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Home My WebLink About01. VLMDAC July Meeting PresentationVLMDAC BOARD MEETING JULY 20, 2023 Agenda I. MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT (5 minutes), Alex Jakubiec, Town of Vail II. MINUTES APPROVAL ●Action Requested of Board III. INFORMATION & DISCUSSION UPDATES ●2024 Campaign Concepts (60 minutes), 970 Design + Lumenati ●Vail’s Stewardship Roadmap (15 minutes), Mia Vlaar, Town of Vail ●2024 Operating Plan & Budget (5 minutes), Mia Vlaar, Town of Vail ●2024 Goals and Priorities (20 minutes), Board and Partner Group ●Organic Traffic and July Lodging Campaign Report (10 minutes), Miles Partnership ●Public Relations Update (15 minutes), Kirstin Yantis, MYPR ●Group Sales Update (10 minutes), Kim Brussow, VVP ●Other Business ●Adjournment ●Brand Platform Working Session, Resonance and VLMDAC Board FINANCE UPDATE MINUTES APPROVAL Minutes Approval Action requested of board to approve the June 15 minutes. 2024 CAMPAIGN CONCEPTS 2024 Campaign Concepts Concepts to be presented at time of meeting. VAIL’S STEWARDSHIP ROADMAP *See packet materials for full roadmap *See packet materials for full roadmap Strategies related to VLMD *See packet materials for full roadmap *See packet materials for full roadmap Strategies related to VLMD Strategies related to VLMD *See packet materials for full roadmap 2024 OPERATING PLAN & BUDGET Objectives Align on Goals and Priorities Approve budget scenarios VLMD Operating Plan / Milestones 2024 Planning Timeline ●7/11 Second Partner 2024 Planning Session ●7/18 Town Council meeting, first look at 2024 TOV budget – flat to 2023 ●7/20 VLMDAC Meeting: 2024 Budget discussion – secure board direction on priorities ●8/17 VLMDAC Meeting: Present Draft Operating Plan for Town Council on 9/19 ●9/7 VLMDAC Special Meeting Operating Plan FINAL: Virtual ●9/19 Town Council Meeting: Present and adopt 2024 Operating Plan ●9/21 VLMDAC Meeting ●10/19 VLMDAC Meeting ●11/7 Town Council Election ●11/16 VLMDAC Meeting ●12/5 Town Council Meeting: Present final budget ●12/5 or 12/19 VLMDAC board seat interviews at Town Council ●Jan. 2024: New Town Council sworn in Amended 2023 Budget Reference Marketing Amended 2023: $5,446,780 Annual Operating Budget: $5.2M Use of Reserves: $175k Transfer to General Fund: $1.4M 2024 Budget Scenarios Scenario A: $5.4M 4% Annual operating increase Annual Operating Budget: $5.4M Use of Reserves:$0 Transfer to General Fund: $0 Scenario B: up to $6.6M 4% annual operating increase + use of reserves: Annual Operating Budget: $5.4M *Use of Reserves: $1.2M Transfer to General Fund: $0 *not to exceed, while retaining 25% fund balance One-time spend only Current Amended 2023: $5.4M Annual Operating Budget: $5.2M Use of Reserves: $175k Transfer to General Fund: $1.4M GOALS AND PRIORITIES ‘23 vs ‘24 2023 Goals & Priorities Drive responsible revenue growth in Vail by focusing on quality of guest, length of stay and guest spend, while effectively communicating community values. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include lodging occupancy and average daily rate and lodging and sales tax revenues with a focus on mid week and lower demand time periods. Business Goal Maximize longer stays and higher spend, gain greater understanding of customer through research. Optimize Visitation Use data to understand our guest to enhance engagement & loyalty. Grow Database + Build Relationship Protecting and sustaining our natural environment and attractions while elevating the guest and resident experience. Destination Stewardship Position Vail as the Premier International Mountain Resort Community and work with community partners to define, support and deliver on the brand. Brand Positioning Goals and Priorities Update Goal: -Year-round / Winter inclusion Priority: -Destination Stewardship with direction from Vail’s Stewardship Roadmap NOTE: Updates based on Brand Development may occur Dec 2023 - Jan. 2024 2024 Goals & Priorities Update Drive responsible year-round revenue growth in Vail by focusing on quality of guest, length of stay and guest spend, while effectively communicating community values. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include lodging occupancy and average daily rate and lodging and sales tax revenues with a focus on mid week and lower demand time periods. Business Goal Maximize longer stays and higher spend, gain greater understanding of customer through research. Optimize Visitation Use data to understand our guest to enhance engagement & loyalty. Grow Database + Build Relationship Safeguard Vail's visionary spirit, sustainable appeal, and community values to attract conscious travelers and protect the natural environment. Destination Stewardship Position Vail as the Premier International Mountain Resort Community and work with community partners to define, support and deliver on the brand. Brand Positioning NOTE: Updates based on Brand Platform may occur Dec 2023 - Jan. 2024 ORGANIC TRAFFIC REPORT Organic Traffic Highlights June organic activity rose significantly from May and was well above year ago ●Note: Pineapple activity began mid-June 2022 Users 22.8k +26% YOY +101% MOM Sessions 29.1k +26% YOY +105% MOM Time on Page 2:18 +8% / :10 YOY -5% / -:07 MOM Bounce Rate 53% -5% YOY -1% MOM Organic Traffic ●With the summer season upon us and new blogs and optimizations in full swing, we saw a +97% increase in organic traffic from May to June ○Site has yet to have a ‘normal’ year to show what is to be expected Organic Traffic ●Organic traffic for the period June 19 - July 11 was basically flat ○Higher through much of June and for the 4th itself ○Slightly down since the 4th; in line with actual travel patterns Organic Traffic Possible Reasons Why ●Demand continues to be down nationally Organic Traffic Highlights ●Attracting higher quality traffic to the site ○Book Direct clicks are up via organic search +11% ○Average time on page has remained stable Time on Page 2:06 -:01s YOY Sessions 35.7k -3.8% YOY Book Direct Clicks 381 +11% YOY Organic Traffic Other Highlights ●Website is maintaining its positioning with Google ○In top 50 terms where we saw decreases in traffic, we’re in position 1 or 2 for majority of terms ○Page 1 keywords - all time high in June ●Blogs are pulling their weight by leading the way in driving 24% of organic traffic followed by: ○Things to Do: 22% ○July 4th page: 15% ○Homepage: 3% Organic Traffic Keep in Mind… ●Site changes confuse Google ○As site improvements are made and structure evolves, traffic will be in flux ■Structure changes/address swaps ○Combined with post-pandemic and inflation, actions are erratic Organic Traffic Recommended Next Steps ●Continue blog development and optimization ●Discuss upcoming improvements with 970 to prep for changes ●Put additional resources beyond SEO on non-blog pages ●Redirect 404s ○Miles create redirect map from 404 list and bad backlinks; 970 execute ●Consider creating one article/month that is not as branded/Vail focused to pull additional organic traffic into the site Blog Development ●Blogs have been created and optimized for content ○New blogs in late May-June ■Play, Stay & Slay in LGBTQ+ Friendly, Vail ■Best Things to Do in Vail in July ■Best Vail Hotels with Pools for Cooling Off in Summer ■Adventure like a GoPro Mountain Games Athlete in Vail ■9 Cool Hotel Bars in Vail to Enliven Your Vacation ■4 Ways to Experience Colorado’s Farm-to-Table Flavors in Vail ■Vail Summer Mini-Itineraries ■Best Photo Spots in Vail for Every Season Keyword Performance Strong performance with flat or positive movement on majority of keywords ●‘Hotels’ and ‘golf’ KWs grew significantly with new blog support ●Uncertain what happened to ‘history’ - will keep an eye ●Need 2022 list of terms to reference/sync still JULY PROMO CAMPAIGN July 2023 Campaign: Drive Market Lodging Specials ●Starting July 1, we began to run ads in key drive markets (Colorado, New Mexico and Utah) promoting the up to 20% off lodging message ●Supported in Digital Display, Paid Search and Paid Social ○Complemented by 50% non-lodging messaging in same markets and 100% in fly markets July 2023 Campaign: Drive Market Lodging Specials ●Preliminary data is for media performance only ○Still early as campaigns take some time to gain momentum, but provides initial look ●Destimetrics data available early August ●Adara data available early-mid August July 2023 Campaign: Drive Market Lodging Specials ●Through July 12, we have spent $6.2k for 886k impressions Media Investment Impressions Digital Display Ads $1,136 189k Paid Search (SEM)$3,372 53k Paid Social $1,663 644k TOTAL $6,171 886k July 2023 Campaign: Digital Display ●Digital display has produced 177 clicks and 3 conversions so far ○Performing above CTR benchmark and strong conversion rate ○Top performing ads are mobile versions of Empty Nesters and Families at .11% and .13% respectively ○Note: General campaign is performing better with an average CTR of .20% Impressions Clicks CTR Book Direct Clicks Conversion Rate 189,309 177 .09%3 1.7% *.08 CTR benchmark 7/1-7/11/23 July 2023 Campaign: Paid Search (SEM) ●Paid Search has produced over 9k clicks and 126 conversions to-date! ○Implementing Google Performance Max (P-Max) tactic ■Very strong CTR and conversion ■Performing well with CPC of $0.22 ■Static promo campaign is generating the majority of lodging clicks ■With initial analysis, we switched the P-max effort, which is doing very well overall, to promote the general campaign and shifted the remaining lodging promo budget to the static campaign which was generating better conversions Impressions Clicks CTR Book Direct Clicks Conversion Rate 52,705 9,066 17.2%126 1.4% *4.32% CTR benchmark 7/1-7/11/23 July 2023 Campaign: Paid Social ●Paid Social has produced over 1.7k landing page views and 22 conversions ○Low CTR, but quality clicks, as conversion rate is good Impressions Landing Page Views CTR Book Direct Clicks Conversion Rate 643,642 1,704 .51%*22 1.29% 7/1-7/11/23 *.9% CTR benchmark PUBLIC RELATIONS UPDATE Public Relations + Paid Storytelling Update We’ve Been Busy!! Last quarter we…. ●Set up partnership and attended the Mexico media mission in Mexico City ●Media outreach ○Pitching - securing stories ○Media visits - press trip + individual ●Influencer strategy - selects, contracts, travel, itineraries, hosting ●Blogger strategy - selects, contracts, travel, itineraries, hosting ●Monthly Destination Stewardship Program column Vail Daily ●Content development ○Michelin release ○Summer/fall events ○Media kit docs PR Measurement MEASURING PUBLIC RELATIONS ●Continue Current Efforts - comp set comparison, reach, number of clips, message tracking, etc. ●Two Additional Measurements ○Secure at least two dozen stories that include DiscoverVail.com ○Secure at least two dozen stories or visits from media who represent target media outlets. PR Measurement Q2 Comp Set Media Coverage Vail Breckenridge Aspen PR Measurement Key Messages Total Reach PR Measurement New KPIs! ●Secure at least two dozen stories that include DiscoverVail.com ○Vail.com continues to be the prominent site that media reference. ●Secure at least two dozen stories or visits from media who represent target media outlets. ○Placements in 18 target market publications (37 stories) ○Media visits from journalists representing 16 target market outlets ○Bonus Measurement! At least 17 target market publications represented during NYC media mission. Media Hosting 8 Domestic + International Visits in June Paid Storytelling - Influencer Program @jj.trailwalker ●Utah-based ●High authenticity score ●Followers: 200K ●Engagement Rate: 2.7% (1.4% higher than similar influencers) Paid Storytelling - Influencer Program @through.the.llyns ●Arizona-based ●High authenticity score ●Followers: 155K ●Engagement Rate: 2.4% (average similar influencers) Paid Storytelling - Influencer Program @theloverspassport ●California-based ●High authenticity score ●Followers: 390K ●Engagement Rate: 2% (1% higher similar influencers) Paid Storytelling - Blog Program ●Local Adventurer ○Domain authority - 57 ○350K UVM ●The World Pursuit ○Domain authority - 50 ○290K UVM ●The Travel Bite ○Domain authority - 54 ○50K UVM What’s Next? ●More hosting! ○15 media, blogger + influencer visits in July + August ●More pitching! ○Late summer/fall visits ○Support August/September Michelin announcement ○Fall media tipsheet ●More travel! ○Attend Travel Classics in Vancouver GROUP SALES UPDATE Groups in the Pipeline YOY Leads up 43% from 2019 Pre-Covid Pipeline Remains Strong - up 68% from 2019 Pre-Covid Influx of Larger Group Programs •US Healthcare - February 2024 - 2,610 RNs •LoanDepot - March 2024 - 930 RNs •Events by Miri - April 2027 - 2,200 RNs •BMO Capital - March 2025 - 1,055 RNs •IEEE - March 2025 - 2,867 RNs •CO Judicial - September 2025 - 1,170 RNs •Interski - April 2027 - 5,250 RNs - Vail Won the Opportunity to Bid •Carecraft - February 2028 - 1,500 RNs Groups on the Books Group Bookings Remain Strong YOY up 33% from 2022 in RN’s YOY up 47% from 2022 in Room Revenue Key Groups on the Books •Yamaha - July 2023 - 955 RNs - $311,435 Revenue •MT2030 - October 2023 - 325 RNs - $59,325 Revenue •SMOS - December 2023 - 1,148 RNs - $235,692 Revenue •National Ski Patrol - March 2024 - 1,641 RNs - $326,559 Revenue •Encova - June 2024 - 1,039 RNs - $333,655 Revenue •Mill Creek - June 2024 - 1,160 RNs - $349,100 Cvent - Groups Booked Group Travel Trends •Remote work wipes out 1-day events - booking destination programs that are longer in duration •Short lead times and conversation will continue in 2023 •Increase in event spending results in intense focus on cost savings •Business travelers taking steps to reduce carbon footprint •Millenials are the decision makers - tech savvy/social media •Meetings with “purposeful” experiences, within a destination that reinforces that purpose •More strategic use of event data - analyzing ROI impact •DEI & Health/Wellness still top of mind TOV UPDATES Thank you! Upcoming Meetings: VLMDAC Monthly Meeting, August 17, 2023, Grand View Room BRAND PLATFORM WORKING SESSION APPENDIX Blog Performance Six of the top 10 blogs have been newly written or recently optimized ●Users are spending time with the articles and staying on the site Blog Performance Highlights #1 #1 “July in Vail” “LGTBQ Vail” DEI gap #2 Blog Performance Highlights #2 “Vail Photo Spots”“Vail Hotel Bars” “Vail hotel pools” #3 #6 Blog Optimization ●Additional optimizations on existing blogs during June ■Only in Vail ■Yoga Offerings ■Scenic Gondola Rides ■Ditch Your Car ■Vail Golf Club ■Gold Medal Waters ■Easy Strolling ■What’s Open Vail