DMO Committee Presentation Diane Hedges, Scott Young, Jim Leitch & Rose Myers July 16, 2015
We Can and Must Do Better! Tourism Advisory Board Represents: B&B, Hoteliers, Chamber, EDC, HGMA, Historic Preservation, Acton Community, Restaurants, and One at Large Ten-Year History of Frequent turnover of the CVB Directors and Staff. Frustration felt by many on the Tourism Advisory Board Desire to be a partner in our tourism market Want a spirit of cooperation and not antagonism or obstruction Servant attitude: How can we get this done, not No you can t do that Weak relationships with Tourism Partners/Stakeholders
TAB/Stakeholders How-To s A How Can This Be Done Attitude to Encourage Widespread Community Involvement in Tourism Activities Entrepreneurial Mindset with a laser focus on increasing visitation and spending Fully Funded Staff to Implement Marketing Plan, Programs and Campaigns Granbury must adopt a thoughtful, prudent strategy for establishing an independent Convention & Visitors Bureau (Taken from 3-Yr Strategic Approach, Steve Dieterichs) TAB board agrees with the experts: City run CVBs are limited in their flexibility to partner with others by the rules and regulations inherent in municipal government. Therefore, the TAB Board recommends the move towards an Independent fully-funded DMO
HGMA Speaks to Travel Trends Direct travel spending in Texas accounted for more than 70.5 Billion in 2014 Real travel spending has increased by 4.5 percent Approximately 3 out of 4 jobs in Texas represent the leisure and hospitality businesses Travel spending directly supported 630,000 jobs Room nights sold In Texas increased 3.4% in the first quarter of 2015 Source Strategies and Texas Tourism
We Can & Must Do Better! 70% of all recreational spending is from out of towners, according to Wall Street Journal article about Granbury. HGMA represents 82 business members, 70 retail establishments, 12 restaurants that provide 310 jobs in a four block downtown district. Wow! HGMA Board of Directors along with the majority of its members support the move to a fully funded independent DMO
Lodging: Our Ups and Downs Some progress being made HOT tax trend is UP However, overall hotel occupancy in Granbury has remained relatively flat in the past few years hovering in the upper 40 s with just a recent increase above 50% State hotel occupancy average 60% year over year New Tourism Web site traffic UP good news However, referring traffic and any conversions (bookings) from City tourism managed web sites DOWN year over year B&B Example Referral Revenue to the Inn on Lake Granbury from the City tourism web site is down 40% Hotelier Example Hilton s referring click thru traffic down over 50% and conversions to bookings well below expectations
We Can & Must Do Better! Strong leadership and community buy-in is critically important to reaching our full potential Rolling back tourism funds to 600K may: Create financial challenges in the City s ability to be as aggressive and progressive in a highly competitive market Create financial challenges for new marketing opportunities as they come up in the fiscal year Limit the ability to market all of Granbury s tourism assets to attract the most visitors directly affecting key stakeholders Lodging along with the majority of its members support the move to a fully funded Independent DMO.
How Will DMO Succeed with Attracting More Visitors? Find out who comes to Granbury, and why? What are their spending habits Less about personas and demographic heat mapping Promote branded experiences to attract more visitors More affluent events and festivals targeted at age groups with disposable income Target feeder groups with social media blitzes and online digital advertising Weekend getaways Groups and clusters able to travel during the week Packaged partner promotions to DFW and other secondary Texas markets Community involvement needed here!
Criteria for DMO Board of Directors A guiding influence - A strategic thinker - An agent of change who embraces future possibility and sees the big picture - A collaborator within the organization who partners with his/her internal and external customers and can propel the organizations growth and influence - A decisive individual who enjoys collaboration - One who has a sense of adventure and is open to opposing views - Is a selfless team member guided by their respect of others - One who has respect from and connected within the City of Granbury and community at large - Experienced with business/financial reporting - Knowledgeable of 21st century marketing and public relations - One who enjoys thinking outside the box and leads others along
DMOs Receiving GFs Augusta GA Columbus OH Grand Rapids MI Greenville SC Portland OR To name a few
Contract Framework w/city Contract for minimum of 3 years with budget and funding approved each year Permitted Uses of HOT Tax funds and General Funds DMO obligations to City City obligations to DMO Quarterly reporting to City on funds dispersed Transfer of intellectual property (web site etc.) Other provisions as mutually agreed
Transition to a DMO Vote by City Council to approve in August Slate of Board of Directors appointed by interim DMO board (9 plus 2 City elected officials or staff) Contract negotiations between DMO and City begin in August Target date for sign off on contract September 15th DMO leases office space with a October 1 start-up date In the event contract is not finalized by October 1, Board of Directors will operate DMO until a CEO is hired or an interim CEO may run DMO (in budget)
Cont. Transition General Fund monies provided to cover start up expenses for October Goal: CEO is hired by no later than November 1, with start date no later than December 1, plus: Two part-time Visitor Center employees Administrative & Events Coordinator One additional full time staff position is hired by no later than December 31 Marketing Manager
Visit Granbury We have evolved our destination marketing organization into the structure that almost 80% of the communities in our country have determined will best benefit our community by increasing our economic well-being through visitor spending The Stakeholders and this committee trust our Expert and our DMO partners. We are asking City Council to make a decision to adopt the industry best practices The Committee and its Stakeholders (including an official statement from Mike Scott with the Chamber) makes a formal recommendation to move to an Independent DMO in the best interest of the City of Granbury sending a clear message to our community that the City is serious about their success and engaging our community that will be lead by a professional destination marketer driving new revenues into area business and new non-resident taxes to the City coffers.
QUESTIONS?