ramada plaza milwaukee airport hotel...ramada plaza milwaukee airport hotel gateway days june 24,...

Ramada Plaza Milwaukee Airport Hotel

Gateway DaysJune 24, 2014

New Opportunities Arriving Daily


Thank you for coming

Today we would like to highlight two transformative

projects taking place in The Gateway to Milwaukee

Hospitality Market Analysis

E. Layton Ave Streetscape Plan


“Hospitality” represents a primary driver of our

local economy.

• Job creation

• New investment and construction

• Driver of retail and restaurant spending

Tourism is the #2 industry in the State of WI,

which is carried by visits to and spending in

Milwaukee.



The Gateway to Milwaukee is home to 26

hotels with over 2,700 rooms.

Why are travelers staying here?


How can we encourage them to stay longer?


Throughout 2013, The Gateway worked to develop a

Hospitality Committee with representatives from local

hotels and –

• General Mitchell International Airport

• Visit Milwaukee

• South Suburban Chamber of Commerce

• City of Oak Creek


The committee was awarded a Joint Effort Marketing

(JEM) grant from the Wisconsin Dept. of Tourism.


Working with a research vendor, The Dieringer Research

Group, we sought to identify the niche that defines the

airport area hotel cluster.

The process included stakeholder interviews, review of

existing research, online web surveys, and in-person

surveys of travelers.

Here are some of our key insights…



• Overall in Milwaukee, leisure travel (86%) is much more common than business travel (14%). Compared to national trends (80/20) we skew heavily towards leisure travel.

• Travelers surveyed at MKE were more likely to have traveled to Milwaukee for business (36%) than overall in the region.

• Travelers surveyed at Gateway hotels were more likely to have traveled to Milwaukee for vacation (66%) than business (34%).

Milwaukee Visitor Profile


• Travelers whose trips originated from Northern Wisconsin (27.27%), the

rest of Wisconsin (11.36%), and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (7.58%)

comprised almost half of surveyed travelers staying in Gateway area

hotels (46.21% combined).

• Travelers whose trips originated in Chicago (6.05%) and the rest of Illinois

(3.79%) comprised a relatively small proportion of travelers staying in a

Gateway hotel (9.85% combined).

• Respondents whose trips originated from Midwestern States (Illinois,

Michigan, Indiana, and Minnesota) were a significant portion of Gateway

area hotel stays (34.86% combined).

Where are they coming from?


• Overall in Milwaukee, leisure travel (86%) is much more common than business travel (14%). Compared to national trends (80/20) we skew heavily towards leisure travel.

• Travelers surveyed at MKE were more likely to have traveled to Milwaukee for business (36%) than overall in the region.

• Travelers surveyed at Gateway hotels were more likely to have traveled to Milwaukee for vacation (66%) than business (34%).

Where are they coming from?


• Milwaukee Visitor Profile

• • The proportion of leisure versus business

• travelers to the Milwaukee area is 86% vs.

• 15% respectively


• Location was the most important factor influencing hotel choice for travelers surveyed at both MKE (28.3%) and Gateway hotels (34.09%).

• While location was important for travelers surveyed at Gateway hotels, brand loyalty, price, and promotional deals were equally as important in when viewed in total (34.09% combined).

• Besides competitive rates, visitors are looking for complimentary hotel perks to enhance their stay, including free parking, Wi-Fi, and breakfast, as well as no cancellation fees.

Factors Influencing Hotel Choice


• Milwaukee Visitor Profile

• • The proportion of leisure versus business

• travelers to the Milwaukee area is 86% vs.

• 15% respectively


• Respondents at both the airport and hotels

stated that they were very likely to return to

Milwaukee within the next 12 months.

• This segment of potential repeat visitors

already has a strongly positive impression of

Milwaukee and could be an easy

demographic to target in marketing

campaigns.

Likeliness to Return


• Visitors’ perceptions of Milwaukee are very positive, often

cited for being a great place to vacation, with relatively

few opportunities for improvement.

• When asked the one thing they would change about

Milwaukee to make it more inviting, nearly 4 in 10 visitors

say there’s nothing they would change.

• Of those offering suggestions, improvements in the area

of public transportation are most commonly cited,

followed by aesthetics and safety.

Perceptions of Milwaukee


• What does this research mean?

Next Steps

• How can we build a marketing platform for

the whole airport area built off of this

knowledge?


2. Enhance ongoing Gateway initiatives

Next Steps

Safety

Beautification

Marketing

Economic Development

1. Empower the Hospitality Committee with a joint

marketing platform (Year 2 JEM grant)


E. Layton Ave Beautification


E. Layton Ave Beautification

• Improve aesthetics of The Gateway and impressions

of Milwaukee

• E. Layton Ave is an important connector

• Incorporate opportunities for stormwater filtration/

infiltration

• Provide a safe pedestrian environment

• Utilize a low maintenance approach


Project Overview

• Extension of

beautification work

on S. Howell, W.

Grange, W. Layton

Aves

• Working with

McKay Nursery

landscape

architects

• 3 areas


Object Free Zone

• Height restrictions

• Species restrictions

• Focus on simple massing of

grasses

• Incorporate art & sculpture

• Continue banners

• Rain gardens


Object Free Zone


Pedestrian Zone

• Traffic calming / pedestrian

awareness

• Urban streetscape amenities

• Trees, shrubs, perennials

• Rain gardens


Pedestrian Zone


Pedestrian ZonePedestrian ZonePedestrian ZonePedestrian Zone


Plant Palette

• Native & adaptive species

• Salt tolerance

• Object free zone restrictions

• Urban landscape

• Focus on grasses w/ mass of

color in key locations


Plant PalettePlant PalettePlant PalettePlant Palette


Rain Gardens / Bio-swales


Get Involved

• We need your help and want your

involvement

• Join a committee

• Drop by our office

• Call us anytime

• Fill out a comment card


New website

Stay tuned for updates and

give your feedback on our new website -

www.GatewaytoMilwaukee.com


Jim Tarantino

414 455-3323

[email protected]

www.GatewaytoMilwaukee.com

Thank you!

ramada plaza milwaukee airport hotel...ramada plaza milwaukee airport hotel gateway days june 24,...

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