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Home My WebLink AboutVLMDAC Minutes 4.16 DRAFT FINALMinutes Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council Thursday, April 16, 2015 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM The Antlers – Caribou/Pronghorn Room VLMDAC Members Present: Jamie Gunion (Vail Recreation District) – by phone Laurie Mullen, (West Vail Liquor Mart) Skip Thurnauer   Jim Kellen (Vail Resorts) Mark Herron (Four Seasons Resort Vail) Michael Holton (Vail Valley Medical Center)   VLMDAC Members absent: Beth Slifer (Chair) Jenn Bruno (Vail Town Council Alternate John Dawsey, Treasurer (Colorado Mountain Express)  Also Present: Kelli McDonald (Town of Vail) Sybill Navas (Town of Vail)  Sandra Perrig-Holst (Vail Valley Partnership) Haley McNeill (Vail Valley Partnership) Kristin Yantis (Malen Yantis Public Relations)   Kendyl Severino (Vail Resorts)  Ben Waymire (Booyah)   Taylor Prather (Malen Yantis Public Relations) Jonathan Smith (Vail Resorts)  Ellie Chadwick (goodness mfg) (phone) Laura Waniak (CSE Liaison) Sirena Rolfe (Booyah) Jen Hartwick (Booyah) Meggen Kirkham (Site) Melanie Wong (Vail Daily) Gabe Shalley (Vail Resorts) I. March 2015 Monthly Financial Report – Kelli McDonald – see packet for more details It was noted that the first report sent out to partners had coding errors, a new report was sent out. Financials for February were flat, March financials are expected to be up and revenue numbers are on track. It was noted that the numbers are over projections. First quarter also looks good. Pointed out that Vail Town Council wants to do a lodging inventory study, last one was conducted in 2011. This inventory study will lead to a better understanding of every hot bed in Vail and understand what it is (Hotel, condo, residence etc.,) and understanding the rating for each. Vail Town Council wants to understand if Vail is gaining or losing inventory compared to the competition. The cost of the study is $12,100 and coming out of contingency fund. The current contingency fund has $33,000. II. Approval of February 19, 2015 Meeting Minutes - Thurnauer/Herron - passed unanimously III. Event Liaison Update – Laura Waniuk – see slides for details “State of the Town” promotional materials were passed out, which included an event calendar. The event calendar will act as a living document and will be regularly updated and sent out monthly. Waniuk gave scope of position and how she works with VLMD/CSE/TOV and event promoters. Stated that her job is never the same every day and she customizes efforts to fit diverse selection of events and event promoters. Gave examples of event branding and marketing for successful events. Presented goals and next steps. The board noted that there has been significant progress made due to Waniuk and her efforts have been great and much appreciated. IV. Media Spending by Month – Booyah & SITE – see slides for details Spend by month was presented. It was asked for the next meeting to show occupancy levels to see how the media spend and vacation planning as well as occupancy may correlate – using guest profiler information. Booyah and VR are working very closely to understand digital data and how to best use it. It was noted that they are closer than ever to having it figured out. It was also noted that digital media buys are an easy and quick turn around and can be adjusted. V. Competitive Analysis - all – see slides for details Media Spend – Meggen Kirkham SITE – it was noted to interpret data directionally, as it may not be 100% accurate. The cost is about $6000 to purchase actual data and research, including Nielsen ratings. Front Range media spend was presented. See packet for Front Range data. It was noted the Front Range spend has been cut back but is still a huge effort compared to competitors. Timing is May-September. It was pointed out Tahoe will launch a nonstop flight from NYC to Reno in May. Competitors were researched via the Internet and found that most are not promoting packages or lodging right now, Vail is currently ahead on promoting those packages. Steamboat was noted as a possible competitor based on what they are currently promoting for lodging packages. It was suggested to continue to work on what inventory is currently available and brand it. It was noted that VR is at 50% capacity for lodging offers and that number matches projections. VR is also working to make offers more compelling. It was mentioned that more promoted packages will become available. Digital – Sirena Rolfe & Jen Hartwick Booyah – Paid search data information was hard to find for competitors. Booyah is using a new tool called SEM Rush and will start to be able to collect more data. More updates and data to come with new tool. A pie chart of competitor spend was passed around. Tool used to collect current data is about 70% accurate and data should be interpreted directionally. Aspen digital efforts took place in late summer Aug/Sept. It was asked why Aspen may have made such a large spend on Yahoo and it was answered that a possible sponsorship that may allow for 100% of a certain section. Discussion ensued about Yahoo display use by Aspen. It was asked if Booyah looks at GO Breck Chamber campaigns or VR campaigns and it was answered that Breckenridge’s marketing is through a combination of organizations for summer marketing. Creative – Ellie Chadwick (via phone) Goodness Mfg – Creative examples were given for each competitor. Trends were presented. It was noted that there is an opportunity to bring a researcher, Nate Fristoe of RRC, focusing on Millennials to VLMDAC meeting. It was noted that it might be good information to understand the focus of spend for Millennials on vacation. Travel trends were presented. It was noted that creative “sea of sameness” still exists. Website & email – Kendal Severino Vail Resorts – Squaw Mountain screen shots were displayed as they are the only competitor using a mobile friendly responsive website. Navigation of site is different also. Glacier National Park was presented to show industry trend of responsive sites to accommodate different devices. Email trends are revolving around responsive sites as well. Pre-arrival emails are becoming a trend. SEO – Ben Waymire Booyah – SEO sites evaluated were presented. It was noted that Vail has a very strong hold in domain authority, which is good news for Vail. Vail.com has best ration of backlinks. Some data about SEO spend may be very speculative. It was noted VisitParkcity.com may not actually have 55,000+ pages and the data might be skewed to include pages not actually helping the site. Public Relations – MYPR Kristin Yantis & Taylor Prather MYPR – it was noted that the comp set media coverage will be included in quarterly reports moving forward. Competitor PR efforts were presented. Quantitative measurements were presented. Qualitative analysis was presented. It was noted that due to USA Pro Cycling event, Steamboat and Breckenridge might out “clip” Vail due to event coverage. Competitor media coverage was presented by outlet. It was pointed out that while there is missing key messages from lodging, the current information about Vail in media is good. On going tactics were presented. Working closely with event producers. Resort Events – Laura Waniuk Town of Vail – Summer event calendar was handed out. Competitor events were presented. It was suggested that Vail build up Labor Day events, many competitors holding holiday events. Events that jumped out hosted by competitors, song writing festivals, and altruism music or sport events – no hybrid currently exists. Eco friendly and environmental events are also held by competitors additionally. It was asked if Labor Day events are being recruited by CSE and it was answered that Gourmet on Gore, Vail Farmers Market and the Rotary Duck Race are strong and currently not looking for events. It was noted that last Labor Day Vail was at full occupancy. There is a proposed joint meeting between CSE & VLMD on June 3, the focus will be to discuss strategy in order to formulate an RFP. Discussion ensued about Labor Day marketing ideas. Group Sales – Sandra Perrig-Holst Vail Valley Partnership – group sales competitors were presented. Breckenridge changed name of chamber doing destination marketing to Go Breck. North Lake Tahoe is opening Boulder Bay, a lodging and gaming facility in 2016. Steamboat pushing USA Pro Cycling message. Telluride is not currently pushing group business and their airport has just shifted to be private. It was noted that meeting planners are very receptive to Vail due to options for groups. International – Kendal Severino Vail Resorts – analysis was based on web presence. Aspen was the only competitor with an international site. Vail.com does not have an international site or entryway. Aspen international entry segmented by country and not language. Whistler also has international site but it’s only partially translated. Outside of comp set, Disney was presented as an example offering a robust translated web experience. It was suggested to do more analysis on what the guest need is for a translated web experience. Discussion ensued about wholesaler vs. online booking. More research will be done to better understand if international audience wants to book directly instead of wholesaler approach. It was noted both Jackson Hole and Park City have international wholesaler events and in market events. Discussion ensued about Vail’s strength and ideas about other competitive destinations that are not mountain towns. It was suggested to look deeper and outside of mountain travel and compare comp sets to aim to be a leader generally for destination travel instead of a leader in mountain towns. VI. Other Business   Gabe Shalley from VR gave a flight update, Dallas flights start a week earlier than last year. Houston flights start in June and is a 3 times a week flight. Denver flights are twice a day during peak summer months. Early bookings are strong and flat to last year. Still early for flight booking numbers. Noted that flight messaging benefitted from early efforts. VII. Adjournment  Kellen/ Thurnauer – passed unanimously Upcoming Meetings: VLMDAC Meeting, May 21, 2015, 8:30 – 11:30 AM, Antlers  