Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

A Powerful Local Message

Full disclosure: DMOproz facilitated the Strategic Planning process for Visit Champaign County...but that really has no influence on my affection for how that DMO has rolled out their Annual Report to the community, along with a simply sensational video designed for local consumption.

As I noted in the June edition of the Z-News (and, if you attempted to subscribe in the past few months and haven't seen an issue, we have recently discovered a subscriber field glitch that dumped up to 100 of you...so please, try again), we reviewed all the Strategic Plans we created in 2019 to see if they were still relevant. What we found is that they were (Marketing Plans were another story). Indeed, our Strategic Plans were often more relevant in a world gripped in crisis than they were when designed. When life is good, it's hard to get motivated. With the 'VID, it's imperative.

Jayne DeLuce is the CEO of Visit Champaign County...and both the Annual Report and video offer a proud and positive message to a community that has been rocked by our government's response to the 'VID and the Big 10's decision to postpone football. Her Chair's Opening Letter to the community is impressively empowering ("Our timelines may be altered, but we remain steadfastly committed that our destination vision...will come to fruition").

The video is simply inspiring.

Jayne and her team nailed it.

 

This is What DMO Pros Do

In yesterday's post, we shared a story about how a City government has shifted from "them's the rules, bub" to "how can we make this work." Refreshing...and as Quint Studer points out in Building a Vibrant Community, that's exactly what today's local governments should be doing to encourage private sector Place Making.

The back story makes this tale even better. Amie Burrill is the Executive Director of Experience Burnsville. The reporter who wanted to do a story on the soon-to-open Ineffable Brewing Company had reached out to Amie via the DMO's Facebook page using Messenger on Monday morning around 10. That would be the morning of Labor Day, when Experience Burnsville was closed, for a Labor Day story to run that evening.

Never fear...because DMO pros like Amie don't pay attention to holidays or operating hours. Even when they are out of town, as Amie was. But, because she brought her "business phone" along on her trip, she picked up the message in minutes, connected the owners of Ineffable to the reporter and alerted a Board member (also a City Council member). An hour later, the TV crew arrived at the brewery to interview the owners (and the City Council's Dan Gustafson). And, the piece aired that evening, showcasing not only the brewery but the City's can-do response to entrepreneurial opportunities for viewers throughout the Twin Cities.

This is how it's done in the pros.

Nicely played, Amie.

 

This is How Government Should Work

You gotta love the entrepreneurial spirit in the face of a global crisis. Three friends from the Twin Cities are planning to open a brewery in Burnsville MN next month called the Ineffable Brewing Company. As with any such venture, there is typically a staggering gauntlet of regulatory hoops to traverse. But apparently, the economic struggles brought on by the response to the 'VID has the City of Burnsville reassessing how it works with local businesses.

Dan Gustafson is a Burnsville city council member (and Board member of Experience Burnsville). In a recent interview on KSTP-TV, he said, "We've gone from 'these are the rules' to 'how can we make this work?' And that's how we're operating out here these days."

Bravo Burnsville. And here's hoping that more communities realize that going back to "these are the rules" isn't nearly as effective in Place Making as "how can we make this work."

Congratulations to the crew preparing for their grand opening. We can't wait for our next visit to Burnsville to experience Ineffable.

Deb Archer

When I told my Board Chair that I intended to step down to launch my consultancy, he initially considered the process of a national search. I remember giving him "the look" and saying, "Really? Your next CEO is right here...and you know it."

A year previously, we had been able to snare Deb Archer from Visit KC as our VP of Sales. We had help in the process, as she was dating a Madison guy. But, from the moment she joined our team, it was clear to me that, one day, she would lead it and Madison's visitor economy. And, for just over 25 years she has done just that...and then some.

When I stepped away in May of 1995, I was intentional in laying low. Because I had been at the forefront of the fight to build our Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Convention Center, my face was synonymous with the DMO. I wanted to make sure that Deb became the focus. And, during that summer of '95, I rarely ventured out in public.

To set the story, you must know that Deb often busted my chops for spending too much time with elected officials...and not enough helping her close business or schmooze clients. I still smile today when I remember bumping into her on State Street on a brisk autumn day, six months after she had taken the helm..

She gave me "her look" and said, "I really hate you." As I recoiled in surprise, she said with a sigh, "I haven't been able to sell anything in months (and Deb loved to sell). All my time is spent with the Mayor and the Council and the County Board." And, we shared a laugh at what managing a Destination Marketing Organization had become.

Today, Deb announced her retirement from Destination Madison. She never lost her affection for destination sales...but she evolved into one of the best DMO CEOs in the nation. Had she not ultimately married her Madison boyfriend, I have no doubt that she would have gone on to lead a Top 20 DMO. Luckily for us, she stayed here in Madison.

Thank you, Deb, for all you've done for this community. While I may have played a role in the referendum win to build the Convention Center, you powered Destination Madison (the organization and the community) to heights that were unfathomable back then. This community owes you a debt of gratitude that will, sadly, never be repaid.

Now go enjoy your next chapter. You have been a blessing to us all.

 

What A Difference a Year Makes

Last July, the Mayor of Barcelona pledged to reduce the number of tourists allowed into the city by cutting cruise ships and limiting the expansion of its airport. In an opinion piece in Medium, Christa Adams said, "the city isn’t thriving, it’s dying. Financially, it’s doing well. However, the city is being ruined by overtourism and locals aren’t happy."

Today, restauranteurs and shop owners are furious with government lock-downs and a start-stop approach to dealing with the pandemic. Only a fifth of hotels have reopened and several are expected to close permanently. A quarter of all jobs are at risk.

Here's hoping that the conversations in Barcelona (and other cities that last year lashed out at the tourism economy as evil) become more measured in the months again. The needs of tourism and residents are never mutually-exclusive...but must be mutually agreed upon.

 

Naming Your Own Fauci

As Clean and Safe is the new Black for Destination Marketing Organizations, two DMOs (and possibly more) have announced that they have appointed healthcare professionals to advise their work in welcoming visitors back to town.

The Philadelphia CVB launched its Health Pledge and named Dr. David Nash as its Chief Health Advisor to provide direct advice and guidance to meeting and event planners as they re-envision the meeting and convention experience.

And, Discover Long Island has named Dr. Michele C. Reed as the organization's Official Health & Wellness Ambassador. In this newly created role, Dr. Reed will act as an advisor on health and safety-related protocols to tourism industry leaders, provide safe travel tips to visitors and share her recommendations on how to enjoy Long Island's tourism attractions and vast outdoor experiences.

Beyond reassuring prospective visitors that the destination takes their safety seriously, this move also sends a strong signal to residents that the DMO is dedicated to their health and wellness, too.

Smart.

Doing Right

One of the reasons tourism and hospitality remains the Rodney Dangerfield of careers for some is likely forged in their experience as a past (and pitifully compensated) employee. For others, it's likely the elitist attitude that service jobs are somehow beneath them (I no longer tolerate those people in my life). But, that may have its roots in the whole pay thing.

I'm not here to debate the $15/hour construct but, can we start to have the conversation that hospitality should increase pricing rather than pay sub-standard wages? If you need a nudge in that general direction, check out this story from Galveston.

The Spot is a gulf-side, multi-level restaurant (with locally-sourced seafood) and entertainment venue. Like most restaurants in this country, they had to close their doors to in-house dining mid-March as "the VID" became real. Sales dropped 90% and 171 of 200 employees were put on waivers. The Spot owner Dennis Byrd noticed that, as those personal stimulus checks began hitting bank accounts, sales started to tick up. And, he had a fascinating idea.

"What if I over pay my team members," he mused. Would they then go out and help stimulate the local economy, which would help everyone. A true "Pay It Forward" concept.

Dennis increased his veteran employees to $20/hour and everyone else to $15/hour. Those on salary got $250 per pay period for "hazard pay." The cost? Over $650,000.

Mind you, the business was still more than 80% off, year to year. But, it was the right thing to do...and Galveston took notice.

The Spot had the biggest May in its 22-year history.

Dennis? I don't think you overpaid your team in the least. And, I can't wait for others to take your lead and run.

Do right by your people, ensure that your customers know you've done right...and we'll pay whatever you charge.

 

Still Work to Do

You hear it. We hear it. The hushed conversations at City Hall and at County Board meetings.

"We don't need to forward last quarter's room tax to the DMO; they're not marketing anymore in this time of COVID."

Au contraire, mon amie.

You wanna know what today's DMOs have been doing? Check out this op-ed piece from Visit Sarasota's Virginia Haley.

Uh-huh.

And...thank you.

The Other Side of Recovery

Terri and I work in the Destination Marketing space, advising DMOs on governance, management, strategy, funding and development. Thus, a lot of what we post on this blog focuses on this side of the hospitality business.

Spero Batistatos (President of the South Shore IN Convention & Visitors Authority) is one of the top DMO CEO minds in our sector. Unlike me, he actually started his career in the "back of the house" at a hotel/theatre complex (where I'm quite sure we met years before we became comrades in arms because I used to introduce a number of acts at the theatre during my turn in FM rock radio).

Over the weekend, my friend penned a fascinating piece on how hospitality businesses need to be planning to successfully emerge from quarantine...from a decidedly "back of the house" mentality.

It is definitely worth your read.

Non-Essential?

Destination Marketing Organizations were, in most communities, the first agencies that jumped in to assist their communities' small businesses in the days after the Ides of March (the day travel stopped in America). And, there is little doubt that DMOs will be the agencies that lead their economies back from the brink...if they are still standing when it is time for them to perform their magic, jump-starting travel through stellar marketing.

One that will be hobbled in that effort will be British Columbia's Lake Country Chamber of Commerce, as the District that has contracted with them for destination marketing services canceled that contract last week...not just temporarily, but for the rest of the year. In a story in the Lake Country Calendar, the District's Communication Manager said it was an easy cut to make: "Funding a service that may put people at risk during this COVID‐19 pandemic may present a risk to the district both legally and financially, on top of the greater community health risk." Not that anyone at the Chamber was actively inviting visitors to their community at this moment in time. This was just convenient.

This type of logic defies reality. This is like furloughing a fire department because there haven't been any fires to fight for the past month...yet knowing that fire season is coming. DMOs will be the firefighters their communities turn to when we can again travel.

Sadly, this won't be the last time we see a story like this. DMOs need to ensure that the lifesaving work they are performing for their business community is recognized and respected. Like no other, this is our hour.