ROI REPORT July 1 Sept. 30, 2014

Transcription

1 ROI REPORT July 1 Sept. 30, 2014 Scottsdale City Council Mayor W.J. Jim Lane Vice Mayor Guy Phillips Council Member Virginia Korte Councilwoman Suzanne Klapp Councilman Robert Littlefield Councilwoman Linda Milhaven Councilman Dennis Robbins City Manager Fritz Behring Tourism & Events Director Paul Katsenes Tourism Development Manager Steve Geiogamah 1

2 RETURN ON INVESTMENT The Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau is the sole organization responsible for marketing the city as a premier travel and meetings destination to national and international target audiences, including leisure visitors, meeting and incentive planners, travel agents, tour operators, and the media. Before a visitor or meetings group decides on a hotel, golf course, spa or restaurant, they first must choose our destination; the CVB ensures these visitor and group dollars land in our community. We are extremely proud of our return on investment: In , the Scottsdale CVB generated $30 for the community for every $1 invested in the CVB. QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS The following report includes quarterly program highlights that demonstrate how we continue to work toward your success. First Quarter: July September 2014 Scottsdale Golf Research: For the first time ever, 13 Scottsdale golf courses are providing individual facility data to Sports & Leisure Research Group in order to benchmark aggregate golf key performance indicators on an ongoing basis. From January through March year-to-date comparing 2014 to 2013, the total golf-related fees (excluding passes and memberships) were up 8.2 percent; rounds played were up 10.3 percent; and the average rate per round was up 1.9 percent. ScottsdaleSecrets.com enticed visitors with resort packages, restaurant and attraction deals and fall events. Scottsdale Secrets Fall Campaign: The CVB s fall campaign, Scottsdale Secrets ran Aug. 15 Oct. 3 and featured 12 best-kept secrets, resort packages, coupons to local restaurants and attractions, and a list of signature fall events on ScottsdaleSecrets.com. The bureau targeted potential visitors in Scottsdale s top feeder markets of Chicago, New York, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco through s and direct mail. New to this year s campaign was the use of third-party research that allowed the CVB to reach visitors with a propensity to travel to Scottsdale in emerging markets such as Seattle, Boston, Dallas and Philadelphia. Visit USA Media Marketplace: The CVB attended the Visit USA Media Marketplace, the largest Visit USA media event in the United Kingdom. The event provided the CVB the opportunity to share the latest news and developments from Scottsdale. Forty key national travel editors, freelance press, broadcast press and travel trade press were in attendance. The UK is one of Arizona s top overseas markets for visitation. The state s only non-stop overseas flight is British Airway s service between London Heathrow and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. 2

3 Calgary Stampede Client Event: The CVB s convention sales, tourism and communications departments hosted a client event at the Calgary Stampede in July. The event drew a highly qualified group of clients including 12 members of the press that hailed from publications such as Calgary Sun, Calgary Herald, Up! and Avenue. In addition to the press, 14 top travel representatives from area travel agencies and 14 corporate, association and incentive meeting planners attended. The meeting planners represented companies including Agrium, Eye Recommend, HelmsBriscoe and H&R Block, and 36 percent of the clients were new customers. Before the rodeo events began, the CVB coordinated a reception, giving the opportunity to highlight Scottsdale as a premier meetings destination. ASAE Annual Conference & Expo: The CVB attended the ASAE Annual Conference & Expo, which is one of the largest two-and-a-half day destination and hotel/resort shows in the meetings industry, featuring education and an expo with destinations, venues, and services tailored to corporate and association meeting planners and executives. The show produced two leads and nine potential leads, and 96 clients stopped by the CVB booth. The CVB s booth at ASAE highlighted the Sonoran Desert to meeting planners at the tradeshow. IncentiveWorks 2014: The CVB attended IncentiveWorks, which is Canada s largest event for professionals who plan, organize or influence meetings and events. This year, there was a hosted buyers program as well as the ability for the planners to schedule one-on-one appointments with preferred vendors. The CVB had seven confirmed appointments throughout the show with companies such as RED Canada, Eventmark Management Inc. and Strategic Incentive Solutions. A total of 213 people came by the booth. As a result, three sales leads and one site inspection have been generated from the show. Los Angeles/Las Vegas Receptive Sales Mission: The CVB conducted sales calls to receptive tour operators in Los Angeles and Las Vegas in August. These high-volume clients are responsible for sending large quantities of visitors to Scottsdale from targeted international markets. The CVB conducted sales calls at nine receptive tour companies including American Ring, Destination America, Bonotel and GTA. As a result of this sales effort, 15 leads and services were produced. Vancouver Media Trip: In August, the CVB traveled to Vancouver for an Arizona Office of Tourism-sponsored event that showcased the state s myriad options. Vancouver and British Columbia are key feeder markets for Scottsdale. According to the Scottsdale CVB s research, Vancouver is ranked second for number of visits and aggregated revenue spent in Scottsdale from Canada. US Airways offers daily, non-stop service from Vancouver to Phoenix, making Scottsdale an easy getaway for Vancouver residents. The communications team met with 34 members of the media, representing outlets such as The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Courier, Spas of America, Explore, and more. 3

4 This invitation was sent to Virtuoso travel agents to offer them a Scottsdale experience. More than 20 travel agents visited the destination as a result. Virtuoso Travel Week: Virtuoso is a travel agency consortium comprised of over 300 travel agencies in 22 countries. This exclusive group generates $5.1 billion annually in travel sales, making it the most powerful group in the luxury travel segment. Each year, Virtuoso hosts the Travel Week conference in Las Vegas where more than 3,000 travel advisors learn about new travel experiences. This year, the CVB partnered with our local Virtuoso hotels to invite travel agents to experience the destination firsthand. The offer included a complimentary twonight stay at any Virtuoso hotel in Scottsdale. As a result, 26 of the top Virtuoso travel agents visited Scottsdale. In addition to conducting hotel site visits, many also experienced Scottsdale s unique activities and attractions. Connect Sports Tradeshow: The CVB participated in the Connect Sports Tradeshow in August. The CVB partnered with WestWorld, and were able to engage with over 300 sports-related planners and event organizers while attending as delegates. The CVB and WestWorld attended many educational breakouts sessions as well as 31 pre-set qualified appointments. The CVB received five new RFPs for Scottsdale and 22 new contacts that handle sporting events that have not considered Scottsdale in previous years. The CVB will continue to participate in this show in order to grow and generate new revenue through the sports market for Scottsdale and venues like WestWorld. San Francisco Client Event: The CVB s communications, convention sales, and tourism teams traveled to San Francisco for a multi-department client event at the Sept. 10 San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park. Nineteen members of the media were in attendance, and they represented outlets such as San Francisco Chronicle, AFAR, Sunset, Meetings Focus, Golf Lifestyle and more. The communications team also scheduled appointments with 18 I love learning new things about destinations and you ve opened my eyes to all kinds of exciting developments in Scottsdale. I look forward to getting a chance to visit Scottsdale and see you both again. -San Francisco journalist members of the media. They met with editors from Sunset, Caviar Affair, AFAR, and Meetings Focus, as well as freelance writers. FUTURE PROGRAMS During the next few months, the CVB will be working on the following projects to name just a few: Holiday Campaign: The CVB is enticing visitors to book their Scottsdale holiday trip and enjoy the warm weather, rates and activities the destination has to offer. The CVB s holiday campaign will run from Oct. 6 through Jan. 9, and will reach potential holiday visitors across the United States and Canada. The campaign highlights resort and activity deals on ScottsdaleHolidayExperience.com. Additionally, the holiday landing page also features a contest where visitors can enter to win a Scottsdale holiday getaway. This year s campaign is being promoted through print, online, direct mail and to potential visitors in our primary and secondary U.S. and Canadian feeder markets. 4

5 Canadian Meetings FAM: The CVB will be hosting the 4 th Annual Canadian Meetings FAM in November in Scottsdale. Up to 15 Canadian corporate, association, incentive, and third-party meeting planners will be attending the three-day familiarization tour focusing on Scottsdale s luxury properties. The Canadian market continues to be important for Scottsdale. The CVB saw an 8 percent increase in Canadian leads last fiscal year and a 38 percent increase in bookings. Getting these clients out to experience Scottsdale first hand will help us to convert those leads to bookings in the coming year. Explore the American Southwest Fall FAM: The CVB will host the 15 th Annual Explore the American Southwest Fall FAM. This FAM will attract up to 20 meeting professionals and a handful of journalists to experience the destination. The itinerary will include site tours at member properties, a mini-tradeshow and activity options that include an art and architectural tour, as well as horseback riding. New York Sales Mission and Client Event: The CVB will host a Taste of Scottsdale event for approximately 40 of New York s top travel professionals at Saveur Magazine s NYC test kitchen in December. The Saveur event will highlight Scottsdale s evolving culinary and cocktail scene while informing our clients about what s new and noteworthy in the destination. In addition to the Saveur event, the Scottsdale CVB tourism team will conduct a week of sales calls to travel agencies and tour operators in this important market. Travel Classics West: In November, the CVB will sponsor Travel Classics West. This prominent travel writer conference brings together 15 editors and 35 freelance writers. The Boulders, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, will host the conference, and other CVB members will host on- and off-site events that the CVB coordinated, including a dinearound event at El Pedregal. The CVB also will partner with the Arizona Office of Tourism to host group press trips before the conference. 5

6 SCOTTSDALE CVB CONTRACT PERFORMANCE MEASURES The following performance measures are per the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau s agreement with the City of Scottsdale. Performance Measure Year-to-date (July Sept. % of Annual Goal 2014) Convention Sales Generate 1,236 convention sales leads for Scottsdale properties % Conduct 168 customer interaction/site inspections for Scottsdale properties 51 30% Confirm 396 convention bookings for future dates % Confirm convention bookings for future dates resulting in 108,000 room nights 53,113 49% Convention Services Generate 252 product/service leads and hotel leads for 10 rooms or fewer 85 34% Travel Industry Sales Generate 1,500 domestic and international tour program leads and services for Scottsdale properties/venues % Promote Scottsdale as one of the world's top leisure destinations to 3,300 targeted clients 1,027 31% Generate 2.7 million travel agent impressions via destination product offering in domestic and international tour operator 530,000 20% brochures Communications Generate 1,000 travel articles about Scottsdale % Marketing Convert 73% of CVB inquirers into Scottsdale visitors To be reported August 2015 Generate economic impact of $130 million associated with CVB's visitor inquiries $17,992,678 14% Generate 27,000 inquiries from high demographic customers in primary and secondary markets 1,471 5% Generate 1.2 million unique visitors to CVB s website 313,823 26% HOTEL PERFORMANCE Following is the most up-to-date Smith Travel Research data, which shows the performance of Scottsdale-area hotels, including occupancy, average daily room rate and revenue per available room. Year-to-date Thru Sept Year-to-date Thru Sept % Difference Hotel Occupancy 67.3% 65.1% 3.3% Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) (Source: Smith Travel Research) $ $ % $ $ % 6

7 THANK YOU! Thank you for your continued support and commitment to growing the tourism industry of Scottsdale. We hope our hard work, effectiveness and integrity speak to our commitment to deliver the best opportunities to the city. Our staff looks forward to continuing its work on behalf of the community. If you have questions, or would like additional details on these programs, please contact me at or Best regards, Rachel Sacco President & CEO 7