Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

The New End Around

It's not exactly "new," but that legislators in two States have employed this tactic in as many days shows how brazen several have become because they don't think we're paying attention...or that we won't remember the next time they're up for re-election.

Earlier this week, we shared the boneheaded attempt of a legislator to redirect Room Tax revenue in Ohio to funding jails. We've just learned from some friends in the Buckeye State that she just slipped an amendment into a fast moving bill that would allow communities to increase Room Tax by 2% specifically to fund jail construction.

And, here's why I call it an end around. For those that are not fans of the game of football, an end around is a play that is typically not expected by the defense. In most offensive plays, the Quarterback hands the ball off to a running back or passes the ball to a receiver (or, if you're Justin Fields, you just keep it). An end around is when the receiver doesn't run down the field to catch a pass but, instead, runs laterally behind the QB and takes the ball around the other end of the field. In essence, it's a trick play because defenses generally don't expect it.

And that's what our Ohio Legislator did. By attaching the amendment to another bill, she eliminated the opportunity for public testimony on the merits of the bill. Those that could explain why this is a sensationally bad idea for Ohio's economy were blocked from offering that side of the argument.

And, it happened this week in Wisconsin, where an amendment to another bill threatened the viability of wedding barns by limiting the number of days alcohol can be served. The measure, supported by the Tavern League and large event venues, never got a hearing...because it was an amendment. Thus, small business owners were never provided the opportunity to plead their case to legislators who are generally supportive of small business. All they heard was big business saying this measure ensures public safety (what a bunch of horseshit).

As a political operative, I can appreciate the elegance of an end around.

But it's a shitty way to run a State's economy.

The Conversations in Which Urban DMOs Must be Engaged

The Plague emptied our downtown cores. There is a general belief today that downtowns continue to struggle. And, without our downtown cores, destinations will struggle to position themselves as viable choices for visitation, residency and investment.

But, a new study offers some hope. And, if local leadership still doesn't respect the power of the Visitor Economy, check this out: Across the 26 cities studied, visitors comprised two-thirds of people downtown, underscoring the importance of developing downtown attractions. While local variations influence a city’s recovery, the report notes that “in general, cities that have strong overall recovery rates tend to have a robust leisure and hospitality industry."

Like we've been saying...

Short Term Rentals & the Housing Crisis

The basic tenets of Supply and Demand would certainly support the concept that transferring homes and apartments into Short Term Rentals would cause remaining housing prices to increase. To be fair, Airbnb responds: "There are a number of complex factors driving today's housing affordability crisis — from growing income inequality, to decades of exclusionary zoning, and even changing location preferences post-pandemic, including the rise of remote working from home — but many experts agree the primary driver of the affordability crisis is chronic underproduction of housing, not short-term rentals. Unfortunately, short-term rentals, which in most cities make up a tiny portion of local housing stock, have become a convenient but misguided scapegoat for a housing crisis that started long before the founding of Airbnb."

Rebuttal accepted...but then, there is what has happened in Irvine CA since that community banned STRs: Within two years of the ban, long-term rents decreased significantly; roughly 60,000 rental units in the city saw a 3% rent decrease, on average.

It's a fascinating read in the ongoing conversation of how to balance the needs of all sides.

Image Credit: Tristen Rouse / St. Louis Public Radio

Pushing Back on Extremism

Destinations International has been fairly vocal in its opposition to travel band and boycotts. While some have been successful in reversing political policy initiatives...they all hurt the very residents and workers that depend on a robust visitor economy. 

Many of this blog's regulars will remember Charles Jeffers, a DMO pro that served, for a time, at Destinations International. He currently serves as the interim executive director of the American Occupational Therapy Association, an organization that is poised to welcome 10,000 attendees to its next annual convention...in, of all places, Florida.

Check out this op ed piece on why they're coming to Orlando. It's an angle that clearly supports the concept that we can do better than boycotts.

RIP Cursive

When iconic brands such as Eddie Bauer and Johnson & Johnson reject their decades-old logos because today's new consumers can't read the letters? A sad day for typography, to be sure.

Because our schools no longer teach cursive, who can blame them? But, after a weekend at my fraternity's annual reunion, where I saw examples of exquisite handwriting from the mid-1800s (where, seemingly, everyone's penmanship was a work of art), the story out of Eddie Bauer struck me as sad.

The script logo is out...and block letters are in.

I get why...but we've sadly lost a piece of American culture.

Ford? You're up next.

Brilliant...or WTF

Word out of Baton Rouge is that the Louisiana Office of Tourism is going to deploy a $10 million appropriation in a highly innovative set of initiatives:

$300K for local recording artists to go birdwatching with writers from Rolling Stone.

$650,000 to "takeover" the Sphere in Las Vegas for two hours...plus off and on for a week.

$200,000 for a Visitors Guide (ostensible online) based on users' Zodiac signs.

$500,000 for Super Bowl advertising.

A million dollars for floats in the Macy's and Rose Bowl Parades....and a bunch more.

And, you know what? Given the obligatory State TV ads that all pretty much look the same (except Michigan, North Dakota and California)...I think this strategy of changing the narrative might actually work.

WTF.

 

New on the DMOU Podcast: The Illinois TID Win

It was 2011 when several DMO pros in Illinois began discussing the potential to introduce State legislation to add Tourism Improvement Districts into their funding mix. Earlier this year, that legislation finally passed and was signed into law. Rockford Area CVB CEO John Groh and Visit Quad Cities CEO Dave Herrell return to DMOU to share the up and down story of persistence, negotiation and being ready when the political winds were right. Even if your State already has TID legislation in place, this episode is a fascinating primer on moving an initiative through the political process.

It's just one of over 125 conversations waiting for you in the DMOU Vault.

The Other Side of Ai

Earlier this year, we dropped an episode of the DMOU Podcast featuring PCMA's Sherrif Karamat, encouraging DMO pros to engage with Ai, as a growing number of his members (our clients) were well ahead of us in utilizing this new technology.

Then, there is the other side. Richard Turen owns Churchill & Turen, a luxury vacation-planning firm based in Naples FL. He is a frequent contributor to Travel Weekly. And, he has recently been on a tear against the negative and harmful side of Ai in travel. First, he shared results from a New York Times investigation that the top travel guidebooks on Amazon are "written" by non-existent authors.

In today's opinion post, he goes even further, saying that, once again, travel agents will likely sit passively by as a dehumanizing technology takes another bite out of what makes travel advisors so vital to consumer satisfaction.

Both are fascinating takes.

Do the Math

According to a recent article in Fast Company, office space takes up between 70-80% of all real estate in many downtowns. With so many of us continuing to work remote, that space is going unused...and, in many cases, unleased.

In San Francisco, it is estimated that only 40% of the pre-plague workforce has returned to the office. And, as the average worker in that city spent $168 per week near their workplaces...that pencils out to $1.2 billion in lost revenues per year to the surrounding restaurants, bars, coffeeshops, retain outlets and services businesses.

Is it any wonder so many of those businesses (even those who could find workers) are now shuttered? Which then sets about a vicious cycle of why would anyone would want to return to the office if there's nothing to do in the blocks surrounding one's building.

Cities that intend to survive are going to hafta get real creative...sooner than later...before it's too late.

 

New on DMOU: Rick Antonson

If there is a short list of thought leaders in the DMO world, Rick Antonson is always on that list. He was our first guest 20 years ago on the DMOU Teleseminar and our first guest on the the resurrected DMOU Podcast (and that says a lot). On this episode, he’s back to talk Destination Marketing…but also to share thoughts about his latest book, Train Beyond the Mountains: Journeys on the Rocky Mountaineer. Rick and I go deep into the meaning behind travel, the connections made and the life lessons learned. It’s a wide-ranging conversation that I believe you’ll love with one of the most eloquently expressive voices of our era.