The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2005-11-17 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, November 17, 2005 -- 11:30 a.m. Wallis Building One Liberty Park Plaza, Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT IV. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Cor V. OLD BUSINESS A. SISTER CITY MISSION REPORT B. iDSS VI. NEW BUSINESS A. GRANTS-IN-AID REQUEST— END OF THE RUNWAY PLAYERS B. CVB SERVICES GROUP SURVEY RESEARCH VII. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VIII. ADJOURNMENT C State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, November 17, 2005 at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Ev Barnes Board Member Bill Brink Board Member Philip Cloud Board Member John Imaizumi Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Mark Wasiak Board Member Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Jennifer Hibbs Assistant to City Manager Paul W. McCallum Executive Director (lov George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Absent: Ron Stacy Grapevine Chamber Darlene Freed Council Liaison CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the October 13th meeting was made by Kathee Livengood and seconded by Bill Brink. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum reported • The Hilton Garden Inn held a preconstruction meeting was held last week. • The Residence Inn will have its groundbreaking at 10 a.m. on November 28th • Ice opens today at the Gaylord and runs through January 2nd (IW • The Hilton DFW Lakes has been purchased by the Quorum Group and they expect to take possession on December 2"d. Tony Farris heads up the investment team. They have plans to update the lobby area and the guestrooms. The Board of Directors Meeting November 17, 2005 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • Texas Golf is located by Hampton Inn and Comfort Inn. There will be a country club atmosphere and 16 stations for video golf where one can play 56 international courses. It takes about 2 and 1/2 hours to play 18 holes. Facility will contain meeting space and a restaurant. Tentative scheduled opening is January 2006. • Council passed historic overlays for two residential properties that sought the overlays. • Council approved changes to the site plan for Underwater World. Changes include reorienting the structure and modifying the building elevations. • Approved a route for Grapevine Excursions (the Ducks) in the area of Gaylord, Grapevine Mills and Bass Pro for the Duck's. They will launch onto Lake Grapevine at Silver Lake. • Historic Preservation Division received notification that Grapevine was named a 2006 National Main Street City by the Texas Historical Commission and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The selection was based on ten criteria. We will be formally recognized in June at the National Trust's '2006 National Main Street Conference" in New Orleans. • The statue for the 9/11 memorial is on display in the Wallis. The statue is 14' to top of hat without the base. The site is Texan Trail and Highway 26. The 9/11 Committee will be meeting to approve the site. • Some upcoming dates include: November 18 - The Grapevine Botanical Gardens celebrates 5 years of development November 28 — Carol of Lights December 1 — Christmas Parade December 13 — Joint Council / Board Meeting at Grand Hyatt • Convention South magazine will recognize Grapevine CVB as a favorite Southern CVB in their December issue, and Gaylord will be recognized as a favorite Southern hotel property. • The fall issue of Grapevine Today has arrived. Cr SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported for the month of October that the convention sales division produced 33 leads representing 16,095 potential room nights. The team assisted with Board of Directors Meeting November 17, 2005 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. eight definite groups representing 8,325 room nights. The team conducted three site inspections and attended the DFWAE Day Exhibit, the Overseas Brats Convention and the Milo Conference in Austin. Tourism sales produced 12 leads representing 761 potential and 805 attendees. Staff assisted with 11 definite groups representing 780 room nights and 1,069 attendees. Staff conducted one site inspection and participated in the Group Leaders of American Trade Show in Little Rock and Oklahoma City reaching a total of 86 contacts. Destination Services assisted 12 groups representing 17,450 attendees. During the month 58,873 brochures were distributed and 11,271 guests visited our Visitor Information Center. The Convention Center booked 34 groups representing 4,222 attendees and produced over $16,000 in in-house catering. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad carried 4,514 passengers for the month. They booked 2 charters and the school Polar Express is at 5,200 and the public Polar Express is at 4,960. Visits to the Grapevine Vintage Railroad website totaled 25,912 and visits to the general site numbered 33,850. Public Relations generated $52,534 in print and $48,339 in electronic media coverage. (69. The Grapevine Heritage Foundation's Education Committee has developed a DVD titled, "Grapevine —A Town for All Times," which will be distributed to Grapevine elementary schools. The Nash Farm Round up was a big success with 5,000 in attendance. The Palace Theatre held 30 events during the month and Historic Preservation issued eight certificates of appropriateness. OLD BUSINESS Sister City Mission Report The Sister City Mission held during October focused on tourism, culinary and viticulture education. It is a goal to have a tourism-related educational facility here in Grapevine. The group also viewed the model for their new Congress Hall and Hotel. The trip also included a viewing of a 300+ year-old winepress in action, a side visit to the foothills of the Alps and a ride on a narrow gauge railroad. iDSS Mike Kemp, Director of Sales, shared the new tracking software that has been adopted by the CVB. The bureau had been using Gold Mine but needed better tracking abilities and the capability of accessing the software remotely. Internet Destination Sales Systems (iDSS) was designed by the Minneapolis CVB. There is good technical support available and there is no charge for updates. It has good reporting advantages. At present 25 CVB's are using this software. The software is accessible to all our hotel properties and the bureau offers ongoing training and support to all the properties. Board of Directors Meeting November 17, 2005 Page 4 of 4 NEW BUSINESS Grants-In-Aid Request Mr. McCallum presented the Grants-In-Aid request from the End of the Runway Players. The bureau has worked with this organization from 1994 and they fully understand and participate in the grant process. They are requesting $9,000 to increase publicity and promotion of their events. They are increasing their programming. Kathee Livengood reported that they are members of the Chamber and good supporters of the Community. Phil Cloud made a motion that a grant in the amount of$9,000 be approved. Kathee Livengood seconded. Motion carried. CVB Services Group Survey Research Mr. McCallum reported that the bureau is looking at a company, E-AUTOFEEDBACK to administer an on-line follow-up survey of group meetings at Grapevine hotels. This would be an economical way to provide feedback on our sales and services team. Ev Barnes made a motion to enter into an agreement with the company, seconded by Bill Brink. Discussion followed. John Imaizumi expressed concern about duplication of effort as the hotels also approach the meeting planners for feedback. The item was tabled and staff will gather input and bring back the item for further discussion. (ir REPORTS Heritage Foundation Pat Stinson reported that the Foundation hosted two very successful events this month. Over 5,000 people from across the Metroplex attended the Nash Farm Round Up. Last Friday night the Jubilee had 320 people in attendance and $18,048 was raised for Nash Farm. Ms. Stinson thanked the CVB staff and Kathrine Brink as sponsorship chair. Rick and Diane Stacy gave a $40,000 donation. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board; Phil Cloud made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Ev Barnes. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: Cr