What a rewarding and joyful experience it has been serving on the VisitPITTSBURGH Board of Directors, and for the last year, as the organization’s chairperson.
I have had the honor of watching the VisitPITTSBURGH team weather the unprecedented storm that was the COVID-19 global pandemic, rally Allegheny County’s travel and tourism community, spearhead recovery for a $6.5 billion industry and, in the last year, generate new and exciting business for our region.
I applaud the guidance, leadership and confidence the VisitPITTSBURGH staff continues to display day in and day out. They tell the Pittsburgh story expertly – to clients, visitors, media, business partners and more. Alongside the entire Board of Directors, I am immensely grateful for their hard work, and I applaud their initiative on behalf of our community.
Our SportsPITTSBURGH and Business Events Sales and Services teams continued to welcome large groups back to Pittsburgh in 2022. From the Ultimate NCAA Basketball Weekend in March and the return of Anthrocon in July to the Global Clean Energy Action Forum in September and the National Senior Games Association Annual Conference in November, it was wonderful to see so many event attendees and supporters in our city again. And, possibly just as important, the SportsPITTSBURGH and Business Events Sales teams continued to add room nights for future years, ending 2022 on a 10-year, single-booking month high.
The Leisure Tourism and Marketing team further amplified our Only in Pittsburgh attractions and experiences in 2022 while also shining a bright spotlight on the many stories being told throughout our 90 neighborhoods. The team also made great strides on the new Pittsburgh tourism brand and the 10-Year Destination Master Plan, and I’m very excited to track both of these initiatives throughout 2023.
I leave my position as Chairperson knowing the Board of Directors is in excellent hands under the guidance of Chairperson Michele Meloy Burchfield. A tenured member of the board, Michele, co-Founder & CEO of Blume Honey Water, will undoubtedly provide excellent guidance and support to the VisitPITTSBURGH team as they continue to build back the Allegheny County tourism economy.
In closing, I would like to thank our elected officials for their continued support of and confidence in VisitPITTSBURGH’s efforts.
I depart the VisitPITTSBURGH Board of Directors grateful and proud of the work achieved over the last several years. On behalf of the entire board, thank you, Jerad Bachar, your leadership team and the entire staff for your tireless work on behalf of our county’s travel and tourism industry. I know you will continue to help push our region forward.
The Pittsburgh travel and tourism sector entered 2022 with many unknowns in the market. And though we can neatly summarize the year as once again dedicated to rebuilding the Allegheny County tourism economy, I am ecstatic to share that we also can confidently say 2022 also was a record year.
Demand for travel roared back in 2022. Allegheny County’s hotel performance, one of the biggest indicators for our county’s tourism performance, was strong. In fact, lodging revenues for hotel room nights and shared accommodations in Allegheny County totaled $592 million, a 43% increase year-over-year.
Business and sports travel bookings grew exponentially, particularly throughout the second half of the year. Our SportsPITTSBURGH and VisitPITTSBURGH Business Events Sales teams booked more than 73,000 room nights for future dates in the third quarter, 94% of historic booking levels for Q3. These fantastic results were quickly topped in the fourth quarter, with the teams booking more than 102,100 room nights for future dates, including 68,000 room nights in December alone, the highest single-booking month in the last 10 years. Overall, fourth-quarter bookings were 40% ahead of historic booking levels for Q4.
Combined, future events booked in Q3 and Q4 are anticipated to generate an estimated $161 million in visitor spending within the county.
Our Marketing & Leisure Tourism team continued to amplify the many Only in Pittsburgh experiences and attractions visitors can enjoy throughout our region. In 2022, these experiences include our many public festivals, which VisitPITTSBURGH was thrilled to welcome back to the market. And, thanks to our new Emerging Festivals & Cultural Events Fund, we helped 10 new or established festivals expand their efforts to attract outside visitation into the county.
The enthusiasm to travel, particularly in Pittsburgh, is real, and it is going to continue to grow.
According to Destination Analysts’ February 2023 American Traveler Sentiment Study, American’s level of excitement is at a three-year high, with 84% of American travelers having existing trip plans. This excitement includes business travel, with the U.S. Travel Association forecasting businesses travel spending to rise 19.1% in 2023; leisure travel is predicted to climb another 8.8%.
VisitPITTSBURGH intends to carry this positive moment into the new year with ambitious initiatives, with our three verticals developing plans in conjunction with the organization’s business partners that look to maximize the windows of opportunity while also seeking new, strategic initiatives that will continue to push Allegheny County’s tourism economy forward. This goal is anchored on attracting more visitors across our tourism verticals. Two key initiatives that will help us attain this goal will roll out through Q2 2023 –Pittsburgh’s new tourism brand and the 10-year Destination Master Plan.
We remain committed to continuing to holistically develop the tourism economy throughout the region with community collaboration with our local officials, stakeholders and more than 640 business partners. Your important work – and your many voices enable us each day to tell the Pittsburgh story. Thank you for your continued resiliency and commitment to our region’s future success. And, thank you for your confidence and support of VisitPITTSBURGH.
VisitPITTSBURGH sought to build upon the momentum that began in 2021 in 2022. While the organization opened the year with cautious optimism, encouragement came each month as there was sure and steady movement toward 2019’s robust numbers of leisure travelers, spurred by the pent-up travel demand widely experienced across the U.S., and globally. The Marketing team observed steadily growing engagement across VisitPITTSBURGH’s social media channels and website, signaling curiosity and appetite for new experiences. These engagements were paid off by a +10% year-over-year increase in leisure travel and overall growth in VisitPITTSBURGH’s ecosystem of followers on the web and other digital media.
The confidence in the assurance of a resurgence in domestic travel enabled the Marketing & Leisure Tourism team to take important steps in the internal growth and staff investment. After a prolonged national search, the chief marketing officer position was filled in Q1, and the team added a key driver of engagement by augmenting the marketing department with a senior content developer in Q2. Further fueling the marketing engine with the long-term goal of creating a refreshed brand, in Q2 the team issued a national RFP for a branding agency, and with guidance from a cross-industry team of stakeholders with expertise in brand-building and marketing, VisitPITTSBURGH hired Landor & Fitch to undertake an updated brand identity for the organization. This strategic work gained approval from this city-wide consortium, and the new brand will be rolled out in Q1 2023.
In 2022, the Leisure Tourism vertical built upon its successful, multi-platform formula for promoting Pittsburgh and Allegheny County as a destination of choice for those seeking unique sports and recreation opportunities; world-class cultural attractions and entertainment; an elevated food and craft beverage scene; and family-friendly activities, attractions, and one-of-kind specialized and inclusive festivals that celebrate everything from neighborhood diversity to music, food and the creative arts.
Leisure Tourism in 2022 saw a robust, consistent recovery, thanks to Pittsburgh and Allegheny County’s favorable drive-in destination positioning and highly targeted digital advertising in major metropolitan areas from New York and Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., and Toronto. Inflation and rising gas prices did not dissuade Pittsburgh’s leisure drive-in visitors in 2022, and VisitPITTSBURGH sees the trend continuing in 2023.
The Leisure Tourism team’s strategy includes micro-targeted digital messaging, along with a multiplatform media, advertising and communications that amplify the destination’s offerings and reaches potential visitors where they spend their most time: on social media and on the web’s digital landscape. The team’s efforts continued to help VisitPITTSBURGH understand the demographic profiles of those most likely to visit the region, and in 2022, the vertical honed its marketing to them.
• $2.2 million in hotel revenue generated as a result of direct advertising
• 17,100 room nights booked as a result of direct advertising
• $7.7 million generated from OTA marketing efforts
• 34,000 room nights booked from OTA marketing efforts
In Q2, Pittsburgh International Airport welcomed the return of direct non-stop international flights to and from London’s Heathrow Airport on British Airways. As announced in 2021, an international collaborative was formed with the airport, VisitPITTSBURGH and two in-market agencies, Black Diamond (U.K./Ireland) and Lieb Management (Germany) to promote these flights to consumers and tour groups via traditional PR and paid and organic media. Collectively, the collaborative promoted these flights in 2022 both domestically and in targeting media in the UK, along with two in-country promotional events that showcased the destination. The result was a deepened commitment from British Airways, which added two additional direct flights to its schedule.
Following a successful year marked by expansive local, national and international coverage of Pittsburgh as a destination of choice for discerning travelers, VisitPITTSBURGH’s media and public relations efforts diligently told the myriad of stories to media and influencers from around the country and around the world.
• Total Impressions – 2.26B
• Impressions from International Articles – 163M
• Local Impressions Print/Broadcast – 391M
• Assisted Media Coverage Ad Equivalency (measured) – $23.7M
Additionally, the Communications team welcomed 31 domestic and international travel writers for individual and group media tours in 2022.
VisitPITTSBURGH began restructuring its web and digital efforts in 2022 to focus on developing relevant content that can be repurposed across the organization’s various communications platforms. With the addition of a full-time content creator and a revised strategy for presenting content, the Marketing team saw more engagement with its web and digital platforms, as measured in sessions and dwell time, as well as more robust analytics and reporting for all channels.
• Website Sessions - increased 50%
• Page Views - increased 58%
• Engagement Time - increased 3.5%
• Social Media Followers - increased 7.5%
The VisitPITTSBURGH Partnership Development team aimed to enhance the value of partnership for businesses and organizations throughout Allegheny County and across the City of Pittsburgh in 2022. The team was acutely aware of, and sensitive to, the impact the pandemic continued to make on VisitPITTSBURGH’s 600+ business partners. The team surveyed, reevaluated and restructured its benefit program, with a goal of creating partnership satisfaction across every business vertical.
VisitPITTSBURGH’s new Emerging Festivals & Cultural Events Fund helped 10 new or established festivals expand their marketing efforts to attract additional outside visitation into Allegheny County. Events that received funding in 2022 included:
• Allentown Night Market
• DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh
• CLAS Latin American & Caribbean Festival
• Three Rivers Beer Week
• Pittsburgh Irish Festival
• Asian Lantern Festival
• Pittsburgh Mixed Culture
• Light of Light Yinzer 4.12K Race
• Pittsburgh Black Music Festival
• Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books
The team entered 2022 with the goal of bringing VisitPITTSBURGH’s partner base back to prepandemic levels while also providing the opportunity for new partners to benefit from the economic impact that tourism produces in Allegheny County. A specific key initiative was to increase the number of diverse partners to best represent the overall Pittsburgh community. The team presented a new tiered partnership program to reflect the changes in the economic landscape for VisitPITTSBURGH’s partner ecosystem.
Major progress also was made in 2022 on the Destination Master Plan (DMP). High-level strategies and approaches of the DMP were created from market research, assessments and engagements with local residents, visitors and stakeholders both directly and indirectly involved in tourism in Allegheny County.
This process includes many touchpoints, with major drivers of the research including:
• Destination assessment and benchmarking
• Infrastructure analysis
• Hospitality labor and workforce analysis
• One-on-one interviews with 100+ industry stakeholders
• Focus group sessions
• Visioning sessions with 50+ industry stakeholders
• Surveying of approximately 3,000 visitors and residents
These drivers led to 40+ strategies and 80+ actions that will eventually make up the DMP.
Target audiences include:
• Local Allegheny County residents
• Regional Pittsburgh MSA residents
• Drive market visitors
• Fly market visitors
Work on the DMP is expected to wrap up in April 2023, with roll out to the community expected throughout the summer months.
The Visitor Engagement team manages the inventory and distribution of informative visitor collateral including the Official Visitors Guide, See & Do and additional materials, and provides a warm welcome to visitors in person at the Pittsburgh International Airport, as well as the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The team also responds to questions and inquiries, via email, phone and LiveChat. Increased travel to the Pittsburgh region in 2022 resulted in a 20% increase in inquiries and calls. To further meet the demand for a more tech-forward experience, VisitPITTSBURGH began exploring the options for a digital experience at its current kiosk installations.
The SportsPITTSBURGH team set out to make 2022 the year of reconnection to maximize the opportunities presented with a “return to normal” in the sports events industry.
The team prioritized onboarding staff dedicated to booking new events; partnering with local venues and sports organizations to offer new experiences to event planners; using current and upcoming events to showcase the diversity of sports being contested in the region; and, introducing a new theme to follow the success of “Authentic. Iconic. Legendary.” These steps served as a guide to an extremely successful year for the SportsPITTSBURGH team.
Early in the year, Holly Perella was announced as the Business Development Director for SportsPITTSBURGH, a position that had been vacant since March 2020. With a primary objective to recruit new events from grassroots and national governing bodies that will utilize venues, accommodations and partners throughout Allegheny County, Perella continually appraises Pittsburgh’s current portfolio of competition venues and sport-specific expertise along with stakeholders’ interests and financial resources to develop an expanded sports group sales plan.
Pittsburgh hosted the Ultimate NCAA Basketball Weekend in March. To kick off the weekend, SportsPITTSBURGH and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference co-hosted the Division III Women’s Basketball Championship at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The event started with eight regional finalists and ended with one National Champion. Concurrently, NCAA March Madness® came back to Pittsburgh. In partnership with Duquesne University and PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh hosted the First and Second Rounds of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship for the sixth time since 2008. All told, the weekend saw 12 teams play nine games over four days with one National Champion crowned.
The NCAA Division III event staff returned to Pittsburgh in November to support the Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship, hosted by Saint Vincent College and SportsPITTSBURGH at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. This championship was the first of the 11 events Pittsburgh will host throughout the 2022-26 NCAA Championship cycle.
Annual events at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLCC) kicked off in February with the return of GK Sports Steel City Freeze. The two-day girls and boys club volleyball tournament welcomed a record number of teams and attendees. The Western PA Bruins, a local girls’ basketball club, returned in April with the 2022 Spring Tipoff. The tournament welcomed 287 girls AAU basketball teams competing in one of the first travel-team events of the season. Just one week later, Hoop Group’s Pittsburgh Jam Fest returned to the DLCC. The boys’ basketball showcase event highlighted the elite play of 540 teams from across the United States.
Residents and visitors alike celebrated the return of the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon on the first Sunday in May. The iconic Pittsburgh event returned to neighborhood streets following a two-year hiatus. And once again, the East Coast Championships, a girls club volleyball tournament, returned to Pittsburgh Memorial Day weekend, utilizing hotels and filling restaurant seats, throughout the county during a typically slow-travel weekend for the region.
SportsPITTSBURGH marked the official countdown to the 2023 National Senior Games by welcoming the national association for its annual meeting in November. While the purpose of the four-day conference was to provide continuing education for individual state games’ directors and to conduct the business of the association, it also served as a de facto familiarization tour for more than 100 attendees who have direct communication with thousands of potential senior athletes. The attendees were treated to an in-depth tour of the DLCC, a lunch cruise on the Gateway Clipper, a media event with local games athletes and a closing night party in one of Downtown’s newest entertainment spaces – Five Iron Golf.
Throughout the year, the SportsPITTSBURGH staff attended and exhibited at industry events meant to connect host cities with potential event owners and deepen the understanding of each other’s needs. This included attending the TEAMS Conference + Expo ’22 with the ASM Global team from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The merged sales teams met with various event rights holders from USA Gymnastics and USA Wrestling to North American Gay Athletic Alliance and Powerboat Nationals – all in the Pittsburgh pavilion that introduced the theme, Pittsburgh: Relationships Reimagined. The messaging is designed to ask clients and staff to forget what they think they know about hosting events in Pittsburgh, and, instead, consider new partnerships and possibilities with the City of Champions.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PITTSBURGH ANNUAL DLCC SPORTS EVENTS
3 Events
20 Teams
400 Athletes and Coaches
4,158 Contracted Hotel Room Nights
2,800 Packed and Donated SisterFriend Kits
70,000 Attendance
19,000 Consumed Hotel Room Nights
1,290 Average Hotel Rooms on Peak Night
$29.6M Direct Visitor Spend
EVENTS HOSTED AND BOOKED IN 2022
HOSTED BOOKED
26 Events
93,000 Visitors
205,000 Attendees
$69.8M Direct Visitor Spend
40,000 Room Nights
43 Events
121,000 Visitors
285,000 Attendees $113.4M Direct Visitor Spend
95,000 Room Nights
• Promoted attendance for the 2023 National Senior Games during the GAMMA Pickleball Classic, Pennsylvania’s Keystone Games and the Huntsmen Games in Utah, where more than 12,000 athletes traveled to St. George, Utah, to compete and qualify for the National Senior Games
• Continued Pittsburgh’s NCAA championship and event hosting streak by crowning two national champions and sending one team to the men’s NCAA Sweet 16.
• Partnered with SisterFriend, INC., to pack and distribute 2,800 kits during the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship.
• Partnered with EventConnect to process 4,158 hotel reservations for Spring Tipoff, Pittsburgh Jam Fest and Pittsburgh Marathon, generating more than $1M in lodging revenue through these housing services.
• Attended the 2022 National Senior Games with staff from P3R and VisitPITTSBURGH to tour competition venues, meet with individual sports chairs and promote the Pittsburgh Games to more than 10,000 athletes.
• Represented the region at industryspecific shows: Sports ETA Annual Symposium, Connect Spring Marketplace, EsportsTravel Summit, Connect Sports Marketplace, SPORTS the Relationship Conference, and TEAMS Conference and Expo. These shows facilitated face-to-face appointments with sports event organizers representing more than 500 events.
• Supported the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County’s efforts to increase awareness of its new Sports Event Fund and corresponding application process, sharing this new funding opportunity with qualified contacts who traditionally host events with significant tourism impact.
• 2022 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
• Direct Spend: $14.19M
• Attendance: 78,000
• 2022 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon
• Direct Spend: $11.32M
• Attendance: 27,200
• 2022 NCAA Ultimate Basketball Weekend
• Direct Spend: $10.67M
• Attendance: 20,800
• 2022 Hoop Group Pittsburgh Jam Fest
• Direct Spend: $6.04M
• Attendance: 12,300
• 2022 East Coast Volleyball Championships
• Direct Spend: $5.25M
• Attendance: 11,200
• 2022 United States Hockey League Fall Classic
• Direct Spend: $3.51M
• Attendance: 5,500
• 2022 Premier Ice Prospects Labor Day Girls Fest
• Direct Spend: $2.42M
• Attendance: 3,800
• ATA International Fall National Tournament
• Direct Spend: $1.27M
• Attendance: 2,500
• 2025 USGA US Open
• Estimated Direct Spend: $22.84M
• Estimated Attendance: 35,000
• 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship –First and Second Rounds
• Estimated Direct Spend: $9.73M
• Estimated Attendance: 18,000
• 2023 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
• Estimated Direct Spend: $14.42M
• Estimated Attendance: 78,000
• 2023 DICK’S Sporting Goods
Pittsburgh Marathon
• Estimated Direct Spend: $11.32M
• Estimated Attendance: 40,000
• 2023 Hoop Group Pittsburgh Jam Fest
• Estimated Direct Spend: $6.34M
• Estimated Attendance: 12,300
• 2023 East Coast Volleyball Championships
• Estimated Direct Spend: $5.41M
• Estimated Attendance: 11,200
• 2024 USA Weightlifting National Championship Week
• Estimated Direct Spend: $2.28M
• Estimated Attendance: 2,500
• 2023 USA BMX Stars and Stripes Nationals
• Estimated Direct Spend: $1.92M
• Estimated Attendance: 4,100
• 2023 Premier Rugby Sevens Steel City Showdown
• Estimated Direct Spend: $1.05M
• Estimated Attendance: 2,400
Group business continued its comeback in 2022 with significant progress toward a return to prepandemic levels. With nearly 224,000 room nights booked in 2022, the VisitPITTSBURGH Business Events Sales team finished the year at 89% of 2019 booking activity. This is particularly notable as it represents the first time since the pandemic started that VisitPITTSBURGH has outpaced the national average for future bookings (the national average for future bookings relative to 2019 is 81.2%).
As it relates to convention center business specifically, the Business Events Sales team had a record year for future events booked into the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with 61 events (compared to 41 events in 2019), with some events booked as far out as 2029. The number of future room nights booked in 2022 in conjunction with the convention center was nearly 50% ahead of 2019 levels.
Also important to the sales team’s future success, Pittsburgh continues to see the booking window expand. Nearly 90% of bookings in 2019 were expected to actualize within 0-2 years, with an overall average booking window of 273 days. In 2022, 68% of bookings are scheduled to actualize within 0-2 years, with an overall average booking window of 447 days (a 64% increase from 2019).
• Pacific Northwest Laboratory 2024 Energy Exchange
• Estimated Attendance: 3,000
• Estimated Total Room Nights: 8,850
• Estimated EIC: $4.36M
• 2026, 2027, & 2028 American Trucking Association TMC Fall Meeting & TMC SuperTech
• Estimated Attendance (each year): 1,200
• Estimated Total Room Nights (each year): 3,160
• Estimated EIC (2026): $1.44M
• Estimated EIC (2027): $1.46M
• Estimated EIC (2028): $1.48M
• 2026 & 2029 Association for Iron & Steel Technology
• Estimated Attendance: 8,000
• Estimated Total Room Nights: 7,940
• Estimated EIC for 2026: $8.3M
• Estimated EIC for 2029: $8.9M
• Kiwanis International 2025
• Estimated Attendance: 5,000
• Estimated Total Room Nights: 9,200
• Estimated EIC: $6.3M
In addition to booking future events, the team was busy planning for future events. The Business Events Services team conducted 29 pre-planning site visits for events taking place between 2022 and 2025. These 29 groups equate to 80,680 contracted room nights and 44,970 attendees.
The team also saw a marked increase in actualized events in 2022, supporting 137 definite events which resulted in 113,000 actualized room nights and 105,600 attendees for an economic impact of $94.49M.
Anthrocon 2022 Annual Convention
• David L. Lawrence Convention Center
• June 30 – July 3
• Attendance: 9,702
• EIC: $10.32M
Association for Iron and Steel Technology AISTech 2022 – Steel’s Premier Technology Event
• David L. Lawrence Convention Center
• May 16 – 18
• Attendance: 7,438
• EIC: $6.19M
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages 2022 International Convention & English Language Expo
• David L. Lawrence Convention Center
• March 22-25
• Attendance: 1,810
• EIC: $2.22M
Particularly notable in 2022, VisitPITTSBURGH President & CEO Jerad Bachar served on the host committee of the Global Clean Energy Action Forum. The Global Clean Energy Action Forum, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy and Carnegie Mellon University, highlighted Pittsburgh’s leadership in an important market and on an international stage. The Business Events Services team was prominent in its support around Downtown and at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Pittsburgh also hosted in 2022 The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), a national association that promotes regional development strategies, partnerships and initiatives that strengthen economic competitiveness and quality of life within local communities across the country. Showcasing Pittsburgh’s importance and leadership in several industries, NADO offered mobile workshops to sites around the region where attendees discovered how a particular business or industry is impacting the city and region’s economy.
An important part of the Business Events Services team’s mission is to help clients leave a legacy in Pittsburgh, enhancing the community for both residents and visitors.
Pennsylvania Municipal League 2022 Annual Summit
• Omni William Penn Hotel
• Oct. 6-8
• More than 200 volunteers installed a new play space – the West Penn Park - which will offer hundreds of kids a high-quality, safe place to play that is close to where they live and learn.
• The West Penn Park build was a collaboration between the City of Pittsburgh, The League and KABOOM!, along with the generous support of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), The Grable Foundation, Duquesne Light, Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network.
Association of Science and Technology Centers 2022 ASTC Annual Conference
• David L. Lawrence Convention Center
• Sept. 12–15
• Science educators from across the country joined local organizations (Carnegie Science Center and Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh) to offer science demonstrations and activities to hundreds of Pittsburgh-area students at the Hands-On Science Showdown.
• The event featured hands-on demonstrations from leading educators and local organizations, with opportunities to make steamroller prints, take apart electronics and see STEAM-based activities up close. Hundreds of students in grades two through eight attended this free event that was also open to the public and ASTC Conference attendees.
Anthrocon 2022 Annual Convention
• David L. Lawrence Convention Center
• June 30 – July 3
• Anthrocon attendees raised $41,553 for Wildlife Works, Inc.
The Business Operations vertical provided much needed stability for VisitPITTSBURGH during a time of tremendous rebuilding in 2022. The knowledge and skills of this experienced team allowed for change and growth throughout the organization over the course of the year.
The Human Resources team experienced incredible advancements in 2022. Numerous tools used to manage VisitPITTSBURGH’s human capital were consolidated into BambooHR to help streamline the hireto-retire process under one comprehensive tool. This product provides employees with one-step access to the information they need concerning their pay, time off, benefits, training, emergency contact and additional useful information about colleagues. The system also provides for better communication with the organization’s on-call staff.
Such streamlined functionality has been very important to VisitPITTSBURGH, particularly over the last two years, as the organization has grown the staffing from 25 full-time staff at the height of the pandemic to 32 by the end of 2022. Though the organization did say “farewell” to several tenured employees, VisitPITTSBURGH also welcomed 12 new professionals to the team.
Additionally, the Human Resources team reviewed and updated service providers, ensuring that VisitPITTSBURGH continues to provide the best possible options for health insurance, life insurance, COBRA and other employee benefits while also reducing the cost of these benefits. And to further ensure that the organization continues to offer competitive salaries, VisitPITTSBURGH conducted a comprehensive review of compensation and incentive pay based on freshly written job descriptions. The results of the study indicated that, overall, salaries remain competitive with the industry and peers.
The Finance and Accounting team worked closely with Human Resources while the team built out the organization’s new tools, ensuring a smooth transition from VisitPITTSBURGH’s legacy payroll system to the BambooHR/TRAX payroll system. The team also focused on maintaining the high-quality services that the organization’s stakeholders have grown to expect. Additionally, a another clean audit was delivered in February 2022 along with full forgiveness of the second Paycheck Protection Program loan and qualification of the full balance of the ARPA grant awarded to VisitPITTSBURGH by Allegheny County. And, the team worked with all verticals to understand some of the unique reporting needs of each of the cost centers and designed custom reports for their use. These efforts will factor into the Finance and Accounting team’s plans for 2023, with a goal of giving the verticals more direct access to accounting reports and data.
Additional staffing necessitates additional equipment, and in 2022, the IT team reviewed the cost of ownership versus the cost of leasing and concluded that leasing provides VisitPITTSBURGH with the best option to ensure that the organization can provide staff with the most updated laptops and communication devices. All VisitPITTSBURGH staff are currently assigned a laptop and cell phone to assist with office connectivity. An update of the organization’s five-year Information Technology plan was issued and will be used as a framework to build-out technology infrastructure. A critical part of the technology plan is the functionality of VisitPITTSBURGH’s database system, IDSS. An analysis of the data maintained in the system and was completed, and certain information was archived to improve the speed and functionality of the product.
Expanding the resources and functionality of VisitPITTSBURGH’s research division has been critical to the organization’s pandemic recovery effort. The organization has expanded data sources as well as the internal tools which provide important information for sales and marketing investment strategies and trends analysis, which have guided the information and narrative that VisitPITTSBURGH provides its community of business partners. In addition to the expanded resources, the frequency of reporting has increased from annually to quarterly with the following categories of metrics:
Internal Performance
• Future group bookings per quarter
• Past quarter’s hosted events
• Online travel agency bookings from VisitPITTSBURGH marketing partnerships per quarter
• Advertising partners’ summary per quarter
• Social media followers and engagement per quarter
• Website session per quarter
• Overall ad exposure per quarter
• Summary of domestic and international media activity per quarter
External Performance
• Allegheny County hotel performance per quarter
• Including occupancy, average rates, revenue per available room and overall revenue
• Hotel bookings trends for the coming six months
• Hospitality employment data in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area for the previous quarter
• Throughput at TSA checkpoints at Pittsburgh International Airport for the previous quarter
• Overall visitation into Allegheny County for the previous quarter
The Market Research team also provides critical data for partners with hotel performance by submarket in Allegheny County, future group pace reports, future large-scale event calendars and trends analysis for business and leisure travel consumers. The team also provides bespoke information based upon individual partner inquiries.
One of the leading tools which VisitPITTSBURGH uses in measuring return on investment for the community is the Event Impact Calculator. The Event Impact Calculator measures the economic value of business, sports and leisure events and calculates the return on investment to the local community for each event. Armed with this information, VisitPITTSBURGH can prove the value of events to community stakeholders. Updated annually, the calculator draws on 10 different data sources to provide an industry-wide standard and is currently used by more than 300 destinations around the world.
• Upgraded Nexonia to allow for more detailed information transfer to NetSuite, providing all users with direct access to receipt information.
• Revised internal controls for inventory management and distribution.
• Prepared payroll conversion to BambooHR/ TRAX which integrates with the BambooHR system.
• Developed detailed accounting and budget reports in NetSuite to be used by the verticals.
• Cross-trained critical accounting processes to provide support during busy periods and career development opportunities for staff.
• Participated in the NetSuite Annual Conference to obtain knowledge to enhance the usability of NetSuite.
• Completed filings for 990, 5500 and all payroll related reporting.
• Created an accounting tracking system to maintain necessary information ARPA grant funding.
• Qualified $5 million ARPA grant using operational expenses from Aug. 2021 – Oct. 2022 at the request of Allegheny County.
• Prepared the Forgiveness Application and received 100% forgiveness on the second PPP loan.
• Completed VisitPITTSBURGH’s annual audit and issued a clean opinion.
• Onboarded new Operations Coordinator to provide general office support across all verticals. Position handles shipping/ receiving tasks, as well as provides general data entry support, generating improved checks-and-balances across all areas.
• Created an Operational Coordinator Manual, documenting the process for inventory processing, entering In-Kind data to IDSS and tracking events subsidies, office/kitchen supplies and more.
• Updated ownership of keys to staff and created a new key directory.
• Created an updated mail processing manual for UPS, US postage and external warehouse shipping.
• Updated IT strategy for 2022-27.
• Implemented Multifactor Authentication (MFA) to all staff to increase security across network and email systems.
• Converted remaining desktop users to laptops (18), eliminating reliance on desktop remote access connections and enhancing remote access for all staff.
• Worked with vendors to develop a new ICP platform for better reporting and user experience over MS Excel and Saba environment currently in use.
• Conducted “data refresh” process with database vendor Tempest to archive old information and clear old patches in the IDSS CRM to allow better performance and improved user interface.
• Completed DLP (Data Lost Prevention) Certification and Phishing Specialist Certifications.
• Converted to BambooHR, allowing digitization of HR records, better consolidation of HR tasks and improved employee access to personal information.
• Completed conversion to BambooHR/ TRAX payroll, with an anticipated 2023 implementation.
• Changed benefit insurance brokerage to reduce administrative burden and costs.
• Converted external COBRA Administration to Alpine.
• Transitioned to new health insurance provider, a necessary move once VisitPITTSBURGH was bumped to the small-market category following changes to the staffing structure.
• Reviewed and updated all Human Resources policies and employee manuals to ensure compliance.
• Reviewed, updated and wrote position descriptions for all current and newly created positions.
• Worked with an outside vendor to conduct a comprehensive review of compensation structure and acted on its recommendations.
• Updated the salary budget for 2023, adding new positions and evaluating position changes made after the completion of the compensation study.
• Worked with the vertical leads to hire and onboard 12 new employees, including a new HR Manager, and offboard six departing employees.
• Developed a hybrid system to track and calculate ICP payouts using SABA and reviewed options for managing ICP performance in 2023 and future years.
• Provided DISC Assessments and conducted a culture workshop to facilitate teamwork in VisitPITTSBURGH’s hybrid work environment.
DBA VISITPITTSBURGH
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31,
Meredith Meyer Grelli Chairperson
Wigle Whiskey and Threadbare Cider & Mead
Michele Meloy Burchfield Vice Chairperson Blume Honey Water
Troy Schooley Treasurer
P3R
Perry Ivery Secretary
The Oaklander Hotel, Marriott Autograph Collection
Timothy Q. Hudak, Esq. Immediate Past Chairman
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC
Shannon Baker
Gatesman Agency
Mamadou Baldé
CBRE
Janis Burley Wilson
August Wilson African American Cultural Center
Scott Frenz Fenner Dunlop Americas
Cassandra Washington Hampton Inn Pittsburgh University Medical Center
Allison Beckner
Omni William Penn
Laila Brock
Atlanta Dream - WNBA
Stefanie Cedro Mohr
Carnegie Museum of Art
Betty Cruz
World Affairs Council Pittsburgh
Samuel DeMarco III
Allegheny County Councilman-At Large
Cammie Dunaway Duolingo
Dana L. Fruzynski, Esq. Northside Leadership Conference
Dan Griffin The Hill Group
Gerardo Interiano Aurora
Kevin Kilkeary Prospera Hospitality
Izzy Rudolph McKnight Realty Partners
Jerad Bachar VisitPITTSBURGH
Tim Muldoon
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
The Honorable Rich Fitzgerald County Executive
The Honorable Ed Gainey Mayor of Pittsburgh
Christina A. Cassotis
Allegheny County Airport Authority
Stuart Hoffman
PNC Financial Services Group
Mitch Swain
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
Jerad Bachar
President & CEO
Karen Fisher
Chief Financial Officer
Michelle Chapman Human Resources Manager
Lou Chechak Operations Coordinator
Diane Cortese Comptroller
Emily Iris Market Research and Analytics Manager
Andrea Karkhanis Director, Market Research and Analytics
Jason Kolesar Accounting Manager
Andrea Lippman Executive Assistant
Tom Yanosick Director, Information Technology
SALES & SERVICES
Andrew Ortale Chief Sales Officer
Molly Evans
Senior Manager, Business Events
Sue George Manager, Business Events
Shavonne Harding Director, Eastern Region Sales
Melissa Hickman
National Sales Director
Razak Kadiri
National Sales Manager, Washington, D.C. Satellite Office
John Leinen
National Sales Director, Midwest Satellite Office
Alexis Pollins Executive Meetings Manager
Jennifer Hawkins Executive Director, SportsPITTSBURGH
Brady Inners Director, Sports Event Development
Nick Jelliff Sports Program Coordinator
Holly Perella Sports Business Development Director
Susan Klein Chief Marketing Officer
Jared Bundy Senior Manager, Content Development
Gina Clark Partnership Development Manager
Derek Dawson Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives
Gena Inman Social Media & Marketing Manager
Asaka Narumi Director, Web Development
Amber Ross
Multimedia Design & Production Manager
Eric Rummel
Visitor Engagement Manager
Zoë Sadler Marketing Manager
Colleen Smith
Partnership Development Director
Alex Soller
Communications and Public Relations Manager
Shannon Wolfgang Director, Marketing Communications