Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

This is 50

Last night marked the 50th Anniversary of the birth of what is today known as Destination Madison, an organization I was proud and honored to lead during the first half of the '90s.

Thanks to Destination Madison for the kind shout out during last night's festivities regarding my part in securing the public referendum vote to build the world-class Monona Terrace Convention Center that served as the jumper cable for Madison's renaissance. 

And having my successor Deb Archer honored for her amazing 25 years at the helm of the organization was a true treat for Terri and me.

And here's to the next 50...

Bigger than the "Big Game"

What does it say when an event that simply picks future winners and losers without a resultant highlight reel is more important than the Super Bowl?

That's what the Mayor of Detroit said yesterday in announcing updated plans to hold the NFL Draft in the Motor City next April. “This is potentially bigger than the Super Bowl,” Mayor Duggan said. “Only 60,000 people can get tickets to the Super Bowl. But for the NFL Draft, hundreds of thousands can get in — and they stay for the weekend.”

That's why Detroit is reportedly changing the playbook from past NFL Drafts and concentrating all its events downtown. According to Duggan, “When you have 300,000 or 400,000 people coming from across America, we want to change the image of Detroit in their minds once and for all. We felt like to do that, we had to build the draft into the city.”

And, ain't that the whole point of events? To change perception of a destination?

Like Detroit did in 1896...when it launched a never-before utilized Convention Sales strategy to land national events to showcase the city to potential investors.

New on DMOU: NYC's Fred Dixon

After a brief travel-induced hiatus, the DMOU Podcast is back with a wide-ranging conversation with New York City Tourism + Conventions' Fred Dixon. As Chair of Destinations International, Fred has laid out an ambitious agenda for his year including DEI and Accessibility, Global growth, Member sustainability and a renewed emphasis on meetings and business events. We discuss these topics and more...including a fascinating (and fun) story of how his DMO partnered with Taylor Swift.

Join us...and it's good to be back.

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.

New on DMOU: PCMA's Sherrif Karamat on AI

PCMA CEO Sherrif Karamat is one of the deepest thinkers in the business events space on the planet. And, not unlike those old EF Hutton commercials, when Sherrif talks, I listen. So, when he said that DMOs were falling behind his members in the adoption of AI at Destinations International’s Annual Conference this summer, that was more than enough to earn an invitation to DMOU. Join us for a fascinating discussion of how he believes AI can reduce the mundane and better connect us to our clients…and where Sherrif believes the future of DMOs lies.

It's just one of over 120 powerful conversations you'll find in the DMOU Vault.

Why Milwaukee?

Tonight, the first debate of the 2024 Presidential frenzy will take place in Milwaukee.

That's right. A very red event in a very blue city.

How did this happen? Well, a lot of it was the work of Visit Milwaukee (and you can hear that story with Peggy Williams-Smith on the DMOU Podcast). And part of it was the fact that Wisconsin has become one of 6 or 7 battleground States that will likely determine the next President.

Fascinating back story on how we got here from WFAE.

And let the bold-face lies, personal attacks and and unprofessional groveling begin.

New on DMOU > Lviv's Olena Pavlyuk

When the moderator went to the audience this year at the Annual Convention of Destinations International asking, "what keeps you up at night," Lviv's Olena Pavlyuk held out her mobile device and replayed a recording of an air raid siren. In this fascinating episode of DMOU, Olena shares how war has changed her community into one of volunteers, how Lviv has become a hub for medical tourism through UNBROKEN...and how the DMO secured and serviced over 600 events last year, despite the constant threat of missiles and power black-outs. It's a spirited conversation of inspiration, selflessness and the power of the human spirit. Listen in...and catch up on 120 other compelling conversations in the DMOU Vault.

One More Moment

Of all the moments from this year's Destinations International Annual Convention last week in Dallas...there is one I will never forget.

It happened in Julie Hart's CEO Lounge in a panel facilitated by our friend John Lambeth entitled "What Keeps us Awake at Night." Politics, funding and destination development initiatives consumed most of the panel discussion...but, when John went out to the audience, the room grew silent when Lviv's Olena Pavlyuk stood and held out her iPhone.

"This is what keeps me up at night," she said quietly, as she pressed the replay button...and the room was filled with the sound of air raid sirens from the ongoing conflict in her home country of Ukraine.

That pretty much put everything else in our world into perspective.

4 Days? Really

A new Northstar/Cvent Meetings Industry PULSE Survey indicates that professional meeting planners, on average, expect a response to their RFP within 4 days. And the reality is fewer than half are seeing that expectation met by hotel sales staffs.

Now, I get that the 24-48 hour response rate in which DMOs used to pride themselves is tougher these days, as many hotel sales staffs are still smaller than pre-COVID levels and response times aren't what they used to be.

But, isn't that the golden opportunity for DMOs that have a focus on securing meetings and events? An opportunity to over-deliver in a present world in which planners are waiting more than 4 days for a response?

Talk about relevance... 

New on the DMOU Podcast > George Franz

When the Houston CVB was folded into the Houston First Corporation, many saw the move as wrong-headed. But CVB CEO George Franz recently joined us on the DMOU Podcast us to share the advantages that were realized in being more closely linked to destination assets like the Convention Center and other visitor magnets. And now, the CVB has created the Houston Hospitality Alliance to marshal the power of over 800 members to advocate for the destination.

Cool stuff. And, there are over 100 other conversations waiting for you in the DMOU vault.