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Home My WebLink About2004-12-14 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Tuesday, December 14, 2004 -- 7:00 p.m. FOUNDERS BUILDING 701 SOUTH MAIN STREET, GRAPEVINE, TEXAS AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT IV. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT (iv A. FISCAL YEAR END REPORT 03-04 B. FIRST QUARTER REPORT 04-05 V. OLD BUSINESS A. STAFFING STRATEGY UPDATE B. GRAPEVINE TODAY VI. NEW BUSINESS A. BOARD RECOGNITION B. AWARDS VII. ADJOURNMENT C State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 at the Founders Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Ev Barnes Board Member Philip Cloud Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Cliff Reynolds Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Tom Smith Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Absent: Bill Brink Board Member CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie shared some opening comments and welcomed mayor, council, board, guests and staff; and called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the November 18th meeting was made by Ev Barnes and seconded by Kathee Livengood. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum shared the following: • The Hilton DFW Lakes has updated and themed it public spaces. • The Hyatt Regency has rethemed and renovated its public spaces. Next year they plan to redo the sleeping rooms. • The Ramada has converted to a Fairfield Inn and Suites. • New properties under construction include a Comfort Inn, Spring Hill Suites and the Grand Hyatt. • Gaylord Texan opening has had a positive effect on the community. • Grapevine is leading the Metroplex in occupancy according to the Smith Travel (peResearch Report. • Several new art galleries opened in Grapevine over this past year. The Board of Directors Meeting December 14, 2004 Page 2 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos shared a recap of the past fiscal year. During that time the convention sales division produced 343 leads representing 173,854 potential room nights, a new high for the sales team. The team assisted in 89 definite group bookings representing 34,575 room nights and conducted 62 site inspections. The team participated in the following trade shows; We Love New York, Meeting Planner's International - DFW Showcase, SW Showcase in Austin, Destination Showcase in Washington, DC, Conference Direct in Toronto, NE Meeting Planner's International in Boston, Springtime in the Park in Washington DC, Healthcare Exhibitors Association in Austin, Meeting Planners International in Denver, American Society of Association Executives in Minneapolis, Affordable Meetings East in Washington DC, ITME/Motivation Show in Chicago, Chicago Association Executives/ Holiday Showcase in Chicago. They conducted sales missions in Chicago, New York, Austin, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New Jersey, California, Denver and St. Louis. They hosted familiarization groups for the Gaylord Opening, New Vintage Wine Trail, Main Street Days and GrapeFest. On the tourism sales side, staff produced 38 leads representing 2,450 room nights and conducted 19 site inspections. Staff assisted with 55 definite bookings representing 3,689 room nights. They participated in the following trade shows: American Bus Association in New York City, Bank Travel Network in Myrtle Beach, Vacation Leisure Show in Houston, Kansas Boat and Vacation Show in Wichita Falls, Home & Garden Show in Shreveport, Kaleoscope in Oklahoma City, Texas Travel Fair in Bryan, National Travel Forum in Dallas, Vacation Leisure Show in San Antonio and National Balloon Festival in Albuquerque. Staff conducted sales missions to Oklahoma City, Shreveport, cities in west Texas, cities in east Texas and the state welcome centers. They hosted familiarization groups at the Gaylord Opening, New Vintage Wine Trail, Main Street Days, GrapeFest and Christmas on Main. Convention Services and housing provided registration and information assistance to 68,770 delegates. In July alone they assisted 22,151 delegates. They have expanded the number of registration assistants to handle the increased volume, have provided thousands of attendance building promotional pieces to groups as well as providing thousands of brochures at on-site information desks. The staff handled 2,256 reservations for the Gold Wing Road Riders - Wing Ding. Attendance at festivals and events increased this past year. New Vintage Wine Trail saw 1,200 visitors per winery; Main Street Days had attendance of 108,920 and GrapeFest had attendance of 241, 650. Total contribution to the Grapevine Heritage Foundation from Main Street Days and GrapeFest was $442,321. Other events handled by the Festival and Events team included: Gold Wing July 4th Event on Main Street, July 4th Fireworks, Texas Society of Assn. Executives Welcome Reception, Butterfly - Flutterby, Christmas on Main, Sister City programs and Wine Pouring Society programs. L Board of Directors Meeting December 14, 2004 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. The Convention Center hosted 418 events with 100,156 attendees. They generated revenue of$503,176 including in-house catering of$115,631. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad carried 65,087 passengers, 241 field trips and groups, 17 charters and 126 special promotional runs. The train web site had 84,104 visits and the general site had 62,993 visits. Public Relations generated $1,687,160 in print publicity and $1,668,986 in electronic media coverage. OLD BUSINESS Staffing Strategy Update Mr. McCallum reported that as we grow the focus is on sales and services by shrinking the management team and expanding the sales and service team. Mike Kemp has taken over Convention group and Visitor group sales, which has created a second tourism sales manager position. The Housing, Convention Services and Tourism Visitor Services programs are all being joined under Marcy Roitman Boothe's direction. Our part-time personnel are being cross-trained as convention service assistants, step-on tour guides and visitor center counselors. We have internalized our advertising and through this in-house agency we will be able to directly negotiate ad and print buys. We are still looking to fill the marketing director position with a candidate who has heavy emphasis on e-marketing. Grapevine Today Michael Woody reported that we have received many positive comments from industry associates on the Grapevine Today publication. We have accomplished our mission through this piece which is being distributed through hotels, attractions, visitor centers etc. The profile of the CVB in the publication is very low profile. This was done so that the magazine would represent a third party endorsement. Meeting planners are using the piece to show their boards the quality available in Grapevine. We are working on the next issue, which comes out in April. NEW BUSINESS Board Recognition Mr. McCallum with assistance from Mr. Bigbie and Ms. Freed recognized Bill Bretches for his service to the CVB Board during 2003 - 2004. Mr. Bretches shared comments. "Rookie of the Year" Award went to Heather Kisabeth. Joey Wilkins "Can Do" Award was presented to Gina Yates. Director's Awards were presented to Rusty Hernandez, Betty Torres, and Eleanor Velasco. Employee of the Year Award was presented to Roy James. C The Board of Directors Meeting December 14, 2004 Page 4 of 4 ADJOURNMENT Mr. McCallum shared the vision to keep rural heritage alive and support cultural heritage tourism. In Grapevine, we have an opportunity to own Christmas. Mr. Bigbie thanked the council, board and staff that has brought us to the place we are today. This is an exciting time to live in Grapevine. He offered special thanks to Darlene Freed, council liaison to the board. There being no further business to come before the board; Tom Smith made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Steve Stinson. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: c