Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee

MINUTES WILLIAMSBURG AREA DESTINATION MARKETING COMMITTEE JULY 19, 2010

PRESIDING: John Reilly, Chairman

PRESENT: Chris Canavos, Philip G. Emerson, Alvin Garrison, Clyde Haulman, Jim Kennedy, Dick Schreiber, Walt Zaremba

OTHERS PRESENT: Priscilla Caldwell, Bob Harris, Jodi Miller, Doug Pons, Dave Potter, Sally McConnell, Jody Puckett, Linda Stanier

NOT PRESENT: John Bacon, Alisa Bailey

The chairman called the July 19, 2010 meeting of the Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee (WADMC) to order. A quorum was present. Committee members reviewed the minutes of the May 17, 2010 WADMC meeting. A motion to accept the minutes as written was seconded and approved. John Reilly welcomed Clyde Haulman as the new Mayor of Williamsburg and representative to the WADMC. John Reilly also recognized and thanked Phil Emerson for his hard work as the Chairman for the WADMC during the previous year.

FINANCE REPORT

A. Monthly Statement & Key Metrics Review – Treasurer Chris Canavos presented the Statements of Financial Position as of May 31, 2010 (attachments 1) and key metrics for March (attachment 2). Chris reviewed the changes with the key metrics through May 2010 compared to May of 2009. Chris Canavos also reviewed the Alliance Year-to-Date Tourism Statistics (attachment 3). Chris shared that the statement of financial review included a new added budget column to compare actual to budget. Chris reported that the variances in the budget to actual are not large and primarily due to timing of expenses. Chris distributed a copy of the Smith Travel Research report for June of 2010 (attachment 4) as completed for the WHMA and advised that they have added several comparison destinations that were included in the Dr. Hess research report.

MRTF REPORTS

A. 2010 Campaign Update – Jody Puckett reported that the WADMC campaign ends in early August and that the post-campaign research project will be completed after that point and possibly available in the month of September. (attachment 5)

B. Competitive Research Update – Jody Puckett reported that MRTF is studying the Dr. Hess conclusions and preparing a metrics of the recommendations made noting those items that have been completed, are ongoing or remaining. This report should be available for distribution during the August WADMC meeting. Bob Harris distributed an electronic copy of the presentation from Dr. Hess. Phil Emerson noted that considering the budget for the research that there was a lot of information given and high value. He recommended that WADMC/MRTF consider using the college for future research projects as a way to manage the budget restraints.

C. Booking Engine Results – Dave Potter presented an overview of the booking engine results (attachment 4). Booking revenues through July 18, 2010 have significantly increased over the same period last year. Alvin Garrison requested that the booking engine results for 2008 be added to future reports. Walt Zaremba asked why the destination is still performing poorly when these results show such improvement. Dick Schreiber said that the booking engine only represents about 2% of the total bookings for the destination. Dave Potter said that during the bid process ARES had suggested that $1 million in revenues during the first year would be a good goal for the booking engine. Dave advised that we are currently at $1.27 million in bookings. Phil Emerson said that we should be encouraged with these results and how well the booking engine is performing.

D. Budget/Campaign Adjustments – Dave Potter distributed a 2010 Campaign Update for WADMC (attachment 5) and reported that during the May 2010 WADMC meeting MRTF was asked to make adjustments to the 2010 campaign to balance the cash flow. The adjustments to the campaign are in the agency creative and the media buy for the remainder of the year. The reductions total $266,000 and will provide for approximately $1.63 million in carry-over funding for the 2011 campaign. John thanked the members of MRTF for their work with these adjustments while protecting the television advertising and online paid search.

OTHER BUSINESS

A. August Meeting – John Reilly advised that the next scheduled WADMC meeting is at 4:30 p.m., August 16, 2010 at the Alliance.

There being no further business to discuss the WADMC meeting was declared to be adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard A. Schreiber President Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance