Door County Tourism Zone Commission : Meeting Minutes

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November 6, 2008 Door County Tourism Zone Commission Meeting

DOOR COUNTY TOURISM ZONE COMMISSION
MINUTES NOVEMBER 6, 2008
Sister Bay Fire Station

ACTION ITEMS:
Stayton moved and Goss seconded to accept the DCVB 2009-2011 Marketing Plan as amended. Motion passed unanimously.
Nelson moved and Stayton seconded to approve the DCVB�s 2009 Budget as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
Nelson moved and Stayton seconded to put Entity Agreement language changes on the November 20th Agenda. Motion passed unanimously.

Commission Members Present: Bob Kufrin, Bill Wedding, Bryan Nelson, Carol Stayton, Chuck Tice, Nedd Neddersen, Diane Jacobson, Dick Skare, Little Bit LeClair, Nora Zacek, Sarah Sawyer, Richard Briggs, Jeff Larson (9:10), Amy McClelland (9:10), Nancy Goss (9:15).
Excused:: Andy Coulson, Mary Boston
Also Present: Jack Moneypenny, Jon Jarosh, Sally Everhardus, Phil Berndt, Mary Denis, DCVB; Dianne Lensert, Kerber Rose; Kathy Kirkland, Administrative Assistant
Audience: David Eliot, Board chairperson, DCVB; John Lowry

Call to Order:
Chair Kufrin called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m.

Approval of the Agenda:
Tice moved and Nelson seconded to approve the agenda. All ayes.

PRESENTATION OF DCVB 2009-2011 STRATEGIC CONVERSATION PLAN:
Moneypenny said the Village of Forestville did vote on November 3 to join the Tourism Zone. Mike Johnson for Clay Banks talked with Moneypenny, and they�re going to recommend joining on November 8; it has been approved. So we are �all in� now.

The Conversation Plan has been done differently from before. Each department director reviewed his or her own role and how they�re going to put together a plan. He believes this will take us to the next level over two years.

Moneypenny started a PowerPoint direction, attached herewith as part of the minutes. One change is that, in the Mission Statement, they are removing �Washington Island� on page 3 as they add the Island only when they talk about �the Door County Peninsula and�.� This change will have to be done at a board level.

Explanation beyond what are on the PowerPoint pages included comments by Moneypenny:
100% participation: Since the PowerPoint was done, all municipalities are in.
Integrated Visitor Network: The DCVB is intent on linking visitor community centers, all falling under the DCVB umbrella�not to take over, but to share knowledge.
Increasing DCVB Revenue: The DCVB needs to take action to make people want to be members of DCVB and thereby to increase revenue.
Organizational Excellence: is an overall goal; understanding the value of trained, viable, knowledgeable staff to lead DCVB. Raising staff levels internally raises everything.
Eight Super Trends: Which ones will make a difference in tourism? Are these eight trends applicable to DC? �Preferences and Competition� � what do we do to blend the media to tell the message? Asteroids: We can�t control pricing, only think ahead instead of just reacting. Currently, we have no fund base to get the message out if something happens. The DCVB will be putting together a fund for that crisis plan, working with the best minds in the area. If there�s a disaster, we must put out a message within 24 hours. Technically, we�re on the front end with the website, etc.
Political Sector: We�re a new entity that cities that have been doing it for 20 years are looking to. There�s a reverse trend to bring money back internally in each city; e.g., Glendale, WI, had been part of Milwaukee and just pulled $400,000 back into Glendale. Sheboygan did the same.
Social Sector: Includes Facebook, electronic society, people who join social communities for a short- or long-term. DCVB has a couple of ideas to play into the plan.
Mixed Signals from the Government: So far, so good. Of all 19 municipalities, we must continue to educate and understand how important tourism is. It�s the base of our economy.
Geophysical: We want to be part of the Travel Green certification; we�re one of the leading areas of the state and will continue that. Our motto is �play responsibly � don�t leave a carbon footprint here.� We will be increasing that methodically over three years.

Denis spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Brand position and uniqueness is the concentration. �Continue to Position Door County� � Marketing & Sales has 14 steps. Re: the insert in Midwest Living; this year, the DCVB will have 500,000 printed rather than used as an ad. They�ll be advertorial in nature with quotes from people who love of Door County, then space for each community for their pictures and story. The back will have advertising at reasonable prices. They�ll pick ZIP codes (Northern Illinois, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis) for propensity to travel. Some will be overruns/fulfillment for mailings, direct mailing on list. This will drop in May. Will also do radio, direct mail, co-op ads with WI Dept of Tourism, do an initiative for AAA in their magazine (ads), and some elements of the eBrains/radio contract. There will be about 4 million impressions in this initiative. The meeting packet included samples of ads with different brands/emotions for coming to Door County. Door County Magazine will appear in 1st quarter; there will be other photo shoots.

Benchmark inquiries will have breakdown of phone area codes. Brand identify of communities: The DCVB is working with each to work under the brand to be cohesive with overall brand. More content on website: A new look or new skin is being considered. They�re looking to increase web hits with more to see online.
Shows/Associations: The DCVB is working with Circle Wisconsin and getting leads through other major travel shows, the Motor Coach Association, with an emphasis on the shoulder season. Also targeting meeting planners, some need 150-200 rooms. The wedding element will be emphasized with wedding planners. Reunions and small meetings will be encouraged.
Visitor Guide: Available as an online PDF but requests in hard copies are being sent out.
Guaranteed visitor spending from eBrains; these figures will come from their conversion study.
Measurements: Group room nights are being benchmarked. Inquiries and contacts will increase. There�s a Meet & Greet function at the Visitors Center to motor coach groups, which includes getting contact information.

Moneypenny introduced Denis as part of the restructuring in the DCVB as new Director of Marketing. She officially joins January 1, but is contracted through December for motor coach/meetings. There�s one more position they�re looking at: administrative assistant for whole bureau, especially working with Denis and as a liaison to community marketing.

Jarosh spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Director of Communications and Public Relations. He has accepted this new position. The DCVB will continue with Geiger�s program. There will be four themed media press tours in 2009. He will put together a program through PR Newswire for media outlets. Image/photo library is a good library, but not online yet; instead of working on an individual basis, he wants make images available online that are searchable and can be downloaded for journalists. He�ll continue video podcasts, working with marketing to theme branding images. There will be an online scrapbook and message boards, group interaction, sharing vacation experiences, uploading photos.
The DCVB will be hosting 50 to 60 travel journalists in 2009. They hope to get an additional 10% in additional media coverage to read up to 8.5 million readers.

Everhardus spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Administrative Strategies: As Director of Administration, she will be doing a county-wide visitor expenditure study using the Peterson Study for travel industry in Wisconsin that�s released every April; by paying about $6,000 more, we get an in-depth study. This will become an annual expense and enable us to track spending more closely in the country. We�ll know how many visitors spent in retail, what they buy, and so on. We�ll be more able to plan, help people upsell, and implement brand.
Visitors Center: Selling in the lobby is key (items such as daffodil bulbs and logo wear not sold elsewhere in Door County), as are Information Specialists. So far, we have not put a survey into the visitor�s guides; the DCVB will develop one to capture good and bad comments. They�re looking at Welcome Center upgrade/redesign the lobby and administrative offices.

Moneypenny spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Involvement with Town Boards and Communities. He wants to solidify all partners to understand marketing�s value. He�ll continue to forge partnerships with governments by attending public meetings. The Commission members report back, but he wants to have the DCVB there as well. He encourages partnerships with TZC Commissioners; pick up the phone and ask questions.

Denis spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Satellite Visitors Centers and Websites: The DCVB will be offering ongoing customer service training seminars, and so on. There should be an ongoing system of training. Certified Tourism Ambassador is a national program, with 14-15 cities training but targeted to local information. There are four modules that go into the class: (1) Power of tourism in community and nationally. (2) Knowing your area. (3) Where to get the resources for info, cross-sell about assets to community. (4) Excellent customer service; we can�t just meet expectations; we have to go beyond to add value and heighten word of mouth. Those going to the training get a certificate and gold star. They will train 125 people in front line, both year-round and seasonal. This will happen in the spring for seasonal. There are 4 hours reading, 4 hours of class, and an open-book test.

Berndt spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Integrating with Local Visitor Centers: We have made cooperative inroads, now we�re streamlining by going to various centers to work together. Local organization is important. He often hears, �Do we have information about [another community]�? He warns to create co-op membership surveys for at least 4+ associations and have membership list exchanges so the DCVB gets new members, new businesses.

Everhardus spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Develop channels for communities, local business associations: They�ve put in new computers and making all centers Wi-Fi hotspots. They�re developing a way for the DCVB to answer for those who are not year-round.
Visitor Guide: They�re looking at standardizing and confirming all the Visitor Guide listings; some restaurants or motels were saying they�re handicapped accessible when they�re not truly up to code. Right now, all listings are self-regulating so they have to be checked.
Phone System: They�re initiating a phone system that can track area codes to help other info centers know what kind of traffic is generated. There will be countywide standards for information and service.

Denis spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Four-Season Marketing: We�ll continue with four-season and shoulder marketing. Holidays and other packages are offered. They�re encouraging all entities to get involved in packaging. They�re developing new guides for all-season sports activities as well as three new guides/maps. They�re looking for add-on gifts in packaging that create interest. They�ll be tweaking database gathering.

Jarosh spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Film Industry: They�re working with Film Wisconsin for producers to see Door County as a production site. They�ll be doing one familiarity tour for the Film Wisconsin staff.

Denis spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Sponsorships: The DCVB will increase operating revenue slowly through sponsorships for destinations such as Johnson Outdoors to be part of Guide or packaging. VISA, MasterCard, American Express may include something about DC.

Berndt spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Increasing revenues with increasing membership. Each type of entity has special needs; the DCVB wants to tailor response through feedback with the memberships to promote businesses/attractions. There will be new benefits and classes of membership. A flat rate is fine but some businesses don�t fall into the qualification, such as corporate sponsors. They�re trying to get all members onboard and be truly invested. Some are being dropped because they haven�t paid. The goal is to increase membership by 100.

Everhardus spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Cost savings (5%) is being implemented for maximizing staff, savings on space no longer needed such as the storage locker, small areas to cut out the fat. There are checks and balances for ongoing financial oversight.

Jarosh spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Organizational Excellence: He and Denis will continue attending seminars and four conventions in 2009. They�ll continue six subscriptions/memberships in pertinent organizations. They�ll serve on community boards to impact room nights.

Berndt spoke to points additional to the PowerPoint presentation:
Focus groups will be formed to define the needs of members. There is a new database for full integration of information services. Changes in member information will be system-wide/ website/other information centers. They�ll tailor how members like to get information: e-mail, snail mail, to accommodate requests.
�Make the Most of Membership� program was presented to all communities successfully. Focus groups such as innkeepers, restaurants will address specific needs in mini-seminars. Membership website will become more dynamic, more organized, archiving information. Join-date patterns will be used to develop new programs. He will attend two conventions in 2009. He is updating the membership lists, redesigning the membership site.

Moneypenny stated the need for an internal personnel policies/manual. Everhardus developed a crisis plan in binder format with phone tree and response plans. The Destination Marketing Assn Int�l (DMAI) and Wisconsin Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (WACVB) have to see certain procedures in place before certification at the State level. They�re in the process of reviewing all Visitor Center procedures.

This is the year�s Plan; it�s a conversation, and once we have final go-ahead, will be recreated as formal binder documentation for referral and questions during the year. The DCVB will continue to report monthly as well as giving YTD measurements and expectations. 2008 is first year with firm numbers.

Kufrin spent time with Moneypenny and feels it�s a better plan than in spring 2007, commending Moneypenny and staff on their efforts and good ideas. It will change the face of tourism and create good relationships.

PRESENTATION OF DCVB BUDGET 2009
The DCVB was able to do 99% of the budget without changing the integrity of programs, moved some money back into membership. 64.2% of the budget goes outside the County; they want to get to 66% to be able to say, �two-thirds goes to marketing.� Moneypenny, Kufrin, and Lensert had an earlier document showing negative; Jan-April represents Nov-Feb income�it�s not a lot of money. However, the DCVB has to get into the Certificate Ambassador program, which will cost $60,000; can he pay $30,000 this year and work it out? There are about $805,000 projected dollars from 2008 collections through end of December. With the $68,000 carry-forward from last budget, he added those dollars. If necessary, he can go to a short line of credit option or shift payments. eBrains went from a $300,000 contract in 2008 to $210,000 for 2009. Geiger is also lower, $250,000 to $180,000, because they�re familiar with us now. Moneypenny requests that, cash flow aside, we use the majority of the dollars in the pot to begin programming and then beginning January, get the 66% regularly. Keep it standard instead of piece-mealing.

Kufrin noted that within strategies listed, they�re not prioritized as listed; the action steps are also enumerated rather than prioritized. Moneypenny concurred that they�re not ranked. Skare said if he disagrees, should it be taken up with the DCVB as an individual member or is it the TZC�s purpose to do that? Kufrin said if a Commissioner objects, it�s appropriate to talk about it today. Skare said if there is one part he disagrees with, he�ll talk to the DCVB directly.

DCVB REVISED MARKETING STRATEGY
Moneypenny handed out a revised marketing strategy. Kufrin said the existing Pg 18 was revised; this is the most substantive change re: the DCVB working with hotels for specific reports and specific events (packages, meetings, etc.). Nelson is fine with it; it doesn�t change the way the TZC handles stats, ADR, and occupancy; we�ll do our own reports. If DCVB wants to present wider results, that�s fine. Skare asked if we should go to Washington Island as well. Moneypenny wants to track one calendar year (2008) and look at what the numbers mean and how they translate, then how to raise it incrementally. Occupancy affects everything the DCVB does. It will take 3 years to understand what impact it has had. He agrees we should look at Washington Island occupancies as well. There is no other product in the state like us comparable, no specific competitor.

Stayton said we started to talk occupancy and the general economy. There�s a need to compare what our occupancy is compared to rest of Wisconsin and other comparables; numbers are more practical if not viewed in a vacuum.
Neddersen said Smith Travel does do regional statistics. He suggests a rolling 12-month comparison, which becomes valuable instead of doing it at the end of 12 months. Moneypenny agreed they�ll start rolling after the full year. Weddig said occupancy is difficult to project with the economy. Moneypenny said we�re carrying forward $68,000, which doesn�t include the Town of Sturgeon Bay or other municipalities. Gardner has put $11,000 in pot since May. He projects $135,000 be built in as a cushion; there will be quarterly reviews against budget to shift funds or programs as. Wedding is looking at the June/July cash flow program; innkeepers may see 3%-4% increase, but what if it�s down 5%? Moneypenny said that by March we�ll see what the trends are. We won�t see summer 2009 figures until fall 2009. He�s comfortable with the built-in margins. The first budget review will be in March; each staffer is responsible for their portion of the budget.
Kufrin wanted to focus on approving the marketing plan and the budget/changes in how we distribute money to the DCVB. We have to specifically authorize changes to our past-practices.

Skare asked about Community Marketing Fund (CMF); when will that be appropriated to business groups? Moneypenny said the DCVB would give marketing entities recommended ways in co-op marketing, but until Sturgeon Bay signs, there is no CMF. He asks that the community not look at it right now; just look at the normal 30%. He�ll be gathering the communities together to discuss the CMF. The DCVB will get reports back from the municipalities and then report to us how the money is being spent.
Stayton moved to accept marketing plan as amended. Goss seconded. All ayes.

CONSIDERATION TO APPROVE DCVB 2009 BUDGET
When the Entity Agreement was established, it provided for language for reimbursement of expenses, not disbursement. The DCVB wants disbursement. TZC was hesitant without a track record. Moneypenny wants money to flow as we collect it. Lensert said if they follow the spending plan; at the end of the year, they�ll end up with $183,000. The Finance Committee has been working on the budget for this month�s meeting; the Commission itself potentially runs into cash flow issues ($5,000-10,000); we won�t know for sure about the $805,000 until February (December collections). Lensert says there�s a known number for excess; if we want to immediately disburse each month, we could. Nelson suggests two separate motions: approve the budget and then change policy. He moves to approve the budget as presented; Stayton seconded. Larson asked if Sturgeon Bay doesn�t happen is that part of the fund? No. All ayes.

Nelson asked if we could legally change the Entity Agreement. Kufrin said the Entity agreement, �Shall reimburse consistent with budget�incurred by the Bureau, reimbursement pursuant to.�� We can amend it that we�ll disburse, subject to the TZC and DCVB agreeing to language change. We can present new language at the November 20th meeting. Stayton felt if there are questions, they could be brought up at that time; if there�s a legal question, Vande Castle can be called. Kufrin said the initial audit solved any lingering questions. Nelson said the only place the reimburse/disburse language exists is in the Entity Agreement. Kufrin will draft changes and present on next Agenda. Nelson moved to put it on the Agenda; Stayton seconded. Neddersen said there was a lot of concern when first formed, but he�s comfortable that the DCVB is being run well and there is no level of concern. All ayes.

Moneypenny thanked the TZC for its support and faith. They don�t take that trust lightly.

Stayton moved to adjourn; Kufrin seconded. All ayes.

Kufrin adjourned the meeting at 11:45 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathy Kirkland
Administrative Assistant

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