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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-07-17 Regular Meeting (lorCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, July 17, 2003 -- 11:30 am WALLIS BUILDING ONE LIBERTY PARK PLAZA, GRAPEVINE, TEXAS AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. RECOGNITION OF PAST BOARD MEMBERS III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT V. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT VI. OLD BUSINESS A. SISTER CITY REPORT B. CONCORDE SST UPDATE C. DIRECTOR OF SALES POSITION VII. NEW BUSINESS A. FOLEY EXCHANGE B. CONTRACT SALES PROGRAM VIII. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IX. ADJOURNMENT STATE OF TEXAS tor COUNTY OF TARRANT CITY OF GRAPEVINE MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, July 17, 2003 at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Ev Barnes Board Member Bill Bretches Board Member Bill Brink Board Member Philip Cloud Board Member Kathee Livengood 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: fir Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Ronny Nordling Grapevine Chamber CALL TO ORDER Don Bigbie called the meeting to order. He shared with the board that Paul Jennings and Robert Thrailkill could not be at the meeting to receive their recognition plaques but that the plaques would be sent to them. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the June 19th meeting was made by Phil Cloud and seconded by Tom Smith. Motion carried. Mr. Bigbie reported that after the last meeting he researched with board members, council members and city staff regarding the recruiting processes of Gaylord Opryland Texas and found no written agreement. While there may have been some implied understanding with Dave Jones with regards to hiring practices, there was no written agreement and the city is not in a position to become involved in Human Resource issues. Tom Smith thanked Don for his efforts and reported that a meeting is set for July 30th with John Imaizumi from Gaylord. The Board of Directors Meeting Car July 17, 2003 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that the new owner of Grapevine Super 8 takes over the end of July. AmeriSuites has a new regional DOS from Magnolia Lodging. The Baymont Inn is expanding their breakfast room and when recently audited by Baymont Inns', they received the second highest rating overall. Yvonne Bennett is the new senior sales manager at the Terraces. Gaylord Opryland Texas is on or ahead of schedule on the project. The Embassy Suites ranked 12th in the state for REVPAR during the first quarter of 2003. In Fort Worth it is reported that there are at least seven developers interested in creating a downtown convention center hotel. Officials indicated it would probably involve a public-private partnership that could require the city to cover 30-35% of the project cost. Irving CVB Board announced it would be halting the development of the city's planned 350,000 sq. ft. convention center and headquarters hotel project due to the soft economy. Hurst officials are launching a tourism campaign that touts Hurst's proximity to Six Flags Over Texas, the Fort Worth Zoo, and Texas Stadium. Hurst has two hotel properties and approximately $130,000 in hotel tax. American Airlines (AMR) announced they lost $75 million from April through June, a dramatic improvement over the $495 million lost during the second quarter of 2002. Cr DFW Airport celebrated the completion of the track for the people mover. When completed it will be the largest in the world and can move 5,000 people per hour. There are two more years of construction. Tuesday night council approved plans for an Underwarter World Aquarium to be constructed just west of Grapevine Mills mall. Eric Pederson expects that when completed it will hold 2 million gallons and be the largest tunnel-type aquarium in the world. January 2005 is the target opening date. Bass Pro will construct a 3,024 square-foot archery range on the south façade of the building. A Scoop in Time's building is up for sale. Staff is working with moving companies, Union Pacific, and the City of Victoria to move locomotive 771. Everyone is excited about the project. Upon arrival it will be located on a spur by the roundhouse; cleaned and painted. Bill Bretches suggested a day where hotel employees and others could assist with a clean up and take apart of the engine. The CVB purchased a GP7 Diesel locomotive and are working with Burlington Northern to get it shipped to Grapevine from Colorado. Granbury, Texas has purchased land to put in a turntable or"y" in order for the Grapevine Vintage Railroad to be able to make runs to Granbury. Their market is central and west central Texas while our feeder market is north Texas. This would make a nice marketing opportunity for visitors to go each direction spending a few days in the other market. Granbury is making the commitment to build a depot and do what is necessary for us to come there. The Great Race was a great event for Grapevine. L.D. Bell High School team won the (60 x-cup. Dennis and Michael Slechta won the best dressed. Grapevine was runner up for the "top city". There were seven to ten thousand on the street to view the cars and over thirteen thousand dollars was raised for the public art fund. The Board of Directors Meeting July 17, 2003 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos shared highlights from the month of June. The convention sales division produced 15 leads representing 17,193 potential roomnights and assisted in closing 4 groups representing 1,515 roomnights. Staff attended two trade shows; Greater Washington Society of Association Executives' Springtime in the Park, and Healthcare Conference & Exhibitors Association. Four groups representing 1,400 delegates received convention services during the month. Tourism division published three leads representing 500 attendees and 250 roomnights and had three groups book representing 220 roomnights. Staff participated in a west Texas sales mission and AAA Travel Show in Little Rock. Mr. Kakos shared the summer saver rack card and coupon book. June saw 19,443 visitors assisted through the Visitor Information Centers and 107,175 brochures distributed. The Convention Center booked 21 events during the month representing 4,705 attendees. Through June they have achieved 77% of their projected revenue goal. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad had 4,671 riders during the month with a sell-out last Friday. The train web site had 7,645 visits and the CVB web site had 3,483 visits during the month. Communications had $122,932 in print and electronic media coverage. (ir OLD BUSINESS Sister City Report Mr. McCallum shared the mission statement of the Sister City Program. On June 17-27, 2003 a 26-member delegation led by Bill Brink, merchants, civic clubs, wine pourers, and former festival chairmen delivered a gift of arrows and a peace pipe along with a letter from Mayor Tate. Each mayor smoked the peace pipe, which will be on display in City Hall. Krems would like to pursue humanitarian aid opportunities; become a Sister City with Parras, investigate economic development activities between Krems and the U.S. They plan to bring a delegation to Grapevine next year at New Vintage. Mr. McCallum invited everyone to attend the Sister City Committee meeting on July 24th Concorde SST Update Darlene Freed reported that there are 12 museums left in the running for the 7 British Airways planes. Three of the twelve are in the U.S. We will check with the Ambassador to the United Kingdom to see if there is anything more we can do at this time. Director of Sales Position Mr. McCallum reported that we are looking at three good candidates for the Director of Sales position however money continues to plague us. One of the candidates is from New Orleans, has worked in four 500 plus room hotel properties and the convention center. She is presently an associate DOS and working the corporate market. One of (60 the candidates is from Atlanta and has worked up and down the eastern seaboard, mostly in the corporate market. The Board of Directors Meeting While July 17, 2003 Page 4 of 4 NEW BUSINESS Foley Exchange The dates for the Foley Exchange are November 7, 8, 9, 2003. There will be a major reception Thursday evening upon our arrival. The Festival hours are Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. We will take a motorcoach for those interested in traveling with the group. All meal functions are on your own except for Saturday evening that will be a small version of the Texas Wine Tribute. Contract Sales Position Mr. Kakos reported we had used contract sales for the New York Sales Mission and will be doing it again in a few days for the Washington D.C. Mission and working on the 100 top corporate accounts. We are considering former sales manager, Toni Hopkins, who would be working from home. TFEA Awards Mr. Kakos shared the six marketing awards that the Grapevine CVB won at the Texas Festivals and Events Conference (TFEA) this month. The awards were as follows Best Event Photograph - Austin Powers Champagne Cork Shoot (ir Best web site - New Vintage Wine Trail Best Event Program - Sponsor book for Main Street Days Best Promotional Brochure - Main Street Days brochure Best Promotional Poster- Main Street Days poster Best Educational Program - Shrimp Boat Whistle Stop Tour for Main Street Days REPORTS Heritage Foundation Mr. Brink reported that the Heritage Foundation approved their budget and is working hard on Nash Farm plans. There is activity at the farm and they will erect a windmill on the property. Chamber of Commerce There is a combined Colleyville - Grapevine Mixer at Westwood's Texas room. The Chamber is looking forward to participating in the Foley Festival Exchange. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, Bill Brink made a motion to adjourn seconded by Ev Barnes. ATTEST: DATE: