|
Hotel-Motel Tax Board
<br />Minutes 11/1/2019
<br />Pg. 3
<br />
<br />Meeting Sales had four conversions with 1,653 room nights for 2020 – IN Automotive/IN Landmarks,
<br />Brilliant EdVentures Tour Group, Accelerate IN Municipalities (AIM) Idea Summit, and North
<br />American Interfaith Network Connect. Site visits included MPI Great Lakes Education Summit,
<br />Association of Public Treasurers of the US & Canada, Accelerate IN Municipals and Venue ND.
<br />
<br />Trade shows attended included Connect Association, Connect Specialty, Small Market Meetings
<br />Conference, AACA Eastern Fall Market, Association of IN Counties, and YP Summit. Pizza stones
<br />with the VSBM logo on one side and VSBM team on the other side were sent to the top 200 list.
<br />The meeting sales team has made sales calls in Indianapolis and efforts with Knowland, ISAE
<br />Convention Committee and MPI Indiana. Promotional videos were created for meeting and sports
<br />venues.
<br />
<br />Sports Sales had three conversions with 835 room nights – 2019 ACO Heartland Major-Cornhole,
<br />2020 NCBBA Men’s National Championships and 2020 Luck O’ the Draw Lacrosse Festival.
<br />Pending 2020 leads include FIRST Robotics Competition, NACE National Convention for E-sports,
<br />AYOP, Midwest Shootout-Basketball, Tim Welsh Invitational and 2021 Synchronized Skating
<br />Sectional Championship. Sports sales efforts included Sports Indiana 10-15-19 meeting, United
<br />Soccer League (USL) expansion into South Bend with the South Bend Lions professional team and
<br />anticipated announcement in November, e-sports focused calls and meetings with Century Center,
<br />Sports Top 50 List, Simpleview and Knowland trainings, Golf marketing meetings, Event Impact
<br />Calculator best practices. Sports tradeshows included Connect in Louisville, KY; SPORTS in Panama
<br />City Beach, FL; 4S Summit in Providence, RI; and education sessions in sales, sponsorship Services
<br />and strategy. Staff met with America’s Youth On Parade (AYOP) in Janesville, WI, regarding the
<br />annual event at Notre Dame to be held July 24-26, 2020 with 8,000 attendees, 3,700 room nights
<br />and $2.5 million economic impact. Sports events continue to be a significant portion of occupancy
<br />with 67 events in 2019, 32,100 room nights, 221,416 attendees and $27.3 million economic impact.
<br />
<br />The VSBM 2020 Visitor Guide is currently in production to be distributed in December with 100 pages
<br />total vs. the 24 pages in the 2009 Visitor Guide. The Visitor Guide features 16 new pages dedicated
<br />\to the local foodie scene.
<br />
<br />The Basement digital campaign continues with partners Morris Inn/Venue ND, US Gold Senior Open,
<br />South Bend Cubs and Holladay Properties. April 26 – September 9 there were 168,860 clicks, and
<br />10,737,683 impressions. Traffic by metro included Chicago, South Bend, Granger and Indianapolis.
<br />
<br />Website August 22 – October 27, 2019, had 59,385 total website visits, 50,318 unique visitors. Top
<br />referral sites were Google, Facebook, Bing, UND.com and Yahoo. Top referral cities were Chicago,
<br />South Bend, Granger, Mishawaka, and Nashville. Top content pieces were “Do a Dog Friendly Trip
<br />to the Bend”, “Guide to Notre Dame Football Weekends”, “Plan Your Event at Gillespie”, “10 Iconic
<br />Landmarks of Notre Dame” and “What You Need to Know for Tailgating at Notre Dame.” Top external
<br />links were Michiannarenfest.com, eastracewaterwa.gr8.com, Google Maps, DTSB ArtBeat and DTSB
<br />Map. New web content included “48 Hours in The Bend”, “6 Places for Fall Color”, “Do a Dog Friendly
<br />Trip to The Bend”, “Explore the Studebaker-Bendix Heritage Trail”, “Football Fans Flock to Notre
<br />Dame” and “Make the Oliver Inn Your Bed & Breakfast Experience.”
<br />
<br />To date the Golden Romer had 122 event days, 24 Notre Dame campus tours with 1,288 estimated
<br />participants were given, 2,668 welcome bags and 22,040 visitor guides were distributed. The South
<br />Bend Airport Visitor Center was updated with a workspace and several charging ports. The Century
<br />Center visitor space will be refreshed. Community Tourism Action Plans were completed and
<br />presented to Downtown Mishawaka and Lakeville.
|