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Home My WebLink About2010-10-21 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, October 21, 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 Cr IV. NEW BUSINESS A. MARKETING COMMITTEE REPORT V. SALES & MARKETING REPORT A. GRAPEFEST FAMS B. CHICAGO BEARS FAM C. DALLAS HOME AND GARDEN SHOW VI. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES VII. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT VIII. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES IX. ADJOURNMENT (60 State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, October 21, 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 LuAnn Chapman Gatts Board Member John Imaizumi Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Peggy Weaver Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Sharron Spencer Council Liaison Balla Wright Heritage Foundation Liaison Louie Sullins Chamber Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Cor Absent: Andrew Davidson Board Member 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 September 23, 2010 meeting was made by Paul Slechta and seconded by Dan Weinberger. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS CVB Headquarters Update Mr. McCallum reported that on the exterior the light gauge framing is 95% and the sheathing is 85% complete. On the interior the light gauge framing is 80%, the MEP rough-in is 80% and the fire sprinklers are 70% complete. The sandstone for the exterior is ready to be shipped. In the next 30 days they will complete the exterior wall framing, sheathing and damp- proofing. The underground electrical service will begin today; transformer pad will be poured and there will be permanent power to the building. Drywall and ceiling framing will begin. The masonry work will begin on the Cotton Exchange façade on the south end of the building. The project will be dried-in in November. The project is still on schedule and within budget. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2010 Page 2 of 4 NEW BUSINESS Marketing Committee Report LuAnn Chapman Gatts reported that marketing committee included all the full service hotels, two limited service hotels, Merlin Entertainment, retail merchant, Grapevine Mills, Homestead Winery, CVB Board representatives, City Council representative, and CVB staff. The committee met twice and discussed proposed marketing action steps for 2011, made slight revisions to the CVB mission statement and brand promise, and reviewed a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis. They also had a detailed discussion of the various market segments including convention, leisure, Grapevine Vintage Railroad, destination services, the Grapevine Visitor Shuttle, and media relations. Some items of interest included a special marketing project for 2011, most effective print publications, key leisure markets, the growth of digital marketing, and the challenge of a reduced budget. It was an effective set of meetings and the completed marketing plan will be presented at the November Board Meeting. (lw SALES & MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported that during the month of September the convention sales team produced 29 leads representing 15,266 potential room nights; six of them for 2010. Staff assisted with ten definite bookings representing 4,049 room nights and conducted three site inspections. They conducted a GrapeFest FAM for 11 planners. To date, there are two leads generated with 2,500 room nights. Staff also participated in the Chicago Bears FAM with the Gaylord with nine planners and four guests in attendance. While here, one client reviewed overflow hotel properties and sent an RFP with 7,584 total room nights for 2012. Tourism sales produced five leads representing 108 potential room nights and 206 attendees and assisted with two definite bookings representing 20 room nights and 70 attendees. They conducted one site inspection and participated in the Dallas Home and Garden Show. Destination Services provided information and registration assistance to seven groups representing 12,825 delegates. They distributed 51,440 brochures during the month and welcomed 10,980 visitors at the Visitor Information Center. They fulfilled 2,334 mail requests for information and logged 251 volunteer hours. The Convention Center booked 26 future events representing 7,930 attendees and had $54,594 in total sales. The Palace Arts Center booked 25 future events with 3,120 potential attendees and had $12,182 in total sales. The Concourse had eight future bookings representing 1,190 attendees and $7,574 in total sales. The web site had 310,690 unique visitors versus 189,917 for this period last year. There were 9,130,684 hits versus 6,397,720 from last year. On September 16 and 17th Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2010 Page 3 of 4 SALES & MARKETING REPORT cont. there were over 25,000 unique visitors each day, the highest number ever. On the group advertising side there were 11 convention group advertising insertions, 4 leisure group insertions, and 18 on-line insertions. On the consumer advertising side there were 88 consumer print insertions, 2,409 advertising TV/Radio runs and 144 online insertions. The total advertising investment was $153,696. Print publicity for the month was $171,725 and electronic publicity was $72,530 for a total of$244,255. HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES Mr. Kakos reported: • The Gaylord Texan was named number one in Best Large Places to work as selected by the Dallas Business Journal. • The King Buffet, a new restaurant featuring Asian cuisine, will open in late November at the Vineyard Marketplace at 121 and Glade Road. • The Silver Lake development on Highway 26 and Bass Pro has announced plans for a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, a seven-story full service 301 room Court Yard by Marriott and a Los Cabos Mexican Grill. • Chill reopens this Friday as a Sports Bar under new management. • Sweet Indulgence Bakery and Café is working out of Miscellaneous. • Rodney Coventry is the new director of sales at the Hilton Garden Inn. • Grapevine received three awards at the International Festivals and Events Association; gold for best single new sponsorship program, bronze for best miscellaneous printed materials, and bronze for best pin or button. • Butterfly Flutterby was this past weekend with the release of 600 butterflies and over 2,000 in attendance. Donations from the popcorn distributed netted $600 for the Sister City program for Parras. • Several new stores are coming to Grapevine Mills including two self-serve yogurt places, a Kohls, and Ross Dress for Less. Roofing, painting, and paving improvements are underway. • Blue Moon Gallery has decided to stay open through the end of the year. Chairman Stinson reported that as a result of the last meeting he has established an ad hoc committee to review festival food pricing, value, and serving sizes. Steve will serve as chair and LuAnn, Dan and Tom have agreed to serve on the committee along with staff. They will bring back their findings to the board after the first of the year. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that Chesapeake Energy has been signed as a sponsor for North Pole Express. In September ridership was 5,868. Three groups and 12 North Pole Express groups were booked along with one coach and one caboose booking. Board of Directors Meeting October 21, 2010 Page 4 of 4 GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT cont. The dry pipe issues have been resolved on Puffy and a valve has been replaced. She now has good pulling power. Staff is in the process of replacing a brake rigging and they hope to use her for a short run this Sunday. Staff has added three Christmas wine trains and an All Hallows Eve run. A new format for the Murder Mystery will have the entire event held onboard. LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Balla Wright reported that Fall Roundup was recently held at Nash Farm with approximately 5,500 in attendance and WFAA as a sponsor. Visitors came from throughout the area including Saginaw, Decatur, McKinney, Dallas and Fort Worth. The Candlelight Tour of Homes will be this Saturday, October 23rd from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and the tour starts at Homestead Winery. Construction is underway on the Nash Farm Equipment Shed. The annual business meeting for the Heritage Foundation will be Friday, Nov. 5th at the Founders Building. (iv Chamber of Commerce Activities Louie Sullins reported that the Chamber is finalizing ad sales for their guide. The city map is being updated and they will have hard copies, as well as, an interactive map on the web site. The web site is still under construction. January 27th is the Chamber Awards Banquet. If you have any nominations for the several awards that are handed out, please pass those names along. For many of the awards you do not need to be a chamber member. Balla also requested any nominations for woman of the year for the Womens Division of the Chamber. Their Anniversary Ball is December 4th ADJOURNMENT Steve Stinson reminded everyone about the Fish Fry Benefit for Chris Irvine to be held today at Vineyards Campgrounds from 4 to 7. Chris is a city employee, who is battling cancer. 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: