Virginia's Blue Ridge - 2014 Progress Report

Partnering for SUCCESS

Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau

2014 PROGRESS REPORT

Partnering for SUCCESS

Partnering for SUCCESS

Contents

Leadership Viewpoint Dear Tourism Stakeholders,

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“Partnering for Success” was our theme in 2014!

With the combined investment from our five local

Board of Directors, Staff

governments (Cities of Roanoke and Salem and

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Counties of Roanoke, Botetourt and Franklin) and support from over 850 private businesses,

Visitor Impacts, Lodging Tax Revenue, Hotel Room Demand

3

Virginia’s Blue Ridge (VBR) region got noticed.

The investment generated RECORD rooms sold

W. Lee Wilhelm, III Chair

Public Relations

more rooms over 2013. Comparing calendar year lodging tax collections, VBR governments collected

Destination Marketing, Blue Ridge Standard Time

$6,631,831 during 2014, or an increase of 8% over 2013. Tourism is BIG business and an economic

5 6

Partnership Services

7

Visitor Services & Hospitality Training

8

Convention & Sports Sales

9

Looking Toward a Bright Future

Research, VBR sold 1,110,834 hotel rooms in 2014 increasing Room Demand by 2.3% or 25,104

4

Destination Marketing, eNewsletter & Social Media

and lodging tax revenue. According to Smith Travel

driver for the region.

Another great example of “Partnering for Success”

Landon C. Howard President

was the launch of a major advertising campaign.

Unlike any other previous year, the Roanoke Valley

Convention & Visitors Bureau brought together well-known partner brands like Kroger, Virginia Tech, Texas Tavern and Black Dog Salvage to extend our advertising dollars from $400,000 to an advertising value over $20 million.

As VBR’s official destination marketing organization, we are committed to growing our tourism economy, delivering more visitors, more economic impact, more jobs and more recognition of the great benefits our industry contributes. We look forward to working with you, our investors and partners, in ensuring the success of Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

Warm Regards,

W. Lee Wilhelm, III Chair

Landon C. Howard President

MISSION The mission of the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (RVCVB) is to promote Virginia’s Blue Ridge as a unique destination, with an outstanding quality of life, for leisure tourism, meetings, sporting events, recreation and business, and to facilitate the financial and cultural growth of the community as an exceptional place to live, work, and recreate.

www.VisitVaBlueRidge.com

Partnering for SUCCESS

Board of Directors W. Lee Wilhelm, III

Shirley B. Holland

Jeffrey A. Marks

R. Carey Harveycutter, Jr.

Dave Andersen

Pete Larkin

Charles A. Price, Jr.

Mary Beth Layman

Charles L. Robbins, III

McNeil Roofing, Inc. Chair

WDBJ Television, Inc. Vice Chair

Dominion Lodging

Doug Blount

Roanoke County Parks, Recreation & Tourism

Jeremy Carroll

Carilion Clinic Secretary

Office of Congressman Robert W. Goodlatte (VA-6) Vinton War Memorial (1/2014 - 6/2014)

Christopher P. Morrill

Richard L. Caywood

Dan O’Donnell

Renee “Butch” Craft

The Roanoker Restaurant

B. Clayton Goodman, III County of Roanoke (1/2014 -7/2014)

Tarah Holland

County of Franklin

Entre Computer Center Past Chair

City of Salem Treasurer

Glenn, Feldmann, Darby & Goodlatte County of Roanoke

Barton J. Wilner

City of Roanoke

County of Roanoke (7/2014 -2/2015)

Bhanu Patel

La Quinta Inn – Roanoke Salem

Dharmendra Patel

Samip Management (1/2014 - 6/2014)

Richard “Pete” Peters

Harrison Museum of African American Culture BB&T (Retired)

Douglas B. Robison

Wildflour Market & Bakery

Ssunny Shah

Baymont Inn & Suites Salem

Susan E. Short, Ph.D. Virginia Tech

James E. Taliaferro, II City of Salem

Gary D. Walton

The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center

Botetourt County Parks, Recreation & Tourism

Joyce Waugh

ADMINISTRATION

MARKETING

Landon C. Howard

Debora Wright

PUBLIC RELATIONS & VISITOR SERVICES

Kenneth Lanford

Lanford Brothers Company, Inc.

Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce

Staff President

Director of Marketing

Catherine Fox

Heidi R. Mowry

Catherine Herlocker

Director of Public Relations & Tourism

SALES

David Aldridge

Part-Time Staff: Visitor Services Leads Holly Marden

Director of Administration

Michael R. Unanue

Vice President of Sales

Kelly D. Burd-Adams

Partnership / Marketing Sales Coordinator e-Marketing Coordinator

Christopher Nicholas

Director of Accounts

CRM / Marketing Coordinator

Erica Musyt

Shannon Keener

National Sales Manager

Vickie Meeks Miller

Marketing Specialist (Part-Time)

Sales & Services Coordinator

Jane Smith Weekend Part-Time Ahondryea Brooks Amelia Glaser Antoinette Hatten Seth Marlow Heidi Miller Velma Thomas

Volunteers:

Melissa Davick

Sales Administrative Specialist

2014 PROGRESS REPORT

Ann Andrews Hugh Brown Elizabeth Callahan Joe Cummings Terry Eastman Marlene Efkeman

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Partnering for SUCCESS

visitor spending in Virginia’s Blue Ridge grew by 3.4%, while spending in Virginia grew 1.2%

Visitor Impacts The RVCVB’s primary objectives are to expand market-size as monitored by two key measures: – Hotel Room Demand, which is the measure of the number of rooms sold in the VBR region.

– Lodging Tax Revenue, which are Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) paid by visitors while staying in lodging properties in funding jurisdictions or as described in the RVCVB’s Bylaws as “Participating Localities.”

$754.7

7,450 jobs

MILLION spending

$54.4

$150.0

MILLION

MILLION

state & local tax collections

payroll

*Source: Virginia Tourism Corporation – 2013 Economic Impact Numbers

5TH Consecutive Year of RECORD Room Tax Collections Growth!

Lodging Tax Revenue 5.05%

5TH Consecutive Year of Room Demand (Rooms Sold) Growth!

HOTEL Room Demand 1,150,000

1.29%

Rooms Sold 1,100,000

16.15% 1,050,000

61.25% 1,000,000

16.26%

950,000

900,000

Locality

2010

2014 Revenue

2011

2012

2013

2014

ROOMS SOLD

City of Roanoke (8% tax rate). ..................... $4,062,035 City of Salem (8% tax rate) ......................... $1,078,371

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

975,622

997,490

1,056,484

1,085,730

1,110,834

County of Roanoke (7% tax rate). ................ $1,070,738 County of Botetourt (5% tax rate). ..................$335,043

ROOM REVENUE

County of Franklin (5% tax rate).......................$85,644

2010

Source: Local governments

$75,023,204

$6,631,831

8%

2

2011

2012

2013

2014

$78,391,404

$83,148,287

$85,724,882

$88,155,946

Source: Smith Travel Research

www.VisitVaBlueRidge.com

2.3%

2.8%

Partnering for SUCCESS

The world is hearing all about

Public Relations The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau was selected as one of the

Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

Best Meeting Sites in the South

workin VBR PARg with generatTeNERS da

in the ConventionSouth Magazine

Readers’ Choice Awards / 2014

Top 10 Valentine’s Getaways – World Property Channel / 2014

2r 5 to 1 e

tu n on investrm ent th

at was he WORLDW ard IDE!

Named one of

America’s Best Small Cities on the Rise – Smarter Travel / July 2014 BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY named one of the best scenic drives in the South – USA Today Travel / August 2014

media /pr results:

54 The Roanoke Valley was ranked as one of the

10 Best Bike-Friendly Cities in the United States – USA Today Travel / July 2014

number of journalists hosted

407,575,748

media coverage circulation

$2,594,440

earned media coverage

Virginia’s Blue Ridge engaged national and state leaders

Congressional Forum: Congressmen Morgan Griffith and Bob Goodlatte

Governor Terry McAuliffe and State Senator John Edwards (seated) announcing future Amtrak service to encourage more visitation.

2014 PROGRESS REPORT

3

Partnering for SUCCESS

Destination Marketing

partnering pays off:

The RVCVB implemented new comprehensive Blue Ridge Standard Time campaigns, Spring/Summer and Fall, to build the brand and increase the awareness of Virginia’s Blue Ridge. This program built on recent brand research that identified a specific demographic in Virginia and North Carolina, specifically Raleigh-Durham, Richmond and Hampton Roads areas.

It was accomplished through increased governmental funding as well as corporate sponsorships with Kroger, Virginia Tech and industry partners. The campaign focused on the first ever Cable TV, online marketing initiatives and electronic kiosks in 55 Kroger stores. The RVCVB was able to strategically position Virginia’s Blue Ridge in our key markets that produce record numbers of visitors.

2014 marketing campaign

advertising with VT & KROGER:

(may - october)

63,000,000 332,157 13,108 $20,820,411 From 2,801 to

34,776

The 2014 ad campaign received numerous awards, including six Summit Awards from the Public Relations Society of America shown here with Tony Pearman, Access Advertising, Lee Wilhelm, RVCVB Chair; Debora Wright, Director of Marketing; David Mikula, Mikula-Harris Advertising and Landon Howard, RVCVB President.

impressions

unique website & mobile visitors contest entries

Advertising added value

(kroger & vA Tech)

53:1h matcr $

Online Advertising

on ou

facebook

Contest Prize: 611 Custom Texas Tavern Bikes Kroger Bag Stuffer Digital Kiosk in Kroger Stores

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www.VisitVaBlueRidge.com

Partnering for SUCCESS

2014 website & mobile site unique visitors

+

522,562 45,773 568,335

x

568,335 .47

x

267,117 $694

$185,379,198

website & mobile site unique visitors inquiries

TOTAL

% of inquirers who visited (source: Texas A&M Conversion Study)

2.2 party size X 2.4 days X $131.43 spending (source: Texas A&M Conversion Study)

estimated impact in direct spending

eNewsletter & Social Media consumer database: 71,008

facebook: 40,403 likes

Daily engagement with visitors through social media.

Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge | facebook.com/RoanokeValley @visitvbr | twitter.com/visitvbr Hashtag: #BlueRidgeDay @visitvbr | instagram.com/visitvbr Virginia’s Blue Ridge | pinterest.com/vablueridge Virginia’s Blue Ridge | plus.google.com/+Visitvablueridge/posts Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau | linkedin.com/company/roanoke-valley-convention-and-visitors-bureau Virginia’s Blue Ridge | youtube.com/channel/UCFU_Du1m5pDhAsu65POaKbw

2014 PROGRESS REPORT

5

Partnering for SUCCESS

partners. With a continuously growing partnership, the RVCVB continues to conduct monthly Partner Extranet training we have trained over 325

partners which is over 37% of our total partnership.

in

s

sessions to enable our partners to enhance their presence on our web and mobile sites. Since implementation of the program

e increas 10

- Since implementation of the free partnership program in 2013, partnership has grown by over 71% and includes 868

fo ur l

d

Partnership Growth Allows For Enhanced Opportunities

fo

Partnership Services

ce 20

- In 2014, the RVCVB began promotion of a new “Weddings” section on our website. The new pages highlight over 200

partners in categories including spas and salons, music, catering companies, photographers, florists and other event related services.

The RVCVB launched a new booking engine on the website utilizing aRes Travel Inc. The advanced online purchasing system now allows our consumer to purchase an entire business trip or vacation, including attraction tickets, hotel rooms, transportation, and destination packages, all without leaving the VisitVaBlueRidge.com website. This enhancement to our website contributed to $47,776 in attraction ticket and hotel room sales.

In addition, the RVCVB’s website launched online advertising through the Destination Travel Network providing enhanced opportunities to our partners through banner ads, priority listings, and page sponsorships.

Many thanks to our partners for providing $86,758.04 of in-kind goods and services during 2014. This amount leverages our capabilities to make a greater impact for our key programs.

INFORMATION BROKER MACRO-ECONOMY Potential Customers

Virginia’s Blue Ridge Tourism Industry

Consumers Travel Agents Tour Operators

Attractions

Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau

Meeting Planners

Restaurants Hotels Rental Cars Retail

The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (RVCVB) serves as an information broker for Virginia’s Blue Ridge (VBR) macro tourism economy representing and working with over 850 partners including the Cities of Roanoke and Salem and Counties of Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke.

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www.VisitVaBlueRidge.com

Partnering for SUCCESS

Visitor Services & Hospitality Training Our purpose is to encourage overnight visitation, extend the average stay, and increase visitor spending by providing relevant visitor information about Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

How do we do it?

- Distribute Visitor Guides, The Menu, maps and local brochures to visitors and groups visiting the area.

- Strive to provide the most relevant regional events calendar for visitors - Partner with Community Events – St. Patrick’s Day Parade participant, Star City Half Marathon water station, open Visitor Center to welcome Dashers during the Drumstick Dash. Provide a mobile visitor center at off-site events: Blue Ridge Marathon, Go Outside Festival, Roanoke Wing Fest, Virginia Science Festival - Provide visitor information via Segway Ambassador at key events - Conduct Customer Service Excellence Hospitality Training Workshops - Host a AAA Travel Counselor FAM tour - Staff the Roanoke Valley Visitor Information Center – Open daily 9am-5pm (Sundays 12pm-5pm in Jan/Feb).

Conveniently located at the corner of Shenandoah Ave. and Williamson Rd.

Five Customer Service Excellence Hospitality Training workshops were held for 127 attendees, including a special training session provided for Center in the Square volunteers.

Excellent Customer Service Leads to

2014 PROGRESS REPORT

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Partnering for SUCCESS

Convention & Sports Sales Sales Productivity · Leads:

83

conventions & sports hosted ·

31 groups representing 35,000+ participants and provided a direct spending of $11+ million

Local Conventions & Sports serviced by RVCVB ·

American Softball Association 16U Girls National Tournament Largest event of this kind hosted in Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

75 groups representing 20,000+ participants

Virginia Society of Association Executives selects Roanoke Valley in Virginia’s Blue Ridge for their 2017 VSAE Annual Conference:

Sports ·

80+ sporting events were held in Virginia’s Blue Ridge

“This is an incredible opportunity

Motorcoach Tour Sales ·

for Virginia’s Blue Ridge to

165 overnight tours were reported equivalent 3,550 room nights

showcase itself as a meetings destination. During this event, we will be entertaining the VSAE membership and provide

to ·

them with options to experience many of our local activities

42 tours were serviced with a tour guide

and venues. We want them to gain first-hand knowledge of why they should be considering Virginia’s Blue Ridge for their future meetings” said Michael Unanue, Vice President of Sales at the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau.

2017 VSAE Annual Conference will be held April 29 – May 2, 2017 in Virginia’s Blue Ridge with approximately 250 attendees.

Leads distributed

booked groups

booked room nights 50,000

90

40

80

83

70

43

15

40,000

25,000 20,000 17

10,000

10

5

5,000

0

0

0

2013

2014

84%se incrme2a 013 fro to 2014

28,197

15,000

15

10

2012

45,669

35,000 30,000

20

45

20

8

36

25

50 30

35 30

60 40

45,000

2012

2013

2014

140% se incrme2a 013 fro to 2014

www.VisitVaBlueRidge.com

9,956

2012

2013

2014

358% se incrme2a 013 fro to 2014

Partnering for SUCCESS

Looking Toward a Bright Future 2030 Virginia’s Blue Ridge Destination Vision Plan A great place to live typically is a great place to visit! As one of the agencies that participated in the Partnership for a Livable Roanoke Valley, the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (RVCVB) seeks to work with our Participating Localities (Cities of Roanoke and Salem and Counties of Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke) to plan for quality of life services and facilities that will be attractive, not only to residents, but to visitors alike. The plan identifies several focus areas that the RVCVB will provide leadership: · Cultivate and market outdoor and cultural amenities · Enhance sports tournaments · Package and sell current outdoor amenities

Lisa Garst, Salem City Council and Livability Roanoke Valley Chair, meets with W. Lee Wilhelm, RVCVB Board Chair, to discuss the future.

· Provide more unique accommodations · Advance arts and culture

The RVCVB contracted with Zeitgeist Consulting, a nationally-known destination planning firm, to complete a 2030 Virginia’s Blue Ridge Destination Vision Plan. The purpose of the Vision Plan is to accelerate the growth of tourism in the region and elevate the region’s tourism industry to unprecedented levels of success. A three-step process began during 2014 and will be completed during 2015: · Destination Assessment – A team of outside experts experienced Virginia’s Blue Ridge (VBR) as first-time visitors to more fully understand strengths, challenges, synergistic connectivity, and opportunities. The report was completed during June 2014. · Destination Visioning – During Fall 2014, the Zeitgeist team reviewed existing plans, interviewed stakeholders, and conducted group meetings in order to identify and prioritize a list of visionary action steps. During April and June 2015, a Regional Tourism Master Plan will be completed. · Organizational Strategic Plan – During Fall 2015, the RVCVB will develop a strategic plan to assign responsibilities for carrying out the Vision Plan.

“The RVCVB’s goal is to look forward beyond the next quarter to encourage economic development projects and enhance of services that will elevate VBR’s travel industry offerings,” stated Lee Wilhelm, RVCVB Board Chair. “The visioning process should bring our local governments and private industry together for a bright future.”

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2014 PROGRESS REPORT

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Partnering for SUCCESS

Partnering for SUCCESS

Annual Meetin g Photo Booth

66

Virginia’s Blue Ridge 64

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ROANOKE

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460

VT

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The Roanoke Valley in Virginia’s Blue Ridge boasts the largest metropolitan center in the Blue Ridge Mountain chain.

Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau 101 Shenandoah Ave. NE – Roanoke, VA 24016-2044 – 540.342.6025

www.VisitVaBlueRidge.com