Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Taking a Stand

Back in the '90s, a movement began that is de rigueur today in hotels around the world...that if you don't need your towels washed every day, you'd help save the environment. I remember making that then novel suggestion in my DMO's member newsletter and having an innkeeper tell me, "ohh puleeeze." In the end, she was wrong and I was right, as it caught on as both the right thing to do and a cost savings for hotels.

As we emerge into a post-Trumpian world where climate change is once again a valued concern, is this our moment to take a stand?

The Oregon Coast Visitors Association, the agency which promotes tourism on all 363 miles of the Oregon coast, joined tourism agencies around the globe this month when it declared a “climate emergency.”

The DMO says that its goal is to provide a “blueprint” for how the hospitality sector can reduce their carbon footprints. Recommendations will be completely voluntary...but that it's a necessary first step in environmental sustainability. It's also a sensational reaffirmation of the Coast's brand identity.

The movement has begun. Shall we join in?

The Nod From the NFL

Customer Service is nothing new...but when we experience stellar service, we notice. Right?

That's what I felt over the weekend when I thought about the NFL Draft. I mean, that's all I've been hearing about on Sports Radio for the past two months. When the hell is it, I asked myself. And then, I asked the internet and was taken to a page that said it starts Thursday. And, for more information, I was directed to visit the website of Destination Cleveland. And, that made me smile.

It shouldn't have. That link should be expected. DMOs in pro sports towns have been working with their franchises for years. But yet, it still did...and Destination Cleveland didn't disappoint, as they've transitioned their home page to NFL Draft HQ.

And again, I smiled. 

Making a Bad Situation Worse

A Wisconsin Legislator has shepherded a bill through the Assembly that would waive state and local sales taxes on restaurants, bars, movie theaters, amusement parks and arcades during the summer months of this year. He says it is meant to spur business in some of the industries hit hardest by COVID-19. It now awaits action by the Senate.

Let's be really clear here. Almost no one makes a travel decision based on the taxes they'll pay. It's an assumed cost. Does anyone really believe that a consumer will choose Destination A over Destination B because one doesn't charge Sales Tax? And, is that really the message one would want from the State Tourism Department? "Hey...come here because we aren't charging sales tax." Really? That's all you got?

Interestingly, the State's largest tourism destination DMO is opposing the bill. And...for all the right reasons. 

As Wisconsin Dells VCB CEO Romy Snyder opines, the revenue hit this will have on municipalities and counties throughout the State will be debilitating. And, isn't it refreshing to see a DMO looking out for its government's best interests?

All indications are that pent-up demand will drive a powerfully lucrative summer in Wisconsin. Why forfeit the very funds that local governments need to recover?

Baffling.

Oh wait...it's just political theatre.

Visit, Vaccinate & Vacation

As destinations go, you can’t get much more diverse than Alaska and the Maldives. But, both are banking on the same strategy to stimulate visitation: COVID-19 Vaccines.

Beginning June 1, inbound passenger to commercial airports in Alaska will be able to receive the vaccine. And, in the Maldives, the nation’s Minister for Tourism has announced a 3V strategy: Visit, Vaccinate and Vacation.

The beauty of the strategy isn’t lost on me. One would need to stay three or four weeks to get the second shot (though Alaska is planning to arrange for visitors to get their second shot at home).

Can you say “High Value Customer?”

It's $17.99

Word out of Lorain County OH is that officials there failed to renew the URL for their DMO...and it now directs visitors to a gaming website in Indonesia. Amid the finger pointing going on, one County official said that the lost URL is a moot point because they want all their websites to be .gov, because that's the way the public knows that a site is a legitimate government website.

Excuse me? A legitimate government website is the last place I'd go for travel inspiration and information. 

But, here's the learning moment (which we've touched on several times before). When a DMO (or really, any enterprise) decides to move on from one URL to a better URL, you must keep renewing (and owning) the old URL...forever. Every destination has visitors that have learned or love a past URL (we were fans of the no longer used nawlins.com). But, New Orleans & Company was smart enough to know that, while the old URL didn't produce the traffic they had expected, they needed to retain the URL and have it redirect to neworleans.com. Once you acquire a URL...you hafta continue to own it til the day you die...or face the consequence of having it snatched up by someone else.

What happened to Lorain County isn't the worst we've seen. That would be DMOs that have dropped old URLs only to have them picked up by porn sites. But honestly, walking away from a URL is never a good idea...even if you know you'll never use it again.

Do you know the renewal date for yours?

Boycotts and Cancellations

A few years ago, North Carolina and Indiana infamously passed "bathroom bills" and quickly lost major sports events and future corporate investment. Both States ultimately backed off...but the damage was done to their national reputations.

Today, it's Georgia. After passing a law that many believe will restrict voter rights, Major League Baseball has pulled this year's All-Star Game from Atlanta. Will Georgia legislators blink?

Don't get me wrong, I abhor restricting voting rights for any citizen of this country. But, does pulling the All-Star game hurt the citizens of Cobb County more than the clearly teflon politicians that passed this tone-deaf measure? Will they back down as other States have done? Or does this reaction inflict further pain on a travel industry that has been decimated this past year?

I caught this interesting take yesterday from WSB Radio in Atlanta. Yeah...lots to unpack here.

The law still sucks...but, if Georgia legislators won't budge, who gets hurt?

The unintended consequence, indeed.

Minimum Wage

In the conversation over Minimum Wage, it comes down to the juxtaposition of paying employees a wage that enables them an acceptable standard of living and keeping one's doors open and profitable. Don't get me wrong: an arbitrary $15/hour isn't the answer, as every industry in every community is different. But, can we agree that squeezing work out of people for less than one can afford is morally and ethically wrong? Not to even consider the toll it takes on employee morale, dedication and customer satisfaction.

A DMO pro and I were shooting the shit earlier this week in preparation for our facilitation of their upcoming Strategic Planning Workshop. He shared with me that a local outlet of a national retailer Facebooked on Sunday that they were closing at 4pm because they only had one person show up for work. 

It doesn't take an MBA to figure out this scenario. Pay more than $10/hour and people will be more likely to show up for work. The Manager replied that the hourly wage was set by Corporate...and there was nothing she could do.

So again, the onus falls back to Corporate. And again, it falls to me to break it down. If you need 3 people to staff the store and you were to pay, say, $20/hour, that would be $30/hour more than you're paying now. Staying open from 4 to 7 would mean $90 more in payroll (and a workforce that would be much more likely to show up and treat the customer like gold).

If you're a national retailer and you can't sell more than $90 of crap in three hours to cover that cost, you got bigger problems with your product and marketing than a workforce that has better things to do than work for $10/hour.

Corporate? I'm here all week, if you'd like to talk.

36 Minutes of Inspiration We Need

For Destination Marketing pros, saying that this last year sucked is like saying that the February ice storm in Texas was a cold snap. But, imagine being in Puerto Rico. Double-slammed by two hurricanes, a President that shamefully refused to release disaster aid, then Zika, three weeks of earthquakes, political upheavals and a fiscal crisis. And then, one of the most aggressive responses to the plague in the nation. Yeah...you simply do not get to bitch about the virus.

You want 36 minutes of pure inspiration? The Simpleview Future of Tourism Podcast (hosted by our friend David Peacock) featuring Discover Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean dropped yesterday...and I dare anyone to say these 36 minutes aren't the other shot you need in your arm.

Yeah, he kindly drops my name. But really...it's a sensational conversation with two of the brightest voices in our sphere. Treat yourself.

When it Hit Home

It was a year ago this week that the ramifications of the 'VID finally came home for yours truly. I was still on the road, completing an assignment with an Ohio DMO. People were still shaking hands and our Strategic Planning workshop was pretty typical in its physical set-up...except that, at the last minute, it was decided to put an extra chair between each participant. Those that gathered experienced physical distancing for the first time.

And then, the word came down. The NCAA was cancelling its Basketball Championships. And then, it was clear. None of us were getting anything close to a straight story from our government. The NCAA was.

As we closed our workshop, I received a text from Delta informing me that I probably wouldn't make my connection through DTW. They wanted to route me instead through ATL which, if something went wrong there, would put me even further from home. I thanked them for their offer...but I realized then and there that it was going to be a while before I boarded another plane.

And then, I drove home.

Teach 'em Some Respect

As we look hopefully to the return of travel around the world, it behooves us all to reconsider how that will look when cabin-fevered consumers collectively feel they've been given a green light. For those that have received their second shot...that time is sooner than later. For every such person we've talked to...indeed, it is now.

To avoid returning to "over-tourism" complaints by residents in some communities, many Destination Marketers are shifting where and how they plan to re-enter the marketplace to attract a more discerning consumer. In British Columbia, a number of DMOs are working with the Sea to Sky Corridor Destination Development Council to educate inbound visitors to "the concepts of respect, proper outdoor conduct, preparedness, environmental awareness and responsible social media use." In other words, encouraging visitors to stop acting like they were raised by feral pigs when they're in-market.

Pique published a great piece on the initiative that is worth your read. And, here's hoping it inspires others to take steps, while we still can, to mitigate the crowds we know will return.