Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Compromise is in the Air

As we begin to close out the week before those in the Destination Marketing world begin to celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week, two of the most high-profile political stand-offs appear to have found a sense of common ground.

The now-annual battle between the Florida House of Representatives and Visit Florida appears to have been mitigated with a compromise agreement to keep the DMO's doors open...but with a 33% reduction in State investment in the program. Sadly, you can be sure this won't be the last time this battle erupts again in Tallahassee.

And, in New Orleans (where the Mayor channeled the donkey in Shrek when referring to her disagreements with DMO Chief Stephen Perry in a State hearing), it looks like a deal is also in the offing.

In both cases, Destination Marketing loses ground...but not the war.

I was honored to be a presenter at this week's summit of the Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations, where I heard a DMO pro sigh that it is so hard to tell our story to government because what we do is not a "core service."

Destinations International's Jack Johnson quickly retorted, "but, Destination Marketing is a core service." And, minutes later, took to the stage to prove it.

Let's make this the year that the conversation of our importance and efficacy shifts from defense to offense. Our communities deserve no less.

Best Analysis Yet of the Challenges Ahead for Destination Markets

And, not just because I'm quoted.

Skift's Hannah Sampson does a masterful job of comparing and contrasting all sides of the argument...as there appears to be a ray of hope for the continuation of Visit Florida.

Read and weep? Nah, read and take action.

Crunch Time in Florida

We've watched this circus twice before. You know, the one where the Florida Speaker of the House sets his sights on eliminating that State's Destination Marketing agency. Says that money is being misappropriated and that marketing Florida really isn't necessary because of its beaches, attractions and high consumer awareness.

It's the tired "high consumer awareness" crack that makes me shake my head every time. Apple has high consumer awareness. Nike has high consumer awareness. They spend billions on advertising because not everyone has yet tried their product. But, there is one product that every single person on the planet has tried.

Milk. Every one of us is a past or present user. We know what it tastes like and whether we'd like some more. And yet, the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (formerly known as the Milk Marketing Board) spends over $20 million a year to convince consumers to use more of a product they already know.

There is one difference this time around, however. There is a new Speaker of the House...and he is the CEO of a highly successful corporation that produces an award-winning product. When he's not trying to jam a spike through Florida's Travel and Hospitality industry, Jose Oliva runs Oliva Cigars. I could be way off, here...but, I'd be willing to bet that his company advertises in cigar magazines, works with media outlets to promote all the awards they've won and offers co-operative promotions with retailers around the world.

So, when he says, “In a trillion-dollar economy, a few million dollars put towards advertising a few different places cannot possibly have a direct correlation with tourism,” one can't but involuntary snort one's drink through one's nose.

With little more than a week left in this legislative session, prospects for saving Visit Florida have never been more tenuous. Several Florida DMOs are blanketing their stakeholders with urgent e-requests to contact their representatives to attempt to put an end to this dangerous legislative recklessness.

Since he apparently doesn't believe in the efficacy of advertising, someone should ask Mr. Oliva how much his company spent on promoting his family's line of cigars last year. 

The Proving Just Got Tougher

Those who have seen me present in Boardrooms and on stages know I'm pretty dismissive of counting Room Nights as a primary measure of the efficacy of Destination Marketing. Don't jump to conclusions here. Achieving Room Nights is important. Using them as your proof has been a slippery slope for over a decade.

And, it just got slipperier.

A new study from Hilton, NYC & Company and the PCMA Foundation has found that the practice of convention attendees booking outside the contracted hotel block has gotten much worse over the past 5 years. Like, twice as bad as the last study I saw.

Over the past three years, roughly half of all delegates attending large-scale, urban conventions are booking accommodation outside the block. 25% of attendees actually booked the HQ hotel...but didn't identify themselves as attendees qualifying for the block. Thus, they haven't been counted. Thus, our "proof" just got shakier. 

As the report states, all participants in this dance will need to re-evaluate the practice of establishing Room Blocks from the consumers' point of view.

And, DMOs need to find other ways to communicate our value.

The Shortsightedness of an Anti-DMO Bias

As we noted last Thursday, members of the Florida House of Representatives (and now, some Senators) are looking to throttle or eliminate Visit Florida, that State's Destination Marketing Organization. I guess it's a case of "if first you don't succeed," but one would think they would have gotten the message after two failed attempts to derail destination marketing in the Sunshine State. It's almost like a bad April Fool's Day joke.

Those that continue down this path have clearly not understood (for, I am sure they have at least seen it) the "Halo Effect" research from Longwood's International. There is a direct correlation between destination marketing and future residency and corporate investment. And, no one knows this better than Kenneth Strickland, director of research and air service development for Tampa International Airport.

In a great article on why people are moving to Florida, Strickland connects the dots between international investment and a visit. In a Tampa Bay Times survey, 83% of resident respondents report they were not born in Florida. They visited. They liked. They moved. They now pay taxes...to the very State in which a number of Legislators are now attempting to disrupt that pipeline. 

Maybe that's the way those that want to see Visit Florida survive should pitch it. Cut off Destination Marketing and you cut off the supply of people who visit, which cuts off the number of potential residents (future voters) who would be clueless enough to vote for you next time around.

Nah...they're not listening to anybody anymore.

Florida's Silly Season Returns

They hafta be joking, I thought when the news began to trickle out of the Sunshine State that its House of Representative was once again targeting Visit Florida for elimination. I mean, Lord Voldemort and many of his White Walkers (I know I’m mixing my blockbusters...but hang with me, here) are no longer members of the Florida House. So, WTF? Their young Republican spawn are taking up the mantle? 

The strange aspect is that members of this year's movement aren't pointing to secret endorsement contracts or DMOs that refuse to turn over staff salary information. They're just done with the agency, apparently. No reason is given for wanting to eliminate their State Tourism Office on October 1. They just want to. Because they think they can.

And, members of the Senate (which have served as the only adults in the room over the past few years) are starting to wiggle. Their counter proposal is to retain Visit Florida, but with a budget cut of about a third. Oh...and then there is the requirement that Visit Florida be barred from promoting any destination that has banned some types of sunscreen. Like the Keys.

No...I'm not kidding. One of the Senators behind the measure actually said, "I don’t want that brand to be changed from the Sunshine State to the melanoma capital of the world. If we’re going to give skin cancer to people they’re not going to come down."

It really is time for people that benefit from visitor spending (and, that would be...ummm, everybody) to start paying attention to who they vote for.

Really.

Smart Companies Do What's Right

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at the helm of the Greater Madison CVB (today known as Destination Madison) in the early ‘90s. My community was vigorously debating whether to increase the minimum wage. Proponents pointed to hospitality workers as those most vulnerable and most needing the City Council to take immediate and decisive action.

Back then, the Minimum Wage was $5.15/hour. A cadre of Council members wanted to bump it to $7.75/hour. During the public comment portion, the GM of the largest downtown hotel got up to speak. Council Progressives licked their lips in anticipation.

I don’t think he actually used the phrase “bless your hearts,” but, in effect, that’s what he was saying as he explained that housekeepers in his hotel were already making close to $10/hour; that he couldn’t find housekeepers in Madison that would work for Minimum Wage.

I thought of that evening today as I read the piece in Skift Table that reported that McDonald’s has announced it will stop lobbying against Minimum Wage hikes for pretty much the same reason. Most of their stores are starting rookies at $10 or more…because they must to keep their doors open.

While I don’t dispute that there are some players in hospitality that should be paying their people more (a lot more in some instances), smart businesses don’t need Minimum Wage laws to do the right thing. And, those are the businesses that will survive and thrive without the heavy hand of government.

Just sayin.’

DMOs = Hokum?

It will be an interesting couple of days in Dallas.

For those that have not been following along, the City recently conducted an audit of Visit Dallas. "Scathing" is the word being used to describe the findings. But, to be fair, the audit found just as much wrong with the City's oversight of its contract with the DMO as it did with Visit Dallas. That said, the media is focusing the majority of its attention on the DMO, essentially giving the City a day-pass. It's hard to bang on bureaucrats. Much easier to target the CEO. Lazy journalism at its finest.

This is not unlike what has been happening in Santa Clara, where the DMO is being vilified when the City never set goals or expectations for the organization. And in Stillwater OK. And, in a bunch of places. It is the season, apparently.

But, once again, a Dallas politician blurts out the age-old saw: "They believe this hokum of advertising that is supposed to be reaping millions of dollars for the city is more important than filling potholes.”

Filling potholes, Police and Fire, the Homeless. Insert any hot button part of a City's program of work. It's always designed to position one of the only non-resident tax generators as somehow frivolous against the very programs it helps fund...because Joe and Jill Public are easily led. Smart politicians know this. Ethical ones are handcuffed because they don't have the facts with which to fight back (and, that's on us).

But, marketing is hokum? 

Except when running for City Council, apparently. The $100,000 or so the Councilman had in his war chest in 2017 was, ostensibly, for marketing. 

$100,000 would fill a lot of potholes, eh Phillip? 

Are potholes really the issue for most residents in Dallas? Or are jobs and a fertile landscape for entrepreneurs more important?

Just sayin...

 

The School Start Date Conundrum

I know I'm too close to this debate, having fought this battle in Wisconsin years ago (and consulted other States over the years)...but, honestly, it's a pretty black and white question.

When the majority of parents (and, in many cases, teachers) support a post-Labor Day School Start AND it benefits the State's economy...what is left to say? Local control zealots (who are in the distinct minority) cry out that we are sacrificing our children's education to benefit tourism businesses...but not a single study has shown that Post Labor Day School starts result in lower test scores. Indeed, here in Wisconsin, the schools that started post-Labor Day scored higher than those that started school in August before we legislated a uniform start date.

The debate has shifted into high gear in Maryland, where the Governor mandated a post-Labor Day start and the legislature is now pushing back.

Last week, Governor Hogan opined, "inexplicably, they are attempting to reverse this policy, but we simply cannot and we will not allow misguided and misinformed legislators and special interest groups to turn back the clock and ignore the will of the people of Maryland."

Opposition party Senator Paul Pinsky questioned why people are afraid to give local officials a choice.

Which I find delightfully absurd. State politicians always think they are smarter than local officials...except on this issue.

Hey, Paul? It's time to look out for the State's economy AND the interests of the electorate...and not the School Board Association lobby.

As the Caution Lights Flash More Incessantly

Among the top 14 international long-haul destinations around the world, only one (Turkey) performed worse than the U.S. from 2015-2017. Tourism Economics President Adam Sacks avoided the over-used phrase "perfect storm" as he coined an even better one: "a triad of factors" impacting America's lackluster performance.

"The global economy is slowing, most currencies have weakened against the dollar and U.S. policy and rhetoric have damaged sentiment. We see the latter two to be the prevailing factors over the past two years," he added. And, digging deeper into the country-by-country results really highlights how negative perceptions toward the U.S. are evident in significant travel declines from the Middle East, China and Germany. Indeed, growth in inbound travel from China completely stalled in 2018, after averaging an annual growth rate of over 20% for the past decade. 

The article from Forbes is here. The Executive Summary is here.

Hang on, babies...