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Minutes - 08/20/2014 - Hotel Convention and Visitors Committee MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 21, 2014 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE OAK BROOK HOTEL, CONVENTION AND VISITORS COMMITTEE OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK APPROVED AS WRITTEN ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2014. 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 called to order by Chairman Norm Canfield at 10:06 a.m. Chairman Norm Canfield congratulated Beth Marchetti on her new position as Executive Director. He then requested everyone to introduce themselves. PRESENT: Dr. Abbasy, Norm Canfield, Tony Marco, Chuck Fleming, Chris Johnson, and Mort Kouklan. ABSENT: Martin Schooley and Simon Fricker. IN ATTENDANCE: Trustee Don Adler Art Osten, Jr, Interim Village Manager, Donna Bettin, Executive Assistant, Sharon Dangles, Finance Director, Mike Hullihan, Public Works Director/Engineer, Tracy Mulqueen Chamber of Commerce, Beth Marchetti, DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau, Craig Harvey, Hyatt Lodge, Amy Summers Residence Inn, and Rob Grusin and Neil Flanders, Point B Communications. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. April 10, 2014 Meeting - A motion was made by Dr. Abbasy, seconded by Chairman Canfield, to approve the April 10, 2014 Hotel Committee meeting minutes. Voice vote. Motion approved. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Ratification of Release of Funds to the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau - 2014 First Quarter Hotel Tax Receipts - $11,731.55. A motion was made by Chuck Fleming, seconded by Dr. Abbasy, to approve the release of funds to the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau for the first quarter Hotel Tax receipts in the amount of $11,731.55. Voice Vote. Motion approved. B. Ratification of Release of Funds to the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau - 2014 Second Quarter Hotel Tax Receipts - $17,218.39. A motion was made by Chuck Fleming, seconded by Dr. Abbasy, to approve the release of funds to the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau for the first quarter Hotel Tax receipts in the amount of $17,218.39. Voice Vote. Motion approved. C. Polo Events/Sponsorships – Interim Manager Osten reported the positive attendance numbers to date for 3 Polo matches. There has been one rainout that will be made up on August 24th. The Hotels have placed the Polo Magazine Book in their rooms for viewing by their guests. D. Marketing Plan Update – Rob Grusin from Point B gave a power point presentation showing a mid-year recap that includes a review of the current marketing activity for the year, fall direct marketing concepts, and an update on where they are with the website and some preliminary designs. As a general note, they have been doing this for some time and this is the first time they have used pictures of polo in their marketing. Polo imagery estblishes the idea of Oak Brook and Polo. They were able to incorporate polo in both the summer and fall initiatives. Currently they have 2 primary on-line initiatives going on which garnered almost 12,000 clicks to the site. The Sun Times made a mistake by placing an ad on everything and not just their Suburban network- OAK BROOK HOTEL COMMITTEE Minutes Page 1 of 3 Mtg. of August 21, 2014 Pioneer Press community on-line network so there was a lot of free exposure. For the summer they are doing an on-line advertising and outdoor campaign with strong ties to Polo and a leisure message. Billboard’s played to a lot of different messaging; leisure, groups and meeting planners, and they have received about 6 million impressions. When the billboards come down they will be launching their group initiatives to generate meeting planner leads. Rob explained initiatives they did in the past and what is new for this year. Point B will be taking over the website. The new website will be launched in a couple of months. Discussion ensued about the website and the various capabilities and aesthetics. Trustee Adler asked the Committee if they have seen any Hotel overnight stays from supporting Polo. Chairman Canfield stated that it varies from hotel to hotel. He mentioned that the Hyatt Lodge has only garnered less than 50 rooms for the season although their sales and catering managers have gone out to the matches with clients. So the value has been to showcase Polo to their clients. Chris Johnson, Doubletree reported that this year they have not really paid attention to the Polo promotions as they are currently under renovation but they have used it for clients as well. Last year he closed about $80,000 in business from Polo. He felt it was a value to the market as it is something different. Overall they felt the investment was of value. Discussion ensued. E. Streetscape Committee Update – Mike Hullihan gave an update on the Streetscape Project. ITEP project Spring Road to Salt Creek has been completed. There are about half a dozen dead trees there. The trees will be replaced as part of a warranty but not until the end of August. Similar project is scheduled for IDOT letting in January which will allow the Village to begin in the spring which will take care of the area between Salt Creek and I-294 and Clearwater to about Golf Rd. It will consist of raised planters, irrigation system, planting in the medians and update of the lighting standards to the taller masts with a yard arm for the illuminator. Currently the Village is in negotiations with Oakbrook Terrace for a project along RT. 83 between 22nd Street and 16th Street. The two Communities need to come to an agreement before we can start the design process. Unfortunately, the Village will not be eligible for the ITEP grant program for this particular project. Looking optimistically to complete the design in 2015 with the project to begin in 2016. The Pedestrian Access projects; these projects are focused at easing pedestrian access to/from Oakbrook Center. Finished the first project; Commerce Road across to the mall and services the Spring Rd. office buildings and Gibsons. Includes lighted bollards, pedestrian activated crossing signals, the stamped concrete enhances sidewalk markings and a lighted retaining wall that allows the sidewalk to be larger. The Commerce sidewalk will be extended and the project is on-going. Finishing up the administrative items to get the project started at the Oakbrook Club and a project at Harger Road (project B & C), the Board has authorized the award. This project should be able to start in September. Similarly the access from the south from the Marriott to 22nd. That project will hopefully start towards the end of September and next year will be continued to a full crossing of 22nd. Permitting will be required from the state to finish up the project in 2015. The monument sign at 22nd & York should be completed in the next couple of weeks. There will also be a monument sign at the Oak Brook Promenade, south-west corner of Meyers and 22nd St. Other locations are also being considered for this type of sign as well. Discussion ensued. NEW BUSINESS A. 2015 Budget Discussion – Sharon Dangles explained the financial information that was sent to the Hotel Committee just prior to this meeting. It included: Where the budget is at as of July 31, 2014, a summary comparison of 12/31/13, 12/31/14 (Estimate), and 12/31/14 (Budget), a detail of the Hotel 1% portion (draft 5-year plan) and a detail of the hotel 2% portion (draft 5-year plan). She explained that the Le Meridien budget revenues for 2015 will be budgeted for a full OAK BROOK HOTEL COMMITTEE Minutes Page 2 of 3 Mtg. of August 21, 2014 year; however for 2014 the hotel opened later than anticipated so the estimated revenues for 2014 are lower than budgeted. With the possible opening of the Drake Hotel, there may be some revenues in 2015 but the plan is to budget conservatively for 2015. In the 2% portion, Streetscape and Pedestrian Access expenses are projected to come in lower than what was budgeted. Discussion ensued. It was recommended that the Hotel General Managers hold a special meeting to discuss the 2015 budget in more detail. DU PAGE CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU UPDATE Beth Marchetti reported that her official start date was August 1st. Skip Strittmatter retired and will be recognized at the September 10th Annual Meeting, where Jen Hoezel from the State of Illinois Tourism Bureau will be the guest speaker. DCVB is currently at a trade show in Collinsville where approximately 80 meeting planners will be in attendance. Beth was pleased to announce that the DCVB secured the USBC Bowling Tournament and the Doubletree Hotel will be the host hotel. This will bring a lot of people to Oak Brook. GREATER OAK BROOK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE No report at this time. OTHER BUSINESS The Committee questioned an email sent by Trustee Adler in reference to the Hotel Committee’s participation on the Streetscape Committee. Chairman Canfield clarified that Mort Kouklan was chosen by the Hotel Committee to be their representative on the Streetscape Committee and Chuck Fleming is also a member of both the Streetscape and Commercial Revitalization Committees. Trustee Adler reported that the Drake Hotel will be opening as an independent hotel on a smaller scale with approximately 80 rooms. Chuck Fleming talked about the new Oakbrook Center mall updates. The glass structures are complete; the big screen is up and promoting polo. They have already featured 3 movies with one more to go. General Growth has a big holiday season planned. The mall will also host a Christkindlmarkt on a smaller scale. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Chuck Fleming, seconded by Chris Johnson to adjourn the meeting of the Hotel Convention and Visitors Committee at 12:03 pm. ATTEST: Art Osten, Jr. Art Osten, Jr. Interim Village Manager _September 19, 2014__ Date OAK BROOK HOTEL COMMITTEE Minutes Page 3 of 3 Mtg. of August 21, 2014