City of Lawrence

Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board

Tuesday, March 28, 2006 minutes

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

David Longhurst, Bob Schumm, David Johnston,  Constance Wolfe, Derek Felch and Brad Kemp

 

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Doug Holiday, Michael Moore, Maria Martin, Kate Kelly and Karen Christilles

 

STAFF PRESENT:

Judy Billings, Bob Sanner, Debbie White and Ashlee Roll-Gregory

 

CITY LIASON PRESENT

Lisa Patterson

PUBLIC PRESENT:

None

The meeting was called to order by Judy Billings. Longhurst moved, Kemp seconded to approve the minutes as presented.  Motion carried.

 

Financial Report

This month, Billings reported that the receivables went down because the CVB collected a past due bill for $2,200 plus another small bill. The CVB has also begun to sell 2006-2007 Visitor Guide advertisements. Half of the money from the advertisements will be collected now and the other half will be billed upon publication. Billings also noted that the Guest Tax number, due to accrual accounting, is an approximate number and if the CVB isn’t collecting the amount that is anticipated, the budget will be adjusted later in the year to keep expenses in line with actual collections. Billings stated that advertisement for the Visitor Guide is still in the process of being sold and feature writing stores are being turned into the CVB.

 

Billings also reported that the City Budget is due April 10th. It will be submitted to reflect the approximate current operating budget.

 

Old Business

          i.        Website enhancements currently in process include a weather forecast and event calendar to be mailed to the on-line client 10 days prior to the visit as well as a post visit survey thanking them for the visit and asking just a few questions about the satisfaction of the visit.

                  

New Business

 

i.        Discussion on whether Jayhawks on Parade should be repeated. Kemp wondered if it would have the same impact the second time around and if the project might be better served to do something along the same lines as Jayhawks on Parade but choose a different subject.  Kemp noted that Jayhawks on Parade came along the same time that the Lawrence “T” did, and it was a mutually beneficial partnership. However, it was very difficult to measure the impact that Jayhawks on Parade actually had on the hotels in Lawrence.   If the decision is made to do Jayhawks on Parade a second time, it would be easier as the leg work has been done before and everyone is familiar with the process.

 

Staff Updates of involvement

 

Bob Sanner updated the Board on the Holidome. After speaking with Shaun Davis, it was reported that business at the Holidome is down 10% from last year and they are expecting March to be worse. Currently, the new management staff is changing past practices that will have a positive impact on their numbers in the future. For example, the Holidome is replacing furniture in rooms and the lobby as well as updating lighting and new carpeting in 50% of the hotel. Jay’s restaurant is undergoing an extensive renovation so that it can become competitive as an eating establishment in Lawrence. In other news, Sanner noted that he had sent a bid to KEMA to secure Lawrence’s place as one of three finalists for their 500 member conference. Apparently, Lawrence was one of the only communities that included a letter from the fire chief, which greatly impressed them. In addition, the Knights of Columbus are interested in having their conference in 2009 in Lawrence. They would need about 600 rooms for those attending and working the event.

 

In sports news, Sanner reported that the Collegiate Cycling Event, which was facing logistic challenges regarding the race route, has revamped the route and freed up a portion of Vermont Street. Considering that the race is on Mother’s Day the flow along Vermont in regards to the churches was of concern. Now, there are two more turns, which have opened the corner of 7th & New Hampshire. ESPN has expressed interest in televising the event on a tape delay basis, but wants the LCVB to produce it and provide ESPN with the finished product.  The tape would be highlights of the three day events. KU Cycling would be involved because they are the host school.

 

Sanner reported that PLAY is working on RFP for the consulting group. PLAY has also changed the verbiage of the proposal to delete the word “complex,” instead using the word “facility” so there is no restriction on the building later on in the process.

 

In addition, Sanner noted that LSC is once again involved with the Kansas Relays. The LSC has provided about 34 gift baskets for guests, has committed to a $2500 sponsorship which brings with it a full page ad in the meet program.

 

Judy Billings reported that the Heritage bill is now in the process of being marked up to reflect the language of the Senate. Billings expects no problems and hopefully there will soon be a push on the House floor for a vote.

         

Ashlee Roll-Gregory reported that monthly users on visitlawrence.com had increased 213% from 3/05, and in addition daily use had increased 213% from 3/05. The number of reservations made on the online booking site had decreased 69% from 3/05, and the number of reservations stayed had increased 158% from March of last year.  In addition, new information regarding the ability of certain chain hotels to participate in online booking has come to light. Roll-Gregory noted that she had spoken to a couple of General Managers in Lawrence that would like to participate in the online booking program, however are unable to due to restrictions from their corporate headquarters. Most higher-tiered hotels are moving away from third-party online booking systems like Hotels.com or Expedia. This unfortunately also includes the CVB’s online booking. Instead, the hotels that are unable to participate in the online booking program would like to establish a link on the visitlawrence.com website that would link the visitor to their webpage so that they would still be able to book online through the CVB website. However, because they would not be using the CVB system and would be using their own, the CVB would not be able to generate the 10% commission fee. However, most hotels that are willing to link to the CVB would agree to a monthly fee for this service.

 

Roll-Gregory also noted that there are certain considerations before making such a change as reporting and the ability to receive monthly numbers from hotels that are participating.

 

Debbie White updated the board on the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Visitor’s Center.  An open house will be held on April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature a garden tour, a short address from the Mayor at 11 a.m. and children’s activities. An invitation will be sent to those involved in the restoration process in addition to an open initiation to the city in the paper and online.

 

 

Meeting Adjourned

 

Future Meetings

         

April 25th-  Hampton Inn