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Home My WebLink About2010-04-15 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION &VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, April 15, 2010 — 8:00 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. OLD BUSINESS A. CVB HEADQUARTERS UPDATE B. SISTER CITY UPDATE IV. NEW BUSINESS A. GRANTS-IN-AID REQUEST B. WI-Fl ON MAIN STREET V. SALES & MARKETING REPORT A. MEETING PLANNER INTL. SUPPLIER SHOWCASE B. NEW YORK ST. PATRICK'S DAY PROMOTION C. HYLAND GROUP - CHICAGO D. D/FW AREA TOURISM COUNCIL MARKETPLACE VI. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS / FESTIVALS ACTIVITIES VII. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT VIII. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES I ,i"' IX. ADJOURNMENT State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, April 15, 2010 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 John Imaizumi Board Member Chris Leighton Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Jacob Miles Heritage Foundation Liaison Sharron Spencer Council Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director (1119 Bob McPherrin Assistant Executive Director ABSENT: Louie Sullins Chamber Liaison Jennifer Hibbs Assistant City Manager CALL TO ORDER Chairman Stinson called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the March 18, 2010 meeting was made by Chris Leighton and seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS CVB Headquarters Update Mr. McCallum reported that 94 piers have been drilled and only the eight that will support the balcony along Main Street remain to be done. The piers range from 44' to 67' deep. They expect to pour the slab next week. We are contacting a third vendor for the animatronics for the tower and working on locating the systems furniture. We have had some savings that are going back into building upgrades. Sister City Update Mr. McCallum reported that a Volunteer appreciation meeting was held at the Vineyard Stake House with 64 Sister City volunteers in attendance. The recognition meeting was Board of Directors Meeting April 15, 2010 Page 2 of 4 OLD BUSINESS cont. Sister City Update cont. also a time to sign folks up for future volunteer programs. Mr. McCallum shared the highlights of the three upcoming Sister City missions scheduled for this summer. We are going to a land only package to allow participants to use their airline mileage and/or to extend their stay. NEW BUSINESS Grants-In-Aid Request Mr. McCallum presented the grants-in-aid request from the Mélange Musical group for $2,000 for a concert at the Palace Theater. There are funds available and staff recommends approval. LuAnn Chapman Gatts made a motion to approve the grant in the amount of$2,000, seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. Wi-Fi on Main Street Mr. McCallum reported that staff is working with the IT department to investigate the feasibility of installing wi-fi on Main Street. Access points will be located on the top of the traffic lights in the area from Wall Street to College Street and this should allow the wi-fi range to be from Northwest Highway to Dallas Road. We are looking at a minimum of 30 days to put this in place. Once established it would be promoted in our marketing. SALES & MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported that the convention sales team produced 29 leads representing 34,275 potential room nights, assisted with eight definite bookings representing 9,550 room nights and conducted nine site inspections. Staff produced the second annual Pre Oscar event with 100 planners in attendance and extensive follow-up is underway. Staff participated in the Oscar night event in Austin and hosted 50 planners and guests. The team participated in Chicagoland Forum dinner for Association Executives and Grapevine was honored as a prime sponsor. The sales team participated in Conference Direct new associates' meeting at the Gaylord Texan. We have contracted with The Hyland Group to represent us and have received four leads to date with 2,943 potential room nights. Some of the sales staff from The Hyland Group will join us for Main Street Outdoor Adventure. Staff hosted the 22nd annual St. Patrick's Day event in New York and hosted 13 planners for dinner. We have received three RFPs with a potential economic impact of over three million dollars. Tourism sales produced seven leads representing 207 potential room nights and 259 delegates and three definite bookings representing 55 room nights and 115 delegates. Staff participated in the fourth annual DFWATC Marketplace where over 100 tourism ambassadors, airport volunteers, concierges and other visitor center staff learned about our events and attractions. Board of Directors Meeting April 15, 2010 Page 3 of 4 SALES & MARKETING REPORT cont. Destination Services provided information and registration assistance to ten groups representing 6,932 delegates. They distributed 143,950 brochures during the month and as a result of Thomas the Tank, they welcomed 38,601 visitors to the Visitor Information Center. The Convention Center booked 41 future functions representing 36,574 attendees and had $48,124 in total sales for the month. The Palace Arts Center booked 23 future events with 3,265 potential attendees and had $11,423 in total sales for the month. The web site traffic for the month included 140,826 unique visitors, up 19% over last year and had 5,013,932 total hits. Print advertising had 13 insertions for convention group advertising and four insertions for leisure group business. Online convention group advertising had 140 insertions. In consumer publication advertising there were 55 insertions. TV/ radio advertising has 91 insertions. Public Relations generated $124,684 in print publicity and $52,027 in electronic publicity for a total of$176,711. HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES Bob McPherrin reported: • Tastings has terminated their franchise agreement and will operate as Cork It. • Love & War in Texas have opened their outdoor tented area. • Andersens has closed. • Lava 10 Sushi Restaurant is open in the former Burger King location. • Cupid's Vault will open on Barton Street and sell Swarovski jewelry. • BB & Luigi's Vineyard Steakhouse has hired David Woodward as their executive chef. He was formerly with Ama Lur at the Gaylord Texan. • Azure Alley is undergoing a facelift; their entrance will face Main Street. • Farina's is working on a wine which should be ready by this summer. • Great Wolf Lodge is in final negotiations for a replacement for Ken Broom. • Super Bowl event updates are being shared with our hotel and retail partners. • Grapevine Mills and Polar Ice House will become a more active partner in the Christmas Capital of Texas. • Several upgrades are being completed in the Gazebo area on Main Street. • Shared the brochure for New Vintage which is this weekend. • Shared the Main Street Outdoor Adventure brochure and highlighted the new activities. • Shared a note from Chairman Stinson on an impressive recent Destination Grapevine Class. Board of Directors Meeting April 15, 2010 Page 4 of 4 GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that council approved the purchase of 409 E. Hudgins and we are moving forward. Puffy made her first run on Saturday, March 27th and she is running on Saturdays. The Trinity River run is averaging 250 riders per run. Spring Fling had just under 4,000 riders for the week and Thomas the Tank had 22,546 riders. The benches in coach 1808 and 1818 have been refinished and coaches 207 and 208 now have air-conditioning. We will launch a first-class ticket for the air-conditioned coaches this summer. Three steam engineers are in training. Regarding the F7 train set we are working on a possible lease purchase program. Staff has identified a train master from Ohio and we are in the hiring process. Staff is also working to obtain a steam engine this summer through a lease agreement with the Trinity Valley Railroad. LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Mr. Don Vaughn reported that the 9th annual Spring Into Nash event held last Saturday was a great event with 2,700 in attendance. The event had a redesigned layout which led to a good flow of activities. The First Friday Film Series continues on May 7th with "The Graduate." Live! At the Palace will continue on April 30 with Joseph Vincelli. The Preservation Advocacy awards will be presented at the City Council meeting on May 4. The house at 840 East Worth Street in the D.E. Box Addition was demolished on April 1st, reducing the inventory of homes by 1.5%. This loss supports the need for the development of a protection plan. Baylor Hospital has made a $3,000 donation to the Heritage Foundation. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, LuAnn Chapman Gatts made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Chris Leighton. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: