Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Opening a $107 Million Convention Hotel without a DMO

I'm pretty sure that the disillusioned head shake by hotel developers in Conroe has been more pronounced than that of the serial killer in the Geico commercial. As the City of Conroe footed most of the bill for the exceptional new Hotel & Conference Center that opened last week, you'd think someone would have considered that having a DMO with no staff to assist with the opening would have been a red flag.

Hey, if forces within the City wanted to fire accomplished, award-winning DMO leadership...that's fine. Completely their prerogative. But doing it weeks before one of their biggest private economic development partners opens such an ambitious project that needs a professional DMO (and not City Hall receptionists)...that's just carelessly clueless.

But hey, there's a lot of that going on out there.

Sadly.

Say What?

A recent piece on Local10 in South Florida suggests that the Governor's recent migrant relocation bill has resulted in undocumented workers walking off job sites. Which is not good for Florida's economy.

Whether true or not, I had to laugh at the Governor's response: “You can’t build a strong economy based on illegality.”

And yet, the economy he touts as one of the nation's best as he prepares to run for President, has been just that.

Just sayin...

Missing Priorities

While the Hawaiian Legislature spent an inordinate amount of time attempting (and, ultimately failing) to end the Hawaii Tourism Authority...they absolutely whiffed on a bill that would have had a profound impact on protecting the State's delicate infrastructure. 

Despite widespread public support, a bill that would have imposed a fee for tourists to visit State Parks and trails that would have funded the maintenance and protection of parks, coral reefs, forests and wildlife such as dolphins. And yet, legislators apparently couldn't agree on details before the session concluded.

Isn't that what we elect leaders to do...represent our interests?

Don't Break Out the Champagne Yet

Last week, we shared the good news that Minnesota and Indiana finally joined the club and will be investing meaningful dollars into their Destination Marketing efforts. The proposal to knee cap Florida Tourism stalled and an attempt to eliminate the Hawaii Tourism Authority failed.

But, not so fast. While the HTA survived, the State Legislature ended their legislative session last week without budgeting a single dollar for Destination Marketing.

The HTA will have to "apply" for funding and the requests will be vetted by the Department of Budget and Finance. Lawmakers and the Governor's Office. According to a news release from the Governor's Office, this is the result of a "compromise solution" with HTA...one that HTA CEO John DeFries says he is "thankful for a funding approach that will allow HTA to continue its important work in destination management and visitor education to keep supporting our top economic driver.” 

Let's all hope so.

Like an SNL Skit

Wisconsin's US Senator Ron Johnson (yeah, we're sorry) recently said that climate change was good for our State.

OK...so ignoring the impacts on the rest of the world is troubling enough. But his rationale is beyond parody: 

"Without global warming, my state of Wisconsin would still be mostly covered by a 1-2-mile thick glacier."

Honestly? US Representative Mark Pocan (who, to be fair, has said some pretty nutty stuff too) nailed it when he said Ron's comments were like an SNL skit.

The shit that comes out of our "leaders'" mouths...

Sigh.

 

Some Good News

We often, with disbelief, report on the unwarranted attacks upon Destination Marketing Organizations...but we gotta say, the past couple days have been pretty sweet.

A proposal to kneecap Florida Tourism marketing received a pretty stellar punch in the nose as the State Legislature not only appropriated revenues to Visit Florida but increased its budget by $30 million.

And, the attempt to disband the Hawaii Tourism Authority failed.

In both cases, it is clear that legislators ultimately set aside their personal interests for headlines and accepted that, while there may be issues to be resolved, the DMOs in question produce so much State revenue that it's best to keep them in play.

Can we hope that the future will bring more sophisticated decisions? Fingers crossed.

And then, there's this. Minnesota, which has traditionally trailed its Midwest neighbors (except Indiana) in its investment in Destination Marketing is now considering doubling its Destination marketing budget.

And Indiana? Long the "why do you even bother" budget? The Legislature is considering more than doubling its investment.

Pretty cool news for those of us that have, for so long, preached the value of Destination Marketing. And congratulations to all that have advocated for such investment in your States and communities.

Selfies

When I was growing up, we rushed the concert stage to take pictures of our rock and roll idols. It was in the early 2000s that I witnessed something quite different; fans rushing the stage to twirl and take a picture of themselves with the performer in the background.

The slow headshake.

Maybe it's because I'm not in love with my face...but the whole selfie thing is kinda lost on me.

And, it clearly is lost on community leaders in Portofino, where selfies have just been banned.

New on DMOU: Flagstaff's Trace Ward

The vast majority of Destination Marketing Organizations in the United States are independent non-profit agencies...but that doesn't mean other structures can't work. In the latest edition of the DMOU podcast, we talk with Discover Flagstaff Director Trace Ward on how his office is rockin' it as both a division of Economic Vitality and the City. And (not to be a spoiler), he says it's all about intentional design and intra-agency respect. 

Cool stuff.

That's Bold

Every year seems to favor a new word...intentional one year, paradigm the next, pivot during the plague, etc.

In virtually every interaction I've had with community leaders in the destinations with which we've been working, this year's word is "bold." As in community leaders looking to their Destination Marketing Organization to "be bold." While DMOs are under fire in several destinations, there are many other communities that are looking to their DMOs to step up and lead. Which is exactly what we should be doing. As I've said before (and will to my last breath), our sector is less DMO than DLO: Destination Leadership Organizations.

And, there is no other DLO that has been bolder this year than the Sedona Chamber and Tourism Bureau. Readers of this blog have followed with us the dumpster fire of a community that lost their shit 5 years ago. Listeners of the DMOU podcast have heard former CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff explain how the Chamber moved aggressively to mitigate issues that residents found onerous.

On Monday, the Sedona Chamber cut ties with the City and called upon it to rescind the portion of the Room Tax that historically funded tourism promotion. In doing so, the Chamber took a bold step to support local business and the community's economy in ways in which elected officials are unable...doing what's right without fear of retaliation or retribution by people who are singularly motivated by what will get them re-elected and not what's right for the community.

Bold kudos to you, Sedona Chamber/Bureau. Here's to doing what's right, regardless the cost.

A Cautionary Tale

This isn't the story of a clueless Destination Marketing Organization. Indeed, two of their six Directors within the past decade have gone on to work at the State Tourism level, one as Director of the State's Tourism Association. So, it's not that they haven't been blessed with experienced talent.

Rather, this is the story of a careless DMO Board that, according to a just settled lawsuit, passed over an experienced Number 2 to install an individual with no apparent experience in the hospitality and travel industry as its new CEO. The lawsuit claimed the reason for the hire was that he was Black and she was White. In the filing, the Board was accused of saying that, since the town is predominantly Black, the DMO should be headed by someone who is Black.

The story gets more convoluted...and you can follow the rabbit hole if you choose. But suffice to say the Board ultimately hired the Number 2 as interim when the original hire split after less than half a year...while the lawsuit was in play.

But, here's the true cautionary tale: The company that issued the Directors & Officers insurance has alerted the local agent that they are dropping the DMO...and the local agent told the Board that he's having a hard time finding another company that will touch them, if they don't stop making "stupid decisions." When the Board President shot back that "it hasn't been proven nowhere," the agent said, "All right, that's what I needed to hear. Y'all need to get (your insurance) from somewhere else." And he walked out of the meeting.

Losing D&O Insurance is significantly more troubling than settling a discrimination lawsuit which, of course, is troubling enough. Because now, with no insurance, who is gonna wanna serve on that Board?

There are consequences to everything...and some really hurt.