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Home My WebLink About2003-01-16 Regular Meeting (ivCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, January 16, 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 V. OLD BUSINESS A. CHICAGO SALES MISSION UPDATE B. NEW YORK SALES MISSION UPDATE C. TOWER 16 UPDATE VI. NEW BUSINESS A. TRINTY VALLEY RAILROAD PROJECT VII. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VIII. ADJOURNMENT • Cry STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF TARRANT CITY OF GRAPEVINE MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, January 16, 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 Paul Slechta Board Member Tom Smith Board Member Robert Thrailkill Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Sue Franks Grapevine Chamber Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Paul W. McCallum Executive Director tr George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Absent: Kathee Livengood Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member CALL TO ORDER Don Bigbie called the meeting to order. Paul McCallum introduced Gina Yates, tourism sales manager. Along with her duties as tourism sales manager she will be coordinator for the Sister City program, coordinator for the Grapevine Wine Pouring Society, and liaison to the historic district merchants. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the December 10, 2002 meeting was made by Bill Brink and seconded by Phil Cloud. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum presented updates from the recent director of sales' meeting. The Embassy Suites has a new director of catering. Gaylord Opryland Texas has a new director of transient sales and a new sales manager coming on board. Stephan Pyles is Cry consulting chef for the hotel. Construction is one month ahead of schedule. They (10 The Board of Directors Meeting January 16, 2003 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. expect to have a general manager on board within 60 days. The Comfort Suites plan to break ground next month. The Hilton has named a new director of catering and added two new sales managers. The suite renovations should be done mid-January. Homewood Suites has a 14% increase in occupancy they attribute to the name change and being linked with the Hilton brand. The Holiday Inn Express is opening a new breakfast bar. The Grapevine Super 8 reported no staff changes. The Hyatt reported that the Grand Hyatt is on schedule for 2005. The AmeriSuites had a new representative at the meeting. Two restaurants, the Venue and La Case have closed. Two are in the process of opening. Two downtown businesses have closed and 4 new ones are opening. We are in the process of relocating the Visitor Information Center to the Depot and will sell train and other tickets through the Visitor Center. This will increase the hours of operation for the Historical Museum. Locomotive 2248 is down for her annual inspection. There are some micro cracks in the flue tubes. The bureau will partner with Search Wide to recruit a new Director of Sales. We would like to have this person on board by the New York Sales Promotion. flof Mr. Thrailkill reported that they would be recommending converting the indoor tennis courts into 17,000 sq. feet of meeting space. This would give them 13 additional breakout rooms. Mr. Barnes reported that Dick Clark's closed in December. Most mall merchants reported traffic flat to slightly down. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos shared highlights from the month of December. The convention sales division produced 10 leads representing 4,435 potential roomnights and assisted in closing 4 groups representing 1,648 roomnights. They conducted 2 site inspections. Tourism division generated 3 leads representing 88 attendees and had 1 definite booking with 60 roomnights. Tourism division made visits to the Travel Information Centers that feed this area. December saw 29,907 visitors assisted through the Visitor Information Centers and 29,200 brochures distributed. The Grapevine Steam Railroad web site had 5,031 visits and the CVB web site had 1,688 visits. Communications generated $143,303 in print publicity and $14,821 in electronic for a total media coverage for the month of$158,124. During December 4,678 passengers rode the School Polar Express and 2,052 rode on the Public Polar Express. OLD BUSINESS Chicago Sales Mission Update The 11th Annual Valentines Sales Mission will be held on February 12 - 14 with sales calls and a dinner at Gibson's Steakhouse on Feb. 14th. Approximately 12 planners and Cor guests are expected to attend. (ir The Board of Directors Meeting January 16, 2003 Page 3 of 4 OLD BUSINESS cont. New York Sales Mission Update For the 15th Annual New York Sales Mission the bureau will bring back the larger event they have done in the past. It will take place on Monday, March 17th at the Manhattan Chili Company inside the Ed Sullivan Theatre. The event is being promoted to over 1,300 people through 4 direct mail pieces, an e-mail and phone blitz. The target is to have 200 qualified planners between noon and 6 p.m. We have 100% participation from the board. The board group will depart the Wallis at 5:30 a.m. and are staying at the New York Hilton. Tower 16 Update The slab is in place for tower 16 and work on the base of the tower is ongoing. We expect in the next couple of weeks to have the building stacked and ready for cosmetic restoration. This portion of work should be completed in time for a Main Street Days dedication. NEW BUSINESS Trinity Valley Railroad Project Mr. McCallum reported that we have had discussions over the past three years with Trinity Valley Railroad group. They were formed in 1959 and had a museum housed in the Depot in Weatherford. Some of their property is on loan to the Galveston Railroad Museum and they own an engine in French Lick, Indiana that would make a great static display. They own the name "The Texas Railroad Collection". The CVB would like to form a partnership with them and the Grapevine Steam Railroad to move their collection to Grapevine. They have many members who are retired railroad men and would be a great addition to the volunteer base as well as contacts for railroad memorabilia. We would draw up an arrangement to make them a part of the Grapevine Steam Railroad and to have their artifacts on permanent loan and display in Grapevine. This would allow us to grow the railroad district to its fullest potential and would afford Grapevine a unique attraction for the area. Paul Jennings made a motion that staff continue to pursue an arrangement with the Trinity Valley Railroad. Ev Barnes seconded. Motion carried. REPORTS Heritage Foundation Pat Stinson reported they are getting calls for children's groups. The Palace had a good December and they are seeing good community/business support of the Lancaster. They will do a valentine's dinner again this year. Nash Farm is still a main project. April 5 is the date for "Go Fly a Kite" event at Nash Farm. (16, The Board of Directors Meeting January 16, 2003 Page 4 of 4 REPORTS cont. Chamber Sue Franks reported that her term ends the first of April. Phi Cloud continues to be the CVB liaison to the Chamber. March will be Mardi Gras on the Lake at Paradise Cove. March 20 is the date for the annual Awards Banquet at Austin Ranch. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, Ev Barnes made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Phil Cloud. ATTEST: DATE: