Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Maybe Chicago's Pain was their Gain

I was in the Chicago Metro the day the site of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games was announced. Funny, I was in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro the day that Brett Favre said he was signing with the Vikings. Coincidence? I don't think so. But, I digress.

I stood with scores of people that day, watching television monitors in the lobby of the hotel at which I was preparing to speak...waiting for word that Chicago would be selected to host the Games. I watched those people in empathetic sadness as Chicago lost on the first vote.

As much as the city's pride took a major hit that day, maybe it's all for the better that Rio got the Games. A new study by the European Tour Operators Association looked at arrivals to host cities following the last six Summer Olympics. The trade group discovered that all six experienced a "major disruption" in tourism and none had any "conspicuous growth."

According to the ETOA, "one would expect most cities to show tourism growth year on year. For the Olympic cities, tourism growth tends to be stalled, and the stall becomes most apparent when a comparison is made with competitor destinations."

An interesting thought for those that dream of major events. Is the public PR and brand awareness that will undoubtedly play out to our advantage in the long run (which the ETOA does not address) worth the short-term losses that will occur by hosting such events?

A Tasty Way to Stimulate the Economy

130 Million people eat out in America every day...which pumps $3 billion into the economy, every day.

That's one I didn't know...and just one in a great video that clearly explains the impact of restaurants on the nation's economy. And the devastating effect when we begin to view eating out as a luxury.

Thanks to my friend Maura Gast of the Irving CVB for the catch.

Get Out! The House Gets Off its Ass.

The US House of Representatives finally got around to passing the US Travel Promotion Act yesterday by a not unsubstantial vote of 358-66. The Senate passed identical legislation earlier in September by a vote of 79-19, but procedural dynamics require an additional Senate vote, anticipated in the coming weeks.

Interestingly, they still follow some rules in Congress (who knew?). Evidently, because the legislation creates "revenue" for the federal government, the Constitution requires that the bill originate in the House...hence the need for the Senate to pass the House version of the bill.

Whatever...but isn't it interesting that somebody FINALLY recognizes that Tourism Marketing produces Tax Revenue?

Sigh...

And to paraphrase RFK: "And now it's (back over) to the Senate. And let's win there."

The New Normal for the Meetings Industry

One of the thought leaders I've been following recently is Jeff Hurt, Director of Education and Events for the National Association of Dental Plans. His insightful post in August regarding why conference attendees are ignoring early-bird discounts really caught my imagination. And, now, he's back with even more...

His 16 realities of how the Meetings Industry has changed...possibly forever.

It's a must read if you make your living marketing hotels, convention centers, meetings or destinations.

Smart Hotels Add...Not Slash

I know it's easy for me to opine from this not so ivory tower about an industry in which I have never directly worked. Unlike many of my peers in Destination Marketing, I didn't come through hotels. So, when I chastise innkeepers, it is with a modicum of self-doubt.

But, I do keep up with the industry's thought leaders on a daily basis. And virtually all of them (as does all the research) make the point that slashing room rate in a down economy is a recipe for disaster. Yet, I know that, when the property down the street does...it's real hard not to follow suit.

An article last week in the L.A. Times, however, should be required reading for any hotelier that is being lured to the dark side. Among the examples given in the piece that marvels at the ways hotels are battling back:

• The Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach is offering $100 towards a tattoo and a bottle of tequila with its "Ink and Stay" package.

• The Sand Diego Hard Rock Hotel is offering use of a Harley during your two-night stay.

• The Four Seasons in Beverley Hills trumps that with a free rental of a Porsche.

Smart. Very Smart.

And these hotels will bounce back much faster than the ones that drop their rates to $39.99. Of that, we can be sure...

And thanks to my friend Bill Baker for the catch.

The New Breed of DMO Professionals

Just back from the Upper Midwest CVB Fall Conference. And...damn. I am so impressed and invigorated.

First off...the content was the best I've seen in years. And, if you are a past attendee that faded away over the past 5 years, you need to consider putting this conference back into your budget for 2010.

But, more importantly, for the first time...I saw a cadre of new DMO professionals that are just flat out whip smart. I moderated a ideation session on Day One...and watched as break-out groups that had to be 80% 20-somethings were coming up with incredible ideas and strategies for ways to attract visitors.

OK...maybe that means I'm getting old (but I damn sure outlasted most of the attendees the past couple nights). But these new DMOpros are so the future of our industry. In a world where our relevance is questioned, I am so more positive than ever before.

Cause the next generation of DMOpros so get it.

And I can't wait to hang with them again next year.

Photo (l-r): Me, Christine Rebout (Janesville WI CVB), Terri and Cole Carley (Fargo-Moorhead CVB)...all sporting the Zeitgeist tattoo.

Is Today the Day?

OK...it's a procedural move, I guess. And, regardless of yesterday's post...

Yesterday afternoon, 80 US Senators voted to move to a final vote on the Travel Promotion Act, which for the first time will create a public-private partnership to promote travel to the United States.

The Senate is now tasked with one final vote on passage of the bill scheduled for this afternoon at 4:30 (EDT). Following Senate passage, the House of Representatives will again need to vote to approve. But according to USTA, the House is currently focused on health care legislation, so the Travel Promotion Act could be sidelined by other legislative priorities.

Why do I feel like Charlie Brown watching Congress do their best Lucy Van Pelt imitation?

Another View of the Travel Promotion Act

Those of us in the U.S. Travel Industry have been pushing Congress to get off its partisan ass and pass the Travel Promotion Act. Leaders there say they'll get right to it, ummm, today.

But, as it so often is the case, what we see as a solution to this nation's woeful dereliction of duty when it comes to tourism-based economic development is viewed through a completely different lens abroad.

Like this post from Gadling in which a columnist from across the pond is simply aghast that America would tack on additional fees on top of the already onerous process to visit...just to have the extra cash to invite people to grab their ankles and take it.

Interesting view...and one that I, as someone used to grabbing his ankles, hadn't thought of.

The Relationship Between GDP and Hotel Demand

In a fascinating post on the 4Hoteliers blog, JMBM's Jim Butler shares research from NYU's Bjorn Hanson that shows an uncanny symmetry between U.S. Gross Domestic Product and Hotel Room Demand. Since 1920, with very few exceptions, the two growth rates have mirrored each other.

That is...until the Year 2000. During the last recession, hotel demand dropped like a stone compared to the decline in GDP. It's done the same in this one.

Last time around, the trend boomeranged back rapidly...but began following the GDP trend line again at a decreased level. The question Butler poses is chilling. Will the recovery for hotels replicate the last recovery...or are we in a totally new paradigm with this one?

Either way, the numbers don't look good.

We're Just Watchdogs for the Taxpayer

Yesterday, we shared the boneheaded comment that tourism marketing is superfluous because "everybody knows (fill in the name of the destination)."

Monday night, the CEO of the Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation was scheduled to make a 30-minute presentation on the economic impact his agency continues to have on the region to the City's Tourism Advisory Board. And, with occupancy down just 3.7% this summer (when the national average is closer to 10%) and web traffic up 50%, he should have had a compelling story to tell.

Except the 30-minutes turned into a heated 2-hour debate on the effectiveness of the organization, challenges that the NTTC is playing favorites in marketing destination hotels (they're not) and whether the DMO is targeting "niche markets." Too funny...if it wasn't so sad.

At the end of the grilling, one City Councilman told the CEO to not take the criticism personally. And then uttered another classic line that we've all heard before:

“The only reason we’re on you is we have to be the watchdogs for the taxpayers."

Bullshit.

If you were a watchdog for the taxpayer, your residents would pay far less in taxes than they do today. You're using the NTTC to make yourself look good to a public that doesn't understand the critical need for destination marketing in building the economy of a region and enhancing its quality of life.

You can stop now.