Thank you to our sponsors. Today s Agenda

Transcription

1

2 Thank you to our sponsors Today s Agenda

3 Today s Agenda Event Housing/Lodging (Hotel Room Blocks) Facilities Development

4 Hotel/Lodging for events One of the most difficult aspects of hosting great events is housing. Setting up hotel room blocks can be a very time consuming process for organizations. We can help!

5 Let s make it easier! The Sports Commission and Visit Mankato would like to help make the hotel reservation and room block process an easier one!

6 Benefit of room blocks Ensuring that there are hotel rooms available for attendees Being able to distribute information to event attendees for hotels that have availability and set rates Less chance of potential attendees choosing to not attend due to lack of hotel availability Making the hotel reservation process easier for attendees increases the likelihood of them returning for future events

7 The current process Groups/Organizations call hotels on their own and secure room blocks for their events Groups/Organizations work with VM/SC who help to secure room blocks for their events

8 Organizations doing it on their own Time consuming Not sure where to start Not sure who to contact or exactly what information they need Difficult to easily compile and distribute information

9 Organizations currently utilizing Mankato Sports Commission Centralized system where event information is sent to all selected hotels Hotels set number of rooms and room rates Information (# of rooms, rates, etc.) compiled by SC and provided in spreadsheet format to organizations Organizations distribute

10

11 Drawbacks of current systems Attendees must still call or visit numerous websites Lack of ability to easily track how many rooms booked Lack of ability to see how many rooms still available at any given time Less ability to encourage attendees to stay at preferred or partner hotels

12 How do we simplify the process? Visit Mankato and the Mankato Sports Commission are currently exploring online reservation systems that would allow us to create room blocks for you and provide you with one website for an event where all preferred hotels for the event are shown as well as allowing attendees to book directly on it.

13 What are benefits to online reservation systems?

14 Organizations who host tournaments and events Increase Room Pickup Online housing gives you the best potential of filling your room blocks and deters people from booking around the block. When all hotel information is accessible, attendees are less likely to shop third party sites for availability. Consistency for Attendees Your attendees get a consistent reservation process for every event you host, decreasing confusion and frustration. Centralized Information Access to all pertinent event and hotel information, including real time availability, in one easy place.

15 Organizations who host tournaments and events Ability to potentially generate revenue for your organization!

16 Attendees Centralized Information Provide a core place for all hotel options to be displayed and reservations to be booked. The alternative of having a list of hotels, rates and telephone numbers can be a frustrating and time-consuming prospect. Online Housing ties all participating properties together and rules out hotels that no longer have availability. Providing all pertinent information in one easy place is a key benefit to an attendee. 24/7 System Access: Online housing provides the ability for an attendee to not only make a reservation when it s convenient for them, but also permits them to make changes to reservations any time, day or night.

17 Attendees Flexible Reservations VIP s, sports teams, event staff, and more can easily create reservations and access exclusive inventory by using a group code for their specific sub-block. A guest can make a single booking containing multiple rooms along with a host of variable options. Online Housing is customized with the attendee in mind. Real Time Inventory Hotel inventory is updated in real-time so that there s never any doubt about availability. Attendee reservations are secure as soon as the booking is made.

18 Hotels Eliminate Call-ins When an organization is using a reservation system for their events, everything from the creation of a reservation to cancelling a booking is fully housed in the system. Hotels can process reservations, changes and cancellations in their own time, when it s convenient to them. Online Housing increases staff efficiencies through the automation of labor intensive processes. Flexible Reservation Processing Provides the ability for hotels to process reservations as they arrive instead of waiting for a specified date or cutoff period.

19 Hotels Increased Revenue, New Business The primary benefit to the hotel is being a part of a system that makes it easy for organizations and simple for guests to book into their hotel ultimately giving the best opportunity to increase group business for the destination.

20 How would this system work and what are benefits to you?

21 Organizations would provide VM/SC with the following information for each event being held that they would like room blocks for Event name Event dates Estimated number of participants Estimated number of hotel rooms needed The same general information already required for VM/SC to help your organization with hotel room blocks

22 Once provided with this information VM/SC enters all information into our existing system and information is sent to all selected hotels Hotel receives information and determines how many rooms they can block and sets rates VM/SC compile results and enter into online reservation system Organization sends to all potential or registered attendees (typically coaches in this scenario) with one link that allows them to book their hotel rooms individually or as a group

23

24

25

26

27 How does this allow your organization to potentially generate additional revenue? Ability exists to more easily generate what amounts to room rebates through this system Under most current systems utilized any rebates would be based on self-reporting Self-reporting can be difficult because of the number of ways people book rooms There is currently not an easy way for hotels to know exactly why every guest is in town or chose their hotel With an online reservation system put in place we know how many rooms were booked and rebates are handled within the systems, not by organizations having to do the work!

28 What could this look like for your organization? As we explore online housing systems we are looking for the system that will allow us to share the most dollars possible with our local organizations. If we said that we would continue to do the work and you could get even $1 per hotel room that you brought into the community would you say yes?

29 What are we asking of you? Allow us to work for you and set up your hotel room blocks for all events and tournaments.

30 Hotel room block Q & A

31 Facilities Development Facilities Development

32 Timeline Facilities Development

33 Facilities Development STAFF OF MAJOR FACILITIES John Kind, YMCA Paul Ostoff, Verizon Center (Arena) Paul Vogel, City of Mankato Ryan Kragh, Bethany Lutheran College Todd Waterbury, ISD77 Athletics Phil Tostenson, City of North Mankato* Kevin Buisman, MSU Mankato Athletics* COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION Julia Corbett, Blethen, Gage & Kraus Jason Femrite, Bolton & Menk Dave Schooff, Fisher Group/Mankato Area Foundation Mike Mitchell, Retired SPORTS COMMISSIONERS Brett Skillbred, Coughlan Companies Chair Stephanie Loeffler, Mayo Clinic Health System Bob Madsen, AgStar Financial

34 Facilities Development Process to move projects forward: simplified Bring all user groups together Develop proposal addressing all concerns Identify all funding sources Bring proposal forward

35 Facilities Development Mankato Sports Commission role in regional recreation facilities development Resource Consultant Facilitator/Connector Content expert

36 Facilities Development What information will be requested? General background/overview of need/vision Current participant numbers and anticipated trends What facilities do you currently use for practices, games, tournaments Get specific on what your organization needs Financial contributions Partnerships Potential economic impact

37 Facilities Development Priorities: Leveraged Partner Funds Community Benefit/Accessibility Operational Sustainability Initial Cost Leveraged Existing Capacity Multi-season Utilization Central/Supported Location Economic Impact

38 Facilities Development Q & A

39 General Q & A

40 Thank you to our sponsors Today s Agenda

41 Chris Willaert Sports Commission Director Office: Cell: