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Home My WebLink About2012-09-19 CSE Planning Session Minutes09/19/2012 CSE/Planning Session Minutes Page 1 of 4 MINUTES: Town of Vail: Commission on Special Events Meeting Town Council Chambers __________________Wednesday, September 19, 2012 @ 8:00 a.m.______________ CSE Members Present: Jenn Bruno, Chair Rayla Kundolf, Vice-Chair Cali Adkisson Bobby Bank Barry Davis Joyce Gedelman-Viers Sonny Kerstiens TOV Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator Tammy Nagel, CSE Secretary Clare Hefferren, CSE Intern Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Director Others Present: Margaret Rogers, Vail Town Council Member Susie Tjossem, Vail Town Council Member Beth Slifer, VLMDAC Member Laurie Mullen, VLMDAC Member Patricia McNamara, Sonnenalp of Vail Robin Litt, Jazz Festival Jaime Stone, Vail Symposium/Living at Your Peak Mark Bradford, Skating Club of Vail Jessica Stevens, Vail Valley Partnership ______________________________________________________________________ CSE Chair, Jenn Bruno, called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. and introduced Adam Sutner in his new role as “Strategic Consultant to the CSE” who will lead the CSE into the future with a more economically based focus. 2013 Strategy Alignment: • VLMDAC 2013 Overview Adam Sutner reviewed the Town Council and the VLMDAC 2013 Objectives, showing how both objectives align with the each other. The VLMDAC focus and invest in strategy to assist with achieving their 2013 objectives. 2012 survey results show 9 out of 10 guests would recommend Vail. Sutner stated events are portioned positively with over night stays up 2%. • CSE Alignment Sutner spoke to members regarding changing the CSE’s Mission Statement to 09/19/2012 CSE/Planning Session Minutes Page 2 of 4 assist with defining the CSE 2013 objectives. The current CSE Mission Statement is as follows: “The mission of the Vail Commission on Special Events is to support and assess a diverse collection of special events, both large and small, which promote Vail's economic vitality, sense of community, and increase the quality year round of the experience for guests and resident.” Sutner proposed a new CSE Mission Statement that would better define CSE’s role and align with the Town Council and VLMDAC objectives: “The Vail Commission on Special Events is accountable to deliver an annual Special Events Plan that ensures world class events fully consistent and aligned with Vail’s brand, effectively and efficiently allocates available budget behind this objective, that delivers measureable results in terms of specific goals: economic impact, optimization of the seasonal calendar, positive community impact and integration, as well as positive guest-centric impact on two levels; guest experience and future loyalty.” Bruno, Gedelman-Viers, McDonald and Sutner will meet to draft a new mission statement to present to the members at the next meeting. Sutner then led a team discussion for developing 2013 objectives for the CSE. Sutner proposed a draft of the 2013 objectives which would align with the VLMDAC 2013 Objectives for the members to discuss. VLMDAC 2013 Objectives Continue the momentum and build on the powerful leadership position of the year-round Vail brand 1. Increase May – October Occupancy 2. Increase Sales & Lodging Tax Revenue 3. Increase Group Occupancy 4. Optimize Visitor Mix 5. Increase Net Promoter Score 6. Increase Vail Brand Awareness CSE – Current 2013 Objectives 1. Align with the Vail Brand 2. Positive Economic Impact - lodging - restaurants - retail - destination guest volume 3. Optimal Funding leverage opportunity 4. Event Producer quality/experience 5. Timing suitability 6. Contribute to sense of community 09/19/2012 CSE/Planning Session Minutes Page 3 of 4 Kundolf inquired where ambient events would fit in with the mission statement and revised objectives and suggested that “community” needs to keep a place in the objectives. Slifer stated ambient events are a slippery slope that could lower the bar and do not speak the brand. Sutner added that evaluation should be based on strategic goals, not operational factors. Discussion of Event Recruitment: Sutner reviewed the current CSE rating score card with the members and provided a new rating card in the member’s packets for them to review and discuss at their next meeting. A Look Ahead and Improved Process: • Recruitment/RFP: Referring to the development of a Memorial Day event, Sutner suggested that the CSE should be proactive by identifying the event that they would like to have and work with a local event producer to deliver the product, similar to the way that Gourmet on the Gore was successfully established. • Execution: Sutner provided the list of questions to consider when evaluating an event and event producer. o Production values o Cleanliness, fit and finish o Quality of materials o Local integration o Specific content and its’ alignment to the brand o Quality of partners, and personnel o Appearance of personnel o Do they deliver components that were promised (Gran Fondo example) o Others – group discussion • Marketing: Sutner remarked that a lack of effective marketing has contributed to certain missed opportunities, and that some producers are not spending sufficiently. He stated there is an overall need for more effective communication once guests are in Vail such as electronic signage and better calendar communication. Sutner suggested event producers provide an executive summary to CSE members in real time planning cycle to report on marketing strategy, media and branding. Sutner provided a marketing check list to members to consider when meeting with event producers during recaps of events. Sutner suggested defining which events are the “Vail Brand”. McDonald offered to provide members with an event list at the October 3rd CSE meeting for them to review and discuss. • Evaluation: Sutner stated the current Intercept study that some event producers provide members during recap is a good tool, but it is not cheap and is strongly reliant on man power and field work. Sutner requested members consider a new standardized framework which would be a digitized research tool. This tool would have the same methodology, branded, web based for on site and follow up and would provide real time 09/19/2012 CSE/Planning Session Minutes Page 4 of 4 back end reporting to members. Sutner stated measuring attendance is very difficult and suggested consideration of common attendance quantification methods such as ticket sales. Sutner also suggested requiring event producers to provide a post event executive debrief the week following their event rather than to wait a month or two for the recap. Calendar Overview/Opportunities: Sutner reviewed a summer event calendar which provided a tier level overview of Vail’s current events and lodging occupancy numbers for the summer months, noting that there was a “backload” of events in September, and that attention should be spent to look at the earlier part of the summer. Sutner suggested improving the calendar management by aligning the opportunities to bring events to Vail with lodging occupancy and sales tax goals and by overlaying the calendar with group visits and sharing the calendar. Bruno, Kundolf, Gedelman- Viers, Kerstiens, and Jamie Gunion, with the VRD, volunteered to be on a subcommittee to develop ideas for a Memorial Day weekend event. He stressed that the CSE must invest in strategy, separate strategy from execution and spend meeting time and resources further upstream. Other important considerations should include improving quality and reducing quantity, and thinking about “sustaining” versus “seeding” events, and are we better off making the peaks higher, or building off-season with “fewer” hotel rooms. Finally, Sutner suggested that process improvement can be built by focusing on: • Better real time evaluation and management • Investment in the quality of marketing • Event content alignment with the brand • Strategically drive the event recruitment process Sutner requested that at the October 3rd meeting, members bring back their thoughts on today’s meeting; finalize the strategic discussion, adopt key new measurements and be prepared to have a detailed discussion on the role of producers’ recaps. Sutner suggested that the event producers be asked to provide an executive summary of their recap presentation, within a week of the event, for the members to review prior to the meeting. In the future, event producers will complete a check list after a CSE produced event to confirm expectations have been reached and have a discussion with the members at the following meeting about the events’ economic vitality and whether or not the requirements were met. Bruno, McDonald, Navas and Sutner will meet to develop times spent on the agenda for each event. Adjournment:  Motion to Adjourn @ 11:00 p.m. M/S/P: Kundolf/ Gedelman-Viers /Unanimous Next CSE Meeting: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 @ 8:30 a.m. Vail Town Council Chambers