Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Advertising Doesn't Encourage Visitation

At least that's what a ranking State Representative in Connecticut seems to think. And, he should know...because he's "never gone to New York City because of an 'I Love NY' commercial."

Which is why he's defending Connecticut's $1 tourism budget. That's not a typo...the State Tourism Budget is now one dollar.

Isn't it amazing how completely clueless some of the people we elect to public office can be?

Tennis, Anyone?

If you're keeping score, it's the House of Representatives 3 - Senate 1.

The US Travel Promotion Act passed in the House again last Friday...but now has to pass the Senate again, before going to the President's desk for a signature.

Why is something so easy so hard to pass...and something as convoluted as Health Care Reform so easily placed on the fast-track?

Oh yeah...because they don't want us to see what they're up to.

The Stars Align

I was honored yesterday to receive the Wisconsin Tourism Trailblazer Award for Lifetime Achievement. Given the honorees that have come before me...I am truly humbled. Thank you to whoever submitted my name...and thank you to everyone else that couldn't come up with a more deserving candidate.

My friend Gary Knowles posted this picture on my Facebook Wall...which started the cascade of congratulations from across the country. But I had to love the comment from my buddy Jim Epperson (of the Harrison County IN CVB), who said that Bill Samuels (of Maker's Mark) just received the Louisville CVB's Lifetime Achievement Award on Wednesday.

Dude, that's what I drink.

Coincidence? I think not...

We're Still Gonna Travel

Consumer confidence continues to slog through uncharted negative territory...and discretionary spending has consistently remained at 30% off last year's levels all year.

Discretionary spending. That would encompass leisure travel, eh? So, if one believes the numbers, leisure travel should be off 30%.

But, it's not (according to Suzanne Cook at the US Travel Association). Domestic leisure travel posted only a 2.7 percent decline in volume and a 10.3 percent loss in spending year-to-date through Q3 '09. Shorter, closer-to-home and less costly travel options continue to be the norm, and some destinations are benefiting from this shift.

We may be holding back on the bling...but we apparently don't regard leisure travel as discretionary. And that's a good thing for the economy.

A Win-Win in Houston

I'm so loving this down economy...but only because it brings out the best in so many DMOs. Yesterday, we shared the way cool video from Visit Denver that they are offering to their industry peers to use in their destinations.

Today, it's the very cool promotion that Greg Ortale and his crew at the Greater Houston CVB have developed. Houston hotels have agreed to donate $5 of the cost of a room per night to go to the hotel's charitable organization of choice.

Just think...a group booking 300 rooms for three nights would be able to generate $4,500 for charity.

From the Chronicle article : "Ortale said the program will be in place for 18 months, and he expects other hotels to join the 24 already signed up. And so they should. They get to bring much-needed new business to town and help their favorite charity at the same time — and it's tax-deductible, too. Such a deal"

Way to go Houston!

Making Something Hard Easy

It's frustrating how so many people don't understand how Destination Marketing and increased visitation power so many facets of an economy...and our collective Quality of Life. But, really...why should they?

That a visitor is lured to town by the DMO and then spends money at hotels, restaurants, nightspots, retail shops and gas stations means little to someone not directly impacted by those purchases. And, their interest stops right there. They don't take the time to understand that jobs rely on that spending. That government relies on the sales tax generated. And that their favorite restaurant or nightspot might not survive without visitor spending.

It's not an easy concept to grasp...which is why what Richard Scharf and his team at Visit Denver have done is such a big deal. They've made the difficult concept...easier, with a YouTube video.

Best of all...they created the video so that other DMOs can easily adapt it to their own use, with Visit Denver's compliments.

Visit Denver...you so rock!

Thanks to Aurora's Naomi Colwell for the catch!

The 3 Rules for Management Success

The rock music industry recently lost one of its greats...and a name that I'd guess most had never heard.

Dee Anthony was the manager for Peter Frampton, DEVO, Traffic, ELP, J. Geils Band, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull and Joe Cocker, to name just a few. Probably the most amazing turn-around he orchestrated was that of Frampton who, after leaving Humble Pie, had popped out four commercially unimpressive albums and was only attracting a couple hundred people to his gigs (where this photo was taken).

Within a year of that shot, he was playing stadiums in support of the amazing "Frampton Comes Alive."

Dee's 3 core Management Rules always cracked me up (but are so true):

1. Get the Money
2. Don't forget to get the Money
3. Always Remember: Don't forget to get the Money

RIP, Dee...you hipped us all to some incredible talent over the years.

Thanks to the Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp's David Fishof for the catch.

Dude, I Just Created this Awesome Mix

It's this really rad playlist that includes Metallica, AC/DC, Springsteen, Eminem, Tupac, Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Totally Awesome, man. I could listen to it for hours, man.

As did, apparently, detainees at Guantanamo (along with a healthy dose of Barney singing "I Love You").

Gotta wonder (as did Good) how Bruce and his peers are feeling about their music being used in this way...

Thanks to my friend Maura Gast for the catch...

Going Luxe in Lauderdale

I love a Destination Marketing Organization that goes against conventional wisdom (and the seemingly self-imposed rules that limit so many of us). And, Fort Lauderdale does that with regularity.

Case in point: Their new new TV campaign and microsite: Lauderdale Luxe. As everyone else seems to be targeting consumers on a budget with hotel deals and cut-rate packages, the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB plays to their emerging strength as a luxury destination. And, why not? That's where the money and the future image of the destination reside.

14 hotels are featured...and promoted as being part of the Luxe package by "invitation only." Hell yeah.

But it's that "invitation" thing that intrigues me. How does a DMO feature a subset of its industry partners without incurring the wrath of other hotels? Easy...the Luxe hotels all share a common irrefutable truth. They all have earned a four-star, four-diamond or better ranking, and boast a full-service restaurant and on-premises spa or dedicated/contracted services.

Worried that the whiners will pitch a fit? Set the bar high. Your customers will love you for it.

It's How You Say It

For students of persuasion, Kare Anderson's Say it Better blog is a treasure trove of great suggestions for ways to communicate more effectively. A post earlier this month pointed to an often inadvertent slip that can help make our opponent's position resonate.

Bottom line? If they are any good, they have spent a fair amount of time carefully selecting the incendiary words they plan to use. Never repeat them. Reframe them.

A New Public Health Hazard

A new study, just out (as reported on Elliott.org), indicates that over half of us would board a plane, knowing we had H1N1, rather than pay the $150 airline change fee.

Doesn't this qualify any airline charging such a fee as a knowing, willing and intentional Public Health Hazard?

Just a thought...

The Rare Airport Find

You don't see the hole-in-the-wall, independent diner much anymore in major airports around the country. And yet many of these have been fixtures for years, withstanding the onslaught of the chains.

Found one this past week at DFW in the E concourse: Rider's World.

Blues Music pumping, the Spicy Dog lived up to its name and they didn't skimp on the Maker's Mark.

My kinda place.

A Tasty Way to Stimulate the Economy

130 Million people eat out in America every day...which pumps $3 billion into the economy, every day.

That's one I didn't know...and just one in a great video that clearly explains the impact of restaurants on the nation's economy. And the devastating effect when we begin to view eating out as a luxury.

Thanks to my friend Maura Gast of the Irving CVB for the catch.

Making Lemonade

It's no secret that the Meetings Industry has been demonized by those that want the have-nots to hate the haves. But, in the attempt to defame those that have by showcasing their lavish travel lifestyles, good destinations (and thousands of now out-of-work hospitality employees) got spattered by the same brush. Orlando, Las Vegas, Hawaii and others are now hurting more than the rest of the country because of their reputation as a great place to meet.

Tom Caradonio's crew at the Northern Kentucky CVB surely feel their peer destinations' pain. But, in desperate times, you gotta go with a message that resonates.

Thanks to my bud Meilee Anderson of Seattle Southside for the catch.

Price Fixing, Anyone?

Years ago, I was a member of a professional trade association whose veteran members would go absolutely apoplectic when rookies would inquire about how we all set our fees. They would quickly lecture the young padawan that such talk was akin to price fixing, punishable by large fines from the federal government.

Yeah, like the Justice Department is gonna come after a couple professional speakers who talk about how they price their services under certain market conditions over a beer.

Because they sure aren't coming down on the hundreds of thousand gas stations that all jacked their prices a fairly uniform 20 cents across the country earlier this week.

If that's not collusion...I'm really not sure what is.

Sprint Nails It

While my iPhone makes me an at&t customer for most of my wireless needs...I've been a Sprint customer for my aircard for the past two years because its performance (then) so outdistanced the competition.

It's time for a new aircard. Verizon has eliminated smtp support...so they are out. The 3G coverage of at&t is increasingly questionable...so they're out. And, while Sprint was the leader (at least in my region) two years ago, there were always compatibility issues with my Mac that made it an inelegant solution.

What a difference two years can make.

Despite my initial trepidation in working with a Sprint rep that didn't seem to understand my concerns about past compatibility issues, I now know it's because there aren't any (so, he clearly didn't know what I was talking about). And, the coolest thing? There is no CD with software to install.

Just insert the USB card...and you're good to go. The proper software is installed automatically. The configuration is completed without a single keystroke.

I'm simply amazed that Sprint has so completely embraced the future of seamlessness.

It Takes a Virgin Mind to Solve Boarding

No...not that kind of virgin. The Richard Branson kind...as in Virgin America.

We've already issued Air Law 5 about the goofs that insist on attempting to carry on luggage as big as small pony. And Air Law 7 about the people who rush to the gate to board, regardless of their section, in order to secure overhead bin space for said pony.

Virgin America's brilliant solution: Board First Class first. Then, people needing assistance (though not with their pony)...then people without carry-on luggage. Leaving the people with ponies to duke it out for space after everyone else has been seated, thus ensuring that the boarding process moves smoothly right up til the end.

And, what an incentive to pay the $20 fee to check luggage! An easier time in boarding. Now, for some, that is a benefit that might just be worth the fee that other airlines have imposed with no additional benefit.

I love Virgin America. But, because the other airlines will never follow suit, Air Laws 5 and 7 still stand.

Is Good News the Answer?

Newspapers are dying. And, while online content is the primary culprit, I can't help but think that print editors' focus on bad news has played a part.

It works like this: Newspapers print bad news. Consumers get spooked and stop buying. Business cash flow slows, resulting in less advertising in newspapers. Newspapers die from lack of advertising revenue.

As consumers, I think we've had enough bad news. What would happen if newspapers became the bearers of good news? Featuring stories of the human spirit, the success in the face of adversity? We love Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Why wouldn't we love good news in our morning paper?

In a world where good news is so rare, wouldn't the media that provides it create a rabid following?

Certainly couldn't be a worse strategy than they're pursuing now.

Just a thought...

Did Somebody Get a New Marketing Director?

Is it just me...or is there pink just about everywhere we look this month?

NFL players wearing pink cleats? Delta flight attendants trading out their killer new red uniforms for pink ones...and the airline repainting one of its jets pink? And Hard Rock International sponsoring Pinktober?

Did Breast Cancer Awareness Month get a new Chief Marketing Officer, or what?

'Cause they're everywhere...and that's very cool.

Photo Credit: Jason Getz / Atlanta Journal Constitution

How Do I Hate You? Let Me Count the Ways

Those of you that are familiar with our 14 Air Laws know that I'm pretty down on many of the people with whom I'm forced to fly. Beyond clueless, these self-absorbed goofs make the experience so much worse than it needs to be. But, then again, it's all about them, now, isn't it?

But the type of airline passenger we hate the most hasn't made the Air Law list...yet.

It's the stinky one, according to a new survey by Travelocity. 45% of us hate being next to someone with bad hygiene. 30% hate people who are coughing and sneezing and 15% of us hate jumbo-sized people that hang over the arm rest.

I hate you all...but I'm just not sure that I can bring myself to establish Air Laws against things over which you don't have much control.

So, I guess we'll all have to endure you without the Air Law Marshals roughing you up.

Pity, that.