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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-03-18 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION &VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, March 18, 2010— 8:00 a.m. Wallis Building Grapevine, Texas AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF IV. OLD BUSINESS A. MAIN STREET OUTDOOR ADVENTURE DATES B. CVB HEADQUARTERS UPDATE V. GRANTS-IN-AID REQUEST VI. SALES & MARKETING REPORT A. HELMS BRISCOE TRADE SHOW B. SOUTHWEST SHOWCASE C. PLAN YOUR MEETINGS — DALLAS &AUSTIN D. DESTINATION SHOWCASE E. CHICAGO SALES MISSION \r F. D. C. SALES MISSION G. AAA SHOWS— FORT WORTH, HOUSTON, DALLAS H. SAN ANTONIO HOME & GARDEN SHOW I. GO WEST SUMMIT J. BANK TRAVEL K. UNITED KINGDOM SALES MISSION VII. HOTELS /ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES VIII. GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT IX. LIAISON UPDATES A. HERITAGE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES B. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACTIVITIES X. ADJOURNMENT IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THIS SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING AND YOU HAVE A DISABILITY THAT REQUIRES SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS AT THE MEETING, PLEASE CONTACT THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU AT (817) 410-3185 AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS WILL BE MADE TO ASSIST YOUR NEEDS. IN ACCORDANCE WITH TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, CHAPTER 551.001 et seq, ACTS OF THE 1993 TEXAS LEGISLATURE, THE GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU ADVISORY BOARD MEETING AGENDA WAS PREPARED AND POSTED ON THIS THE 9T" DAY OF MARCH 2010 AT 5:00 L P.M. Eloise Koehn Director of Finance and Administration State of Texas County of Tarrant City of Grapevine MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. at the Wallis Building, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Steve Stinson Chairman LuAnn Chapman Gatts Board Member Tom Cherry Board Member Paul Slechta Board Member Jacob Miles Heritage Foundation Liaison Louie Sullins Chamber Liaison Sharron Spencer Council Liaison Jennifer Hibbs Assistant City Manager Paul W. McCallum Executive Director George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Bob McPherrin Assistant Executive Director ABSENT: Andrew Davidson Board Member John Imaizumi Board Member Chris Leighton Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member CALL TO ORDER Chairman Stinson called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the February 18, 2010 meeting was made by LuAnn Chapman Gatts and seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF Mr. McCallum introduced Candace Berman, National Sales Manager, to the board. OLD BUSINESS Main Street Outdoor Adventure Paul McCallum reported that Tuesday night the City Council approved changing Main Street Outdoor Adventure to a 4-day event beginning in 2011. It will follow the footprint of GrapeFest with a 10 a.m. start on Thursday and Friday. This will increase our media and sponsorship opportunities. L Board of Directors Meeting March 18, 2010 Page 2 of 5 OLD BUSINESS cont. CVB Headquarters Update Mr. McCallum thanked the board members for their participation and support of the groundbreaking ceremony for the new CVB headquarters and museum complex. John Avila with Byrne Construction reported the ceremony as one of the best he had ever attended and that when it was over you understood the importance of the building to the community. Additional opportunities to celebrate the building will come at the "topping out" ceremony, the laying of the cornerstone, and the grand opening. The contractors are approximately halfway through the pier drilling. NEW BUSINESS Grants-In-Aid Request Mr. McCallum presented a Grants-In-Aid request from the End of the Runway Players. We have participated with them since 1994. The organization is 27 years old and attracts folks from all over the Metroplex and beyond. They are considered one of the best community theatres in the area. The request is for $15,000. Our budget for the grant program was reduced to $25,000 this year and we have granted $5,600 to date. Staff recommends a $10,000 grant due to fund availability. LuAnn Chapman Gatts L made a motion to fund the grant to the End of the Runway Players in the amount of $10,000; seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. SALES & MARKETING REPORT Mr. Kakos reported that the convention sales team produced 22 leads representing 11,816 potential room nights, assisted with three definite bookings representing 776 room nights and conducted two site inspections. Staff participated in the TSAE Southwest Showcase in Austin. They had 31 planners visit the booth and produced one lead with 482 room nights and two potential leads with 2,000 potential room nights. The team also participated in Plan Your Meetings in Austin where 39 planners visited the booth and produced two potential leads with 1,100 room nights. The team hosted a client dinner for eight planners. The Chicago Sales Mission included sales calls with the American Bar Association and SmithBucklin and a client dinner for Valentines Day with ten attendees. Destination Showcase in Washington DC had over 900 registered attendees, 43 planners visited the booth and six leads were generated. Tourism sales produced one definite booking representing 40 room nights. The team participated in AAA shows in Fort Worth, Houston, and Dallas with a combined attendance of approximately 2,200. Staff participated in the San Antonio Home & Garden Show. The also attended Go West Summit where they had 21 appointments and Bank Travel where they had 33 appointments. Texas and Its Attractions represented us in the United Kingdom Sales Mission. L Board of Directors Meeting LMarch 18, 2010 Page 3 of 5 SALES AND MARKETING REPORT cont. Destination Services provided information and registration assistance to eight groups representing 6,106 delegates. They distributed 27,890 brochures during the month and welcomed 5,073 visitors to the Visitor Information Center. The Convention Center booked 21 future functions representing 5,637 attendees and had $74,162 in total sales for the month. The Palace Arts Center booked 30 future events representing 5,175 potential attendees and had $26,482 in total sales for the month. The web site traffic for the month included 90,694 unique visitors, a 23.27% increase over last February and 3,069,083 total hits. Print advertising included 38 insertions for convention group advertising and three insertions for leisure group business. Online convention group advertising had 19 insertions. In consumer publications there were 57 print advertising insertions and 114 TV/ radio insertions. Public Relations generated $94,232 in print publicity and $8,622 in electronic publicity for a total of $102,854 for the month. To date we have 98 friends on Myspace, 648 on Facebook and 155 followers on Twitter. HOTELS / ATTRACTIONS ACTIVITIES Bob McPherrin reported: • The bureau has contracted with the Hyland Group a third-party representation firm. They have offices in Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC. • Tracy Suit is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at the Embassy Suites Outdoor World. • Ken Broom is the new Assistant General Manager at Great Wolf Lodge. • Javelle Credit is the new Director of Sales at the Comfort Inn; Elena Black remains at the Hampton Inn with sole responsibility for that property. • The groundbreaking for the new CVB headquarters was picked up by 69 on-line news services as well as three television stations and local newspapers. • The Super Bowl is less than one year out and rooms are beginning to be assigned. • Cassie's Frozen Yogurt has opened in the Westwood Shopping Center. • President Obama signed legislation that creates the corporation for travel promotion — a public/private partnership to market the US to foreign visitors. Two hundred million dollars in annual funding has been proposed to attract a potential 1.6 million visitors from outside the US. • Chocolate Fest was a major success with the Friday night event drawing 500 people and the Saturday tasting and art show drawing record crowds. Proceeds benefit DFW Travelers Aid. L Board of Directors Meeting March 18, 2010 Page 4 of 5 GRAPEVINE VINTAGE RAILROAD REPORT Mr. McCallum reported that the Grapevine Vintage Railroad commenced this season with the Sweetheart Express brunch train on Sunday, February 14 with 301 passengers and the first scheduled run on February 19 with 393 passengers. There have been two charters to date this season and several more on the books. Day Out With Thomas carried over 22,000 passengers. They added a general admission this past weekend which raised an additional $16,000. Retail sales went very well and only six boxes of merchandise were shipped back. This week is "Spring Fling" week for spring break and every day has seen "sold out" on- line sales. This coming Saturday, March 20th Puffy will return to service. This coming Saturday is also Blacksmith Day at the Heritage Center. Bill Stoddard, blacksmith and farrier, is operating the blacksmith shop at the Heritage Center. In February, the staff traveled to Iowa to inspect the train set and we are preparing to make an offer for it. LIAISON UPDATES Heritage Foundation Activities Mr. Miles reported that activities continue at the farm with a Tom Sawyer themed program last Saturday and a Charlotte's Web program this coming Saturday. The 9th annual Spring Into Nash is scheduled for Saturday, April 10th The Foundation will donate one of their antique tractors to the Grapevine Colleyville FFA for the "Chevron Delo Tractor Restoration Project." The Foundation is also working on a "Most Precious Properties List" to raise awareness of the importance of historic preservation with a more positive spin than using the term "endangered." First Friday Film Series on April 2nd will be the film, "The Graduate" and the concert series, Live! At the Palace will host acoustic guitar player, Trace Bundy on April 9th Chamber of Commerce Activities Mr. Sullins reported that one of the Chamber's four major goals was to improve in the area of business technology. They are moving forward with the website, posting employment opportunities within the membership on-line and posting member-to- member coupon offers and discounts. The Chamber owns their building but not the land it sits on, so they are investigating the possibility of purchasing the land. • Board of Directors Meeting February 18, 2010 Page 5 of 5 LIAISON UPDATES cont. Chamber of Commerce Activities cont. Mr. Sullins distributed copies of the new Chamber Directory. They are available free at the Chamber office. Redonna brought the project in-house this year which added $38,000 to the bottom line. The new larger size has a very nice look and ad space is basically sold out for next year already. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, LuAnn Chapman Gatts made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Paul Slechta. Motion carried. L ATTEST: DATE: