Dec 5th
RSCVA Strategic Plan
Public Input Meeting
12.05.06
Notes:
Key Issues
- What is the reason that people come to Reno-Tahoe? Gaming is obvious….what about why does a convention come? Tahoe, recreation, cultural, history etc. Does RSCVA have the interest, budget and research needed to address?
- RSCVA should have the name Tahoe in it.
- People don’t know how close Tahoe is to Reno.
- Looking at financial chart – 42% of the budget is allocated towards facilities. What is the RSCVA doing as a facility manager?
- What do the Nevada Revised Statute regulations say RSCVA should be doing?
- The room rate represents the demographic that is coming here. How do we change the demographic?
- Before we can change the demographic, we must work with Reno-Tahoe hotel community to change the way they do business.
- Convention opportunities come and hotels don’t give the room allocation needed to book the business. Hotels need to help RSCVA book conventions.
- Don’t give away the rooms as comps.
- Get them here for anything at all and they will gamble.
- Non-gaming revenue has an impact on gaming revenue.
- Events drive the demand and the higher room rate.
- Opportunity: Thunder Valley has a 7.5 to 8 cent floor in Nevada the average is 5.2. You get more for your gambling money here.
- What is the perception of the perspective guests in Reno? People still think of Reno as a quickie divorce city.
- The demographic of people who come to Reno for outdoor attractions are looking for cheap?
- Go to convention planners and find out why they are not coming ….research.
- There is a lack of name brand hotels in Reno-Tahoe, which helps to book convention business.
- Pro sports or semi-pro sports could bring the demographic we are looking for….
- Need better facilities to bring in sports franchises.
- Recreation: Nevada Passage and Exterra Games – how does Reno turn the Truckee River Whitewater Park into a facility that brings tourism dollars in? Both the prior events named bring in a quality visitor and national television exposure.
- Historic: Death Valley – 40% of tourists are German. How can we capitalize on our history tourism offerings? 17 mile railroad project in Virginia City has a European draw.
- Outdoor enthusiasts and event attendees change the Reno-Tahoe’s poor destination image to something that attracts younger, active people.
- RSCVA needs a long-term plan (15 – 20 years outlook).
- Tahoe Rim Trail visitors are coming b/c it’s the best not for a cheap room rate.
- Regionally: We need to think and promote regionally.
- When we lived in TX not as many people wanted to come visit us. Now that we live here we get lots of visitors. Reno is the best kept secret.
- Locals fight tourism. Does everyone who lives in Reno, Incline Village, and Tahoe want to increase tourism? We have an education job to do about how tourism makes this destination a better place to live.
- Reno has incredible potential. The stewards of the RSCVA have the responsibility to sell it.
Group Input Exercise on RSVCA Core Services and Budget Allocation Percentage
Non-Fixed Costs Current % Group Input %
Facility Operations 41.8% 17.1%
Golf Operations 11.9% 0%
Special Events 1.9% 15.9%
Convention Sales 17% 23.5%
Tourism and Marketing 15% 27.1%
Room Tax Collections 1.7% 2.9%
General and Administration 10% 6.5%
Visitor Centers/Services 0.7% 7.1%
- If you don’t have a capital replacement budget – how do you fund?
- Most convention centers have public funding/bonds. You must plan for a capital budget within the monies allocated to build for long-term success. Right now the money comes out of the operations budget.
- RSLEC has tremendous opportunities we need to sustain in the equestrian market, but we must improve the facility to compete with other destinations to keep the business.
- How do we re-allocate or grow the income to help fund the capital budget?
- Grow our seasons. Shorten the shoulder seasons. Reno-Tahoe is still a perfect place to visit in the shoulder seasons.
- 300 days of sunshine is a great competitive advantage.
- Baby boomer generation – what are they dong? Traveling #1 thing to do when they retire.
- Ski week now 3 days. People taking shorter getaways instead of long vacation.
- What do we want to be when we grow up? 15-20 year destination vision needed.
- How do we deliver on what we want to be?
November 28th, 2006 at 8:37 am
Hello there. I have been following this process with great interest. One of my main questions: What is it that other conventions locations have that we don’t offer? What is it that someone booking a convention is looking for that we don’t provide? Thanks.
Anicia
November 28th, 2006 at 10:53 am
Anicia -
Your question is very timely … in fact we just completed an extensive study of meeting planners to identify our competitive advantages and disadvantages.
Among those who are aware of Reno-Tahoe as a meeting destination, compared to like-size cities, most planners see Reno-Tahoe as:
• ‘easy going’ more than ‘fast-paced;’
• more ‘down-to-earth’ than ‘trendy or hip;’
• more of a ‘good value’;
• more ‘friendly;’
• equally ‘exciting’ as other destinations.
Source: EXPO Magazine Destination Appeal Study, July 2006
We also identified a top-line strenghth, weakness, opportunities and threats analysis. See below:
Top 3 Strengths
Cost/Value
Customer Service
Excellent/adequate meeting and convention space
Top 3 Weaknesses
Marketing/image
Direct flights
Hotel rooms near Reno-Sparks Convention Center
Top 3 Opportunities
Improve image
FAMs and site visits
Expand properties and develop more upscale properties
Top 3 Threats
Competition; Indian gaming
Not working together
Volatile airline industry
Thank you for your participation in the process.
Ellie
Ellen Oppenheim, RSCVA President & CEO
November 29th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
Dear Ms. Oppenheim:
We enjoyed the strategic plan meeting Nov. 15 and appreciate your open-mindedness and attentiveness.
Mark Curtis has a brilliant mind and is a tremendous asset to our community. His thoughts on turning negatives into positives, combined with the other gentleman’s input regarding “heritage” tourism struck chords with us.
As wedding chapel owners, we are part of an industry that once was unique to Reno. The industry followed as the “divorce capital of the world” faded, but has been in sharp decline over the past 20 years. The decline in Washoe County is in direct correlation with the increase in Clark County. During those 20 years, Washoe County license issuance has increased only one year over a previous year, while Clark County has decreased only four times over a previous year. Clark County has already issued over 110,000 licenses this year.
License issuance peaked in Washoe County in 1978 when it sold over 38,000 marriage licenses. Compare that with the prospect that we may not reach even 14,000 licenses in 2006.
While it’s encouraging to see such places as the Peppermill planning to add wedding chapels, much could easily be incorporated to turn this business around and the RSCVA could and should take a leading role in achieving a turn-around. Consider the fact that approximately 80% of all marriage licenses in Washoe County are sold to couples from out of the area and most of those couples bring several guests with them, all filling rooms and dining. This industry helps fill rooms every day of the year. Weddings are constant, day in and day out, and have two tremendous occasions; New Year’s and Valentine’s Day (perhaps this could become an event). And with the explosion of internet marketing, we have become internationally known.
Reno-Tahoe: “The Adventure Place”–What greater adventure is there than marriage–and what greater place to get married and honeymoon than the Reno-Tahoe area!!
We’re also told by account reps. for movie theaters that studies show the top activities couples in love do, even today, are dinner and a movie. Perhaps movie theater adtertising in our feeder markets is an overlooked venue for this industry as well as for Reno-Tahoe.
Wedding chapels in Washoe County are all small businesses with insufficient resources to accomplish anything significant without the assistance of an organization such as the RSCVA. We’re proud of our business and would like to see our industry contribute to the health of the local economy, thereby becoming our own small piece of your pie.
Pat and Alan Simpson
Arch of Reno Wedding Chapel
155 N. Virginia St.
(775)337-1555
November 30th, 2006 at 10:16 am
I’m happy to hear that you found the public input meeting worthwhile. Thank you very much for your time at the meeting and for your feedback here as well. We appreciate you passing on the information and your ideas related to marriage “tourism” and will be taking it into account as we work through the strategic plan process. Again thank you for your input!
Ellie
Ellen Oppenheim, RSCVA President & CEO