Save the Date for the Fourth Annual
Austin CVB Hospitality Luncheon
Austin CVB's fourth annual hospitality luncheon takes place on Friday, May 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center. The event will include a state-of-the-industry address, updates on Austin CVB's efforts throughout the year to promote Austin as a leading meeting and leisure travel destination, and presentation of the 2010 Bruce Walcutt Spirit of Hospitality Award.
Austin CVB is seeking sponsorships at various levels; for more information, contact Mary Kay Hackley, mhackley@austintexas.org or 512-583-7215. Individual registrations and table sponsorships are also available.
Austin CVB Offers Official Guide Advertising Opportunities for 2010
The Austin CVB distributes more than half a million Official Visitor Guides and Meeting Planner & Destination Guides every year. Our research shows that 98% of readers visit the city within 90 days of receiving the guide, and 90% of readers bring the guide with them to facilitate their visit once they arrive. Shopping, dining and attraction ads enclosed give visitors a visual tour of the city - and drive traffic to the advertiser.
ACVB partners can purchase ad space on our official website, www.AustinTexas.org, or in print for the following upcoming publications. Deadlines are quickly approaching. For more information, please contact Rebecca Carity, 312-664-3740 or rebeccac@weaver-group.com. Opportunities include:
Austin Official Visitors Guide
Summer '10 edition
Ad Sales Close: March 31, 2010
Publication Date: May 17, 2010
Austin Official Visitors Guide
Winter '10 edition
Ad Sales Close: August 31, 2010
Publication Date: October 15, 2010
Austin 2011 Meeting Planner & Destination Guide
Ad Sales Close: August 31, 2010
Publication Date: October 26, 2010
AustinTexas.org and the Austin eNewsletter
Ongoing Advertising Opportunities. Call for availability.
Customer Advisory Board Returns to Austin
The Austin CVB recently hosted a meeting of the Bureau's Customer Advisory Board (CAB), a group of industry leaders representing associations and meeting management firms from across the country. Fourteen members of the board met at the Austin Convention Center to provide critical feedback and insight relating to the city's growth as a premier meetings and convention destination.
During this meeting, the CAB focused on the Austin Convention Center's plan for reconfiguring the south building in order to add much-needed meeting space. Mark Tester, director of the Austin Convention Center, laid out proposed plans and gave a tour of the space. The CAB also provided insights on advertising and social media strategies, best practices for Convention Services, and Austin's continued downtown development.
Since the CAB's last meeting, Austin CVB has acted on several key recommendations, including creation of a mobile site itinerary application, development of a digital marketing kit and key updates to the AustinTexas.org website.
These meetings of the Customer Advisory Board help to make Austin even more competitive in today's challenging convention landscape. While the Austin CVB acknowledges that convention business is down slightly in 2010, the Bureau continues to solicit new business in vertical markets and "fit industries" (music, education, government, etc.) in order to ensure the destination's ongoing success.
Austin Launches Five-Minute Meeting Planner
For many meeting planners, time is of the essence. Information is instant, and news about potential convention destinations can even come via Twitter updates. If planners can't find what they need quickly, they may look somewhere else.
In order to save planners valuable time, the Austin CVB will soon launch the Five-Minute Meeting Planner, a user-friendly, interactive tool that offers industry professionals the opportunity to quickly enter basic meeting specs and compare - apples to apples - the Austin hotels, service providers, vendors and partners that can accommodate them. This online tool will be available exclusively through AustinTexas.org.
Using the tool, planners start by answering just five quick questions about their meeting: dates, room nights necessary on peak, required meeting space and off-site facilities, and preferred neighborhood. The Five-Minute Meeting Planner quickly returns custom search results that fit the group's requirements. From there, the user can chart the returned listings and compare them side by side, or map the venues to find, say, the distance from a preferred hotel to an off-site reception. There is space to add and save notes for future reference, and the results can also be saved as a .pdf for planners to share with other parties. Finally, the tool offers users the opportunity to directly submit an RFP or explore transportation, entertainment, shopping listings and more.
The Austin CVB is the first bureau in the U.S. to launch such a tool, and Bureau representatives expect it to increase the number of RFPs submitted to Austin. For more information, visit www.AustinTexas.org.
Austin CVB Supports U.S. Travel with
"Austin Music Experience" Auction Package
From April 26-May 31, the U.S. Travel Association is hosting a national auction series to raise funds for their travel advocacy programs. American Express has signed on to sponsor the auction and support it with a multi-million dollar marketing and PR campaign that will ultimately achieve 800 million to 1 billion impressions. In order to support this U.S. Travel initiative, the Austin CVB has worked with partners to build the Austin Music Experience, a once-in-a-lifetime Austin music package including a Gibson guitar for the winners, accommodations at Hotel Saint Cecilia, gift certificates to live music venues, an Austin music package from Waterloo Records, and even a song – custom written by Austin musician Ryan Harkrider, and performed during a private dinner at Stubb's BBQ.
The Austin Music Experience will be available for auction for one day during the promotion, and bidding is open only to American Express cardmembers. Watch www.discoveramerica.com for more information.
Tourism Department Launches New Group
and Incentive Itineraries
In an effort to expand Austin's reach into the international market, the Austin CVB Tourism Department has generated new group itineraries featuring Texas wine and food, adventure experiences and live music.
The Ultimate Austin Rock Star: Participants can hop into classic vintage cars and tour the city's historic stages, then work with music professionals to perform songs in a fun "battle of the bands" - while other teams watch and enjoy choreographed dance moves.
Austin Foodie Experience: This package includes tours of an organic farm, Central Market, the Whole Foods Market flagship store and even an area vineyard. Participants finish with a private cooking class in the home of an award-winning chef and dinner at a fine-dining restaurant.
Action! Be an Austin Movie Star! Participants star for a day in a blockbuster action film - including fire, falls, explosions and combat - created with a team of real film industry professionals. Later, during a relaxing barbecue dinner, each team's film is screened for everyone's enjoyment.
Lone Star Ranch Extravaganza: This ranch experience includes a trail ride among 240 acres of Texas live oak trees and diverse terrain, a chuck-wagon dinner, games, hiking and a campfire. Add a Texas storyteller and singer/songwriter to the mix, and you've got a true-Texas trip that's hard to beat.
In addition, the Tourism Department hosts pre- and post-convention trips; for more information, contact Adriana Jimenez, ajimenez@austintexas.org.
"Austin Music Volume 9" Showcases Local Bands
and Guides Visitors to Austin's Music Scene
The Austin Music Office recently released "Austin Music Volume 9," the newest compilation album to showcase Austin's diverse live music scene. The album features tracks by Grammy® nominees, Willie and the Wheel and Sara Jarosz; local legends, Jimmy Vaughan and Ben Kweller; and even rising stars like Erin Ivey and under-21 favorites The Daze.
As the only compilation of its scale to promote a city's local music, the CD includes a bonus mini-guide to Austin with maps, club listings, a calendar of major events and information on unusual places to hear live music. For the first time, fans of local music can purchase a card to download the CD and the mini-guide online.
"Austin Music Volume 9" is available for retail sale for $11.99 at the Visitor Center and Waterloo Records. To purchase a download card, buy the CD or get more information, visit www.AustinTexas.org.
Hospitality partners may also purchase copies of "Austin Music Volume 9" in bulk, at a promotional rate. For more information, contact Pam Graham, pgraham@austintexas.org.
"March Madness" Brings Millions to Austin
While business and leisure travel are down across the nation and companies are holding fewer conventions, Austin has maintained relative economic stability in the past year. In general, Austin's losses run at about 25 percent less than those of our competitors. A positive perception among travelers, affordable flights and the continued production of visitor-friendly festivals and events keep us in the green. And this spring, such events as the South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Festivals and Conferences (SXSW), Rodeo Austin and the Texas Relays are on target to meet registrations and ticket sales goals. The Austin CVB is also working closely with major March conventions to boost attendance and increase registration. Overall, Austin stands to benefit from an economic injection of nearly $170 million in March.
For details, please view the Convention Calendar to the right on this page.
Austin CVB Welcomes New Executive
Meetings Manager
Ms. Val Mashaw has joined the Austin CVB as executive meetings manager. In this role, Mashaw promotes Austin as a premier meeting and convention destination among small and medium-sized groups based in the eastern region of the country.
Most recently, Mashaw served as corporate event coordinator with Fuddruckers, Inc., where she was responsible for planning multiple meetings including the group's annual Franchise Convention. A graduate of Texas State University, Mashaw also has experience in marketing and art direction, graphic design and destination planning.
