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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-21 Regular MeetingCITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, November 21, 2024 — 8:00 a.m. CVB Headquarters Boardroom 636 S. Main Street Grapevine, Texas AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Citizen Comments Any person who is not scheduled on the agenda may address the Convention & Visitors Bureau Board under Citizen Comments or on any other agenda item by completing a Citizen Appearance Request form with staff. A member of the public may address the CVBB regarding an item on the agenda either before or during the Board's consideration of the item, upon being recognized by the Board Chair or upon consent of the CVBB. In accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, the CVBB is restricted in discussing or taking action during Citizen Comments. 3. Oath of Office 4. Approval of Minutes 5. Sales & Marketing Report A. Convention Sales IMEX America Trade Show B. Leisure Sales Brand USA Travel Week Mission C. Marketing & Media Report 6. Ongoing Business A. Christmas Capital of Texas Update 7. New Business A. Grant -In -Aid Request a. Frontier Brigade Band/Grapevine Cornet Band B. Review of Concourse Branding Liaison / Hotels / Attractions Updates A. Liaison Updates 9. Adjournment If you plan to attend this special public meeting and 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 I Ith day of October, 2024 by 5:00 p.m. /'�V' � It'071 /9/,; 7, � S 4 A , ecky Roberson Executive Assistant County of Tarrant City of Grapevine State of Texas MINUTES The Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors met in Regular Session on Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. at the Stephen W. Stinson Boardroom of the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, 636 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas with the following persons in attendance: Joe Szymaszek Chairman Cynthia Blankenship Board Member lain Scouller Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Mike Oakley Board Member Debi Meek Board Member Jeff Babcock Board Member Absent: Mark Terpening and Chuck Pacioni Constituting a quorum, with the following liaisons and staff members present: Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Leigh Lyons Assistant Executive Director Becky Roberson Executive Assistant Leon Leal Council Liaison Kelly Schwartz Chamber Liaison CALL TO ORDER Board Chairman, Joe Szymaszek, called the meeting to order at 8:01 a.m. OATH OF OFFICE Jeff Babcock, General Manager of Grand Hyatt Dallas Fort Worth International Airport was introduced and having been approved by the City Council on November 19, 2024, was led in the oath of office by Notary Public, Becky Roberson. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Board Chairman Szymaszek called for a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting. With a motion from Dan Weinberger and seconded by Debi Meek, the minutes from the October 17, 2024 meeting were approved. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Executive Director, Paul W. McCallum reported that the IMEX America Trade Show is the largest tradeshow in the nation for the Business Events Industry. It offers multiple networking opportunities and a large industry attendance of more than 15,000. Joe Thompson and Codi Missimo attended the event, along with a representative from the Grand Hyatt Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. There were a total of 53 one-on-one appointments conducted at the show along with multiple evening appointments. The team returned with two potential 2025 business opportunities and two for 2026. Leisure and International Sales Manager, Heather Egan partnered with Travel Oklahoma on a mission to Germany and the Netherlands to meet with tour operators and ended with the Joker Reisebuers Travel Show in Mechelen. The mission consisted of 16 appointments and one training session for tour operators across Germany and the Netherlands including meetings with CANUSA, USA Reised.de, Meso Reisen, Geoplan Touristik, CRD Touristik and America Unlimited. After the Travel Oklahoma Mission, Ms. Egan attended Brand USA Travel Week in London. The show had an attendance of 216 tour operators, 74 media and 350 destinations and suppliers. Grapevine partnered with Lubbock and the team had 39 appointments. Many of the operators reported that Texas is trending and is a very popular destination. Premier Holidays reports Texas bookings are up 115%. As a result of the mission, British Airways is looking to partner with Grapevine for the 2025 GrapeFest familiarization tour. Director McCallum reported on marketing and media. October advertising highlighted Texas Wine Month. Texas is the fifth -largest wine producer in the United States with approximately 450 wine producers in the state. The state's size and geography allow growers to promote 50 grape varietals. The Texas wine industry creates more than 141,000 full time jobs and has an economic impact to the state of Texas of $20 billion annually. It is estimated that more than 2 million guests visit wineries in Texas each year. Grapevine's Urban Wine Trail is a significant tourism draw for the city. There was a targeted campaign with print, billboard and digital advertising as well as social media posts and promotions. Examples of ads from various venues were shared. A targeted Christmas Capital of Texas marketing and advertising campaign is also underway. Print, billboards, digital, social media promotions, radio and tv spots have all been launched. New this year is a promotion with Grapevine Mills featuring ads on four digital screens throughout the mall intended to drive folks to Historic Main Street and other local attractions. There is also a campaign highlighting Peace Plaza Ice Rink. Assistant Director, Leigh Lyons shared examples of some of the media coverage in October. Southlake Style covered People's Choice winners, Butterfly Flutterby and Grapevine Vintage Railroad Trick or Treat Trains. DFW Child covered Carol of Lights, Day Out With Thomas and Butterfly Flutterby. 360 West repurposed a version of the 76092 Main Street Bistro story. Texas Co -Op Power covered Nash Farm's Barn Dance. Society Life magazine covered the Candlelight Tour of Homes. The Fall Issue of Texas Meetings & Events featured Crush It Lounge and had a story on all -season playgrounds featuring Gaylord Texan Resort and Great Wolf Lodge. D Magazine had a Best in DFW feature that awarded top prizes to Texas Gun Experience, GrapeFest, Gaylord Texan Resort, Hop n Sting, Legoland, Grapevine Mills, Chicken & Pickle. Director of Communications, Elizabeth Schrack secured an interview on Grapevine's Sister City program on NBC5 which was played. Director McCallum emphasized the longstanding and committed relationships between Grapevine and her Sister Cities. Ms. Schrack and the team published press releases on Celebra, Nash Farm and magician Zac Mirz who performed at the Palace Theatre. That press release led to several tv and print opportunities. The GrapevineTexasUSA website had 200 thousand visitors and just under 1 million page views in October. The most visited pages of the month were the events page, Grapevine Vintage Railroad, Santa's North Pole Express, the Christmas events page. A brief social media report was shared and examples were shown. The Visit Grapevine Facebook had 25 posts, 435 thousand impressions and a 15.3% engagement rate. Instagram had 80 posts, including stories, 106 thousand impressions and a total of 2.2 thousand website clicks. ONGOING BUSINESS Director McCallum reported on the upcoming launch of Christmas Capital of Texas. Ice! and Lone Star Christmas at Gaylord Texan Resort opened Friday, November 15 and will run through Sunday, January 5. This year's theme is Rudolph the Red -Nosed Reindeer. Peace Plaza Ice Rink presented by Baylor, Scott and White opens Friday, November 22 and will run through Tuesday, January 7. The Tom T. Turkey Pardoning is scheduled for the morning of Monday, November 25 in the Cotton Belt Depot District. Through a collaborative effort with Grapevine Police Department and Grapevine Colleyville Independent School District, we will welcome guests from the Community Outreach Center for Santa's North Pole Express excursions following the pardoning event. The 36th Annual Carol of Lights presented by Texas Health will take place on Monday, November 25. Changes this year will include a street lighting and various food vendors along the side streets. Hometown Christmas is set to open Monday, November 25 and will run through Sunday, January 5, excluding December 24, 25 and 26. The activation will be an interactive and charming Christmas exhibit in the Tower Gallery on the Covention and Visitors Bureau. Santa's North Pole Express will open to the public on Friday, November 29 and run through December 30, excluding December 24, 25 and 26. There are several enhancements and improvements for the 2024 Santa's North Pole Express. Additional investments have been made to enhance the queue line experience and the pre -show in the boarding tent. The new pre -boarding show will create an exciting, interactive experience for guests as the wait to board. Santa and Mrs. Claus will both play a role in the onboard train experience. Food vendors will be in the North Pole Neightborhood and there will also be fourteen craft and artisan vendors in the North Pole Neighborhood. The intent behind this activation is to offer guests not riding Santa's North Pole Express something to do in the area. The Elf Adventure will operate Friday, November 29 through Monday December 30, excluding closed Dec 24, 25, and 26. The Unreal Winter at Meow Wolf Grapevine will run from Sunday, December 1 through Saturday, December 21. The 181h Annual Holiday Decorating Contest within the historic district will be judged in early December. Merchant categories include Professionally Installed Decorations and Do It Yourself Decorations. The Merry and Bright Drone Shows have been moved from Saturday evenings to Monday evenings and are scheduled for December 2 and December 9. The show has doubled in size this year from 200 drones to 400 drones. Guests should be able to see the show anywhere along Main Street. The 45th Annual Parade of Lights is set for Thursday, December 5 at 7 p.m. The theme is Toys, Trains and Candy Canes. The Palace Theatre has an exciting Christmas season sponsored by Amazon. There will be twenty seven different Christmas movies including classics like "It's a Wonderful Life", "Home Alone", and "White Christmas". Twenty three different Cartoons and Crafts events featuring classic movies like "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas" will be offered. There are also multiple live shows scheduled including Big Band Holiday Swing Thing presented by Tribute Masters on Saturday, November 9, the North Central Ballet's Nutcracker on Saturday November 23 and Sunday November 24, an Elvis Christmas Special with Kraig Parker on Sunday, December 1, Dean Martin and Friends Christmas Tribute on Friday, December 6, A Merry Little Christmas with Ricki Derek on Saturday, December 7, Rocky Gribble presents A Grapevine Opry Christmas on Sunday, December 8, The Texas Tenors — Deep in the Heart of Christmas on Monday, December 9 through Wednesday, December 11, A Buble Christmas Tribute Saturday on December 14 and Sunday, December 15, Endless Summer —The Beach Boys Experience Holiday Edition on Friday, December 20 and more. Winter Wonderland Bubbles at Hotel Vin on the Wineyard lawn featuring fur blankets, heaters and decadent treats is open now through Valentine's Day. The Holly Jolly Pop Up Bar at Third Rail offers Christmas cocktails, festive decor and live entertainment throughout December inside Harvest Hall at Grapevine Main Station. Holiday Hideaway Pop Up Bar at Chicken N Pickle offers winter themed drink and food specials throughout the season. NEW BUSINESS Director McCallum presented a Grant -in -Aid request for Frontier Brigade Band, that also plays under the title of Grapevine Cornet Band. The Frontier Brigade Band was formed in 2000 and is committed to preserving the musical heritage of our country and seeks opportunities to promote local history. The Frontier Brigade Band performs impressions of the hometown and military bands from the American Civil War period, The "1859 Marine Corps Band", "Buffalo Bill's Cowboy Band" and has just recently added "Grenze Kapelle" a German Festival image. In historical uniforms of the period and often playing replica over -the -shoulder brass instruments, the band performs music from the band books the late 1800's and early 19oo's including the Regimental and Brigade Bands from the Civil War period, show tunes from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and prominent music from the turn of the century up to and including current patriotic repertoire. The band presents programs focused on providing their audiences enjoyable and historical experiences with the music of a by gone day and musical support for the events and celebrations our history and culture. The Frontier Brigade Band has performed in a number of prestigious events throughout the Country as well as at the State and local level. The band also provides historical programs for schools, churches, libraries, and civic organizations striving to preserve the heritage of the state and country through music. The group has performed at a variety of events in Grapevine over the past several years. The band requests $5,000 to go towards performance fees for six performances in Grapevine over the next calendar year. Following discussion, Board Chairman Szymaszek called for a motion to fund the Grant -In -Aid request of the Frontier Brigade Band in the amount of $5,000. Motion: Mike Oakley Second: Cynthia Blankenship Approved: 7-0 Director McCallum gave an update on recent progress of the Concourse project. Demolition is complete and now the focus is on the build out. He gave a brief history on the Concourse. Upon its creation, the name Concourse, paid homage to the newly established Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. As the years have passed and changes were made, the former pro shop became a pavilion. As the building was designed by Byron Nelson, the intent is to update the facility to meet modern needs but maintain the base structure. The branding for this next stage will be a delicate balance of complimenting the history while looking to the future. The branding will play a part in design finishes, landscaping and name selection. The overall purpose of the facility and the potential groups it will serve will be taken into account. HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS/ACTIVITIES Grapevine Chamber liaison, Kelly Schwartz shared that the speaker for the next Grapevine Chamber luncheon would be the Executive Director of the Dallas Sports Commission, Monica Paul. She reminded the group that the Parade of Lights was set for December 5 and that the Women's Division monthly meeting is set for December 12. Assistant Director Lyons shared that Grapevine had been named one of the "Best Christmas Towns in the USA." by Vogue Magazine. The write up mentions 1,400 events in 40 days, Peace Plaza Ice Rink, drone shows and the Parade of Lights It was reported that the Communications team is relaunching the Christmas Capital of Texas media familiarization tour. She will host 10 journalists, two of which are from Australia, December 5 through 8. There will also be an Australian writer with Karry On magazine. These international contacts are a result of Ms. Egan's continued work in the leisure sales and international market. Fam guests will visit a variety of the attractions and events including ICE! at Gaylord Texan Resort, have the opportunity to make a one of a kind glass ornament at Vetro, explore Meow Wolf, participate in activities at Nash Farm, visit Santa's North Pole Express, experience SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium, shop at Grapevine Mills and along Main Street, dine and experience wine tasting throughout the city. The group will stay at Hilton DFW Lakes. Townplace Suites in Grapevine is undergoing a $2.4 million renovation including updates to the lobby, restroom, gym and breakfast areas and plumbing work in the guest rooms. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is set to receive $15 million in federal funds for the exterior infrastructure of a sixth terminal, Terminal F. This terminal will add 22 new gates and support gate access for up to 15 aircrafts. Updates are coming to Terminal E as well. Great Wolf Lodge has added a food hall, the Hungry Wolf Food Hall was added as a food option between the indoor attractions that include laser tag, Ten Paw Alley bowling, the arcade and the indoor water park. Construction on the first phase of Settlers Park in Grapevine is on track to finish later this year. Settlers Park is located on 15.8 acres of land that includes a 6.2-acre spring -fed lake. The first phase will feature completion of several amenities including a concrete trail, restrooms and a pavilion. She shared that Winestein's Tasting Room & Wine Shop had opened on the north end of Main Street. Michael and Maranda Einstein's business serves tasting flights, wine by the glass and has bottles of wine for sale. They will also will offer expert -led tasting events, wine education, curated retail selection, membership club options, wine appreciation courses and rentable event space. ADJOURNMENT Board Chairman Szymaszek called for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:23 a.m. Motion: Mike Oakley Second: Debi Meek Approved: 7-0 ATTEST: Becky Rt erson APPROVED: oe Szyma iek Executive Assistant Chairman