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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-02-24 Regular Meeting I CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU I BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, February 24, 2000 - 11:30 a.m. WALLIS BUILDING ONE LIBERTY PARK PLAZA, GRAPEVINE, TEXAS AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER I II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 14, 1999 AND JANUARY 27, 2000 MEETINGS III. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT !fii0 IV. OLD BUSINESS A. CHICAGO REPORT B. NEW YORK UPDATE 1 C. SISTER CITY UPDATE V. NEW BUSINESS A. INTERNSHIPS B. STAFF PROJECTIONS C. MARKETING COMMITTEE VI. ADJOURNMENT 011 STATE OF TEXAS it COUNTY OF TARRANT CITY OF GRAPEVINE MINUTES 1111 The Grapevine Convention p o & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, February II 24, 2000 at the Convention & Visitors Bureau, One Liberty Park Plaza, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: II Don Bigbie Chairman Gary Blagg Board Member Bill Brink Board Member • Philip Cloud Board Member Paul Jennings Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member • Phil Parker Board Member Robert Thrailkill Board Member Steve Trent Board Member IIIDarlene Freed Council Liaison Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director IIIIGeorge Kakos Director of Marketing IL' Absent: Bob Hamilton Chamber Liaison IN CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie called the meeting to order. II APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the December 14, 1999 Board Meeting was made by Steve Trent and seconded by Gary Blagg. Motion carried. E A motion to approve the minutes from the January 27, 2000 Board Meeting was made by Steve Trent and seconded by Bill Brink. Motion carried. 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT George Kakos shared the New Vintage Wine and Art Festival brochure and also the Calendar of Events brochure with the board. The New Vintage brochure is a colorful piece, which tells of 111 the many activities available during the festival. The hotel properties are listed to generate business for that weekend. The Hyatt, Hilton and Embassy Suites will each host a Wine Makers Food and Wine Pairing Dinner during this festival. The dinners will each seat 24 people and IIIinclude a food and wine writer and winery representative. The tourism division produced a companion piece to the New Vintage brochure selling a group tour package. It has been distributed to bank clubs, church groups and tour operators in the drive market and in our touch 111 states (states bordering Texas). He also shared the recently published Dallas/Fort Worth Area Tourism Guide in which Grapevine has 4 pages listing attractions and hotel properties. The Dallas/Fort Worth Area Tourism Council distributes one-half million copies a year to Visitor Centers, the airport and state travel centers. 4 I , . Board of Directors Meeting illar February 24, 2000 Page2of3 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. Some highlights from the month of January included 16 sales and 5 tourism leads. Positively Texas show was aired live from the gazebo on Main Street. 28,000 brochures were distributed Iand 8,700 people were assisted through the Visitor Information Center. The value of cash and in-kind sponsorships signed for the month was $125,000. IOLD BUSINESS Chicago Report I The Chicago Promotion at the Wrigley Building was attended by 171 people including 93 meeting planners. 44 appointments were made and Grapevine was presented to 81 planners and potential clients. Two contracts have been issued and.20 potential leads representing 9,000 room I nights have resulted from this mission. Mr. Kakos expressed appreciation to the board and council members that participated in the promotion. Board members who attended commented on the genuine interest of the clients and were thrilled with the number of new people at the Ievent. It was suggested that placecards might be used. New York Update I Mr. Kakos shared the invitation to the New York promotion, which was mailed recently, and 25 meeting planners have already responded. Plans are progressing well for New York. The event has been moved back to the Alamo Restaurant, which is strategically located. The reminder card iLwill go in the mail next week. Sister City Update I Mr. Brink reported that the dates for both the Krems and Parras trips to deliver the public art gifts have been finalized. The trip to Krems is June 20 - 27, 2000 and can accommodate 20 - 26 people. It will be during their Donau Festival and include a presentation of the museum art gift I and a signing of the Sister City Accords. The projected cost is approximately $ 1,500 per person including airfare. The Parras trip is scheduled for August 8 - 13, 2000 and will be during their festival. No price has been set for the trip but it is expected to be between$ 450 and$ 700 per I person. There is a planned student exchange with Parras for approximately 40 students. We are working with the Mexican government on the student visas. The Sister City Art Exchange Committee is working on ways to involve more people in the art exchange project. They will be I working through the schools, library, daycare and other groups to involve students for a nominal fee. Most of the funding for the actual art exchange pieces will come from the New Vintage Wine and Art Festival in April. INEW BUSINESS I Internships Mr. McCallum reported that the growth in the activities of the bureau and our attractions has been tremendous during the past 12 months. The expansion of the festivals, creating weekend I packaging and the marketing of the new additional convention space have all contributed to the increased workload. As a result of our Sister City program, we have been contacted by master t, and doctorate level students looking for internships in the U.S. In this program,the students I would be here for a minimum of 26 weeks. We would assist with housing and transportation. Once we put a system of this nature in place we could have some major projects accomplished I Board of Directors Meeting February 24, 2000 Page 3 of 3 NEW BUSINESS cont. Internships cont. and these students could get some valuable experience in the tourism industry. Discussion followed regarding the workload of the students, the advantages of having graduate versus undergraduate students and the financial responsibility of the bureau. Bill Brink made a motion that the board endorse the intern program. Steve Trent seconded and motion carried. Staff Projections Mr. McCallum reported that the bureau has some areas of need for additional staffing. With the addition of Opryland Convention Center the bureau will institute a housing program for citywide conventions. That is already an issue as Opryland is bidding on several 2,500 room night pieces of business. Everything they are bidding on exceeds their room inventory. This will introduce issues of transportation and shuttles. We need a housing specialist so our existing hotels get the best out of this program. Also,there is a need for a web site marketing/webmaster position. Another need is for additional sales managers. We need to cover more ground to keep our existing properties at a competitive level. We will need additional sales people to keep our broad base of sales programs online. This year sixteen million people will pass between Grapevine Mills mall and Bass Pro Shops and there is a need for a significant interactive Visitor Information Center in that area. Visitors need the ability to book a hotel room from that center. We currently run our visitor center with volunteer counselors, but see the need for paid personnel RE, as well in the centers. These staff projections are being introduced to the board at this time and the specifics will be brought before the board at a later date. No action to be taken at this time. Discussion followed regarding the time frame these needs would cover,the need for additional support staff and the ability to house these new staff members. The board recognizes the need to remain competitive and a discussion followed on the consideration of a hotel association for the midcities/north airport area. It is believed that Irving is committed to building a convention center. Marketing Committee Mr. Bigbie stated the need to appoint the marketing committee for the next year. This committee consists of the DOS or DOM from our major properties plus member of the CVB Board along with staff from the CVB. Meetings are during the day over a 3-month period. Mr. Bigbie appointed Phil Parker as chairman of this committee and asked for 2 additional members to volunteer to serve. Kathee Livengood and Gary Blagg agreed to serve. 1 ADJOURNMENT Mr. Bigbie thanked everyone for coming out. There being no further business to bring before the Board, Steve Trent made the motion to adjourn, seconded by Bill Brink. c ATTEST: DATE: 1