Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

A Sharing Economy that Shares?

Home sharing plays, such as Airbnb, have not only disrupted the taxi industry...but, according to many, neighborhoods that report increasingly unaffordable housing, lack of sufficient parking for residents and the "evisceration" of the character locals love. And, as tourism must work first for residents, that's not a good thing.

Enter Fairbnb, a Dutch start-up that is about to launch a sharing play that gives back to the community to fund projects in the neighborhood, selected by the residents being impacted. It's not a perfect solution, but this story from City Lab offers hope to neighborhoods what welcome Fairbnb into their homes.

What Took Us All So Long?

Sometimes, we are so consumed with the job at hand that we can't see the opportunity before us. Sometimes we get comfortable with the "norm" of how business has always been done. And, that's when innovation is an orphan.

My alma mater DMO, Destination Madison is starting to pick up some serious industry buzz for its recent roll-out of a concept that is deceptively simple. One that sort of paraphrases Simon Sinek's "Start with Why" to "Start with the Customer."

The Destination Madison Team took the time to break down the challenges faced by today's meeting and event professional. And, juggling contract upon contract from each of the hotels they planned to use certainly floated to the top as one of a planner's biggest pain points.

How to solve the dilemma? Design one contract for all the hotels in the city the planner intends to use.

They call it "One City. One Contract."

It's One brilliant idea. 

Kudos to Deb, John and the Team that makes those of us that call Madison home so proud...

Best Analysis Yet of the Challenges Ahead for Destination Markets

And, not just because I'm quoted.

Skift's Hannah Sampson does a masterful job of comparing and contrasting all sides of the argument...as there appears to be a ray of hope for the continuation of Visit Florida.

Read and weep? Nah, read and take action.

Crunch Time in Florida

We've watched this circus twice before. You know, the one where the Florida Speaker of the House sets his sights on eliminating that State's Destination Marketing agency. Says that money is being misappropriated and that marketing Florida really isn't necessary because of its beaches, attractions and high consumer awareness.

It's the tired "high consumer awareness" crack that makes me shake my head every time. Apple has high consumer awareness. Nike has high consumer awareness. They spend billions on advertising because not everyone has yet tried their product. But, there is one product that every single person on the planet has tried.

Milk. Every one of us is a past or present user. We know what it tastes like and whether we'd like some more. And yet, the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (formerly known as the Milk Marketing Board) spends over $20 million a year to convince consumers to use more of a product they already know.

There is one difference this time around, however. There is a new Speaker of the House...and he is the CEO of a highly successful corporation that produces an award-winning product. When he's not trying to jam a spike through Florida's Travel and Hospitality industry, Jose Oliva runs Oliva Cigars. I could be way off, here...but, I'd be willing to bet that his company advertises in cigar magazines, works with media outlets to promote all the awards they've won and offers co-operative promotions with retailers around the world.

So, when he says, “In a trillion-dollar economy, a few million dollars put towards advertising a few different places cannot possibly have a direct correlation with tourism,” one can't but involuntary snort one's drink through one's nose.

With little more than a week left in this legislative session, prospects for saving Visit Florida have never been more tenuous. Several Florida DMOs are blanketing their stakeholders with urgent e-requests to contact their representatives to attempt to put an end to this dangerous legislative recklessness.

Since he apparently doesn't believe in the efficacy of advertising, someone should ask Mr. Oliva how much his company spent on promoting his family's line of cigars last year. 

The Critical Importance of Tourism

Community excellence occurs when we collaboratively develop a really cool place to live and visitors agree. Sophisticated community leaders know the power of tourism (which I'll be speaking on today at the Mississippi Tourism Association's Spring Conference in sensational Meridian). But, there are still those that refuse to accept that supporting a Visitor Economy is a pre-requisite to community exceptionalism.

That wasn't the case in McDonald County MO in 1961. Apparently, the highway leading to the lakes and attractions was omitted from the State Map. Within weeks, a movement to secede from the State was mounted. "Adjoining counties in Arkansas and Oklahoma were invited to create a 51st state. Stamps and passports were printed and, most importantly, the news hit the national press. A border guard of volunteers formed. They delighted in toting muzzle-loading rifles and black powder revolvers. It made for great photos," according to Joplin Globe writer Bill Caldwell.

"Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus stirred the pot by inviting McDonald County to join Arkansas as its own bootheel on the west. Joplin’s Chamber of Commerce invited the territory to have an embassy in Joplin for passports and visas."

Cooler heads, of course, prevailed. But, isn't it fascinating how important tourism was to a county in the 1960s.

It's just as important today.

Image Credit: Missouri Life

The Proving Just Got Tougher

Those who have seen me present in Boardrooms and on stages know I'm pretty dismissive of counting Room Nights as a primary measure of the efficacy of Destination Marketing. Don't jump to conclusions here. Achieving Room Nights is important. Using them as your proof has been a slippery slope for over a decade.

And, it just got slipperier.

A new study from Hilton, NYC & Company and the PCMA Foundation has found that the practice of convention attendees booking outside the contracted hotel block has gotten much worse over the past 5 years. Like, twice as bad as the last study I saw.

Over the past three years, roughly half of all delegates attending large-scale, urban conventions are booking accommodation outside the block. 25% of attendees actually booked the HQ hotel...but didn't identify themselves as attendees qualifying for the block. Thus, they haven't been counted. Thus, our "proof" just got shakier. 

As the report states, all participants in this dance will need to re-evaluate the practice of establishing Room Blocks from the consumers' point of view.

And, DMOs need to find other ways to communicate our value.

The Invisible Burden

In our work with up-and-coming destinations, we often attempt to encourage an awareness of the potential of "over-tourism." Being on the DMO Board for an ascendant destination, most in the room scoff at the notion. There's lots of time to think about that, they say.

Not really. Success in destination market carries with it the seeds of its own destruction. There is an "invisible burden," according to a new report commissioned by The Travel Foundation. And, we're seeing it take root even in communities that aren't bursting at the seams with hoards of tourists.

Consider the growing number of communities in which the City is now refusing to pay for festival and event security. Or, the impact that Airbnb rentals are having in urban neighborhoods that don't have enough parking spaces for residents, let alone overnight guests.

The Visitor economy is vital to quality of life, economic development and long-term sustainability. But...we cannot ignore the "invisible burden."

The study is worth your read.

Florida's Silly Season Returns

They hafta be joking, I thought when the news began to trickle out of the Sunshine State that its House of Representative was once again targeting Visit Florida for elimination. I mean, Lord Voldemort and many of his White Walkers (I know I’m mixing my blockbusters...but hang with me, here) are no longer members of the Florida House. So, WTF? Their young Republican spawn are taking up the mantle? 

The strange aspect is that members of this year's movement aren't pointing to secret endorsement contracts or DMOs that refuse to turn over staff salary information. They're just done with the agency, apparently. No reason is given for wanting to eliminate their State Tourism Office on October 1. They just want to. Because they think they can.

And, members of the Senate (which have served as the only adults in the room over the past few years) are starting to wiggle. Their counter proposal is to retain Visit Florida, but with a budget cut of about a third. Oh...and then there is the requirement that Visit Florida be barred from promoting any destination that has banned some types of sunscreen. Like the Keys.

No...I'm not kidding. One of the Senators behind the measure actually said, "I don’t want that brand to be changed from the Sunshine State to the melanoma capital of the world. If we’re going to give skin cancer to people they’re not going to come down."

It really is time for people that benefit from visitor spending (and, that would be...ummm, everybody) to start paying attention to who they vote for.

Really.

The Loss of Brilliance

Without a doubt, one of the most brilliant product launches and success stories of the last decade was Dollar Shave Club.

With an irreverent video and ad campaign, two guys who met at a party and expressed their mutual frustration at the cost of razor blades (honestly, how boring must that party have been?) created a disruptive company that five years later sold for $1 billion. Yeah...pretty freakin' brilliant.

But, the brilliance has dimmed and faded. It has been marginalized by a corporate need to maximize profit at every turn. Not that such a goal is bad. But, for the consumer, it's frustrating.

Let's break it down. I love their razors...but they were showing up in my mailbox too often. I don't typically need 4 razors a month. When I'm home, I tend not to shave. When I'm on the road with clients, I do. So, I had racked up 12 razors...and they just kept coming, month after month after month.

So, I took a break. And, in the time it took to go through those 12 razors, the company sold to Unilever...and now, it wasn't the Dollar Shave Club anymore. It was the $40 Dollars for Razors, Shave Butter, Butt Wipes, Shampoo, Body Wash and Toothpaste Club.

Which is FINE. And I wish them WELL. Really.

But, I keep getting "Come Back" e-mails that offer no path to rejoining the Club I loved unless I agree to the butt wipes and the toothpaste.

Worst? Their $9 for all that stuff starter offer I got today? Fine. Send me a bunch of crap I'll throw away. 4 razors for $9 is still a deal.

But, to get that deal, they'll be sending me the $40 batch of unwanted extras...on March 26. Exactly two weeks from now. And now, I'm paying more for the razors I crave than suffering with the price of store bought.

Dollar Shave Club? You had me at Hello. You lost me when you decided you weren't the Dollar Shave Club.

But, this isn't "goodbye." This is "not now." Show me a path to just buy your razors...and maybe, in time, I'll consider your butt wipes.

Just a thought...

 

Nomadness

One of the most compelling keynotes I've witnessed at Destination International's Annual Conference was Evita Robinson, the founder of Nomadness, an online community for adventurous travelers of color. Today, more than 22,000 members (whose journeys bring in an estimated $50 million to the travel industry annually) are part of the club that carries with it an entrance requirement.

You have to have at least one passport stamp.

This is a great interview, worth your read, from Conde Nast Traveller.