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Minutes - 02/16/2012 - Hotel Convention and Visitors Committee (2)MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 16, 2012 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE OAK BROOK HOTEL, CONVENTION AND VISITORS COMMITTEE OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK APPROVED AS WRITTEN ON AUGUST 9, 2012. CALL TO ORDER: The Special Meeting of the Oak Brook Hotel, Convention & Visitors Committee of the Village of Oak Brook was held in the Upper Level Conference Room of the Butler Government Center and officially called to order by Chairman Norm Canfield at 10:03 a.m. ROLL CALL: Chairman Norm Canfield called the roll with the following persons: PRESENT: Norm Canfield, Chuck Fleming, Linda Hunt, Tracy Mulqueen, Dick Turner, and Martin Schooley. ABSENT: Richard Allison and Gail Long IN ATTENDANCE: Trustee Mike Manzo, Trustee Elaine Zannis, David Niemeyer, Village Manager, Donna Bettin, Executive Secretary, Beth Marchetti and Skip Strittmatter, DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau, Krystal Glispie, Hyatt Lodge, Rob Grusin and Cindy Resnick, Point B Communications. Chairman Canfield welcomed everyone to the meeting and had everyone in attendance introduce themselves. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. October 13, 2011 Meeting. M. Schooley motioned to approve the October 13, 2011 meeting minutes. T. Mulqueen seconded. VOICE VOTE. Motion carried. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Ratification of Release of Funds to the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau - 2011 Third Quarter Hotel Tax Receipts - $15,270.75. M. Schooley motioned. C. Fleming seconded. VOICE VOTE. Motion carried. B. Ratification of Release of Funds to the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau - 2011 Fourth Quarter Hotel Tax Receipts - $15,457.51. M. Schooley motioned. D. Turner seconded. VOICE VOTE. Motion carried. C. Streetscape Committee Update. Manager Niemeyer was pleased to report that the Streetscape Committee has met after being dormant for awhile. Most of the meeting was focused on bringing the Committee back up to speed on the current projects and the plan that was presented and approved by the Board of Trustees a few years back. There is availability of another grant coming up this spring which the Committee discussed. He reported that the Salt Creek to 294 Project has already been designed and would be a good project to apply for the grant and have a decent chance at being approved. The grant would be for 80% of the amount of the project. There was also discussion on improving some of the walkways, getting to /from the Hotels /Mall. Linda Hunt was going to give the Streetscape Committee a report at their next meeting on some ideas to improve pedestrian access. The other big project discussed was the LED Street lighting and some of the other options on lighting features for Spring Road. OAK BROOK HOTEL COMMITTEE Minutes Page 1 of 4 Spec. Mtg. of February 16, 2012 Linda Hunt is the representative from the Hotel Committee participating on the Streetscape Committee. She did reiterate the need to revisit the walkways to /from the Mall/Hotels. Discussion was held on the feasibility of putting in sidewalks along 22nd street to the Oakbrook Center Mall. Manager Niemeyer explained the history behind this request that had come up a couple of years back. Manager Niemeyer and Engineer, Mike Hullihan, will meet with Linda Hunt and Marty Schooley to revisit this possibility. The Committee would like to see the streetscape /beautification projects begin closer to the Hotels rather than further east on 22nd street. A discussion ensued regarding different project ideas and locations. Any work done on Rt. 83 north of 22nd would have to be partnered with Oakbrook Terrace. NEW BUSINESS A. 2012 Marketing Plan. Krystal Glispie introduced Point B Communications, and welcomed Rob Grusin and Cindy Resnick to the meeting for the 2012 Marketing Plan presentation. Point B distributed a handout copy of the power point presentation. Rob Grusin did a quick recap of the plan from 2011. He reported that most everything performed at benchmark numbers or better and some went higher than expected. Rob reported that they experimented with a new wallpaper media for the Shop & Stay promotion that actually covers the entire page and they've seen the highest click through rates that they have ever seen for any campaign their agency has ever run. The ad was in the Chicago Sun Times. It was a great learning experience that they will continue to utilize. For 2012, budget set for the Marketing plan was $165,000. Rob discussed the objectives, overall strategic approach, the leisure market strategies and the group marketing strategies shown in the power point presentation. A priority shift towards the group segment, this is something they understood as a priority for the Hotels. As a result you will see a shift to a more direct marketing and direct mail strategy. Also at the request of the Hotels Marketing Committee, to evaluate the presence for outdoor. During the summer months you will see a more concentrated presence on outdoor initiatives. The outdoor is a strong median and a great support for those things intended to garner more measurable results. That is probably the most significant change on the Leisure side. Krystal Glispie thanked Point B for attending and presenting plan in place for 2012. Chuck Fleming questioned whether anyone was doing anything this year specific to the Ryder Cup. Skip Strittmatter stated that the DCVB is. His question is asking the Committee if they are looking at it from a standpoint of a marketing opportunity for revenue. Skip responded that the Ryder Cup has rooms booked all throughout the area and people will definitely be staying in Oak Brook. Chairman Canfield stated that special events such as this is a great marketing revenue opportunity for the whole area. Discussion ensued on the different marketing options. Motioned by M. Schooley, to make a recommendation to the Village Board to approve the Point B contract for 2012 marketing services. Seconded by D. Turner. VOICE VOTE. Motion carried. DUPAGE CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU. Skip Strittmatter discussed the upcoming Ryder Cup event, the DCVB's history with this event, and their current involvement. DCVB is the host Bureau for the event. Currently 16,000 rooms are being held for the group side of the event. For the leisure side, tickets are not available to the general public. The DCVB has an agreement with PGA to be the on -line booking mechanism for overnight stays for the PGA ticket "lottery". All corporations /sponsors, etc., are all going through the DCVB for Hotel bookings. So far they have secured 21,000 rooms throughout the area for this event. DCVB are also looking for venues around the area to be able to host a number OAK BROOK HOTEL COMMITTEE Minutes Page 2 of 4 Spec. Mtg. of February 16, 2012 of additional activities that accompany this event. DCVB is distributing additional marketing materials to everyone that has booked through their site and at the hotels. All materials will be available electronically and/or included in VIP bags for the PGA VIP's. They also want to offer Ryder Cup participants "opportunities to dine with us" cards (discounts). The cards will also be available electronically. Trustee Zannis stated that her concern is Oak Brook. She would like to see Oak Brook marketed with an Oak Brook discount card. Skip stated that she is currently working with the Oakbrook Center as a sponsor of the guide. They will be the only sponsor with a full page advertisement. This would be a big plus for Oak Brook. DCVB has received approval from PGA to supply the following: 1. DCVB Guide 2. VIP discount and dining cards 3. Distribute their summer promotions 4. Utilizing an online interacting campaign in cooperation with the State of Illinois (been very successful in the past) 5. Banners at airports 6. Press packets in press room Discussion ensued on Transportation to /from the Ryder Cup. Skip distributed a couple of copies of a DCVB comparison of occupancy and average daily rate, month by month as well as year to date. She can email an electronic copy of the comparison as well as a trend report if anyone is interested. DCVB is continuing to work on attraction signage for interstates throughout the County. DCVB held a successful reception in Springfield for approximately 60 meeting planners last December. Skip also discussed the DCVB upcoming events planned for the near future through year end. GREATER OAK BROOK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Tracy Mulqueen explained local branding "Experience Oak Brook ". The Chamber website and social media are doing well. Chamber will be doing some promotions before and during the Ryder Cup to get people to come to Oak Brook. They have a lot of Oak Brook incentives to distribute, and can also be found on their website. The Chamber's Annual Meeting and Awards Breakfast is March 14, 2012 at the Hyatt Lodge. Tracy reported that the Greater Oak Brook Partnership "Experience Oak Brook" marketing video mainly focuses on the Hotels. The Greater Oak Brook Partnership work to promote Oak Brook in both areas of obtaining new companies and retention of current businesses has really taken off. The Chamber has also scheduled several business fairs at various locations throughout the Village and events for meeting planners. OTHER BUSINESS Bath & Tennis Clubhouse Use. Manager Niemeyer explained to the Hotel General Managers that the Village rents to outside groups to use the Clubhouse and we have a few caterers for the events. We recently had an agreement with Gibsons for use of the facility as an overflow site, which was very successful, both for the Village and Gibsons. If the Hotels have a need to use the Bath & Tennis Clubhouse, the Village would be willing to partner with the Hotels for use. OAK BROOK HOTEL COMMITTEE Minutes Page 3 of 4 Spec. Mtg. of February 16, 2012