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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-10-15 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION &VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, October 15, 2009—8:00 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. OLD BUSINESS A. VISITOR SHUTTLE UPDATE B. CVB HEADQUARTERS / MUSEUM COMPLEX IV. NEW BUSINESS A. GRANTS-IN-AID REQUEST V. SALES & MARKETING REPORT A. GRAPEFEST CONVENTION SALES FAM B. COWBOYS/GIANTS FAM C. DALLAS HOME & GARDEN SHOW D. GLAMER— OKLAHOMA CITY E. GRAPEFEST TOUR OPERATOR FAM VI. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES VII. FESTIVALS & EVENTS REPORT A. GRAPEFEST RECAP B. BUTTERFLY FLUTTERBY C. NASH FARM FALL ROUND-UP VIII. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT IX. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION ACTIVITIES X. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES XI. ADJOURNMENT State of Texas ,, County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention &Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Steve Stinson Chairman Tom Cherry Board Member Andrew Davidson Board Member LuAnn Chapman Gatts Board Member Chris Leighton Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Sharron Spencer Council Liaison Tom Kormondy Chamber Liaison Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Liaison Jennifer Hibbs Assistant City Manager Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director (1.0 Bob McPherrin Assistant Executive Director ABSENT: John Imaizumi Board Member CALL TO ORDER Chairman Stinson called the meeting to order. The board stepped outside to view the new visitor shuttle bus and experience the features of the bus. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the September 10, 2009 meeting was made by LuAnn Chapman Gatts and seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS Visitor Shuttle Update Mr. Kakos shared drawings of the proposed wraps for the shuttle buses. The door side will have three images depicting shopping, dining, and entertainment. The other side will have a single image, either the lake or train. The shuttle bus will act as a rolling billboard. Staff has met with hotel general managers regarding the selling of the tickets. L Board of Directors Meeting October 15, 2009 Page 2 of 5 OLD BUSINESS cont. CVB Headquarters / Museum Complex Mr. McCallum shared the story boards and model of the CVB Headquarters and Museum Complex. The present CVB Midtown will get a façade of the Grapevine ice house and become home to the Grapevine Historical Museum and function as a link between the Settlement to City area and the CVB Headquarters. The Headquarters building will house a wine museum, galleries, retail, function space and CVB offices. Mr. McCallum shared the drawings of the various facades that will be on the buildings and shared the features of the iconic tower which is expected to be a draw for visitors. Councilwoman Spencer stated this is the most exciting project since the turntable came down Main Street. NEW BUSINESS Grants-in-Aid Request Mr. McCallum presented a grants-in-aid request from the Tarrant Area Guild of Story Tellers for the Tales by the Rails program. They have requested $775. Staff recommends approval. Paul Slechta made a motion to approve the request, seconded �,, by Chris Leighton. Motion carried. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Slechta, chairman of the marketing committee, thanked LuAnn Chapman Gatts, Dan Weinberger, and Sharron Spencer for serving on the committee. The committee also included representatives from all the full-service hotels, and representatives of restaurant, retail, and select-service properties. He reported on the approach taken by the committee. The full presentation of the marketing plan will be at the next board meeting. The committee proposed changes to both the mission statement and brand promise. After a reading of both the current and proposed versions, Dan Weinberger made a motion to accept the proposed changes, seconded by Chris Leighton. Motion carried. (The mission statement and brand promise are attached.) Mr. Kakos reported that the convention sales team produced 17 leads representing 16,851 potential room nights, and assisted with seven definite bookings, 4 at Embassy Suites, 1 at the Grand Hyatt, 1 at the Hyatt Regency and 1 at the Gaylord. Staff participated in the Connect Marketplace in Las Vegas. This show attracts planners for the SMERF (Social, Military, Educational, Religious and Fraternal organizations) Market. Forty planners visited the booth generating three leads with 7,385 potential room nights. Board of Directors Meeting October 15, 2009 Page 3 of 5 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. Grapevine hosted both a convention sales and a Cowboys / New York Giants fam over GrapeFest. The convention sales fam had 13 meeting planners and produced one lead and two potential leads. The Cowboys — New York Giants Fam consisted of six planners from the east coast. Staff conducted seven site inspections and 15 local sales appointments. Tourism sales produced 11 leads representing 210 potential room nights and 478 day guests. They assisted with 13 definite bookings representing 315 room nights and 549 day guests and conducted two site inspections. Tourism division participated in the Dallas Home & Garden Show and the Group Leaders of America (GLAMER) trade show in Oklahoma. They visited with 56 group leaders and received 4 leads for 2010 business. The GrapeFest tourism Fam consisted of six attendees from four tour companies. 213 GrapeFest hotel packages were sold through our web site. Destination Services provided information and registration assistance to nine groups representing 8,285 delegates. They distributed 35,090 brochures during the month and welcomed 9,504 visitors to the Visitor Information Center. The Convention Center booked 30 future functions representing 7,960 potential attendees and had $51,576 in total sales for the month. The Palace Arts Center booked 16 future events representing 4,090 potential attendees with total sales for the month of $19,375. The web site traffic for the month was 189,917 unique visitors. On GrapeFest weekend there were 21,269 unique visitors on Friday and 19,235 unique visitors on Saturday. We have 41,735 e-mail subscribers to date. Marketing Insertions for group advertising had 10 print insertions and 15 online insertions while leisure group advertising had 6 print insertions, consumer publications has 56 insertions, TV/Radio advertising has 2,717 runs and on-line advertising for leisure had 93 insertions. Public Relations generated $42,937 in print publicity and $256,254 in electronic publicity for a total of$299,191 for the month. HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES • Miss Grapevine, the grape crusher, is at the state fair for the full run. • Saturday is the last day for the Grapevine Market. We have had a total of 174 vendors registered throughout the season. • Dallas broke ground on their convention center hotel on September 17th. The 1,106-room property is scheduled to open in early 2012. Board of Directors Meeting October 15, 2009 Page 4 of 5 HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES cont. • Applebee's has requested a conditional use permit for the property which formerly housed Bennigan's by Grapevine Mills. • A new chocolate shop has opened on NW Highway and Scribner called Chocolates &What Not's. • An 81-room Holiday Inn Express has been announced for Keller. • The Gaylord Texan is tentatively considering a pool/water park feature to provide another attraction. • Giselle Guzman is the new general manager at the Fairfield Inn & Suites. FESTIVALS & EVENTS REPORT GrapeFest Recap Mr. McCallum reported that the 23rd Annual GrapeFest had attendance of 264,283 and proceeds are expected to be around $300,000. The Golf tournament and Italian Car Fest both went relatively well. The Tennis Classic presented by Hilton DFW Lakes continues to be a success. Buick sponsored the People's Choice Wine Tasting Classic and was very pleased. Southwest Dairy Farmers donated 17,000 cubes of cheese for the event. GrapeStomp continues to be a popular event. Twelve of our hotel partners offered packages and special rates. Spain was the featured country at the international wine area around the gazebo and the Champagne Terrace was a great success this year. Butterfly Flutterby Mr. McCallum reported that Butterfly Flutterby is this weekend and is always a fun event for the family, especially with young children. The parade length now stretches from the Depot to Wall Street. Councilmember Chris Coy will be the parade grand marshal. Nash Farm Fall Round-Up Will defer to the Heritage Foundation Liaison Report. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that the air-conditioning in coach 208 has tested well. Engine 2248 is nearing completion on major repairs. North Pole Express ticket sales are going well and many of the presale tickets are from out of the local area. The afternoon of December 11th will be the hospital train run of North Pole Express. This run is for hospitalized or terminally ill children. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVAITON ACTIVITIES Mr. McCallum deferred to Pat Stinson and Heritage Foundation report. Board of Directors Meeting October 15, 2009 Page 5 of 5 LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Ms. Stinson reported that October 24th is the date for the Candlelight Tour of Homes. The tour this year will start at Nash Farm. October 30th, Paul Slavens will be at the Palace Theatre to score the 1920's silent classic, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The Show begins at 7:30 p.m. The Annual Meeting of the Heritage Foundation is November 6th at the Palace. All members are encouraged to attend. Channel 8 Family First publicity helped to generate a crowd of approximately 6,000 for Fall Round-Up. The AMBUCS made over $2,000 and $200 was donated to the Foundation via the "Donation Ponies". There were 80 volunteers and over 480 volunteer hours. The dedications of the Hen House and the Smoke House were special attractions. Ms. Stinson thanked the board for their participation. Chamber of Commerce Report The chamber presently has 865 members. Next Monday, ten chamber members will attend the Texas Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Cowboy's Stadium. The LChamber is sponsoring a Meet and Greet the Troops week, October 26 — 30. The Christmas Mixer is scheduled for December 8th at Bank of the West. The annual Awards Banquet is at Great Wolf Lodge on December 22"d The roster of the new board for the upcoming year has gone to the membership for a vote. Louie Sullins will be the new board chairman. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, LuAnn Chapman Gatts made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: L