For all the advantages the internet has brought us, the ability for the agenda-fueled among us to create web platforms that appear, to the unsophisticated, to be mainstream news sites has created a monster. One such site is read so widely in one destination that the spouse of a DMO Board Member there asked her partner why he served on that Board of "thieves." Oy!
What's happening in Sedona is a sad commentary on our times. Concerns of over-tourism are valid, to be sure, but placing the blame squarely on the DMO is neither fair nor productive to the conversation forward.
Yet, an alternative "news source," called the Sedona Eye, has been pounding the Sedona Chamber/DMO for months...most recently with a two-part treatise from a guy that clearly has an agenda...yet a vaporous bio. The problem is...the bots pick it up and repost it as news, giving validity to a lone man's rant.
Like the kid saving starfish, I'm not sure whether I can make a difference here...but when someone misrepresents the truth, I gotta give it a try, hoping someone will listen to reason.
Like many conspiracy theorists, the author buries the reader with so much content that they assume some of it must be true. But several of the rants are not:
"I’ve checked with the major Destination Traveler Industry ranking services known as Destination Market International (sic), BrandsUSA (sic), TripSavvy, The National Tour Association and the Destination Marketing Organization International (sic). They all rank DMO’s (Destination Marketing Organizations) and CVB’s (Convention Bureaus) up through the top 100 with some of them. Most of them rank the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp as the best in the United States last year.
Not so strangely, though, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce is not ranked by any of these rating services. Yet we keep hearing Council and Staff publicly distributed superlatives about our Chamber as a great DMO to support arguments as to why our Chamber shouldn’t be required to submit itself to competitive bidding through an RFP process.
This just doesn’t add up.
Ummm...this just isn't true. There are no "Destination Traveler Industry ranking services." Destinations International and BrandUSA do not rank the efficacy of DMOs. TripSavvy is a for-profit-business that highlights destinations where their business interests lie. And, the National Tour Association represents the motorcoach industry. One would think that the author wouldn't want to be on a list designed for value-oriented consumers. And, even if they did rate destinations, they wouldn't rate Destination Marketing Organizations.
Don't believe me? Click on the links and tell me if you can find "Destination Traveler Industry Rankings."
And, by the way, almost all the ranked DMO’s and CVB’s are managed and staffed by their own city governments whom they represent. Why isn’t our City Staff capable of doing what far lesser destination traveler resort towns accomplish with fewer employees relative to our City’s size.
Again...just not true. As there are no rankings...saying that "almost all" are city staffed is patently false. According to Destinations International (the sector's trade association), less than 10% of DMOs in this country are divisions of City government. Kinda far from "almost all," don'tcha think?
And, how do we know this?
23 years of being one of the top consultancies in this space in the Americas...and the author of Destination Leadership.
Any questions (mainstream media)?
Thank you Bill! I so appreciate your fact checking and offering true facts to what has become a disturbing and ugly situation in Sedona and our country. We have a wonderful city and community that is being undermined by false news.
Hope you will jump in again with real facts.
Sincerely,
Linda
Posted by: Linda Goldenstein | August 14, 2018 at 18:32
What's wrong with so much of the world today is that those who intentionally misrepresent the truth are rarely called out for it. We can't sit on our hands when these kinds of lies are being perpetrated. We wish your sensational community a more dignified and mature conversation about your future than you're presently having to endure.
Posted by: Bill Geist | August 14, 2018 at 22:17
Interesting data. The real underlying issue however is a now 2.5 MILLION no bid auto renewing contract with insiders which represents 8% of the city of Sedona's average budget over the last 5 years. If we really want to talk about misinformation and cronyism we should be writing about that. Question: at what length will someone go to protect a $2.5 million revenue source that is guaranteed. How many times will you lie and misrepresent what the Sedona Chamber of Commerce really is doing Ms. WESSELHOFF. The little false emails you are blasting around the city are past egregious. Rather than doing a deflection article, we really should be asking about the nefarious relationship between the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sedona. The state Attorney General already is, and that is NOT fake news.
Let's face it, Chamber's are becoming less important as technology on a logarithmic basis overtakes brick and motar. You will be replaced by an app. And that is a lot cheaper for the city than $2.5 million a year.
Posted by: Curacy Adams | August 15, 2018 at 00:10
Most Destination Marketing Organizations are not subjected to bidding for their government contracts because they are sole-source providers; there simply are no other vendors qualified to step into such a contract, largely because no other agencies maintain the databases required to perform the work that a DMO does.
And, the Destination Marketing function is more relevant and necessary than ever to manage the brand messaging for a community (and that can't be distilled down to an app). Without that brand management, a community's reputation (and the message of invitation) will be in the hands of Google, Trip Advisor, the Online Travel Agencies, Facebook and the rest of the 'net. If you think the marketing message is tone deaf to residents' interests...wait until there isn't a DMO and you have no voice in how you are represented.
My suggestion is to tone down the drama and the personal call-outs and begin respectful dialogue about how to better manage the over-tourism that many in your community feel is occurring. Put down the pitchforks and work together to develop a plan forward that both residents and the small businesses that depend on visitors can agree to.
Just a thought...
Posted by: Bill Geist | August 15, 2018 at 00:45
Here is another thought Mr. Geist, to make a statement that 8% of the ENTIRE Sedona financial expenditure is going to a private industry without a RFQ is preposterous. Also making a statement that leaving marketing to the big internet providers is pretty unbelievable in itself, when millions of Americans and foreigners that travel just do that, all over the world.
And also stating that an APP for Sedona is somehow unthinkable or not possible shows your total lack of understanding of current technology.
Another thing we are really tired of is the constant barrage of Ms. Wesselhoff who runs the Chamber telling us via her bulletins all about other cities and towns and their expenditure numbers, but neglects to compare to their overall budgets. For those of us who understand percentages and dollars and how they are used to drive home point to unsuspecting consumers is classic. And on top of that, these comparisons always are cities that actually have a traffic GRID system that allows for multiple access for tourists, AND the ability of residents to move around with somewhat ease and avoid the main roads. Neither of which will EVER happen in our city due to the topographical limitations of this town. You cannot pour 2 gallons of water into a one gallon jug.
The YES PAC is funded over 90% by hotels - not residents. That alone should tell you there is a problem. No outside independent audits of the Chamber should tell you there is a problem. Their internal auditor and board member Marc Sterling just resigned, that should tell you there is a problem, and the Attorney General of Arizona is looking into the relationship between the Chamber and the City of Sedona, that should tell you there is a problem.
Let's face it, this situation smells pretty bad and it is not in the favor of the people who live here.
Posted by: Curacy Adams | August 15, 2018 at 16:41
I have a total lack of understanding of technology? Apps are so 2010. Most DMOs have moved on...as most consumers have moved on. I didn't say it was impossible. I said that leaving the management of your brand messaging to chance is a bad idea.
Look, we'll have to disagree. My point in responding last night was to attempt to acquaint you to the fact that most Destination Marketing contracts are not up for RFP. While I can certainly understand how some could think it unfair, it's just how it is done across most of the country because DMOs are sole source providers of a service that just can't be found in multiple iterations in most towns. If you have several DMOs in town, by all means...go to RFP. You should. But, I'm pretty sure you don't.
I understand that some residents, like you, are growing weary of your Chamber Director's point of view. I'm pretty sure she's growing weary of the personal attacks she's been forced to endure.
Just a thought...
Posted by: Bill Geist | August 15, 2018 at 16:59