Minutes - 06/15/2023 - Hotel Convention and Visitors Committee
HOTEL, CONVENTION AND VISITORS COMMITTEE
Upper Level Conference Room and Zoom
Butler Government Center
Meeting Agenda
Thursday, June 15, 2023
10:00 A.M.
CALL TO ORDER
The June 15, 2023 meeting of the Hotel, Convention and Visitors Committee was called to
order in the Upper Level Conference Room of the Butler Government Center at 10:15am by
Village Manager Greg Summers. Those present go around the table and introduce themselves.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Resident Iftikharu Abbasy; Cynthia Ivey, Residence Inn; Adam Henrickson, Hyatt
Lodge; Sherry Peters, Marriott; Carlos Moctezuma, The Drake; Julie Burn, Doubletree; David
Carlin, Oak Brook Chamber.
ABSENT: Resident, Tarique Junejo, Tim Geiges, Oakbrook Center; Dick Turner,
LeMeridien; Nicole Patterson, Hyatt House
ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Greg Summers, Village Manager; Connie Reid, Executive
Assistant; Joe Mitchell, Assistant Village Manager; Beth Marchetti, DCVB; Brook Delucca,
Residence Inn; Jill Hare, The Drake, Michelle Marvin, Hyatt Lodge; VIA Zoom: Daniel
Thomas and Mary Twomey of Time Zone One
PUBLIC COMMENTS
No Public Comments.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. February 9, 2023, Meeting Minutes
Dr. Abbasy moved to approve the minutes, there was a second, all in favor, no one opposed.
Minutes approved.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. Ratification of a Recommendation to Release of Funds to the DuPage
Convention and Visitors Bureau 2023 First Quarter, 25% of 1% of Hotel Tax
Receipts - $23,895.69
MINUTES OF THE JUNE 15, 2023 MEETING
OF THE OAK BROOK HOTEL,
CONVENTION AND VISITORS COMMITTEE
OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
APPROVED AS WRITTEN ON NOVEMBER
30, 2023
Dr. Abbasy moved to ratify the recommendation to release funds to DCVB, seconded by
Carlos Moctezuma, all in favor. No one opposed.
ACTIVE BUSINESS
DCVB Update – Beth Marchetti
Beth Marchetti suggests allowing TZO to go first.
TZO Presentation
VM Summers begins by saying that a sub-committee was formed to assess the proposals that
were received in response to the RFP for marketing firms. Three firms were selected for
interviews, and Time Zone One was selected. Time Zone One then met with each hotel
individually to talk about what they would like to see in the campaign, what their needs are,
and what they would like the focus to be. TZO has prepared a little bit of a response to that; the
Village would like to get confirmation from the overall committee that this is the direction they
want to go in so that we can begin negotiating the contract with Time Zone One to get before
the Board of Trustees for formal approval.
Daniel Thomas explains that TZO has met with each of the hotels and is now looking for a
deeper recommendation on how the marketing campaign and in particular the funding will be
allocated. He goes on to say that they also are looking for a recommendation as to the look and
feel of the campaign. They have been looking at what opportunities are in each respective
hotel and how to position the Village of Oak Brook as an alternative to Chicago. He continues
by saying that today is not about the creative, it’s about getting a deeper and clearer picture of
how the hotels would recommend spending the media dollars.
Daniel Thomas quickly goes through his PowerPoint slides highlighting the primary objective
of attracting business travel to the Oak Brook area as a viable alternative to Chicago. And in
targeting the business traveler it will have the halo effect that will also attract leisure travel. He
touches upon the opportunities and barriers that Oak Brook hotels have. He continues with the
geographical areas where they will be concentrating on the campaign and who their primary
market will be. Daniel goes through the different paid digital media platforms where they will
invest marketing dollars. He then states that TZO prefers to hear suggestions from the hotels
before sharing their recommendations, though he does say that he is advising that the bulk of
the campaign dollars go to digital marketing. Continuing, Daniel Thomas goes through some
scenarios and platforms emphasizing the trackability of each.
Lastly, it is confirmed that $370,000 is allocated to marketing, and $130,000 goes to creative
development including website creation and hosting. One of the hotels asks for more specific
information regarding the creative aspect; Daniel Thomas makes it clear that they are not
putting any time into the campaign until there is a signed contract. TZO drops off the Zoom
connection and conversation ensues regarding what was proposed and how to proceed.
Beth Marchetti from DCVB wanted to make it clear that she was not part of the vetting process
that chose TZO and that she is only familiar with their firm because they are the agency that
represents the state.
The conversation continues between the committee members regarding reporting metrics,
accountability, the creative that the subcommittee perused, and the subcommittee’s confidence
that TZO was the best choice. Dr. Abbasy makes a motion to move forward with developing a
contract with Time Zone One for marketing, Carlos Moctezuma seconds, all in favor no one
opposed.
Beth Marchetti begins by touching upon a $625,000 grant that the DCVB will be getting to
help with bringing back group and meeting market. She then quickly goes through the other
grants that the governor is providing, highlighting one for downstate and one for recreation.
She shares the current leisure campaign that the CVB’s are participating in and continues with
the other marketing that DCVB is part of. Ms. Marchetti shares that there is a curling facility in
Villa Park. She helped write a grant for the purchase of curling stones that can only be
purchased from Scotland. DCVB did a site tour and shares that they will be hosting two large
tournaments coming in 2023, 2024, and 2026, all of which will need overnight stays, and since
Villa Park does not have hotels, the business will be coming this way. She then very quickly
runs through the other sporting events that are coming to the area, including TY Warner Park
swim competition, A Hockey Tournament, which may request rebates from the hotels and the
Village does pay part of the rebates by way of grants going to the individual hotels. A
conversation ensues regarding the benefit of hosting hockey tournaments, including restaurant
and activity revenue in the area. Beth then goes through the new reports that the DCVB can
now produce, including heat maps. She then invites everyone to join the DCVB at Medina
Country Club to discuss the 2026 President’s Cup on August 10th.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn made by Iftikharu Abbasy seconded by Sherry Peters, no objections.
Meeting adjourned at 11:30am.
ATTEST:
______________________________________ ______________________
Connie Reid Date:
Executive Assistant
Village of Oak Brook