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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-09-24 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, September 24, 2020 — 9:00 a.m. CVB Headquarters 636 S. Main Street Grapevine, Texas AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Citizen Comments In accordance with Orders of the Office of the Governor of the State of Texas, the Convention and Visitors Bureau Board will conduct its meeting at 9:00 a.m. on September 24, 2020 at 636 S. Main, Grapevine, Texas. The meeting is open to the public or participants may call 1-210-469-4097. The audio conference PIN is 382 097 214#. The public will be permitted to offer public comments telephonically as provided by the agenda and as permitted by the presiding officer during the meeting. Starting at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23, citizens can submit a Citizen Appearance request form from the City's website at https://www.,,•ra-levinetexas.:aov/89/Agendas-Minutes. During the meeting, the names of those that have submitted a form will be called on to speak in the order the forms were received. The deadline to submit requests will be 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23. A recording of the telephonic meeting will be made, and will be available to the public in accordance with the Open Meetings Act upon request. 3. New Employee Introduction 4. Approval of Minutes 5. Sales & Marketing Report 6. Old Business A. MPI-WEC Grapevine Update B. Christmas Capital of Texas C. Hotel Vin Ribbon Cutting D. Grapevine Main Grand Opening Update 7. New Business A. Positive Train Control Funding 8. Hotels / Attractions / Activities 9. Liaison Updates A. Heritage Foundation Activities B. Chamber of Commerce Activities 10.Adjournment If you plan to attend this special public meeting and have a disability that requires special arrangements at the meeting, please contact the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau at (817) 410-3185 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Reasonable accommodations will be made to assist your needs. In accordance with Texas Government Code, Chapter 551.001 et seq, Acts of the 1993 Texas Legislature, the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board Meeting agenda was prepared and posted on this the 18th day of September, 2020 by 5:00 p.m. Li y Bell Assistant to the -Executive Director State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. at the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Joe Szymaszek Dan Weinberger Cynthia Blankenship Chuck Pacioni lain Scouller Corinna Wenks Debi Meek Sharron Rogers Board Chair Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Alternate Board Member Council Liaison Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Brady Closson Deputy Executive Director Lindy Bell Assistant to the Executive Director Absent: Mark Terpening, Board Vice Chair CALL TO ORDER Board Chair Joe Szymaszek, called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. NEW EMPLOYEE INTRODUCTION Mr. McCallum introduced new employee, Ken Adams, Train Supervisor, to the Board. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Dan Weinberger, seconded by Debi Meek approved the minutes from the August 20, 2020 meeting and prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Szymaszek, Weinberger, Blankenship, Pacioni, Scouller, Wenks and Meek. Nays: None Board of Directors Meeting September 24, 2020 Page 2 of 7 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Brady Closson reported that for August the Convention and Leisure Sales team had 28 sales leads representing over 26,800 potential room nights and potential economic impact of over $10.7 million. There were 16 definite bookings representing almost 17,000 room nights and a potential economic impact of $7 million. The number of in person site visits continues to grow. The "Come Together in Grapevine" promotion ends September 30. Even though almost 7,600 room nights were booked through the campaign, over 250,000 rooms have been cancelled since March. Starting October 1, the sales team will initiate a new promotional tool, "12 Weeks of Christmas" featuring a $12 rebate per room night. The sales team is using new and innovative methods to prospect for leads. Linked In's weekly list, Who's Hiring, is researched for companies hiring that may have meeting or training needs. In addition, lists from Strategic Data Research (SDR), a third party lead generator, are being redeployed to target more regional opportunities. Even though attendee numbers are smaller, 10-100 rooms, these prospects have great long term potential. The sales team is also accessing the Knowland readerboards which list groups that have used competition facilities. These companies are being prospected and Grapevine promoted. Dubbed the Super Bowl of Rodeo, the National Finals Rodeo, an event of approximately 170,000 attendees, will be held in Arlington at Globe Life Park December 3-12. The Grapevine sales team is working with the Arlington Sport Authority and have already secured rooms at the Gaylord Texan. 15 of the 20 hotels in Grapevine are expected to offer Rodeo rates for attendees. Rates and links to area hotels will be listed on NFR's website (NFRExperience.com). Discussions are currently underway with Major League Baseball regarding the National League Division Series, National League Championship Series and the World Series, all being played at Arlington's Globe Life Park. A CVB sales team member is currently working directly with Major League Baseball regarding host hotels for sponsors and fan base potential locations. Several smaller programs have been booked by the sales team including PPG Industries (55 rooms in October), American College of Veterinary Dermatology (56 rooms in November), and Global Health and Safety (75 rooms for November). Leisure and International Sales has sourced five new leads and continues to correspond monthly with AAA office as well as the national office to keep Grapevine hotels and offerings top of mind with agents. Over 750 American Bus Association tour operators as well as 100 plus National Tour Association operators have been contacted in two separate operations. Even though the current international travel market is down, Board of Directors Meeting September 24, 2020 Page 3 of 7 Grapevine is being kept top of mind through multiple digital outlets as well as international trade publications. More international flights are now scheduled directly to DFW without having to connect through other domestic cities. The Visitor Information Center welcomed over 3,300 visitors for the month of August. The Convention Center, Palace Arts Center and Concourse continue to see an uptick in the number of events scheduled. The largest events are consumer shows which also have large attendance numbers. The ongoing conversion of business is encouraging. Grapevine Vintage Railroad conducted ten excursions in August, with over 1,600 passengers. The onboard 'Great Train Heist' performance continues to be popular and its experiential popularity is credited with word of mouth marketing increasing ridership. The upcoming March/April 2021 Cross Timbers Wine Trail magazine will feature several wine -related events and locations in and near Grapevine. With a circulation over 10,000, the magazine's distribution is substantial and includes 60 winery locations across the Cross Timbers Association, City and Chamber offices throughout DFW and surrounding areas as well as offices of the Texas Department of Agriculture offices. TV and radio publicity had seven stories run, six of which covered the Fletcher's Corny Dog event at Delaney Vineyards. The Communications team continues to refine and curate new media and contact lists to ensure stories are pitched to optimal outlets. Social media posts include information on local and national topics to draw attention to Grapevine locales and offerings to entice visitors to Grapevine. Affiliated groups are being tagged with each post to insure strongest reach. No action was taken by the Board. OLD BUSINESS MPI/WEC Grapevine Update Mr. McCallum provided an update of Meeting Professionals International/World Education Congress scheduled for November 3 -6. Of the original 2500-3000 anticipated to attend, current registration stands at 602 attending in person and over 150 for the virtual experience. A Duty of Care" video featuring Grapevine and the host hotel, Gaylord Texan's, safety protocols has been recently released to attendees. Grapevine will host the opening reception the evening of November 3 and will feature restaurants, venues and elements of Grapevine festivals and events. 12 sponsors have been secured to help underwrite the cost of the event. Board members were invited to attend the opening reception with more information forthcoming. Board of Directors Meeting September 24, 2020 Page 4 of 7 Christmas Capital of Texas Mr. McCallum reported that planning efforts are fully underway for the Christmas Capital of Texas. Carol of Lights, coordinated by Parks and REC, will begin festivities on Monday, November 23, with the tree lighting at City Hall. The Convention and Visitors Bureau and Grapevine schools are committed to having the parade. A meeting will be held next week with all City departments to determine logistics. Staff is currently working on arrangements for North Pole Express which will have a different look this year with runs at 50% capacity and no live show. The price remains the same as last year. The Palace will have daily activities and the Historic District will have the full complement of decorations. The goal is to plan activities that do not cause clustering yet still provide Grapevine's outstanding Christmas Capital experience. Hotel Vin Ribbon Cutting A twenty-second video was shown of the activities that took place during the highly successfully ribbon cutting celebration for Hotel Vin, a great addition to the Historic District. Mr. McCallum reported that occupancy for the hotel exceeded projections for opening weekend, approaching sell out each night, especially Saturday night. The hotel is seeing some business travelers and business groups with small meetings. Grapevine Main Grand Opening Update Mr. McCallum informed the Board that due to supply chain issues and some items' availability, the grand opening date for Grapevine Main is sliding with a now tentative date of November 21. A soft opening is tentatively planned for November 2"d with no advance advertisement or promotion. A full schedule for the grand opening will be coming in the next few weeks but will include entertainment, a keepsake of the opening for attendees, VIP events as well as events for the general public. Mr. McCallum confirmed there will be not be a New Year's Eve celebration at the Plaza this year. NEW BUSINESS Positive Train Control Mr. McCallum informed the Board that a 2014 commuter train accident in California which resulted in a large number of deaths was caused by a distracted engineer not seeing a red light. Following that incident, Congress brought forward Positive Train Control safety measures and required for all commuter trains. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad had been exempt from this measure until it started sharing a rail line with TEXRail. Currently, if four movements per day is exceeded by a train, Positive Train Board of Directors Meeting September 24, 2020 Page 5 of 7 Control equipment is required. The process for equipment installation begins October 5. As payment will need to be made soon, Mr. McCallum requested the Board's approval of a $330,000 expenditure which will be reimbursed via a matching grant, applied for and received, and by funds received through ongoing ticket sales. This installation will cover the Railroad's three locomotives. Puffy is exempt. Motion made by lain Scouller and seconded by Dan Weinberger was approved with the following vote: Ayes: Szymaszek, Scouller, Weinberger, Wenks, Blankenship and Meek Nayes: None Cynthia Blankenship ends conference call. Debi Meek and Chuck Pacioni depart meeting. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES Suspended until next meeting. LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Suspended until next meeting. Chamber of Commerce Suspended until next meeting. There being no further business to come before the Board a motion by lain Scouller, seconded by Corinna Wenks to adjourn the meeting at 10:23 a.m. prevailed by the following vote: Ayes: Szymaszek, Scouller, Weinberger, and Wenks Nays: None PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS ON THIS 15t" DAY OF OCTOBER, 2020. At .loe Sz aszek Chairman ATTEST: Lindy Bel Assistant to the xecutive Director