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HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.council.worksession.20121127 1 MEMORANDUM To: City Council cc: Randy Ready, Don Taylor, City of Aspen From: Corey Enloe, ALA president; Tim Clark, past chair Date: November 5, 2012 Re: Contract Renewal with ACRA On behalf of the Aspen Lodging Association, we would like to express our support for the City to renew the contract with ACRA for a five-year term to manage the destination marketing funds. The ACRA has successfully managed the funds since 2001 and are a great partner to the lodging association. Our organization actively participates on the marketing advisory committee and has representation on the ACRA board of directors. Over the years, we have witnessed firsthand the quality of the marketing program and spirit of collaboration with the community. Securing a longer term contract helps both organizations focus on execution of strategies and tactics. A five year contract will allow the ACRA to work on multiple year marketing strategies and secure long term relationships with vendors, suppliers and potential sales clients which can result in better pricing and long term vision. The ACRA is currently working on an international marketing and PR strategy which we believe will take several years to build. Also, we are currently seeing a longer booking pattern with group sales and we would like to encourage bookings for beyond 2015. Thank you in advance for your support over the years. The great synergy between all our organizations and long-term strategic planning helps to keep ASPEN front of mind for the consumer and ahead of the competitive set; which over the years has become more aggressive than ever. P.O. Box 1248 . Aspen, CO . 81612 . 970-925-1220 November 9, 2012 Aspen City Council Re: ACRA Destination Marketing Contract Dear Mayor and Council, The four most essential ingredients for this community to successfully market itself are skilled staff, compelling creative, collaboration and continuity. The City has wisely contracted with ACRA for the past eleven years and the organization’s marketing is functioning at its highest level ever right now. This is not an accident. The increased funding, talented professional team and a true spirit of collaboration have combined to make this possible. The other ingredient – continuity - enables the organization to plan more effectively, work with partners to further progress on long term goals and to instill confidence in the business community. For these reasons I encourage Council to consider contracting with ACRA for Destination Marketing for a five year period. The upside is worth it. The downside risk is mitigated with annual reviews and the ongoing opportunity for Council to provide valuable input to this group. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, David Perry SVP, Mountain Division c.c. Debbie Braun – ACRA President, Donnie Lee – ACRA Chairman 1 MEMORANDUM To: City Council Cc: Randy Ready Don Taylor From: Debbie Braun, President Julia Theisen, VP sales and marketing Date: November 13, 2012 Re: 2012 Destination Marketing Campaign 2013 Contract Renewal The Aspen Chamber Resort Association has managed the destination marketing funds for the City of Aspen since the first lodging tax was passed in 2000. We continually strive to attain the highest return on the marketing investment to drive visitation and business to Aspen. The marketing budget for 2012 was $1.5M and achieved excellent results. Aspen’s occupancy from May through October was up 7.8% from the same period last year and was the highest summer occupancy for Aspen since MTRIP started reporting in 2006. In addition to measuring occupancy, we measure the results of the campaign in a number of ways to ensure that we are achieving results. Key initiatives achieved in 2012 include broadening the use of the Defy Ordinary brand to all outlets including print, online, website, social media, group sales and public relations. The website was redesigned to incorporate the Defy Ordinary brand and to allow a better user experience for both destination visitors and membership – with all membership information housed in one place. An international PR campaign was launched in Brazil and Australia and we hosted incoming media groups from both markets as well as individual journalists from the UK, Mexico and domestically, with great media coverage in these markets. The results of the 2012 campaign have been presented to our community partners who oversee the destination marketing program: the Aspen Lodging Association, a local marketing advisory committee and the ACRA board. A shorter version is being presented to City Council on Tuesday, November 27th. At this time, we are requesting renewal of the contract for a five year period. A five year contract will allow the ACRA to work on multiple year marketing strategies and secure long term relationships with vendors, suppliers and potential sales clients which can result in better pricing and long term vision. The ACRA is currently working on an international marketing and PR strategy which we believe will take several years to build. Also, we are currently seeing a longer booking pattern with group sales and we would like to encourage bookings for beyond 2015. Thank you for your consideration of this request and your continued support.