ANNUAL REPORT

Transcription

1 ANNUAL REPORT

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 MISSION STATEMENT 3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 4 CONVENTION SALES 6 MARKETING 8 MEDIA RELATIONS 9 TOURISM 10 CONVENTION SERVICE & HOUSING 11 MEMBERSHIP

3 2 MISSION STATEMENT Visit Phoenix (formerly the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau) is a private, non-profit corporation that promotes and markets Greater Phoenix as a year-round convention and leisure-traveler destination. We target potential visitors and convey the message that Greater Phoenix is the nation s premier location for meeting facilities, resorts, hotels, spas, golf courses, culture, cuisine and outdoor adventure. Visit Phoenix represents nearly 1,000 member businesses and spearheads convention and tourism efforts both domestically and internationally. We are committed to education relevant to the hospitality industry, and our performance and reputation is achieved through the efforts of a highly qualified and professional staff.

4 3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Win Holden (Chairman) Publisher, Arizona Highways, and CEO, Grand Canyon State Logo Signs George Dean (Immediate Past Chair) President & CEO, Greater Phoenix Urban League Manny Molina (Vice Chairman) President and CEO, Molina Media Group J. Bruce Lange (Vice Chairman) Managing Director, Westin Kierland Resort Rich Dozer Founding president of the Arizona Diamondbacks and former VP and COO of (Executive Committee, Secretary/Treasurer) the Phoenix Suns Richard Behr (Executive Committee) Managing Director, Arizona Grand Resort Robert J. Miller (Chief Counsel) Attorney at Law, Bryan Cave LLP Martin Shultz (Executive Committee) Senior Policy Director, Brownstein/Hyatt/Farber/Schreck Steve Moore (ex-officio) President and CEO, Visit Phoenix Lydia Aranda Co-Founder, GMBASC America Group, Inc. Paul Blue Deputy City Manager City of Phoenix John Chan Director, Phoenix Convention Center Steven Cohn President PHXhotel, LLC Paul Dykstra President and CEO, Viad Corporation Sheila Foley General Manager, Arizona Biltmore Derrick Hall President, Arizona Diamondbacks Steve Hart General Manager, JW Marriott s Desert Ridge Resort & Spa John Hatfield Vice President, Communications, Arizona Public Service Company Robert Hayward Associate Broker, Warnick & Company C.A. Howlett Principal, Indigo Partners Yvonne Hunter YH Strategies, LLC Debbie Johnson President and CEO, Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association David Krietor President & CEO Downtown Phoenix Inc. Greg Miller Regional Vice President, Destination Hotels & Resorts Rick Naimark Deputy City Manager, City of Phoenix Peggy Neely Associate Broker, Arizona Home Team Michael Nowakowski Councilman, District 7, City of Phoenix Todd Sanders President and CEO, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce

5 4 CONVENTION SALES Visit Phoenix s Convention Sales Department represents the two distinct meeting products in Greater Phoenix: (1) the downtown Phoenix market, anchored by the Phoenix Convention Center, and (2) the hotel and resort market. The department comprises two sales teams: The Citywide Sales Team books groups at the convention center, while the Hotel/Resort Sales Team books groups at area hotels and resorts. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY Citywide Sales In fiscal year , the Citywide Sales Team booked 232,163 delegates, a 2.3 percent increase over last year s performance. The sales team also produced 326 leads, which is 11 percent more than a year ago. These 326 prospective groups represent more than 1 million future delegates. Hotel/Resort Sales The Hotel/Resort Sales Team booked 330,797 definite room nights in fiscal year , an 11 percent increase over the previous year. The sales team also produced 1,495 leads, representing 1.1 million future delegates. This lead production is a 4 percent increase over last year. Sales Promotions See It to Believe It This continuation of the Citywide Sales Team s fly-in promotion gave potential clients the chance to tour the Phoenix Convention Center, area hotels and off-site venues. To date, this promotion netted 76 in-house meetings and 25 citywide conventions. Freenix This citywide booking promotion created in conjunction with the Phoenix Convention Center and downtown hotel partners offered complimentary convention center rental and free WiFi (at both hotels and the convention center) for clients with citywide conventions slated from 2015 to This promotion netted 14 bookings representing 64,000 delegates and 106,000 room nights. PROGRAM OF WORK RECAP Client Events The Visit Phoenix sales teams hosted, co-hosted or sponsored seven client events in fiscal year , exposing more than 1,200 meeting professionals to the city s meetingsand-convention product. Combined, Visit Phoenix s sales teams booked 436,000 meeting and convention attendees who will consume 621,000 hotel room nights and spend an estimated $540 million. Event Clients Hosted Experient E4 173 American Express INTERaction 800 Infusion Nurses Society CEO Forum 24 CESSE (Council of Engineering Scientific Societies Executives) 80 AMC Institute 120 Phoenix Convention Center/Citywide Buyers Education Trip 17 Resort Buyers Education Trip 12 Total 1,226

6 5 Trade Shows & Conventions Meetings-industry trade shows usually offer an exhibit option that allows destination marketing organizations such as Visit Phoenix to share their marketing and sales message to potential clients. Visit Phoenix participated in the following trade shows in fiscal year : Trade Show Date CESSE (Council of Engineering & Science Societies Executives) August 2013 ASAE (American Society of Association Executives) August 2013 Connect Marketplace August 2013 Conference Direct CDX September 2013 Rejuvenate Marketplace October 2013 IMEX October 2013 TEAMS 2013 November 2013 National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners December 2013 CSAE Holiday Showcase December 2013 PCMA (Professional Convention Managers Association) January 2014 Religious Conference Managers Association January 2014 Destination Showcase DC February 2014 Meetings Industry of Colorado (MIC) March 2013 Conference Direct APM March 2014 Pharma Forum March 2014 Springtime May 2014 PCMA education Conference June 2014 Collaborate Marketplace June 2014 Mini-Missions During fiscal year , Visit Phoenix embarked on six mini-missions in its continued effort to penetrate key secondary feeder markets as sources incremental business opportunities. These mini-missions have grown in popularity because their smaller size allows us to engage targeted customers in an intimate setting. Mini-Missions Date Dallas September 2013 St. Louis/Kansas City October 2013 Atlanta December 2013 Northern California January 2014 Cleveland/Columbus February 2014 Minneapolis June 2014 Destination Sales Missions Sales missions to major feeder markets follow the successful model of combining individual client appointments with group events, giving mission participants a thorough mix of client exposure. Member participation fees help Visit Phoenix produce and coordinated high-caliber events at in-demand venues. Mission Date Washington D.C. September 2013 Chicago, IL October 2013 NE Road Show (New Jersey/Philadelphia) December 2013

7 6 MARKETING The Marketing Department oversees all advertising and marketing efforts for Visit Phoenix. This includes advertising, visitphoenix. com, marketing, social media, collateral and publication development, video production, consumer research, and photography. The department s principal goals are to insure the integrity of the Visit Phoenix brand and deliver a consistent marketing message to consumers and clients across all mediums of communication. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY To reach consumers and clients with Visit Phoenix s destination messaging, the Marketing Department continued in fiscal year to focus on digital outdoor, print and online advertising; social media messaging; and marketing efforts. Our advertising efforts are focused geographically, targeting primary feeder markets such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas and Denver. Online advertising allows us to extend our reach by focusing on additional markets such at Minneapolis, New York and Seattle. In winter , the Marketing Department launched a promotion in which we sponsored free Wi-Fi access for New York City subway riders and Starbucks customers. This promotion yielded 314,000 Wi-Fi sessions, and 73 percent of these Wi-Fi users completed the full, three-screen brand experience and also viewed a 15-second This is Phoenix video. This resulted in more than 111,000 clicks to VisitPhoenix.com million WEBSITE TRAFFIC TOTAL VISITS 47% 1.08 million 1.59 million PAGE VIEWS 43% 6.12 million

8 7 ONLINE ADVERTISNG CAMPAIGNS The Marketing Department ran multiple online campaigns during the past fiscal year, including Google Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Weather.com, Facebook, TripAdvisor, USA Today, LA Times, and Globe and Mail. Below are the overall performance results for search, social and display ads: Conversions Media Impressions Clicks CTR Travel Guide Likes/Followers Search Performance 7,845, , % 1, Social Performance 79,643, , % ,308 Display Performance 30,861, , % 2, Total 118,350, , % 3,991 1,327 40,308 45,626 TOP 10 DESTINATION MARKETING AREAS (DMAs) FOR WEBSITE TRAFFIC 1 Phoenix 2 New York 3 Los Angeles 4 Chicago 5 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose 6 Tucson 7 Seattle-Portland 8 Dallas-Ft. Worth 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul 10 Washington SOCIAL MEDIA The Hot Sheet Blog received 250,022 views, an increase of 4% over FY At the end of FY , the Visit Phoenix Facebook page had 102,370 Likes, an increase of 80% from the start of the year. There were 421,352 engagements during the fiscal year. At the end of FY , Visit Phoenix s Twitter feed had 20,557 followers, an increase of 69% from the beginning of the year. TOP 5 WEBSITE SECTIONS 1 Things to Do 2 Events 3 Mobile 4 About Phoenix 5 Home TRAVEL GUIDE REQUESTS & OPT-INS PRINT GUIDE REQUESTS VIA VISITPHOENIX.COM & FACEBOOK 13,107 2% VIEWS OF ONLINE GUIDE 8% 12,576 SIGN-UP 39%

9 8 MEDIA RELATIONS The Media Relations Department establishes and fosters strong relationships with meeting and travel-trade media, newspaper and magazine writers and editors, freelance travel writers, and representatives from travel television and radio programming. The department maintains a database of more than 2,000 national and international media, and also produces editorial content and storytelling ideas for travel media. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY In fiscal year , the Media Relations team hosted more than 600 travel journalists and assisted or established contact with more than 2,400 additional media. Among the magazines, newspapers and online media outlets that published leisure and meetings coverage about Greater Phoenix were the Associated Press, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset magazine, Meetings & Conventions, Smart Meetings and Successful Meetings. To foster coverage of Greater Phoenix, the Media Relations team invited individual members of the media to the destination and developed custom itineraries that fit their assignments. We also hosted customized media tours (CMTs) for writers covering the niche markets of meetings, golf, outdoor adventure, cuisine, arts and culture, and downtown development. The Media Relations Department is also responsible for producing Visit Phoenix s annual meeting. This year s event was held at the Musical Instrument Museum and attended by more than 250 hospitality-industry stakeholders. BY THE Media Hosted NUMBERS 640 Media leads to Members 2,450 Notable Media Placements Meeting Magazines Consumer Magazines Newspapers/Blogs Canadian Outlets Association News M&C Magazine Smart Meetings Sunset US Airways Magazine Volaris Via AARP Outdoor Magazine Daily Mirror The Associated Press USA Today San Francisco Chronicle Chicago Tribune Sherman s Travel Serious Eats Toronto Star Vancouver Sun Canadian Traveler WestJet Up!

10 9 TOURISM The mission of the Tourism Department is to promote the Greater Phoenix metropolitan region to the domestic and international leisure travel market, primarily through tour operators and travel agents. The objective is to increase the number of visitors traveling to Greater Phoenix through cooperative marketing programs, familiarization trips, destination trainings, sales missions and tradeshow participation. To maximize destination visibility, the department educates receptive operators, tour operators and travel agents about the attributes of Greater Phoenix, including its culture, heritage, attractions and natural beauty. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY In fiscal year , the Tourism Department focused on programs that presented valuable exposure for Visit Phoenix members, as well as opportunities to interact with clients interested in selling our destination. A total of 77 clients from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, China and Brazil were hosted during the 11 FAMs or site inspections that took place this fiscal year. These FAMs provided an excellent opportunity to showcase both the attributes of the destination as well as the services of participating Visit Phoenix members. Destination trainings were conducted with several airline and tour-operator partners, resulting in a combined attendance of 239 agents. These trainings highlighted things to see and do in Greater Pheonix and also provided updates on the client s hotel/attraction inventory. Sales missions were conducted in the key markets of Southern California, Chicago/Milwaukee, Las Vegas, Orlando, Vancouver/Victoria, Calgary/ Edmonton, Guadalajara, and Mexico City. Visit Phoenix members had an opportunity to either travel on these missions or provide brochure support in order to increase the exposure of their product. Meetings took place with a total of 1,476 retail travel agents. The Tourism team attended three appointment trade shows: the Go West Summit; the National Tour Association s Travel Exchange; and the U.S. Travel Association s IPW, the travel industry s premier international marketplace and the largest generator of travel to the United States. These trade shows produced the highest volume of leads for the department. A total of 148 appointments were conducted with clients during these three important shows. BY THE NUMBERS Member Leads Generated 192 Client Reach 1,940 Fulfillment Inquiries 7,108 Fulfillment Pieces 15,778

11 10 CONVENTION SERVICES & HOUSING The Convention Services Department is the services arm of Convention Sales, providing a liaison between meeting planners, Visit Phoenix s member businesses and key community partners. The department assists meeting professionals with all aspects of their promotional and planning needs, and also offers housing and registration assistance. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY The Convention Services Department distributed 352 leads to members and issued 9,116 member referrals, eclipsing its fiscal-year goal in each area of focus. One of the department s goals for fiscal year was to promote Visit Phoenix s housing services to future convention groups. Convention Services uses Passkey International group-reservation technology to assist meeting planners with their housing needs. By fiscal year s end, the department had made nearly 8,700 housing reservations via Passkey a 63 percent increase over the previous year. The Convention Services team also helped Visit Phoenix earn the Meeting Planners International Gold Service Award for the 27th time and for the 23rd year in a row ,100 9,116 5,323 8,697 FY GOAL FY ACTUAL FY GOAL FY ACTUAL FY GOAL FY ACTUAL LEADS TO MEMBERS MEMBER REFERRALS HOUSING RESERVATIONS

12 11 MEMBERSHIP The Membership Department provides Visit Phoenix s member businesses with beneficial resources and exposure to convention and leisure-visitor markets. The department strives to meet members needs and presents business opportunities that can help them achieve their goals. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY The department exceeded its revenue goal by 2.5 percent. We focused on member renewals and targeted new businesses that would experience the greatest benefits from Visit Phoenix membership. More than 78 percent of our membership revenue is derived from those members who have maintained their affiliation with Visit Phoenix for three years and longer. Venues, 94 Travel & Visitor Info, 64 Accommodations, 221 Transporation, 41 Tickets, 2 Sports, 13 Spas & Health, 27 Shopping, 42 Reloaction, 23 Members by Category Arts & Culture, 46 Outdoor Activities, 72 Golf, 37 Convention & Event Services, 174 Entertainment, 47 Dining, 242