Agenda Item: 8.B Page 1

City Council Meeting February 3, 2015 Page 159

To:

From:

Subject:

CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA

Council Report

February 3, 2015

Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Douglas J. Schmitz, City Administrator

Lee Price, Interim City Clerk

Presentation of Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau City of Carmel-by-the-Sea Second Quarter Report

RECOMMENDATION(S):

Receive a presentation from Alliah Sheta, Director of Communications and Community Relations, on the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau - City of Carmel-by­the-Sea Second Quarter Report.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Alliah Sheta, Director of Communications and Community Relations with the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau, requested the opportunity to provide information on the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea Second Quarter Report. Ms. Sheta will be showing a brief PowerPoint presentation (approximately 10 minutes) and wil l be available to answer questions regarding the project.

ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:

FISCAL IMPACT:

No impact.

Budgeted (yes/no) Funding Source( general fund, grant, state)

PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION/DECISION HISTORY:

None

ATTACHMENTS:

1. City of Carmel-by-the-Sea Second Quarter Report

rat or

1

MCCVB Media Relations Highlights: Carmel-by-the-Sea was featured as a “vacation gem” in the article “Escape to Beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea” that ran the New York Amsterdam News in October. This publication receives over 12,500 unique monthly visitors online and has an advertising equivalency of $5,000. Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine highlighted where to stay, play and party in the Monterey region. The article mentions several partners including Cypress Inn and highlights gallery shopping in Carmel-by-the-Sea. This magazine has a circulation of 40,000 and the article has an advertising equivalency of $14,675. Carmel-by-the-Sea was highlighted in a feature story in The Toronto Star titled, “Wonderful wineries, beautiful beaches and sensational scenery in Carmel, California.” The article calls out the wonders of Carmel including the hotels, wine, and scenery of the area. The advertising equivalency for this article is $245,030 and the publication has a circulation of 361,323.

The MCCVB launched a holiday campaign and sweepstakes to highlight local holiday events and to continue to increase brand awareness during a traditionally slower time of year for business. The campaign featured a holiday recipe book titled the “12 Flavors of Monterey” and highlighted chefs from Aubergine, Andre’s Bouchee, Casanova, Anton & Michel, Little Nappoli, Grasings Coastal Cuisine, and Rio Grill among others.

Year to Date Scorecard July 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014

-Investment-

YTD Annual City Investment $63,390 $138,780

-Economic Benefit-

Incremental Overnight Stays: Groups Booked: 9

Group Room Nights: 348 Monterey VIC Room Nights: 6,264 “GLBTM” Campaign Room Nights: 20,731 Booking.com Room Nights: 57 Total Incremental Room Nights: 27,400

Economic Impacts: Group Bookings: $192,927 Monterey VIC Incremental Spending: $1,290,541 “GLBTM” Campaign Incremental Spending: $8,710,793 Booking.com Room Bookings: $10,043 Total Economic Impact: $10,204,304

Activity: Earned Media Equivalency: $11,879,726

SeeMonterey.com Unique Visitors: Carmel-by-the-Sea web pages total views: 45,523 Carmel-by-the-Sea web pages total clicks: 20,188

Return on Investment YTD: $146:1

City of Carmel-by-the-Sea |Second Quarter Report 2014-2015

Agenda Item

: 8.B

Page 2

City C

ouncil Meeting February 3, 2015

Page 160

Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau MCCVB’s VISION

Inspire the world to experience our extraordinary destination

MCCVB’s MISSION

Drive business growth through compelling marketing and targeted sales initiatives that maximize the benefits of tourism to our guests, members, and community

Explaining the Scorecard:

Groups Booked: Refers to the number of groups who booked a meeting.

Incremental Spending: Refers to the visitor spending caused by MCCVB programs.

Earned Media: Refers to the value of publicity gained through promotional efforts other than advertising, as opposed to paid media, which refers to publicity gained through advertising.

Click-through: The process of a visitor clicking on a web page link or advertisement and going to another Web page. The click rate measures the amount of times an ad is clicked versus the amount of times it's viewed.

MCCVB Board and Advisor representatives from Carmel-by-the-Sea:

Lisa Dias, Director Chief Operating Officer Mirabel Hotel & Restaurant Group Phone: 831-622-5903 Email: ldias@laubergecarmel.com

Monta Potter, Advisor Chief Executive Officer Carmel Chamber of Commerce Phone: 831-624-2522 ext. 203 Email: monta@carmelcalifornia.org

$2,525,400

$3,843,020

$329,423

2014-2015 Revenue

JurisdictionInvestmentTID/HID

Private

Total Revenue $6,697,843

Jurisdiction Investment 2014-2015

Carmel-by-the-Sea

City of Monterey

County of Monterey

Del Rey Oaks

Marina

Pacific Grove

Salinas

Sand City

Seaside

2014-2015 Expenditures

Marketing Communications

Sales and Group Services

Membership

Visitor Services

Agenda Item

: 8.B

Page 3

City C

ouncil Meeting February 3, 2015

Page 161

Second Quarter Report October – December 2014

July Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

New Group Business Leads

41% of Annual Goal

Total Leads in Q2 :219 YTD:411

Conversion Rate

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

October November December Year-to-date

Group Room Night Index

YTD: 94% of goal

Marketing & Communications

Sales & Group Services

64% of Annual Goal

366,368 visitors to SeeMonterey.com

in Q2 YTD: 766,109

@

21,983 total visitor inquiries in Q2

YTD: 62,759 51% of Annual Goal

19,828 Incremental room nights influenced by the Visitor Center

in Q2 YTD: 53,246

59% of Annual Goal

10

9 14-16

4

1-2

Visit California Marketing Planning

Workshop & Fall Meeting

Visitor Services

29 17

Booking.com 2014-15 Q2

2014-15 YTD

% Inc YOY

Total Reservations 258 840 272%

Total Booked Room Nights 465 1,376 273%

Total Revenue $64,400 $200,143 83%

12,247 New Facebook Fans

in Q2 YTD: 67,500

8-9 2

Oct Nov Dec YTD AVG

27.27% 25% 26% 26%

Goal: 35% 74% of goal

Helloworld Australia Tour &

Travel FAM

Where Do Our Visitors Come From?

15

Google Trekker starts

on Trails

15-17

Harvest Media FAM

10 LA Asian Tour

Operator Luncheon

4 9

Q3 Member

Orientation

Coastal Commission Presentation

IMEX Las Vegas, NV

Cannery Row FAM

USA39%

Canada 13%

Australia 8%

United Kingdom

5%

Germany 8%

July

Aug

Sept Oct

Nov

Dec 94% of Annual Goal

All Other Countries 27%

Earned Media (ad equivalency)

$24,951,145 in Q2 YTD: $37,468,57

Communication Effectiveness

YTD: 4.1

Agenda Item: 8.B Page 4

City Council Meeting February 3, 2015 Page 162

The importance of destination promotion to the visitor economy is well- recognized, but destination promotion also acts as a catalyst of economic development in a broader sense. Oxford Economics’ latest research takes a closer look, yielding a more complete picture of this critical function.

Through a combination of case studies, interviews, literature review, and statistical analysis, Oxford Economics finds that destination promotion fuels development across the entire economic spectrum. In addition to generating jobs and tax revenues by attracting visitors, the activities of destination marketing organizations (DMOs) drive broader economic growth by sustaining air service, creating familiarity, attracting decision makers, and improving the quality of life for residents.

In fact, cities and states that prioritize destination promotion, and coordinate these efforts with economic development initiatives, are better positioned to compete for new investments, corporate relocations, and a talented workforce.

THE STRENGTH OF VISITOR EXPORTS WARRANTS INVESTMENT

The visitor economy generates exports, drawing dollars into local economies, and has outperformed many of the sectors frequently targeted by economic development agencies (EDAs). Since 1998, hospitality and tourism employ-ment has expanded nearly 10%, while aggregate employment in all other traded clusters shrank 1%. This disparity highlights the relatively strong opportunity that economies can realize through destination promotion.

Statistical analysis confirms broader impactsGROWTH IN THE VISITOR ECONOMY DRIVES GROWTH IN OTHER AREAS

Oxford Economics’ statistical analysis conducted as part of this study covers more than 200 US cities over 20 years and confirms what case

studies indicate: destinations with substantial and growing visitor economies tend to outperform their peers. Specifically, Oxford Economics finds through econometric analysis that a 10% increase in a destination’s visitor-related employment (relative to the US average) causes a 1.5% rise in broader employment through catalytic channels.

Call to actionCOORDINATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINATION PROMOTION

Oxford Economics’ interviews with EDA and DMO executives identified key categories of cooperation, revealing powerful synergies between economic development and destination promotion activities. Executives cited air service development, building and promoting a destination brand, and jointly leveraging strategic conferences and trade shows as areas of EDA-DMO cooperation that generate tangible economic returns.

PRIORITIZE DESTINATION PROMOTION

Investments in destination marketing and promotion have been shown to consistently generate dividends by attracting group and leisure visitors. However, destination promotion also raises the quality of life, builds transportation networks, raises a place’s profile, and draws economic development decision makers through conventions and trade shows—all fundamentally benefiting economic development. Therefore, destination promotion should be upheld as a vital component of a city’s or state’s economic development strategy.

Download the full study at www.oxfordeconomics.com/engine

Destination Promotion:An Engine of Economic DevelopmentHow investments in the visitor economy drive broader economic growth

Agenda Item

: 8.B

Page 5

City C

ouncil Meeting February 3, 2015

Page 163

How Destination PromotionDrives Economic Development BUILDING TRANSPORT NETWORKS

By developing the visitor economy, destination promotion supports transportation infrastruc-ture, providing greater accessibility and supply logistics that are important in attracting invest-ment in other sectors.

“Air service is profoundly important to corporate investment and location decisions... This is one of tourism’s most significant contributions since the levels of air service at New Orleans far exceed what local demand could support.”

Stephen Moret Secretary Louisiana Economic Development

ATTRACTING STRATEGIC EVENTS By securing meetings and conventions, DMOs attract the very prospects that economic development agencies target. Not only do these events create valuable exposure among business decision makers, they create direct opportunities for economic development agencies to deepen connections with attendees.

“Economic clusters and conventions have become synergistic”

Tom Clark Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation

RAISING THE DESTINATION PROFILE

Destination promotion builds awareness, familiarity, and relationships in commer-cial, institutional and individual networks that are critical in attracting investment.

“We are learning a lot from Visit California by how they brand California and how to take their model and apply it to economic development.”

Brook Taylor Deputy Director Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)

RaisingQuality of

Life

AttractingStrategicEvents

BuildingTransportNetworks

RAISING THE QUALITY OF LIFE

Visitor spending helps support a broader and higher quality set of local amenities than an area could otherwise sustain. The cultural, entertainment, culinary, and retail attractions that visitors support make a place more attractive to investors.

“Traveler attractions are the same reason that CEOs choose a place.”

Jeff Malehorn President & CEO, World Business Chicago

Agenda Item

: 8.B

Page 6

City C

ouncil Meeting February 3, 2015

Page 164