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Home My WebLink AboutVLMDAC May Minutes DRAFTMinutes Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council Thursday, May 15, 2014 8:30 AM – 11:00 AM The Antlers – Caribou/Pronghorn Room VLMDAC Members Present: Mia Vlaar, Vice Chair (East West Resorts) Skip Thurnauer Michael Holton (VVMC) John Dawsey, Treasurer (CME) Beth Slifer, Chair (Slifer Designs) Dale Bugby (Vail Town Council Alternate) Jenn Bruno (Vail Town Council) Jamie Gunion (Vail Recreation District) via phone VLMDAC Members Absent Davy Ratchford (Vail Resorts) Also Present: Kelli McDonald (Town of Vail) Sybill Navas (Town of Vail) Meggen Kirkham (SITE Marketing) Chris Romer (Vail Valley Partnership) Jill Lammers (Vail Valley Partnership) Haley McNeill (Vail Valley Partnership) Laura Waniuk (Event Marketing Liaison) D’nae Kingsley (goodness mfg) Kristyn Dunlap (goodness mfg) Jonathan Smith (Vail Resorts) Jeff Morgan (Vail Vitality Center) Jean Alexander (Wyndham Vacation Rentals) Ellen Miller (Vail Vitality Center) Kari Mohr (Vail Resorts) Satchel Burns Lisa Mallory (Bravo) Dave Chapin (Vail Town Council) Josh Culvert (Booyah) Kristin Yantis (MYPR) I. April 2014 Monthly Financial Report – Kelli McDonald Pacing is as expected, behind on collections which is typical for this time of year. It was recently brought to McDonald’s attention that some line items were inaccurate and will be corrected and sent out with May P&L. II. Approval of March 19, 2014 Meeting Minutes  Motion to accept minutes as presented/Dawsey. Seconded/ Thurnauer. Passed unanimously III. PR Update – Kristin Yantis MYPR – see slides for details America’s Best Summer Job winner selected was introduced. Setup progress for job is going well. Yanits is going to send him some Vail swag to wear in Brooklyn. Ben Solomon is an “up and coming journalist.” MYPR is working with VR to continue planning summer deliverables. More ideas are being scheduled. Some Huffington Post coverage might take place as a result of the selected candidate. Vlaar pointed out that TV8 is in Denver now too and could reach the target audience. Summer lodging schedule was presented and it was noted that all lodging has been secured at no charge. Yantis will present summer job update at the Town Council meeting. Thurnauer pointed out that the graph of hits should be presented at the council meeting. Taylor Cook (MYPR) is currently in Mexico City for summer outreach (5/14-5/18). IV. Event Marketing Update – Laura Waniuk – see slides for details Introduced herself and what she is doing for the VLMDAC/CSE. Presented upcoming events and gave background for each. Some advertising has been printed in the Vail Daily and ran without approval. Some event producers have been last minute in ad requests and Waniuk has noticed some strained communication with select promoters, she is doing her best to work with them. Brand guide presentation lead to more interaction with promoters. Some producers have been hesitant to accept change. There is a plan in place to take a close look at ROI for FEAST (Memorial Weekend), as a lot of money was given to that second year event. V. VIII. Digital Update – Booyah – Josh Culvert – see slides for details Duplicate content issue on Vail.com, working with VR to fix and eliminate duplicate copy. When fixed, results should be immediate. Excited about promotional opportunities with America’s Best Summer Job. They will take advantage of some opportunities to include ratings in google search results and will lead to higher click through rate. Will make more suggestions after looking at all possibilities to improve. Home page lacks static content and is effecting SEO. Booyah is happy to write static content and work with partners to make sure it is the proper voice. It was pointed out that VR dictates what goes on the website and Booyah needs to work with them to generate proper content. Vlaar shared a concern she received about overall strategy for paid search terms for lodging - It was asked if Booyah’s efforts were driving up price of paid terms? Booyah responded by saying they are not using specific property names and does not think they are doing anything to drive up price, other sites like Expedia are contributing to cost rising. In general, cost per click has gone up across the board. McDonald pointed out that this is the job of VLMD to promote the destination and that a document should be distributed to communicate plan and change perception. VI. Intercept Survey – Chris Romer Vail Valley Partnership – See slides for details Study was sent out in packet. There were changes to the survey this year. Objective is to gauge guest satisfaction with their experience in Vail. The survey looks at: who, why, where, how much, to understand who is in the town of Vail in the summer months. One key aspect for the 2014 survey was to tighten up study and make it only 3 minutes of survey time. Highlights include, trip dynamic information – how many nights? When did they plan the trip? What are they doing when they get here? What percentage of the share is Vail getting, are they going to other mountain resorts? Looking to understand why they made the decision to come to Vail. Some answers will not change since introduction of survey. Removed booking timing because the DestiMetrics study provides more accurate information. Parking questions are not relevant and have gone away. Demographic questions will not change. Cut the survey questions down from 41 to 23 questions to keep key information and keep survey time short. Minor tweaks to survey will take place soon. In 2012, the survey was done specifically to look at events. In 2013 it was a pure intercept study. VR corporate research team also looking at results. Intercept has not increased rates in eight years and has been a good partner with VLMD. Shortened survey was well received. Vlaar challenged “feeling of value of experience” question being taking out, it will need to be researched to see if it swings results dramatically. VII. Research Results – Goodness mfg – See slides for details – D’nae & Kristyn Approach and goals were presented. Goal is to create branding that speaks to the right person. Family messaging was well received. It was pointed out that Aspen and Breckenridge are doing a good job getting people to convert and visit. Slifer pointed out an intimidation factor that might drive visitors to other more approachable destinations. Results paralleled Burke and intercept with results about why people want to come. Mullen pointed out that time with family is very broad and could mean a lot. Discussion ensued about booking window and how it relates to current call to action on Vail.com and the need for lodging properties to post rates earlier. Half of what is booked for summer is booked by end of April. The perception that people book last minute has to change as the results are showing that people are booking much further out. Overall results showcase Vail Summer is on the right track, some adjustments will be made next summer. Duality exists in drivers to Vail, value add that other resorts cannot promote. Luxury wilderness is a constant driver. Wilderness luxury could also be used interchangeably. R&R is represented with the promise of unique duality. McDonald asked if Vail was the most expensive resort included in study. Discussion ensued about cost of coming to Vail. D’nae pointed out that research found there is a perception that Vail is too expensive. Since people are more likely to spend money on the things they value, there is an opportunity for Vail to build in the perception of value. In the winter months, Vail is number 1,2 or 3 for highest rates for ADR in all of the mountain resorts. ADR variance in the summer is shockingly different but still higher than most. There is an opportunity to understand what the fall visitor might be looking for and to understand what “family” means to visitors. Discussion ensued about the fact that Vail is located off of a major highway that runs through the middle of the town. Discussion ensued about events and how they positively impact families. Full report from Goodness mfg. is available. VIII. VLMD 5/20 Presentation – Meggen – see slides for details Discussion ensued about order of presentation material. Chapin pointed out to get to the main points, conclusions and highlight shifts in demographics. Opportunity to see shifts. Presentation does not include health and wellness information. Summary of goals needs to be explained. Summer messaging slide to be removed. IX. Other Business Mid-week efforts were discussed. Goal to have mid-week offerings posted by Jan/Feb. 2015. Scope of work for Goodness mfg has ended for 2014. X. Adjournment  Motion to adjourn/ Vlaar. Seconded/Mullen. Passed unanimously. Upcoming Meeting: VLMD Meeting May 20, Noon – Town Council Chambers VLMDAC Meeting, June 19, 8:30 – 11:30 – Antlers