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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-05-08 Regular Meeting CITY OF GRAPEVINE, TEXAS GRAPEVINE CONVENTION&VISITORS BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Thursday, May 8, 2025—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. Approval of Minutes 4. Sales&Marketing Report A. Sales Missions and Trade Shows B. Marketing and Media Report 5. Marketing Committee for Fiscal Year 25/26 6. Ongoing Business A. 33rd Spring Wine Trail Update 7. New Business A. Restoration of Historic Tate House 8. 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 2nd day of May, 2025 by 8:00 a.m. X/'4z' ec y oberson xecutive 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, May 8, 2025 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 MarkTerpening Vice Chairman lain Scouller Board Member Jeff Babcock Board Member Dan Weinberger Board Member Mike Oakley Board Member Debi Meek Board Member Absent: Cynthia Blankenship and Chuck Pacioni Constituting a quorum,with the following liaisons and staff members present: Leon Leal Council Liaison Sue Wykes Chamber Liaison Paul W. McCallum Executive Director Becky Roberson Executive Assistant CALL TO ORDER Board Chairman,Joe Szymaszek, called the meeting to order at 8:01 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Board Chairman Szymaszek,called for a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. With a motion from MarkTerpening and seconded by Mike Oakleythe minutes from the April 10, 2025 meeting were approved 7-0. SALES AND MARKETING REPORT Executive Director McCallum reported on recent sales missions and trade shows. National Sales Manager,Tanja Nichols, attended the Sports ETA Symposium April 14-17 in Tulsa. Sports ETA is the only non-profit trade association for the sports and events tourism industry in the United States. Ms. Nichols had 32 appointments and returned with two requests for proposals and is expectingtwo future requests. One proposal request is for June of 2025 and is for 1500 attendees and 750 total room nights, 300 peak. The second confirmed proposal request is for September of 2028 for 400 attendees and 350 room nights. Managing Director of Sales,Joe Thompson,.attended Connect Sprint April 22-24. This reverse tradeshow offers networking opportunities with meeting planners from association, corporate, diversity and citywide segments. Mr.Thompson met with 19 clients and prospective customers and returned with two requests for proposals. One request is for February 2027 with 3,000 attendees and 7,685 total room nights, 2,500 peak. The second proposal request is for September 2028 for 1,000 attendees and 2,514 total room nights, 700 peak. In addition,there is the potential for a third request for proposal and that lead is being actively pursued. Director of Leisure and International Sales, Heather Egan, attended the Brand USA event March 3-through April 4. This program is a two week long event with scheduled networking and presentations throughout Europe. Ms. Egan participated in the second half of the program and met with tour operators and travel agents in Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin and London. These cities are strong markets for promoting Grapevine and Route 66. Director McCallum reported that Director of Communications, Elizabeth Schrack, attended the NYC Travel Texas Media Mission April 8-10. She promoted Grapevine and met one on one with writers from various publications, including Conde Nast Traveler, Real Simple, Premier Traveler, New Your Lifestyles Magazine, Fodor'sTravel, Northstar Meetings Group and more. Ms.Schrack had two familiarization tours. She and her team hosted five Australian travel writers April 10, 11 and 12. In addition,four European influencers toured Grapevine April 12 and 13. These writers, photographers,videographers and influencers experienced restaurants, attractions, shops, and activities throughout the entire city. Director McCallum spoke to the importance of getting people to Grapevine so they can then get others interested. Marketing and advertising are key, but the importance of hosting writers and influencers cannot be overlooked. Director McCallum outlined recent marketing and advertising efforts. Grapevine Mills Mall boasts three double-sided sky banners that were strategically placed in high traffic areas. They are located in the Food Court area, near Saks Off 5111 and between Rainforest Cafe and Meow Wolf. These 8'x 14' banners promote Grapevine as a destination.The current copy was installed in April and will remain through mid-August. Marketing efforts for April ran in various outlets including outdoor billboards, television, print, radio, and social. Print articles and ads were shared, including D Magazine and Dallas Morning News. Online articles were highlighted,which covered a wide variety of topics. Food &Wine chose Dallas Fort Worth International Airport as one of the top 10 US airports for food and drink.Yahoo! Creators featured Hotel Vin. Culture Map Fort Worth highlighted the much anticipated Universe of Light at Gaylord Texan Resort. CBS11 covered Easter activities in Grapevine which included Hotel Vin,Grapevine Vintage Railroad's Easter Bunny Express Excursion and the Rainforest Cafe in Grapevine Mills Mall. Press releases forApril spoke to the 41 stAnnual Main Street Fest—A Timeless Texas Tradition presented by Bank of the West. Festival entertainment,family centric activities and specialty artisans and food vendors were highlighted. Mother's Day activities were showcased in one press release. Grapevine as a summer destination was the topic of a press release. The Visit Grapevine Facebook page reported over 858,000 total impressions with an estimated reach of 370,500 and engagement of 8,200. Instagram shows 219,000 impressions with a reach of 51,200 and engagement of 7,300. YouTube assigned a total of 5.440 views and 37 hours of watch time for the month of April. Marketing emails over the course of April included two eblasts for a total reach of 134,835 with open rates between 41%and 59%. Considering the benchmark standard is 20.44%,the team is pleased. MARKETING COMMITTEE FISCALYEAR 25/26 Director McCallum described the work the Convention and Visitors Bureau staff, in particular the Marketing team, has done to prepare for the implementation of the Fiscal Year 25/26 Marketing Committee. A Committee Chair will be appointed by Chairman Szymaszek and will work closely with the Convention and Visitors Bureau team. Representatives from multiple areas, including Grapevine's full-service hotels, select- service hotels, attractions, historic district merchants and restaurants will be contacted. The Marketing Committee will provide input to the Convention and Visitors Bureau Marketing team across all marketing programs. The committee will meet in person and via email. Director McCallum directed any board member interested in serving as the Committee Chair or Member at Large to reach out to Chairman Szymaszek. ONGOING BUSINESS Director McCallum reported that the 33rd Annual Spring Wine Trail was well attended. The traditional Blessing of the Vines opened the festivities and this year nine winery tasting rooms and seven galleries were showcased. Ticket sales were up 35%from last year, especiallywalk up sales. Feedback from patrons and participating businesses reported that the rebrand change from New Vintage Wineries and Galleries Trail to Spring Wine Trail was a significant improvement as the change reflected a more concise title and strengthened marketing efforts. Many merchants reported that the Main Street was full and business was strong. NEW BUSINESS Director McCallum reported that a local historic house was available. The house was originally built on the Tate Farm on Denton Creek prior to the construction of Lake Grapevine. In 1951, it was moved to its current location at 122 west Peach Street. This house is an early example of a Texas Prairie Folk-Victorian style. This house is typical of a farmer's home of the time. It would have been made up of four rooms,two front rooms and two back rooms. The house has two front doors, one for each of the front rooms. This style of house was quite popular but had a short lived history in Texas,with few Left. If the Convention and Visitors Bureau accepts ownership of the house, it is proposed that it would be moved to the Cotton Belt Railroad Historic District and locate it in the open space between the Bragg House and the Blacksmith Shop. It would be renovated with the goal to become a retail space. The two front doors make it ideal to have two or more businesses. Potential businesses and rental fees that would fit the vision of the space were discussed. The Founders Buildingwas discussed as it set an example of a space that the Convention and Visitors Bureau rented to businesses and used as incubation for up and coming artisans. Coupled with the use of festival proceeds to preserve historic structures and the potential to recoup the renovation costs through rental fees, Director McCallum asked the board to consider the proposal Following discussion, Board Chairman Szymaszek called for a motion to approve the use of festival proceeds in the amount of$145,000 for the move and restoration of the historic Tate house. Motion: Dan Weinberger Second: Debi Meek Approved: 7-0 HOTELS/ATTRACTIONS/ACTIVITIES Chamber Liaison,Sue Wykes shared that the annual Grapevine Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Year Luncheon held on April 24 was a great success. She also spoke to the success of two fundraising events, Casino Night and Great Taste of Grapevine. The Women's Division plans to use the funds raised from Great Taste event to purchase school supplies for local schools and Christmas gifts for area senior citizens. Director McCallum reported that two Grapevine restaurants had recently celebrated anniversaries. Esparza's Restaurante Mexicano celebrated 40years and Main Street Bistro celebrated 25 years. ADJOURNMENT Board Chairman Szymaszek called for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:17 a.m. Motion: Debi Meek Second: MarkTerpening Approved: 7—0 ATTEST. APPROVED: r Becky Rdberson 61" Joe Szy aszek Executive Assistant Chairman