|
July 20th, 2016
DCVB Partner Newsletter
|
A few items for you this week. The Wisconsin Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus (WACVB) has released the save the date for the Fall tourism conference that will be held in Eau Claire.
Here is the info: Paddle ahead to the Wisconsin Fall Tourism Conference down by the rivers in Eau Claire, November 3 & 4, 2016. They're planning an exciting agenda that's sure to guide you forward, including our keynote speaker Aaron Nissen of Destination Think! and Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary, Stephanie Klett. There will be breakout sessions on digital marketing, community development, sports tourism and more.
Conference registration will be available in early September, but please mark your calendars* and book your accommodations now. Room reservations can be made now at The Lismore Hotel in downtown Eau Claire, by calling 715-835-8888 and asking for the $129/night WI Fall Tourism Conference rate. County sales tax collection update. For visitor overnight stays we use the room tax collection reports to tell us how much money is collected, how many occupied rooms there are and at what rate. Room tax collections lag two months for reporting. Through May, room tax collections are up 6% over collections through May of 2015. However, we use the county sales tax reports as our barometer on how much is being spent in the county. We know this includes purchases by residents, but we look at local purchases as the baseline and everything above that being visitor spending. An exact science? No, but it is a good barometer.
Year-to-date the county .5% sales tax collections are up $178,416.00 over last year at this time. Every $1.00 of tax collected equals $200.00 in gross sales of taxable goods and services. The $178,416.00 actually represents an increase in gross sales of $35,683,200.00 so far this year. (Click HERE to see the full report of county sales tax collections from 2004 through 2016) We have seen steady growth of these collections year over year. The increase of gross sales in 2015 were $137,374,400.00 more than the gross sales in 2004. That's a lot of spending. In the next newsletter, I hope to have an update and information for you on the new FSLA (Federal Labor Standards Act) that was enacted this past June. Anyone who has exempt employees will need to know this information.
*Click links to add dates to your calendar
Best Regards,
Jack Moneypenny, President/CEO
920-818-1131
|
|
MARKETING & SALES
Michelle Rasmusson, Director
Our Door County: Wreck Hunters
Check out our latest Our Door County video! Experience Door County through the eyes of locals in this ongoing series of "Our Door County" videos. This episode explores what lies beneath the surface of Door County's 300 miles of shoreline: hundreds of historic shipwrecks and an underwater museum of maritime archeology and artifacts. Modern day shipwreck hunters have spent decades looking for ships that have gone down, attempting to unravel hundred year old mysteries. Check it out!
Lodging Package Request - EXTENDED to July 22nd
SO DELICIOUS, SO DOOR COUNTY
Offer a culinary-themed lodging package from September 3 - October 23rd and receive a listing on DoorCounty.com
Attention Non-Lodging Partners: Dramatically boost YOUR exposure by working together with a Lodging partner and one or more other DCVB Tourism Industry Partners to create an enticing package that will help get all of you noticed! Call your Lodging friends TODAY and let them know that you would love to work with them.
(They are ALWAYS looking for ideas and, if they aren't, please let Laura Bradley know that you would like to get involved.)
CLICK HERE for details on requirements and how to participate in our most popular fall promotion. Deadline to submit package material is Friday, July 22nd.
CO-OP ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
General Advertising
-September eNewsletter - 4 spots left (Partner Feature, Ad or Article) $250-$850
-DCVB Lobby TV Spot (:30 spot) $100/month or $50/week
Event Promotion
-eNewsletter Featured Event (sent to over 200K subscribers) $100
-Events Page Featured Event (2nd most visited page on DoorCounty.com) $250
Social Media Advertising
-Social Posts (FB, Twitter, Instagram) $75 - $350
-Two-week social ad campaign (FB, Twitter, Instagram) $250 - $750
|
|
COMMUNICATIONS & PR
Jon Jarosh, Director
Media
Media assistance has been provided to 15 journalists/media outlets thus far in July by providing images, information, on-air/on-camera interviews and/or support for Door County based articles and stories. A few highlights included American Pickers, Minnesota Good Age magazine, Experience Wisconsin magazine, ShermansTravel and WKOW ABC 27 in Madison.
Media Coverage Highlights
Door County was the feature travel story in the Wall Street Journal's Off Duty section in the July 16-17, 2016 weekend issue. The opening caption read: "If you're after a slower pace this summer - a quaintly all-American vacation marked by waterfront bonfires, creaky lighthouses and cherry pie - make your way to Lake Michigan, where Wisconsin's Door Peninsula is wide open." Read the online version of the story on WSJ.com here.
Door County's own Wickman House restaurant, located in Ellison Bay, was included in a story about Moscow Mules (the cocktail) that ran in the Wednesday July 20, 2016 issue of the New York Times. Check out the online version of the story on NYTimes.com here.
Door County cherries were the focus of a story that ran in the July 13, 2016 issue of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Read the online version of Chef Terri Milligan's article on JSonline here.
Several of Door County's performing arts venues were featured in multiple articles in the Sunday July 10, 2016 issue of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Third Avenue Playhouse, Door Shakespeare and Northern Sky Theater all had show reviews included in the Arts & Entertainment section of the newspaper. Online versions of those articles can also be found on JSOnline.com (click any one of the names to read the online version).
DCVB spokesperson Jon Jarosh appeared in-studio to talk about Door County's 2016 cherry season on the TV show Wake Up Wisconsin Weekend on Saturday July 9, 2016. The live morning news program is produced by WKOW ABC 27 in Madison and is also simulcast on 5 additional ABC affiliates across Wisconsin including WAOW (Wausau), WMOW (North Central WI), WQOW (Eau Claire), WXOW (La Crosse) and WYOW (Northern WI). Watch the clip online from WKOW here.
|
MEMBERSHIP
Phil Berndt, Director
We can Only presume that Your InnLine Page is Correct
In recent weeks, we have heard from a couple of members who where upset that the information on their InnLine Page was outdated or incomplete. Please know that while we are constantly looking for and making changes that need to be made, some of those needed changes can only be identified by you. Not only is the accuracy of your InnLine Page important to driving customers to your business, but the more robust that information is, the easier they can find you and the better we look as a destination.
PLEASE TAKE A FEW SECONDS TO REVIEW YOUR INNLINE PAGE
Review the following:
- Is your Business Name; Address; Phone & email Address Correct?
- Does your Description inspire the reader to take action? AND, use descriptive words, phrases and product names that set you apart from your competition when visitors are searching for products or services you offer.
- SEO is one of your most important benefits of membership as we work directly with Google to improve the way customers find you not only on DoorCounty.com but in Google Search and Google Maps as well! A Forget about the mundane facts and focus in on words and phrases that potential customers use to find you!
- If you have a Website, does the Visit Website button take you to the correct page?
- When you click on the main photo, does it expand to a larger version?
- If not, we need a larger photo from you. (And, it can be as large as your screen!)
- Is your logo current? (Logos that are horizontally optimized are best)
- Do you see the Download Brochure link below your main photo?
- Are your Social Media pages featured on your InnLine Pages (Up to 6 sites)
- One of those links should go to YOUR YouTube video - if not now, soon - as Cisco tells us that by next year, video will make up 69% of all online consumer traffic, so get smart about this kind of content. Here are some dos and don'ts of marketing with video content that are worth reviewing.
- Is your list of Amenities current and complete? (Lodging pages only)
- Are your Winter Hours correct?
- Does your business appear in the right location on Google Maps at the bottom of your InnLine Page?
Additional InnLine Page Upgrades
Additional Photos Feature: Add a 5 Photo Slideshow to your page for $50/yr.
Unlimited Text Feature: Need more room to describe your business and/or products? This InnLine feature lets you add as much information to your page as you need to for $50/yr.
|
|
WELCOME CENTER
We have hit our summer stride and the Welcome Center has been very busy. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, stop in to say Hi! We love being able to put a face to your name - especially when we have a chance to find out what's new or selling this year! (And, if you happen to have brochures with you, it's a rare chance that we aren't in need of more!)
A big Thank You to all of our Innkeepers who have been working with us to improve the online Vacancy Calendars. If you have an unavailable room that keeps showing up as vacant, let us know. There are a few work arounds we can tell you about to help prevent this from happening. (like marking an odd room as closed for maintenance on that day) Even though you might not be bothered by the calls you may receive, potential visitors have had to wade through lists of vacancies that weren't really available and it is frustrating them to the point of changing plans to go elsewhere. Please give us a call if we can help correct this or help fill that available room as we have - and probably will continue to have - lists of potential customers in search of a one-night stay each weekend through the fall.
920-743-4456 800-527-3529
|
 |
|
