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Home My WebLink About2008-04-17 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, April 17, 2008 — 11:30 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT V. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT VI. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT VII. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT A. MEETINGS INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF COLORADO B. COLORADO SPRINGS SALES MISSION C. NEW YORK ST. PAT'S PROMOTION & SALES MISSION L D. HOUSTON GROUP LEADERS OF AMERICA E. ITB, BERLIN F. AAA HOUSTON SALES MISSION G. HOUSTON TRAVEL SHOW H. DALLAS HOME & GARDEN SHOW I. DESTINATIONS FOR EAST TEXAS VIII. OLD BUSINESS A. SISTER CITY REPORT B. TRANSPORTATION CONSULTANT REPORT IX. NEW BUSINESS A. CONCEPT REVIEW— MESA DESIGN B. GRANTS-IN-AID REQUEST X. REPORTS A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION LIAISON B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LIAISON XI. ADJOURNMENT (1, State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Don Bigbie Chairman Ev Barnes Board Member Bill Brink Board Member Kathee Livengood Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Steve Stinson Board Member Mark Wasiak Board Member Darlene Freed Council Liaison Bruno Rumbelow City Manager Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Ross Bannister Director of Heritage Programs & Preservation kir ABSENT John Imaizumi Board Member Kristine Amador Chamber Liaison Pat Stinson Heritage Foundation Liaison CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bigbie called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the March 20, 2008 meeting was made by Ev Barnes and seconded by Steve Stinson. Motion carried. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT Mr. McCallum reported: • A reception will be held for Ted Ware on Monday, April 21st at the Convention Center. • Andrew Davidson has been named general manager of the Grand Hyatt DFW. Chris Bertrand has been named director of convention services and catering at the Embassy Suites, and Teri Kinsey is the new director of catering at the Hilton DFW Lakes. L • Hilton has announced they will break ground this July on an expansion of meeting space which should be completed by the second quarter of 2009 bringing their total meeting space to 81,000 sq. ft. flow Board of Directors Meeting April 17, 2008 Page 2 of 4 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS REPORT cont. • The Today Show did a feature on airport hotels and how that's the new trend for travelers. The Grand Hyatt was the first hotel in the feature. • Inwood Estates Vineyards will open their tasting room inside Mawker's Coffee and Dino's Steak House will open in the Gregory & Gregory building. • Cutie Pie's Restaurant is now open in the former Colter's location and Tuscany's is expected to open the end of this month. • The Dallas' Fairmont Hotel has completed a $14 million makeover of all guest rooms and suites. • The Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa has reopened in Dallas. • The Hilton Anatole has completed a $57 million renovation. • The 2008 Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition was hosted by DFW Airport at the Hyatt Regency. • The cable show, "The World's Greatest" will feature Grapevine in a 4-5 minute segment. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD George Kakos reported that the train carried 27,109 passengers including 11,389 for the first weekend of Thomas the Tank. The seats are being recovered in three of the enclosed coaches. HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATION REPORT Ross Bannister reported: • The Heritage Foundation thanked the board for their help this past weekend at Spring Into Nash. Attendance was estimated at between 2,500 and 3,000 and over 500 volunteer hours were logged from 15 community and service groups. • The Midway Night Club has been relocated and will be painted in the coming weeks. • There are seven school tours scheduled for April and May with over 700 participants. • Paul Slavens and Texclectic Band will perform at the Palace Theatre on Thursday, April 24th • Will test market a documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth" on April 29th • The 2008 — 2009 First Friday movies have been selected. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported for the month of March that the convention sales division produced 19 leads representing 10,869 potential room nights and assisted with one definite booking representing 8,386 room nights. Staff conducted four site inspections and participated in Meetings Industry of Colorado trade show which generated 2 leads and 2 potential leads. Staff produced a St. Patrick's Day Promotion where 100 planners and (kw travel trade professionals were in attendance. Client feedback has been very positive and to date one lead has been generated and one RFP has been received. Board of Directors Meeting April 17, 2008 Page 3 of 4 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. Tourism sales staff produced 8 leads with 473 potential room nights. They assisted with six definite group bookings with 327 room nights. Staff participated in International Travel Show in Berlin with 15 appointments and 63 attendees at the Texas / American Airlines reception. Staff also participated in Group Leaders Conference with 60 attendees at the booth, the Houston Travel Show which drew over 4,000 attendees, the Dallas Home & Garden Show, and Destinations for East Texas show which attracted over 3,500 attendees. Staff also conducted sales missions in Houston and New York. Destination Services staff provided registration and information assistance to eleven groups representing 16,680 delegates. 61,370 brochures were distributed during the month and 19,990 guests were assisted at the Visitor Information Center. The Grapevine Convention Center booked 27 future groups representing 18,645 attendees and had total sales for March of$42,745. The Palace Arts Center booked 7 future events representing 738 attendees and total sales of $20,567. The total web traffic for all sites was 97,188 unique visitors versus 68,156 from last L year. Public relations generated $222,686 in print media and $115,864 in electronic coverage for a total of$338,550 for the month. OLD BUSINESS Sister City Report Mr. McCallum reported that on April 3 — 8, a seven member delegation made a fact- finding mission to Scotland. While there, they conducted a planning session for the June mission which will include the signing of the Accords and a group from the high school band. They also discussed other opportunities with business leaders, school leaders and officials. Transportation Consultant Report Mr. McCallum reported that staff has had initial meetings with Arthur N. Gaudet and Asssociates regarding a study of the on-going need for a circulator shuttle system. Upon approval of city manager this company will produce a study that will then be presented to council. NEW BUSINESS Concept Review - Mesa Design Mr. McCallum presented a draft of the Ted R. Ware Plaza for the museum area at Church and Hudgins Streets. Grants-In-Aid Request Mr. Bigbie introduced the Grants-In-Aid request from the Tarrant Area Guild of Story Tellers for $1750. Ev Barnes made a motion to approve the grant request; Kathee Livengood seconded. Motion carried. Board of Directors Meeting fir► April 17, 2008 Page 4 of 4 REPORTS Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation report was included with Heritage Programs and Preservation report. Chamber of Commerce Kathee Livengood reported that the Chamber is interviewing candidates for Jerry Herrin's replacement. Kristine Amador is the new chairman. Women's Division held their membership tea this week. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Bigbie announced that after 21 years as Chair it was time to give others the opportunity to serve. He stated he would not reapply for the CVB board. There being no further business to come before the board, Ev Barnes made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. ATTEST: DATE: