The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2003-04-17 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, April 17, 2003 -- 11:30 am 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 (hy V. OLD BUSINESS A. GRAPEVINE NEW VINTAGE WINE TRAIL REPORT B. HISTORIC DISTRICT LIGHTING UPDATE C. HIGHWAY SIGNAGE UPDATE VI. NEW BUSINESS A. MARKETING COMMITTEE B. WELCOMING CONVENTIONS C. LEASE SPACE VII. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VIII. ADJOURNMENT Cw STATE OF TEXAS (61. COUNTY OF TARRANT CITY OF GRAPEVINE MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, April 17, 2003 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 Paul Jennings Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Tom Smith Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Ronny Nordling Grapevine Chamber Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director fir Absent: CALL TO ORDER Don Bigbie called the meeting to order and introduced Ronny Nordling, Chamber President, who is the new Chamber liaison to the board. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the March 17th meeting was made by Bill Brink and seconded by Ev Barnes. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT • Mr. McCallum reported that Spring Hill has renewed development considerations over the next 90 days. • The Point Restaurant for Gaylord Opryland Hotel has made a conditional use request for a restaurant and entertainment facility on the lake with an outside dining area. • A Wings-N-Things restaurant is coming in on W. D. Tate. • LaCasa had its grand re-opening. • Concerts are happening each Thursday evening at the Gazebo and many of the Cormerchants are staying open until 8 p.m. • The City Council will present a proclamation naming May 16, 17 and 18, 2003 as Foley, Alabama Festival Exchange Weekend. The Board of Directors Meeting April 17, 2003 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • Grapevine will host a reception for the Foley, Alabama delegation on Thursday, May 15th • In the last week there was television coverage on channels 4, 8, and 11 on New Vintage and Texas wines, as well as, Roger was on regarding the American Airlines vote. • In 2001, American's property appraisal value was 995 million dollars and in 2002 it was 600 million. For every 1% drop in passengers there is about $100,000 drop in sales tax. Concessions in the terminals have picked up because of longer wait time between flights. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos shared highlights from the month of March. The convention sales division produced 11 leads representing 4,150 potential roomnights; five leads for 2003, three leads for 2004, and 2 leads for 2005; and assisted in closing 4 groups representing 2,749 roomnights. They conducted 2 site inspections. The New York Sales Mission had 51 attendees at the St. Patrick's Day event; staff made 46 sales calls and generated one lead for 620 roomnights with 37 other potential leads representing Cw 21,684 potential roomnights. Four groups representing 1,910 delegates received convention services during the month. Tourism division had 2 groups book with a total of 115 attendees and 40 roomnights. Two leads were published representing 500 attendees. Staff participated in the Shreveport Home and Garden Show and conducted a site inspection for Meirs Reisen Tour operators from Germany. March, with Spring Break, saw 20,697 visitors assisted through the Visitor Information Centers and 50,600 brochures distributed. The Convention Center booked 57 future groups in the month representing over 21,000 attendees. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad had 4,829 riders during the month due in part to Spring Break and Radio Disney Days on March 12th and 19th and the train web site had 7,398 visits. The CVB web site had 3,527 visits. Communications generated $68,207 in print publicity and $11,702 in electronic media for the month. Toni Hopkins has tendered her resignation after 5 years with the sales team. OLD BUSINESS Grapevine New Vintage Wine Trail Report Mr. McCallum reported that this year's format for the wine trail was very successful with many people walking between the wineries. Eight hundred people attended the Blessing. Each winery had between six and nine hundred patrons. The designated driver program was also a success. Several board members who worked with the event expressed comments. Javier Rodriguez had seven bank travel planners in for a familiarization tour and all committed to bringing groups to Grapevine. Three of the groups have already booked with one of them booking multiple dates. The Board of Directors Meeting April 17, 2003 Page 3 of 4 OLD BUSINESS cont. Historic District Lighting and Highway Signage Update Mr. Cloud reported that a committee of Kathee Livengood, Gary Meeks, Paul Slechta, and himself has been formed to pursue this project. Their plan is to contact the 40 largest employers around Grapevine to request a letter supporting the council and staff in their efforts to improve signage in and around Grapevine. NEW BUSINESS Marketing Committee Mr. Bigbie stated that last year Phil Cloud was chair and Kathee Livengood and Ev Barnes served on the marketing committee. For this year's committee he appointed Bill Brink as Chair and Ev Barnes and Paul Slechta to serve on the committee. Welcoming Conventions Mr. McCallum stated that with the advent of a 400,000 sq. ft. Convention Center and citywide conventions we expect more requests to welcome conventions. We have asked through the city manager's office for participation of the councilmembers. Mr. McCallum also requested board members who would be willing to participate as well. It Crif was a unanimous agreement of the board to participate. Lease Space Mr. McCallum reported that property on West Dallas Road owned by Russell Anderson with overhead doors and climate control has come available for lease. At present we have festival supplies in seven locations around the city. Shortly we will have to move our storage trailers from the service center area. We have a lease agreement for $2,000 per month with an option to buy. The cost for the rest of this year would roll in as a festival expense and after October 1st it would be budgeted for in a lease account. The lease would be effective May 15 so that we can immediately move items in after MSD. Bill Brink made a motion that the board support entering into the lease agreement; Kathee Livengood seconded. Motion carried with Phil Cloud abstaining. REPORTS Tom Smith shared that the director of sales from the Hyatt has moved over to Gaylord Opryland Hotel selling the Mid-Atlantic States. The Grand Hyatt is up to the 5th floor and compares to the Grand Hyatt Seattle. Construction is still on schedule for the first quarter of 2005. The Hyatt DFW will start suite renovations on June 3rd of this year. Heritage Foundation Cof Ms. Stinson reported that repeat and referral business is happening at the Palace and the Lancaster. Dinner and a Movie are the first Friday of every month and approximately 50% of the attendees are from out of town. Kite flying at Nash Farm was good. There is a volunteers' picnic scheduled for May 4th The Board of Directors Meeting LApril 17, 2003 Page 4 of 4 REPORTS cont. Chamber of Commerce Ronny Nordling reported that their business development committee is working on ways to do business with Gaylord Opryland. The Chamber is doing business profiles on Chamber members on the web. They are also doing a CEO Roundtable. Jeff Fegen will be the speaker at the next Chamber meeting. There is a Chamber Board Retreat scheduled for next Wednesday at Cross Timbers. ADJOURNMENT In closing Mr. McCallum shared an idea to obtain one of the Concorde's for display at DFW Airport. He also issued an invitation to join the Krems Sister City Mission scheduled for June. Mr. Bigbie shared that Sarah Cloud received the volunteer of the year award from the City. He also shared that Grapevine has lost an icon and leader in Dr. Minnie Lee Lancaster this week. There being no further business to come before the Board, Phil Cloud made a motion to Cie adjourn. ATTEST: DATE: