Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

A New Role for Today's DMO

I can't remember the first time I said the words, "it's not just about heads in beds." Hard to believe, but its likely been 15 years...maybe 20.

It wasn't because I was prescient. It was because I was given the gift of working for a Destination Marketing Organization that chose to dive into leading a community-wide effort to build a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Convention Center. That wasn't what DMOs did in the '90s. But, I knew that what we accomplished in Madison was the future for DMOs.

Today, the most effective and innovative DMOs are intimately engaged in destination, community and economic development. And, as we suggested last month in the Z-News, hunger and homelessness need to be next on our agenda.

Here's a sensational article from the Northstar Meetings Group on how leading DMOs are addressing this increasing social crisis.

We all need to join them.

 

 

The New Way to Negatively Position DMOs

As we've noted previously, Destinations International's white paper on The New Tourism Lexicon is a critical guide on how those of us in the Destination Marketing space should explain our work and defend against unsophisticated and agenda-fueled attacks.

Over the past couple weeks, I've been picking up on a new tactic being used by those that seek to redirect tourism taxes to other uses. Instead of referring to a DMO's annual budget, they are beginning to utilize cumulative totals to encourage outrage among a populace that can be goaded into anger over the most minor of slights.

While I've seen it in no less than 5 destinations over the past three months, I'll direct you to Stillwater OK, where the City has recently put its Destination Marketing contract up for RFQ. After suffering the slings and arrows of community discontent with that decision, the Mayor there wrote an op-ed piece to defend the City's action. And, rather than saying that the City invests an annual sum each year into its award-winning DMO, he doubles down and says "Visit Stillwater has received more than $3.5 million in fees to provide marketing services (at least he didn't say "given," which we normally see).

This is an intentional move on the part of public officials to cause Joe and Jill Public to respond, "Say what? The City is giving an organization millions of dollars for something I don't care about?" Joe and Jill wouldn't be outraged at $800,000...but millions? Now you have their attention.

If critics begin quoting cumulative numbers in your town, your response need be swift and direct. And, the necessity to establish more effective ROI measurements has never been more immediate.

It's Simply a Matter of Time

For every exceptionally successful tourism destination, there comes the seed of resident discontent. Nevermind that it was likely their own turn as a tourist that compelled those not indigenous to the locale to make it their home. Communities are for the residents that infuse time, talent and investment in a place. And, their voice needs to be heard.

As it has been in Venice, where the City plans to charge an $11.50 "day pass" to visitors that aren't spending the night. And, that's reportedly 4/5 of the over 30 million people who visit the famed destination each year. Just how they will enforce the tax is still a little hazy...but electeds there are under mounting pressure to do something.

It's only a matter of time before other communities consider similar measures. So, as we look ahead to 2019, we should do so (even in destinations that are not yet overrun) with an eye to managing the impact our work as Destination Marketers produces.

N'est-ce pas?

Image Credit: LivingNomads.com

A Voice of Reason in a Sea of Insanity

Wisconsin taxpayers are on the hook for $4.5 billion to bring a plant to the Badger State that may employ 13,000. New York City promised $3 billion to Amazon to get half of its HQ2. The arms race shows no sign of slowing...that is unless Mayors and Governors begin to more carefully judge the public blowback to such subsidies on their own tenure.

Richard Florida recently opined on the practice on CityLab, calling on this nation's Mayors to grow a spine and just say "no,"

It's worth a read...

Growing a Community Conscious

For the past decade, news outlets across the land have doubled down on the old adage of "if it bleeds, it leads." In the era of Facebook, stories about crime became delectable clickbait, driving advertising revenue. Nevermind how it positioned a community on a global stage that could now read articles from anywhere in the world. And, nevermind the damage that was done to a community's image in the economic development space. Stories about crime equaled short-term revenue to the media highlighting it.

It's why media is so vilified today in community development discussions. Exemplified in the callous quote by the now disgraced CBS President Les Moonves ("it may not be good for America but it's damned good for CBS"), media has forfeited the long-term good for short-term profits.

So, it's refreshing to see a newspaper shift gears, as Southern Mississippi's Sun Herald did last month. No more will they play the clickbait game, instructing their reporters to ask questions such as, "do our readers really need to know this?"

As the Editor says, "what is good for us may not be what is good for South Mississippi. We need to re-evaluate."

Kudos, Mr. Kaplan. Here's hoping you initiate a trend in which local media serves the best interests of its community...and not just itself.

 

Trust Us...it'll Qualify

For every really cool story in DMO-land (like yesterday's)...there are the bone-headed, the politically devious and the sensationally unsophisticated tales that make one wanna scream.

One of the latter occurred last week when the York County SC Council voted to purchase 1,900 acres for a recreation site along the Catawba River for $21 million. Part of the funding package being proposed will see the budget of the Destination Marketing Organization there slashed by 43%.

Now, one must always be cautious when working off of media reports. There could be an agenda on the part of the writer. The reporter could be clueless as to what they are hearing. But, what I see in this story is purposeful political misdirection and a calculated belief that the State laws restricting the use of Tourism-related taxes can be bent to the Council's will.

If you want to go down the rabbit hole and read the sad tale, your links are here (the DMO issue) and here (the residents' take).

But, here's the Cliff Notes version: The land is being purchased for conservation purposes. That does not qualify it for Tourism Taxes.

1,900 acres, however, is a lot of land. If thoughtfully designed, the parcel could become a tourism draw. Thus, Tourism Taxes could be utilized.

But...and, it's a big one. There are no plans for the land other than acquisition. At least not publicly shared. And, that the County does not have a Parks and Rec Department, the chance that even a part of the tract evolves into a tournament-grade sports complex appears remote. Indeed, work is already underway for a Sports Park in another part of the county.

The Assistant County Manager says, "I don't have any guilt about a drastic cut to the CVB."

And, that speaks volumes.

Sigh.

Fighting Homelessness for the Holidays

As I noted in today's edition of the Z-News (subscribe here if you'd like to stay up-to-date with the world of Destination Marketing), DMOs need to play a part in fighting hunger and homelessness in our communities.

Jack Berry and the Team at Richmond Regional Tourism recently stepped up to the plate with an e-mail holiday greeting that doubles as a fundraiser for Homeward, an area non-profit that’s working to prevent, reduce and end homelessness. They've made a donation in the name of the people in their database and ask recipients to open their hearts to donate as well.

It is a sensational move...made all the more perfect because it's the right thing to do.

And, this is an idea that I'm sure the Richmond Team wouldn't mind you copy-catting.

Congratulations to Jack and his Team. You make us all proud.

Making Lemonade Daily

We are fans of Arnie Weissmann's columns in Travel Weekly...and we often link to the ones we find particularly prescient.

We're also big fans of Rockford IL...and were before it was cool to be. We saw the spark years before the media figured it out.

Those two forces recently collided when Arnie took a misinformed swipe at Rockford, basing his opinion on a particularly cruel and absolutely unnecessary 2013 Forbes article calling the city the third most miserable place in America. Rockford's response was masterful...but Arnie clearly hadn't seen it.

Several community leaders in Rockford reached out to Arnie, inviting him for a visit to experience what I called in 2012 the "newly-hip" city.

"First drink's on me," said one...and the DMO's John Groh made the invitation official. And, Arnie accepted.

It's a great story of taking the lemons we are handed...and making exquisite lemon daiquiris.

Well played, Rockford! Exceptionally well played.

Sure, Let the Embassies Run Tourism Promotion

OK...I may be missing something in the translation. But, this article from Travel Pulse certainly sounds like Mexico's new administration is moving ahead with shuttering the State Tourism Office and offloading tourism promotion to the country's embassies around the world.

Somebody tell me I'm misreading this...because this isn't even a WTF.

There simply are no words.

Missed it By That Much

When I first starting getting links to a "story" out of an Atlanta metro newspaper serving, as they refer to it, "communities which encompass several of metro Atlanta’s wealthiest ZIP codes and most desirable neighborhoods," I just passed it off as being from an unsophisticated reporter who didn't understand how destination marketing works, and so he'd write about it. But then, I read it again.

In a piece entitled "Hotel Taxes Seek "Free Money" with Few Strings," a reporter for The Reporter utilizes innuendo as the basis of a story where there really is none. But, he has found two sources that, on the surface, sound credible to give his story just enough air to keep it afloat. So, let's break it down:

The writer leads by suggesting Destination Marketing Organizations are one of the ways communities "take advantage of the endless flow (my emphasis, as I giggle at the thought of boatloads of money coursing through Atlanta's suburbs) of revenue from taxing outsiders rather than local citizens." Except, no one reading the article is being taken advantage of...so where is the foul?

He goes on to report that his two experts say there are no strings on these revenues requiring any proof of ROI. And that is blatantly false. While I can't claim that every DMO in America operates under an agreement with a local government that requires an annual accounting of ROI, I certainly have never worked with one which doesn't. And we count over 200 DMOs among our clients. One expert also claims "the assumption that visitors can be taxed without negative impact on the hotel business may be faulty." Hold that thought for a moment.

First off, the manager of the Office of Research at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs said, “We don’t have any metrics to gauge effectiveness.” And, I'm quite sure the Office of Research at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs doesn't (because it's not their money, so why would they?)...but that doesn't mean that virtually every DMO in America isn't measuring progress and productivity. Our industry Trade Association offers its members a starter template of suggested productivity measures that lists over 30 things a DMO should be tracking (and we know a DMO that tracks over 100 indicators...monthly).

The other expert is a researcher from Berry College (and a contributor to a Georgia Policy Think Tank) that recently released a study which suggests that hotel taxes may actually have lowered statewide monthly average hotel rentals by 92,000 rooms. And, I have no doubt that he may be right. But, that wasn't a locally imposed Room Tax with a clear expectation of local ROI. He based his findings on the effects of a draconian $5-a-night fee on hotels that the State Legislature blindly passed in the dark of night to fund transportation improvements. Apples and Kumquats, my friend.

Here's the deal...you can get pretty much anyone to claim they are an expert in destination marketing because they once took a vacation or attended a conference. This is a story without a point...fueled by experts without a clue.

Or...to be fair to the two experts: Could they have been quoted out of context by a reporter with an agenda?

We may never know...but, in the end? This dog don't hunt.