Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

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.

 

The Future of Culinary Tourism

It's what drove a significant amount of pre-VID tourism over the past five years; the sense that one can learn about a place through its food. Anthony Bourdain showed us this truth...and travel consumers bought into the concept.

As we watch the professional research firms reveal the thoughts of today's travel consumers, there are also the one-off polls that do not necessarily reflect America, but the readership of a particular online publication.

Such is the case with SmartBrief, a daily compilation of fascinating articles from around the world. The respondents to their polls could be expected to skew white-collar business professionals...and that's what is so concerning with last week's poll: Do you expect your dining habits to change after the pandemic?

Only a third of respondents said they would return to dining out like it was 2019...and 40% said they would be cooking more at home. To be sure, these responses aren't necessarily travel responses (as most of us can't cook in when we're on the road). But, it paints a distressing picture of a restaurant's base clientele's attitude.

Even more reason for DMOs, as they can, to help our culinary partners ideate ways to shift consumer sentiment. If, indeed, they want to cook in, attempt to facilitate that. The best restaurants source from specific farms. Our local butcher sources from only one farm for his beef tenderloin (and, it's awesome). Not taking away from the artistry of the chef, the source food is almost always better than supermarket, if they are not depending on a national distributor.

Hey, I know nothing about restaurants (other than I miss them). But, the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells offers to stock your cabin fridge with the same cuts of meat that they serve in their sensational Kaminski's Chop House. Seems like an idea that independent restaurants, regardless of the fare they serve, could emulate. People want to cook at home...show them the good stuff.

The farmers would benefit too. Win-Win.

Stay Strong.

Which Industries Can Physically Distance Best?

When we got swept up in "The Vid" (our household name for the pandemic), Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was regarded by many as being one of a handful of State leaders that understood the severity of what was to come...and what to do to protect residents from the virus.

Today, however, he's dragging his feet...and one has to ask why? On Sunday's "Meet The Press," the Governor sorely tested his support from the tourism and hospitality industry when he said he didn't know when he would allow those businesses to reopen.

But, he has said "yes" to restaurants and bars, tattoo parlors, hair salons, weddings up to 300, swimming pools, retailers and gyms...all businesses that one would think would be harder to physically distance than a zoo or museum. A set of proposed safety guidelines was sent to the Governor last week by a task force of top attractions and, according to this story on Cleveland.com, his office has gone radio silent.

Don't get me wrong. I saw the videos and images of all the malakas in beach destinations over the weekend. And, I don't begrudge any business that has gotten a pass to open. But...puleeze, who wouldn't feel safer in a controlled hospitality environment than a bar and grill called Sam 'n Ella's?

Just sayin... 

How Can We Help?

One of the more fascinating aspects of the meltdown of the travel and hospitality industry in March was just how quickly so many Destination Marketing Organizations pivoted, reaching out to their restaurant communities to help promote pick-up and take-out services in an attempt to keep restaurants alive. Last month, some reached out to help local retailers set up and promote online sales. Others have coordinated streaming concerts as fundraising vehicles. In short, not what they teach in DMO school.

Destination Analysts has been releasing its weekly Coronavirus Travel Sentiment Study for the industry since the crisis began to help us make sense of the mindset of both travelers and residents. CEO Erin Francis-Cummings reached out the other day with an intriguing finding from last week's focus groups of local businesses. When Destination Analysts asked restauranteurs about how DMOs could help them now, they said it wasn't marketing...but leadership and advocacy. Leadership in helping them gather and understand the new health guidelines they would be expected to follow in the weeks ahead. And, advocacy to ensure that local governments consider their business plight.

And, that's what the relevant DMO of the future must do, as it is able.

Lead and Advocate.

It's About Safe

Last month, we shared a LinkedIn post from our friend Spero Batistatos (South Shore CVA) that suggested that, when it's time to re-enter the marketplace, our message needs to be about the safety of our customers. And, while most Destination Marketing messaging has been about experiences, lots of research (pre COVID-19) has shown that the feeling of safety is one of the most important aspects of visitor choice.

It just became more so with this friggin' virus.

Our friends at Travel Lane County have moved into that space with videos addressing both hotel and restaurant protocols that their destination's businesses will be taking.

Nicely played...

The Great Pivot

As travel stopped in this country, Destination Marketing Organizations realized, perhaps faster than any community agency, that they were needed on the front line of business. 

Matt Stiker (formerly SF Travel) has written a great piece for Skift that outlines how 23 DMOs have responded to the crisis. There are so many more inspirational stories out there. Shoot them to Matt for future features.

Thanks, my friend. Today's DMO are too busy doing to chronicle what they've done. This is a history that needs to be recorded for us all.

Playing Fast and Loose with the Truth

It shouldn't surprise anyone that has been paying attention to this guy, but Michael Hicks really doesn't like the notion of Destination Marketing. He co-authored a "study" a few years ago that took aim at the Pure Michigan campaign using exceptionally flawed data, later debunked by some of the top tourism researchers in North America.

But, allow me to channel Poltergeist's Carol Anne by saying, "he's back."

In a piece that recently ran in Muncie IN's Star Press, the Director for Business & Economic Research at Ball State University calls for the "creative destruction" of Destination Marketing and Economic Development Organizations, saying that they provide "zero value to the nation."

As his "proof," he claims that "over the past 20 years, Indiana’s hotel and motel industry shrank relative to the nation as a whole and as a share of state employment." Which is exactly the point (if it's true), as Indiana has operated with one of the smallest State Tourism budgets in the nation. If Indiana's tourism industry isn't thriving and everyone else's is...wouldn't that be because they haven't been visible in the marketplace? If travel consumers aren't coming to Indiana, wouldn't it be fair to reason it's because they don't know of the cool experiences that await them? Or, does Michael think the State in which he lives and works is a lame destination?

I mean, really. I love hanging on the South Shore. I get excited every time I get to experience Downtown Indy. And, I marvel at how Fort Wayne has become so hip. But, that's because (until very recently) I travel for a living. If business travel hadn't exposed me to these locales (as well as Marion, Evansville, West Lafayette, French Lick, Dekalb, Elkhart, Porter and others), I'd never know...because the Indiana Legislature has chosen to ignore that every State around them outspends them in spades to attract visitors to enhance their economies. Face it...most people have no idea of why they should experience Indiana (and shouldn't someone with a doctorate in economics understand that?)

Michael also suggests that the Little League and YMCA provide more community value than DMOs. Honestly? These fine institutions provide value to those who choose to participate and generally strive to improve quality of life amenities for our communities. But, seriously...DMOs help keep property taxes lower for every single homeowner in a community by inducing visitor spending (which is locally taxed so residents aren't the only ones paying for city services). And, during the economic shut-down of the hospitality community, DMOs have helped countless independent restaurants, hotels and retailers keep their doors open by promoting delivery and takeaway options as well as helping to set up online commerce opportunities. Keeping business open that employ thousands in a community vs. providing recreational opportunities for a few? Mr. Spock, the floor is yours.

I don't disagree with the author that some local DMOs and EDOs should regionalize...and that may well happen amidst the carnage ahead. But his view that Destination Marketing adds nothing to the national economy is sensationally uninformed. Instead of suggesting that DMOs are no longer relevant, he should attempt to acquaint himself with the DMOs of 2020...as he clearly doesn't understand that they have repositioned themselves from the organizations of the '90s he so loathes.

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.

We Stand with Service

Sometimes we get too close to the fire to realize the friends we have and how much we mean to them. I'm sure that's how so many of our peers in the hospitality field feel this week after losing not just hours or jobs...but their connection to their work family.

Sometimes, it's the littlest things that remind us that others care.

Like this video from the South Shore Conventions & Visitors Authority.

Thank you.

How Do You Like Me Now?

They say that crisis brings out the best in so many of us. And, the stories emerging from communities across the country about how Destination Marketing Organizations pivoted on a dime when they realized what was about to descend upon the hospitality community are as heartwarming as they are expected.

Most Americans are just now beginning to understand the importance and fragility of a sector of the economy they always took for granted.  To be sure, airlines and hotels were impacted briefly after 9/11. But, most other facets of the hospitality industry felt no more than a speed bump...because residents were there to continue eating out in restaurants, meeting co-workers after work at the local watering hole and seeing music, theatre and comedy with friends. Indeed, after the initial shock of 9/11 that had us all glued to our televisions, we needed to go out and be with others.

And, in this crisis, we can't.

Never one to say "I told you so," there is the slightest satisfaction that the recent flirtation some communities have had with shopping their DMO contract out to ad agencies should likely now come to an end.  In a recent interview, the Chairman of the Board of Visit Stillwater OK (which last year went through just such an RFP process) was asked what the DMO was doing during the pandemic:  

"We have transitioned our focus from marketing to visitors to communicating to residents to better support our local business partners. Our staff has called almost 200 local businesses to promote their hours of operation, delivery, pick-up or curb-side services, online shopping options and the availability of gift cards. They continue to update the information on our website and social media throughout each day since things are continually changing. Staff has also recently added a coloring contest for kids and adults online, as well as incorporated virtual tours featuring many of our local museums, attractions and restaurants. These 360-degree images will give our residents something to look forward to and visitors' incentive to visit when traveling again."

I'm pretty sure no ad agency could ever do that.

Well done, Visit Stillwater...and all the other DMOs that know that we are the only agency in our communities prepared for days like these for our destination partners.