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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-21 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, February 21, 2013 — 8:00 a.m. CVB Headquarters Grapevine, Texas AGENDA CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF IV. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES V. OLD BUSINESS A. NEW YORK SALES MISSION RECAP B. ICE HOUSE UPDATE VI. NEW BUSINESS A. STAFFING UPDATE B. TED R. WARE PLAZA DEDICATION C. PROPOSED CONVENTION CENTER NEW MENU AND PRICING VII. SALES & MARKETING REPORT VIII. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES IX. ADJOURNMENT [ State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. at the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Headquarters, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Paul Slechta Chairman Tom Cherry Board Member LuAnn Chapman Gatts Board Member John Imaizumi Board Member Lance Marrin Board Member Dennis Roberts Board Member Joe Szymaszek Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Sharron Spencer (W Perry Leonard Duff O'Dell Paul W. McCallum Michael Woody Eloise Koehn Council Liaison Chamber Liaison Heritage Foundation Liaison Executive Director Assistant Executive Director Director of Finance & Administration CALL TO ORDER Chairman Slechta called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the January 17, 2013 meeting was made by Dan Weinberger and seconded by John Imaizumi. Motion carried. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF Mr. McCallum introduced Elizabeth Waitkus, Event Coordinator, to the board. LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Mr. McCallum reported that the First Fridays at the Farm program for March 1St will be Urban Homesteading. On March 15th the Tarrant Area Guild of Storytellers will perform Tales at Twilight from 5 — 7 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting err February 21, 2013 Page 2 of 5 LIAISON UPDATES cont. Heritage Foundation Activities cont. May is Preservation Month created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Grapevine will announce the Preservation Advocacy awards at the May 21St City Council meeting. Nominations are now being accepted for the various awards. The membership committee has mailed out renewal letters. The annual meeting will be this evening at Nash Farm. No Action taken. Chamber of Commerce Activities Perry Leonard reported that the Chamber Awards Banquet was in January where community awards were presented, including the Business Hall of Fame Award to Panda Embroidery. On February 6 — 7 the Chamber took 50 people to Tarrant County Days in Austin where they met with legislators. It was a great representation from Grapevine. At the Chamber Luncheon on March 14th, Rob Anderson with Northgate will give a final report on the DFW Connector project. The project is slated for completion this summer, a year ahead of schedule. No Action taken. OLD BUSINESS New York Sales Mission Recap Mr. McCallum presented a recap of activities that will take place in conjunction with the 25th Annual New York St. Patrick's Day Sales Mission. The team will arrive in New York on March 14th, make sales calls on Friday, March 15th and host the Parade Day Event on Saturday, March 16th at the Andaz Hotel on 5th Avenue. To date there are 50 RSVPs with 2-3 more contacts yet to be made. The event venue overlooks the parade route. We also have 25 reserved seats in the main viewing area. No Action taken. Ice House Update Mr. McCallum reported that there has been a small delay on the side wall parapets but the delay has been resolved and the exterior should be completed rather quickly. Blum Engineering did the drawings for the HVAC on the CVB Headquarters building and they will do the HVAC on the Ice House pro bono. Board of Directors Meeting February 21, 2013 Page 3 of 5 OLD BUSINESS cont. Ice House Update cont. The Museum Arts Group, the design group working on this project, has the cost for the interior exhibits down to an affordable number that is within budget. No Action taken. NEW BUSINESS Staffing Update Mr. McCallum reported a new Managing Director of Sales position has been created and has been filled by Bruce Dalton. This position will oversee all things sales related; convention hotel sales, tourism sales and service, facility sales, train sales and sponsorship sales. Bruce's promotion has left a vacant Director of Sales position which is also a selling position and in the interview process. There are also 9 other sales positions that are either filled or in the process of being filled. A new position this budget year is the Museum Coordinator. The position will oversee the Ted R Ware Plaza / Museum Complex as well as the Railroad District. We have received 500 applications to date and are in the interview process. The Ticket Line Manager position for us is like Ticket Master. Last year we had over one million in online sales and the first quarter of this fiscal year (October — December) we had $650,000 in online sales. The Train Division divides into two areas; operations and the excursion (on -board) experience. The Operations area includes the FRA, roundhouse activities, equipment maintenance, and train operators. The customer service group, led by Iona Robbins, will move under Destination Services. No Action taken. Ted R. Ware Plaza Dedication Mr. McCallum reported that the Ted R. Ware Plaza Dedication will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. in conjunction with Main Street Days. When complete, the plaza will have a water feature, windmill, small water tank and water trough. No Action taken. Proposed Convention Center New Menu and Pricing Mr. McCallum distributed a draft of the Convention Center menu and pricing. The Convention Center team developed the menu and pricing to remain competitive with Board of Directors Meeting February 21, 2013 Page 4 of 5 NEW BUSINESS cont. Proposed Convention Center New Menu and Pricing cont. other similar facilities. Mr. McCallum reviewed the menu changes and additions with the board. Tom Cherry made a motion to adopt the menu and pricing as presented, seconded by Lance Marrin. Motion carried. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Woody reported that during the month of January, Convention Sales produced 46 leads representing 44,000 potential room nights; 35 of which are for 2013. They assisted with 19 definites representing 16,000 plus room nights; 10 for 2013. They conducted six site inspections; exhibited at the Religious Conference Management Association Conference and Trade Show in Minneapolis / St. Paul and exhibited at the Texas Society of Association Executives Southwest Showcase in Austin. Tourism Sales produced three leads with 60 potential room nights and 110 attendees, all for 2013. They assisted with two definites representing 70 attendees, both day trips for 2013. Staff conducted ten familiarization tours with various travel agencies. Just over 100,000 brochures were distributed during the month. Staff attended American Bus Association Marketplace in Charlotte, NC, National Tour Association Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida and Go West Summit in Fort Worth. The Visitor Information Center sold 837 tickets primarily driven by the Cowboy Bill Martin Show and the Zack King Band, both at the Palace Theater. They welcomed 3,915 guests in the Center. Destination Services provided registration and information assistance to 11 groups representing just under 9,000 delegates. Grapevine Shuttle ridership was 3,200, a 26% increase over last year. The Convention Center had 65 future bookings representing over 19,000 attendees and total sales of $59,872. The Palace Arts Center had 20 future bookings representing over 3,000 attendees and total sales of $31,264. The Concourse had seven future bookings representing 655 attendees and total sales of $4,355. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad has done a lot of work refreshing equipment during the month of January, when the train does not run. It will begin runs on February 23. The first special event for 2013 will be the Jazz Wine Trains on March 22 and 23. There were 70,000 unique visitors to the website of which 20% used a mobile device to access it. Over 1,300 of our visitors reached us through Fort Worth websites (CVB and Stockyards). There were 27 print trade publications and online group insertions, 34 print consumer publications insertions, 31 TV/radio insertions and 51 online advertising insertions. Public relations generated $108,653 in print and $43,335 in electronic for a total public relations value of $151,988. There were three press fams during the month; Slice magazine, Travel with Kai and The PackedBag.com. Board of Directors Meeting February 21, 2013 Page 5 of 5 HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES • The merger of American and US Airways will offer more than 6,700 daily flights to 336 destinations in 56 countries. The Corporate headquarters will remain in Fort Worth at the current location of American on Amon Carter Blvd. • South Prairie Market is changing ownership and names. It will be AJ's on Main with a grand opening scheduled for April 1. • Segway Experience Center Grapevine offers off-road tours around Lake Grapevine. This is the only all off-road Segway fleet in Texas. • A building permit was issued to Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th for a remodel of the 34,983 sq. ft. interior. They are closing the Galleria store. • Holiday Inn Express Grapevine was purchased by the Newcrest Management Group. This group is also the owner of the new 300 room Marriott Silverlake property which is currently under construction. • Groundbreaking on the new Southgate development is set for May. The project, located in Euless, includes a Hyatt Place. • Grapevine Craft Brew will be located on Jean Street just south of Dallas Road. They will produce less than 75,000 barrels and will offer tours/tastings on Saturdays. They are scheduled to open this summer. • The Tarrant Area Guild of Storytellers has submitted their Grant Evaluation Report for 2012. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the board, Lu Ann Chapman Gatts made a motion to adjourn seconded by Tom Cherry. Motion carried. PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS on this the 21 st day of March, 2013. APPROVED: Paul Slechta Chairman ATTEST: Eloise Koehn Director of Finance & Administration