hospitality round table 2009
DESCRIPTION
The Hospitality Roundtable (HRT) serves as a united voice for the hospitality and tourism industry to facilitate the promotion, coordination, and development of tourism in the Pensacola Bay Area. Monthly luncheons are held the third Tuesday of each month at various locations. Topics of discussion include upcoming community events, attracting more meetings and conventions, and tourism marketing and advertising strategies.TRANSCRIPT
Working with your CVB
Pensacola Bay Area Convention & Visitors BureauHospitality Round Table Luncheon
October 20, 2009
Get Your Share of These Numbers:
• 3.75 million visitors each year
• 50,000 visitors receive our e-newsletter
• 50,000 unique visitors to the Web site each month
• 62,845 visitors to the VIC
• 308 conventions/groups with 25,764 room nights
• 1,400 media placements in 815 media outlets
• Dozens of ways to participate in co-op advertising
HRT Services
• Last fiscal year, $3,700 went toward visitor comfort at the Visitor Information Center
• HRT raised $1,000 for the Gulf Coast Kids House
• HRT now has a $10,000 endowment fund for PJC to assist students in the hospitality field
Larry Orvis, Visitor Information Center Manager
Visitor Information Center Services
• Last year, 62,845 visitors came to the VIC
• 1,200 phone calls per month
• 137,000 requests for information
• 48% first time visitors to Pensacola
• 11% first time visitors to Florida
• Closed only Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Day.
Larry Orvis, Visitor Information Center Manager
CVB Services for Groups
We provide services for weddings, family reunions, leisure groups, military reunions, sports organizations, conventions, corporate meetings
Pre-trip planning
Familiarization (FAM) tours
Promotional materials
Slides and videos
Registration assistance
Welcome gifts
Sporting event organization
Liaison with public officials
Publicity
Barbara Williams, Administrator/Wedding and Reunion Sales
• 142 weddings and reunions totaling 9,860 room nights.
• Communicate with brides through advertising, personal phone calls, e-mails, and a wedding guide
Partner Action: • Provide wedding and honeymoon packages
• Share wedding and event photos
Weddings/Family and Class Reunions
Barbara Williams, Administrator/Wedding and Reunion Sales
Military Reunions
• Worked directly with 28 military reunions – 18 of them becoming definite bookings for our area
• The Pensacola Bay Area is a popular destination for Navy and Marine Corps reunions
• Group sizes range from 30 to 130 with average stay around four days
Larry Orvis, Visitor Information Center Manager
Group Travel
Importance of Group Business• $2.8 million economic impact• 1 motorcoach brings $8,000 per day
Group Travel Trends• Voluntourism• Girlfriend Getaways • Green-themed travel experiences• Adult and youth educational travel• Adventure travel• 60% of Canadian travel is to the United States
Lori Coppels, Group Sales Manager
Group Travel
Selling our destination
Upcoming trade shows
Pensacola wows Florida Motorcoach Association
Partner Action: • Group packages with lodging, restaurants and attractions• Example: Comfort Inn and Farmers Opry
Lori Coppels, Group Sales Manager
Meetings and Conventions
Roberta Ramsey, Convention and Corporate Sales Manager
Meetings and Conventions
• Roberta’s Video• Since October of last year, traveled 75 days to meet
with 500 meeting planners
• Booked 69 meetings/sporting events. • Room nights: 17,000
Partner Action:Accompany Roberta on tradeshows• http://www.VisitPensacola.com/meeting-planners/
Roberta Ramsey, Convention and Corporate Sales Manager, [email protected]
Getting Media Exposure
Last year the CVB…
• Distributed 40 news releases
• Posted 58 blogs
• Generated more than 1,400 media placements
• Hosted 29 journalists
• Attended a media blitz in Birmingham, Atlanta, New Orleans and Baton Rouge
Laura Lee, Communications Manager
Getting Media Exposure
Partner Action:
• Send your packages, news, and unique story ideas
• Host writers on fam tours
Laura Lee, Communications Manager
Graphic Design
• Ensure a strong brand for the CVB
• Importance of a strong brand and a recognizable image
Partner Action:Send high-resolution photos and 300 dpi logos
Maite George, Graphic Designer
E-Marketing
• According to Google Analytics, more than 72% of our Web traffic came from searches (2008/09)
• We’ve seen an increase in referring visits with our social media efforts
• Coupons and events are in the top 10 most viewed sections of the site. (more than 3 million page views)
Mike Bersabal, Internet Marketing
E-Marketing
Partner Action:
• Post coupons and events to increase exposure
• Share events that visitors would like to attend
Mike Bersabal, Internet Marketing
Advertising
Ed Schroeder, Vice President Tourism
Our media plan utilizes key magazines, newspapers, outdoor and the Internet that primarily target major drive markets in the Southeast U.S. and selected air markets
Ads target individual travelers as well as niche groups, divers, meeting planners, and brides
This past year, we advertised more heavily in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Birmingham and Nashville
Partner Action:Look for Co-Ops to share costs while getting your message into key markets
CVB Contacts
Ed Schroeder [email protected]
Mike Bersabal [email protected]
Lori Coppels [email protected]
Maite George [email protected]
Laura Lee [email protected]
Larry Orvis [email protected]
Roberta Ramsey [email protected]
Barbara Williams [email protected]
Call us anytime at 434-1234.