Keith Temple Chamber Liaison Jennifer Hibbs Assistant City Manager CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the February 14, 2008 meeting was made by Bill Brink and seconded by Ev Barnes. Motion carried. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF Mr. McCallum introduced Barbara Resch, Intern from Krems, Cheri Christensen, Facilities Director, and Mike Lane, Set Up Worker, to the board. Mr. Bigbie welcomed them on behalf of the board. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum reported: • Council action on the Gaylord expansion has been postponed until next Tuesday, 4IwMarch 25th at 7:00 p.m. • A North Dallas hotel located across from the Galleria is getting a $10 million redo and will be re-branded as the Le Meridien. This is one of several new developments for the LBJ Freeway/Dallas North Tollway area. Board of Directors Meeting March 20, 2008 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • The 1.2 million-square-foot Glorypark development has been delayed from Fall 2009 to March 2010. (The stadium is scheduled to open in fall 2009) The first phase of Glorypark is 35% leased. • The Victory Tower Skyscraper at the American Airlines Victory Park location has been put on hold and the parking lot has been reduced in size. • Received the Grants-In-Aid follow-up report from the Story Tellers including copies of all checks/receipts. • David Gappa with Vetro Glass Blowing Studio in Grapevine and Dallas artist Xavier Zamarripa have joined artistic forces to establish one-of-a-kind wine decanters. They will debut a new line of handblown glass and stone wine decanters ranging in price from $300 - $16,000 in Grapevine on April 26th GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD George Kakos reported that the train started runs on February 15th and carried 1,529 passengers during the month, along with 304 passengers for the Valentine's Day Sweetheart Express. Upcoming events include Spring Fling, Easter Bunny Run, Thomas the Tank, and New Vintage Jazz Wine Trains (2 runs this year). HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT Ross Bannister reported: • The Grapevine Heritage Board approved a recommendation to declare as uncollectible $56,350 in pledges to the Palace Theatre and Nash Farm on accounts with no activity in more than two years. • The Grapevine Heritage Foundation's annual membership drive planning is underway, including a plan to send to 18,000 Grapevine households an invitation to join the Foundation. • Selective demolition of the Toon House at the corner of College and Dooley Streets is preserving the structure known as the Midway Night Club. In the next couple of weeks this structure will be relocated to the west side of the Dunn-Barton/Station Master's House at 624 S. Dooley. • This Friday night, Trish Murphy will perform at the Palace. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported for the month of February that the convention sales division produced 29 leads representing 27,670 potential room nights. The team assisted with five definite groups representing 2,391 room nights and over one million in economic impact. Staff conducted two site inspections including Anthony J. Janetti, which controls numerous nursing associations. Staff participated in the following trade shows; Destination Showcase, Religious Convention Managers Association (RCMA), Meeting thor Planners International (MPI) — DFW Chapter Supplier Showcase, Meeting Planners International — Professional Education Conference (MPI-PEC), and the Texas Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus (TACVB) Oscar Party. At Destination Showcase there were 120 booth visits and 13 leads, as well as, several sales calls. Board of Directors Meeting March 20, 2008 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. RCMA produced 23 booth visits, four leads and nine potential leads. MPI — DFW provided a networking opportunity with the local chapter members. MPI-PEC produced 28 booth visits and six potential leads. TACVB Oscar Party had 67 meeting planners along with their guests in attendance. Sales calls were also made in conjunction with this mission. Tourism sales staff produced 10 leads representing 170 potential room nights and 390 attendees. They assisted with nine definite group bookings representing 125 room nights and 360 attendees. Staff conducted four site inspections and one fam visit for American Airlines sales managers from Uruguay. Staff attended the American Bus Association Annual convention in Virginia Beach conducting 32 appointments with tour operators. Grapevine and the Gaylord Texan hosted the annual convention of the Bank Travel organization. Tourism staff participated in the Dallas Fort Worth Tourism Council Marketplace — a trade show for hotels, attractions, welcome center personnel, and others in the tourism industry. Staff also participated in the following consumer shows; Kansas Sport, Boat & Travel, San Antonio Home & Garden, Dallas Home & Garden, and Fort Worth Home & Garden. Destination Services staff provided registration and information assistance to seven groups representing 8,400 delegates. 99,895 brochures were distributed during the month and 6,087 guests were assisted at the Visitor Information Center. The Grapevine Convention Center booked 64 future groups representing 23,987 attendees and hosted 42 events with revenues of$49,273. The Palace Arts Center booked 27 future events representing 3,385 attendees and hosted 12 events with revenues of$12,341. The total web traffic for all sites was 75,143 unique visitors, a 59% increase over last year. Public relations generated $278,466 in print media and $223,675 in electronic coverage for a total of$502,141 for the month. OLD BUSINESS St. Pat's Sales Mission Report Mr. McCallum thanked board members Bigbie, Brink, Livengood, Slechta and Stinson for their participation in the promotion. He also recognized the council, staff, chefs and other participants. The mission was an operational success and an opportunity to bring new hoteliers into the Grapevine family. Mr. McCallum shared the Grapevine chef's cookbook, which was created by the CVB marketing team. Intense marketing generated 147 RSVP's and there were 99 in attendance, 77 convention sales and tourism planners and 22 media. One lead was received on the floor. Staff is expecting a huge payoff from this event. Board of Directors Meeting March 20, 2008 Page 4 of 4 OLD BUSINESS cont. Transportation Report Mr. McCallum reported that staff has held a retreat with several hoteliers to develop an outline for a "rubber tire" shuttle system and hope to implement a program in the next fiscal year. We will meet with the city manager and then hire a consultant to develop a formal program to take up to council. Mr. McCallum also shared the results of a feasibility study that the board had approved regarding a narrow gauge railroad between the downtown and northeast area of the city. The resultant study shows this plan to be financially unfeasible. NEW BUSINESS Grants-In-Aid Request Mr. McCallum shared the Grants-In-Aid request from the End of the Runway Players in the amount of $12,000. There was some concern regarding the timing of their request and the dates of their performance schedule. Ev Barnes made a motion that the grant be approved and that a representative come to a future board meeting to answer questions if there are any. Kathee Livengood seconded. Motion carried. Concept Review — Mesa Design Mr. McCallum reported that the design is not ready to present at this time. REPORTS Heritage Foundation Pat Stinson reported that the scarecrow at Nash Farm is expecting. The schools are participating in a naming contest for the new scarecrow. Saturday, April 12th will be Spring Into Nash including a Donor Breakfast. The recent Texas Independence Day Event and movie, Stagecoach, were well attended. Chamber of Commerce Kathee Livengood reported that the Chamber Banquet is March 28th at the Gaylord. The Great Taste event had over 520 people in attendance in spite of the snowy weather. The Hilton returned the deposit because of the circumstances and the Chamber is booking the event there again next year. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, Ev Barnes made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Steve Stinson. ATTEST: rlar DATE: