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VLMDACJulyFINAL7.15 (V2)VLMDAC MEETING JULY 16, 2020 Agenda Vail Town Council Chambers •Monthly Financial Report, Carlie Smith •Approval of June 18, 2020 Minutes, Board •Results to Date, Cactus •PR Update, MYPR •Group Sales Report, Kim Brussow •Tactical Asset Acquisition Update, SITE Marketing •CSE Meeting Update, Skip Thurnauer •VLMDAC 2021 Budget Discussion, VLMDAC Board •2021 Planning Work Session, All •Other Business RESULTS TO DATE COVID Update •Destination Analyst Audience Sentiment Report: current travel outlook and optimism is at its lowest point since the beginning of April •Number of cases in Dallas and Houston continue to climb –Houston remains paused, but recommend continuing to run in Dallas since we are seeing positive booking performance •55% agree/strongly agree that they will avoid all travel until COVID-19 situation blows over, up from 47% 6 weeks ago, but down from 82% in April. 43% won’t travel until there is a vaccine. •40% agree/strongly agree that they will be traveling in the fall; down from 50% just 6 weeks ago, and 62% feel the situation in the next month will get worse/much worse •Most important destination attributes: affordable, relaxation, uncrowded and fun •Reasons people cite for not traveling to a specific destination include a rise in cases, visitors not practicing social distancing, visitors not wearing masks, and a fear of large crowds. •Those most open to travel in the next 3 months are more likely to be male and far more likely to be millennials. Average Guest Profile Avg. # of Guests 2.5 Avg. Media Age 38 Avg. HHI $76K Avg. Members in HH 2.4 Chicago and Dallas are top markets Occupancy June Occupancy May Occupancy 4.9% -77% YOY 15% -68% YOY Sales & Lodging Tax (VLMD) May Sales Tax May Lodging Tax -37% YOY -43.6% YOY Paid Media Delivery % of spend June impressions June click s The bulk of the clicks are coming from display and PPC, with Front Range Families being our largest opportunity as they are most likely to click and engage on-site 11%5.4M 36.7K Adara Results June hotel searches June average length of stay •People searching where to stay and dining in Vail were top drivers of bookings and high length of stay •Display banners on vaildaily.com are driving high booking volume and the longest average length of stay at 4 days June hotel bookings 7,284 136 3 days Website Results for June 2020 Site Visitors Avg. Site Session Site Sessions 32.5K 27.4K 1:25 Traffic spiked with paid media launch on 6/1 2,447%increase in Site Sessions in June. 1,276 March-May 4,335%increase in site visitors in June. 618 March-May Website Engagement June 2020 Lodging SearchesEmail Sign-ups 92 Lodging Referral Clicks *Referrals = click on property in search results page to be directed to property page. Paid media launched at the beginning of June. 7601,035 1300% increase in database growth in June. 7 YTD March-May 84% increase in lodging searches in June. 1,236 YTD March-May 95% increase in referral clicks in June. 803 YTD March-May •Shift more budget to Paid Search in Front Range and drive markets •PPC is driving the most hotel bookings and second highest average length of stay •Front Range and Chicago markets have high click & booking volume •Branded keywords have low competition in Google and are driving the most bookings •Shift more budget to Vail Daily display placements •Tactic is the second highest booking driver and is averaging the highest length of stay at 4 days •Users are spending the most time on site compared to other audiences + display tactics •Shift Active Professionals budget to video •Video placements are more likely to convert Active Professionals to book compared to display banners •Stop running paid targeted emails •High click volume & strong media performance, but low website engagement; most users are leaving the website immediately •Not driving booking volume per Adara tracking data Optimizations Creative5280 Magazine September Issue PR UPDATES More Outlets Closing, Ceasing Travel Coverage •Hemispheres closed Brooklyn office, keeping two key staff members •Delta Sky ceased publication •Sunset magazine online only •Chicago Tribune ceased publication of travel section Backyard Travel •Major daily newspapers such as Denver Post, Salt Lake Tribune, Kansas City Star, etc. only covering in-state travel •Regional magazines following suit Most Travel Writers –Still Not Traveling Media Landscape Media Relations •Zoom meetings –19 media •Ongoing content delivery –Front Range, drive market, national –Vail open for summer business –Wide open spaces –Teen’s guide –Top hikes •Unique pitches e.g. US locations, feel like Europe Visiting Journalists Program •First visits –June 26! •Front Range media/bloggers •3 in June, 3 secured for July (so far) Media Outreach Media Coverage Media Coverage Media Coverage Media Coverage Media Coverage Media Coverage Comp Set Coverage •Aspen 177 •Breckenridge 709 •Vail 128 Aspen •Reopening •Event cancellations •Independence Pass open •Dr. Fauci to speak at Aspen Ideas Festival Breckenridge •One brief mention in a road trip story that ran in syndication Vail •Reopening •Re-structing of events/festivals •General summer travel Comp Set Observations Key Messages Identifying Additional Ways to Work with News Outlets •West of 105 feature, trip giveaway, email acquisition opportunity Enhanced Partner Communication •Discover Vail PR Tip sheet Content •Hotel/restaurants opening •Pet friendly •Fall Tip sheet Front Range, Fall Push –TBD •Small group picnics/dinners Challenges/Opportunities •Information gathering •Budget savings Additional Efforts/Looking Ahead West of 105 West of 105 Discover Vail PR Tipsheet Sneak Preview –Influencer Program MEXICO PR UPDATES No. of Media Clips/Interviews •13 Tier 1 outlets Total Reach/Circulation •13M circulation Key Messages •Vail reopens for the summer. •Vail’s rich outdoor offerings –perfect “nature park” •Health and safety protocols •Inspirational travel, post confinement. Mexico Media Outreach Robb Report Web Forbes Web Quien Web The Happening https://thehappening.com/see-go-pro-mountain-games/ Revista Volaris Media &Travel Post Covid in Mexico •Media is having a hard time surviving and filling their pages with quality content during COVID times. •Televisa Editorial closed more than 10 magazine titles including: Women´s Health, Men´s Health, Fortune, National Geographic, Marie Claire, amongst others and let go 100 people from the editorial and 400 company wise (radio, tv, etc..). •Travel and Leisure was bought bye the editorial that owns Forbes and they haven´t launched it since January. •Travel and Lifestyle media is favoring to print and upload stories of national destinations or international destinations that have a payed add campaign with them. •Upscale society is travelling as usual in Mexico. •Mexican airlines report bigger sales than expected on the flights that opened. •Upscale mexican families who spent almost 3 months secluded during quarantine on their weekend houses on the forest or beach are traveling to other destinations such as: Tulum, Vail, Woodlands. Media &Travel Post Covid in Mexico •In the second week of June, tourist destinations in Mexico such as Cancun in the Caribbean and Los Cabos in the Pacific began to reopen, under strict sanitary measures and with a hotel occupancy that cannot exceed 30 percent. •Occupation in Mexico has reached levels between 10% and 15% in the first week and Mexico remains, according to an international registry, among the eight countries to vacation in internet searches. •Price Travel Holding, one of Mexico´s biggest travel booking firms stated that 90% of the customers who booked trips for March and April have rescheduled to travel in July and August. •According to a survey conducted by Tourist Radar mexicans reported to be considering to restart traveling during July and August. •According to wholesalers and people we know and that have reached out asking of opening of the mountain and other matters, there is a considerable number of families already in Vail for the summer and many more have already payed their trips to spend summer there. Politics, Economy •Despite criticism on both ends, Mexican and US presidents will hold a first meeting since COVID, who´s pandemic/crisis management on both ends has importantly lowerede their popularity on each´s countries. •The perception of Mexico´s president loosing control of managing the COVID-19 pandemic, will pay it´s political costs in the 2021 midterm elections. •Foreign investors excited about the launch of the new US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal need to understand the potential risks associated with breaking ground on new projects in Mexico right now. Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is widely recognized by policy analysts and investment advisors as an incompetent demagogue who cares more about crafting speeches and consolidating political power than in designing and implementing policies that can meaningfully address his country’s longstanding problems. •Mexican peso closed at 22.75 per dollar, with a 0.3% depreciation against the 22.6830 of Banxico's closing price the day before, almost the lowest it has gone in history. •Twice this month, Mexico's top business leaders have met with the president imploring him to help out the mexican economy, warning that tens of thousands of people are losing their jobs. Small and medium-sized companies, who employ more than 70% of the Mexican workforce, are running out of money. And still the president refuses to give out stimulus. GROUP SALES REPORT Lodging Partner Policy Changes due to COVID19 for Cancellations, Rebooking, Deposits •No valley-wide specific policies in place; Hotels are handling on a case by case basis. •Most hotels extremely flexible for groups choosing to rebook, applying deposits to future. •Some are holding to cancellations clauses and not refunding deposits. •Relaxed summer cancellation policies. •Less restrictions on attrition. VVP Generated Leads -Cancelled/rebooked programs from 2020 to 2021 & beyond (VVP booked programs) •Groups that have completely cancelled = 8 •Groups that have or will rebook = 9 –2020 = 1 (September 2020) –2021 = 5 –2022 = 3 •Groups still planning to travel on their original dates for 2020 and beyond = 8 Group Sales –Current Status Group Sales –Year to Date Metrics 34 114 16 96 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Groups Booked Leads Generated YOY Comparison –2019 vs 2020 2019 2020 Group Sales –Cvent Q1 Performance Total Leads for Vail Jan-19 -Mar-19 Jan-20 -Mar-20 % Change YOY Total RFPs 75 48 -36% Total Room Nights 18,625 12,102 -35% Awarded RFPs 17 3 -82% Awarded Room Nights 2,192 647 -71% Awarded RFP Value $724,071 $220,223 -70% RFP’s Sourced through VVP Group Sales Jan-19 -Mar-19 Jan-20 -Mar-20 % Change YOY Total RFPs 39 38 -3% % Copied of RFPs coming to City 52%79%27% Total Room Nights 11,512 12,886 12% Total RFP Value $4,414,707 $6,266,591 42% Average Room Nights per RFP 295 339 15% Average Value per RFP $113,198 $164,910 46% Group Sales –Cvent Q2 Performance Total Leads for Vail Apr-19 -Jun-19 Apr-20 -Jun-20 % Change YOY Total RFPs 176 47 -73% Total Room Nights 49,899 12,465 -75% Awarded RFPs 33 8 -76% Awarded Room Nights 8,058 746 -91% Awarded RFP Value $3,152,065 $393,841 -88% Q2 Leads Sourced through VVP Group Sales Apr-19 -Jun-19 Apr-20 -Jun-20 % Change YOY Total RFPs 28 9 -68% % Copied of RFPs coming to City 16%19%3% Total Room Nights 9,547 1,354 -86% Total RFP Value $3,206,369 $545,058 -83% Average Room Nights per RFP 341 150 -56% Average Value per RFP 114,513 60,562 -47% Group Sales –Travel/Tradeshows Cancelled Tradeshow/Events: •March –Houston Rodeo Meeting Planner Event •April –VVP Group Sales Trip •June –MPI/WEC Tradeshow & FICP Education Forum •July –VVP Group Sales Trip & VVP/Vail FAM •August –ASAE Tradeshow –doing virtual tradeshow instead •September –NY Planner Event, IMEX Tradeshow, FICP Fall Symposium •October –Destination CO Front Range Customer Appreciation Event •November –Atlanta Sales Trip & Meeting Planner Event Postponed Tradeshow/Events: •May –Destination West moving from Broadmoor to Arizona in October 2020 •July –CSAE Annual Conference moving to July 2021 •August –Connect Marketplace Tradeshow moved to Oct 2020 from New Orleans to Las Vegas •September -MPI Rocky Mountain Chapter Golf Tournament moved to May 2021 Group Sales –Future Forecast What are we hearing from our lodging partners? •Individual travel is slowly coming back. •Smaller group programs through 2020. •Condo type properties are selling out over the weekend. •Working with less staff … a lot of employees still furloughed, positions eliminated. •Revised safety protocols/policies & procedures –Changes at check-in, contactless/shield guards, pre-arrival emails, welcome letters in room. –Meeting space –expanded set-ups for social distancing, no buffets & attended stations/plated meals –Signage throughout the resort … reminders of new safety standard, masks, etc. –On-site dining … no buffets, call ahead “to go” orders, social distance for restaurants –Housekeeping … no housekeeping services during stay, more thorough cleaning/2-3 days before checking in new guests, removing coffee pots/glassware Group Sales –Future Forecast When will things get back to normal? •Weekday traffic still down; expected to be that way until late Fall 2020 to early winter 2021. •Larger meetings & events not likely to make a “full” comeback until 2021. Group Sales –Strategy & Trends VVP Group Sales team shifting group sales strategy with focus on Colorado market •Sent email to 1,705 Colorado meeting planners –Vail is Open for Business –We’re Ready When You Are •Added new marketing video to our destination eProposal and Cvent platform. •Planners that may not have worked with CVB’s in the past are discovering just how valuable our services & resources are, especially as it becomes increasingly difficult for them to get a hold of hotel sales managers. •Site tours planned for 2020 … Allianz, MPD, MTS, Certified Angus Beef, USAPEEC •The CO Mineral Processing Division of Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration was a group that had their annual conference in Vail for 30 years, then moved to the Broadmoor for another 30 years, is now looking to come back to Vail. Group Sales –Strategy & Trends Trends in today’s meetings platform: •Local drive market/in-state travel •Virtual meetings & tradeshows … planners do not think this is sustainable and are optimistic that in-person meetings will be strong again for 2021. •Outdoor venues for live meetings & events. •Creative culinary efforts. •Spa/wellness –converted suites that can be rented for the day … mini fitness centers, face down spa treatments. •Heightened cleaning protocols. •Revised contracts to include pandemic language. TACTICAL ASSET ACQUISITION UPDATE Patio Dining •Focus should be on existing patios, •Possible Locations (ideally 2 would be great): •Los Amigos for mountain view •Pepi’s Deck •Demographics: Family and/or Active Professionals, include diversity •Photo Estimated Photo Cost (Budget $3,000 total): –With hired talent: $4,000 -$6,000* –With general public: $2,500 •Video Estimated Photo Cost (Budget $5,000 total): Asset Acquisition New Event(s)/New Location •Several events will be taking place on a “smaller scale” on the Lower Bench of Ford Park that may offer an opportunity with Vail Jazz; others TBD. •Smaller Ford Amphitheater “smaller” Hot Summer Nights (Tuesdays thru Aug) •Beer Festival “spread out” location –August 14 •Demographics: Active Professionals and/or Super Boomers, diversity •Photo Estimated Cost (Budget $3,000 total): –With hired talent: $1,800 -$2,200* –With general public: $800 -$1,200 •Video Estimated Cost (Budget $5,000 total): Asset Acquisition CSE MEETING UPDATE 2021 BUDGET DISCUSSION 2021 Budget Options 2021 PLANNING WORK SESSION GOALS Goals Insights •2020 is an anomaly due to COVID so results need to be carefully considered •2020 budgets are not consistent with past years, so 2021 goals need to be weighted appropriately •2020 Occupancy for June was at 50% of capacity due to COVID –Regardless booking trends/timeframes are consistent with previous year –Late August we start to see room nights booked (RNB) trend like previous year 2021 Goals Discussion May –October Timeframe 2019 Results 2020 Goals 2021 Goals For Discussion Sales Tax +.89%+4%TBD Lodging Tax -6%+5%TBD Overall Summer Occupancy 45% (-6%) +3 points = 50.1% occupancy TBD Group Occupancy 24% (+9%) +5%TBD INITIATIVES Initiatives •Current –Refinement of DiscoverVail.com –International –Groups –Media: Earned (PR) and Paid –Creative –Vail Resorts •New –Database Growth –Social Channels Growth –Lodging Community Engagement –Retail and Incentives Refinement of DiscoverVail.com •What would we like to achieve with the site? –More content/content refinements that keeps visitors on site longer and gets them to discover more? –Looking to optimize to what drives the most BookDirect interactions? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Content audit –User study –New features International •What would we like to achieve with an international effort? –Discussion of direction on how the VLMDAC should handle international moving forward given budget restrictions and travel restrictions? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Vail Verano content on DiscoverVail.com –International database Groups •What would we like to achieve with Groups? –Use Groups to drive occupancy and fill shoulder and mid week gaps? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Deeper groups content on DiscoverVail.com –Shifted strategy to focus on CO/front range meeting planners –Lodging partner/member relationships engagement & collaboration –Destination Resource -Connector –Site Tours –Marketing –Cvent, SendSites, SalesForce, VVV Website Media •What would we like to achieve with Paid (digital, traditional) and Earned (PR, Influencers, etc.) Media? –More cost effectively reach the best audiences regardless of location? –Optimize to those that book, stay longer and spend more? –Use of others (brands or influencers) to drive credibility? –How is media impacted by budget reductions? Prioritize markets, personas, mediums. •What initiatives would we like to see? –Sponsorships and partnerships –More TV coverage –open to pay-to-play, satellite media tours? Creative •What would we like to achieve with Creative? –What do we need to do to stay flexible and adaptable? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Continue to build evergreen asset library –More content (videos, images, articles, posts, etc.) –Bavarian Trail Vail Resorts •With the creation of DiscoverVail.com, what would we like to achieve in working with Vail Resorts? –What role should the resort play? –How can we continue to create synergies between the efforts? –What will this partnership look like in the future? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Reciprocal site links –Posting Social content –Content in email sends Database Growth •What would we like to achieve with Database Growth? –Grow database to protect ourselves against the elimination of cookies? –Realize savings from 1:1 marketing? –Build loyal audiences that can be used for look alike prospecting? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Offer or incentive to encourage opt in Social Channel Growth •What would we like to achieve with Social Channel Growth? –Grow social to protect ourselves against the elimination of cookies? –Realize savings from 1:1 marketing? –Build loyal audiences that can be used for prospecting? –Represent Vail in “real time”? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Continued Influencer program Lodging Community Engagement •What would we like to achieve with Lodging Community Engagement? –Drive participation in Adara and BookDirect programs? –Leverage lodging owned loyalty lists? –More content for PR efforts, blog posts, social, etc? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Earlier toolkit delivery and roll out –Create lodging taskforce Retail Offers and Incentives •What would we like to achieve with Retail Offers and Incentives –Should we use retail offers and incentives to drive bookings? –Should we use these to drive database sign ups or social followers? –Do incentives help us obtain the right traveler? •What initiatives would we like to see? –Trip giveaways –Packages with book now CTAs Other •Audiences / Personas are continuing to be refined through data tracking systems. –We will use data to drive our audiences and will begin to move away from our personas NEXT STEPS 2021 Planning Timeline July 16 Sept 15 Develop 2020 Draft Budget & Operating Plan Partners Planning Session Aug 20 Present Plan to VLMDAC Refine & Finalize Budget & Operating Plan Present Plan at Town Council Thank you! Upcoming Meetings: VLMDAC Monthly Meeting, August 20, 2020