Transcript:
Ann Marie Maher: [00:00:00] People are recognizing the fact that when we join together with a common cause and we put our resources together, we go further, we get more.
Adam Stoker: [00:00:20] Okay everybody, we've been talking about recovery for a while now, and my team at Relic has been working on recovery campaigns for several destinations over the last couple of months. They've actually developed a pretty amazing, we'll call it an algorithm, to know when it's safe to do acquisition marketing in a market. And so what I mean by that is you've got government regulations, you've got, how is the virus affecting that market? Whether there's been a decrease in cases of a decrease in deaths in that market? When is it safe to advertise, “Hey, come to our destination.” As I said, our team has come up with this algorithm to provide that information for you and we're offering a free market report, we're calling it recovery triggers. And if you'd like a free recovery trigger report for your target market where you want to draw visitors from, please email me directly at adam@relicagency.com or you can go to recoverytriggers.relicagency.com and we'll get you set up with a free report. And we even have the ability to send you a weekly recurring report, so you can see what's happening in that market on a weekly basis and make sure you're launching your acquisition campaign at the perfect time.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Destination Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, Adam Stoker, and I'm excited to be with you today. We've got a great show for you as somebody we've been trying to get on the show for a few weeks now and excited to have her on, her name is Ann Marie Maher, and she is with Prince William County, Virginia, Annmarie, welcome to the show.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:02:01] Thank you so much, Adam. It's awesome to be here.
Adam Stoker: [00:02:04] We're thrilled to have you and appreciate you taking the time right before you head out on vacation.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:02:10] Absolutely.
Adam Stoker: [00:02:11] So we're going to talk about some travel stuff, but I got to know you're going to Ocean City, Maryland. And what is your plan for that trip?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:02:21] My plan is to not check my email. If I get through the week without doing that it will be successful.
Adam Stoker: [00:02:29] That's turning into everybody's dream vacation right now is just somewhere where your phone and your computer are not with you.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:02:36] Right.
Adam Stoker: [00:02:38] Well, great. Let's dive into the show today. First of all, we like to ask everybody a couple of questions to get started. We want to know for you, what is your dream destination? We've already established you don't want phone service, but outside of that, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:02:55] We have to say the Galapagos Islands. I dreamed of going there. I want to see that ecosystem. I really want to scuba dive with whale sharks and some of the amazing animals that are there. So that's my dream.
Adam Stoker: [00:03:14] Yeah. What are those giant lizards that are on those islands? Is it Gila monsters?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:03:19] I don't even know what they're called. I know they have the giant turtles too.
Adam Stoker: [00:03:23] Oh, they have giant everything up there, sounds like an amazing trip. How long have you been interested in going out to the Galapagos?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:03:32] Since I was certified to scuba dive 32 years ago.
Adam Stoker: [00:03:39] Oh, boy, you know what? It's time. And boy, with the way our world seems right now, you better go soon.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:03:47] I know, right.
Adam Stoker: [00:03:47] Yeah. There's a lot going on obviously, but let's talk about trips you've been on. What is your favorite trip you've ever taken?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:03:53] I have to say I went to Australia for 28 days when I was 28 years old and it was, and still is, one of my favorite trips. I actually booked with a tour operator that specializes in trips for 18- to 35-year-olds, Contiki holidays. And I saved all my frequent flyer miles because I was traveling quite a bit for my job. And I went there with a group of people from all over the world that I did not know prior to arrival. And it was the trip of a lifetime.
Adam Stoker: [00:04:40] Wow. That sounds unreal. Australia has always been a place that I would love to go to. And it's definitely on my bucket list. Did you plan the 28 days for 28 years or is that just how it took out?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:04:53] It's just how it took out.
Adam Stoker: [00:04:57] What an adventure, that sounds like a great trip. And did you do that solo?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:05:02] Yes.
Adam Stoker: [00:05:03] Wow. If you haven't noticed yet or any of our listeners haven't noticed yet, I'm somewhat of a social butterfly, I don't know that I would travel for 28 days on my own. Colby my business partner is here laughing because oh, he would definitely go, he'd go for a year on his own, but everybody travels a little differently. Huh?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:05:23] Sure. Well, there was a whole busload of 18- to 35-year-olds that were friends that I just hadn't met yet. And so I wasn't alone, I was with this group and it was a bus tour that started in Sydney it ended in Cape Tribulation, which is North of Cairns, North of the Great Barrier Reef area. And there were 16 different countries represented in that tour. And these are people that I still talk to. So traveling alone makes it so that you meet and hang out with the friends you haven't met yet.
Adam Stoker: [00:06:09] You know what, that's a good point. You travel alone, but that doesn't mean you're alone the whole time, the sound sounds like a great way to not only have a new experience in a new place but get to know new people.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:06:19] Absolutely.
Adam Stoker: [00:06:21] Awesome. Well, tell us a little bit about you Ann Marie, tell us about your background and maybe how you got into tourism.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:06:27] Sure. I was born and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs go Eagles.
Adam Stoker: [00:06:36] All right.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:06:36] Yes. And when I graduated from high school, my goal was to move to New England because I had visited there when I was younger and saw what the college looked like there, that quintessential New England fall. And Harvard, we walked and we went all around, I didn't go to Harvard, but it was just beautiful. There are so many schools up there and I was like, I got to go to New England for college. And I was talking with the high school career counselor, and she had a brochure about a school called Johnson and Wales University. Of course, it was a college then, but Johnson and Wales are in Providence, Rhode Island and they specialize in the hospitality and culinary arts. Many of you may know of Johnson Wales University from some of the chefs that have come out of there, like Emeril Lagasse and others. But the reason I chose it, one of the reasons I chose it, besides the fact that I love to travel, my dad was a traveling salesman and I just always wondered, where is he? What does that hotel look like? He would bring me things back and show me the places that he went to. So that attracted me. I wanted to travel and I thought, what a better way to make sure that you travel than to get into the travel industry, it comes with the territory, so I did that.
Adam Stoker: [00:08:16] You're one of the few, Ann Marie, that knew before they got into the industry that they actually wanted to be there. So many people stumble upon it. Pretty cool that you were able to recognize early on that's where you wanted to go.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:08:27] Absolutely. And I was looking for diversity and the cover of that college catalog had a very diverse group on it. And I was like, yeah, that's where I want to go.
Adam Stoker: [00:08:39] Nice.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:08:40] So after college, got my first job in Boston, at the Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, working for the infamous Patrick Moscaritolo, who has since retired. I cut my teeth there, I call it my second degree, spent about 10 years. There worked also at the Kennedy Library and Museum, President Kennedy's presidential library. That was a wonderful experience. And then I just went back into the destination marketing world. I moved back to Pennsylvania, worked at the Valley Forge Pennsylvania Convention Visitors Bureau, right outside of Philadelphia, my hometown basically, and spent 10 years there before coming to Prince William County, 10 years ago. And I've been here ever since.
Adam Stoker: [00:09:33] Great. And what's your specific role there at Prince William County?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:09:38] I'm the office of tourism director. So I oversee all of the tourism programs and everything that we do from a tourism marketing and destination branding perspective.
Adam Stoker: [00:09:53] Yeah. Great. So you get to look at everything holistically and not just focus on one little piece of the destination. Tell me a little bit about Prince William as a destination and what you guys are offering and selling to potential visitors.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:10:08] Certainly, well, Prince William County is in Northern Virginia, which is where a lot of people live, who work in D.C. and work in Northern Virginia for a lot of tech jobs and other things that we specialize in out here. But this location, 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C. is just a great location, right? We're in the middle of the East Coast, we're right off 95, we're close to DC. Baltimore is about an hour, Philadelphia is three hours, New York's four hours. I mean, it's perfect. A lot of great opportunities here. But what I think sets us apart in Northern Virginia, because my brothers and sisters in Northern Virginia, including Loudon, Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria, all have different unique selling propositions. And in Prince William County, what I love about it here is that we have a very outdoor centric, recreation, authentic experience for people. When people come to Prince William County, they really get to connect, not just with the food and the people, but they're connecting with the river. The Potomac River is on one side and then the mountains are on the other. So we just have the best of both worlds, I think in terms of this beautiful outdoor area, but also wonderful history shopping. It's just a great place to live.
Adam Stoker: [00:12:11] Yeah. I want to get into some of the outdoor activities that you guys have, but before we do, one thing that really struck me as we were doing our intro call a couple of weeks ago, you talked about how you guys had really been putting your energy and efforts towards getting a convention center in Prince William County. Tell me a little bit about those plans and why you had them and then how those were stifled when COVID-19 came along.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:12:39] Sure. So since I've been here and then like I said, it's been 10 years, there's always been a desire to have the convention center or a conference facility. We really felt like that would be a game-changer for us. We have 44 hotels that average about a hundred rooms each. So very much the select service type properties, not a ton of meeting space at our properties. Some long term stay venues. We always aspired for more, right? Like if we got this convention center, we'll bring more people in and probably open up access to the Dulles International Airport, to which we have access to, but it's not as close as some of our counties that are surrounding us. So that was always a part of every strategic plan we've ever done.
COVID-19 hit and I never thought that I would be grateful that we didn't have a convention center or a lot of full-service hotels, but I got to tell you, we're pretty glad right now that we don't have those things because the destinations that do are suffering a lot more than we are. Here in Prince William County, the latest star report indicates that we have the highest hotel occupancy in Northern Virginia.
Adam Stoker: [00:14:26] Wow.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:14:27] We are about 30% higher than Washington D.C. right now. And this all has to do with the meeting space, right? Because people aren't meeting people, aren't going to events, people aren't going to conventions. And yet we have a lot of growth happening here. We have government travel coming in, it's been increasing every month and it all has to do with our location, but also the product that we offer.
Adam Stoker: [00:15:00] Yeah. Well, let's talk about that because I know there are destinations all over the country right now and all over the world that have all that meeting space or convention centers to fill that are really scrambling right now. And you guys, not having a convention center means that you're focused solely on the leisure market. And anytime you're in a crisis or anytime you're going through a challenge, focus, I think is really important and not spreading your efforts out so far that you're not really good at anything. Right? And so you guys have been able to really focus your efforts on that leisure travel. And it seems like outdoor recreation is especially considering where you are, right? You're near Washington, DC, you're near a lot of these major metropolitan areas. And your leisure product is exactly what people are looking to experience and to get away from some of these densely populated areas.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:15:59] Absolutely. And never before have we looked at people who live in Prince William County and in the surrounding area as our customers, as we do now because that's where it all started post-COVID-19 is getting our residents out to take out curbside dining. We had ABC laws that wound up changing so that people could get alcohol to go, outdoor dining permits that were expanded in our phase two development post-COVID-19. So we've been working from the inside out and what I like about it is that we are having an opportunity to cultivate and grow our own local base, right? Our own local fans, the people who were commuting four hours a day into D.C., in and out of D.C., all of a sudden had an extra four hours to do something in the place that they live. And to learn about, “Oh, I never knew we had kayaking on the Occoquan River. I never knew there was hiking in the bull run mountains, I didn't know that there were these camping opportunities.” So many different things that people have been discovering, especially here in Northern Virginia, where those commutes are not unheard of, those commutes are the norm. So we just had a new customer. That's how we looked at it and we continue to look at it like that because we want to serve everyone and our community and our residents. We've been really a beacon of hope, we've been the cheerleaders, we've had a captive audience that we've been able in the beginning, get virtual tours out to. It reintroduces people to the place where they live and having them fall in love with it and talk about it on their social channels, etcetera. It's been really great to reach this group.
Adam Stoker: [00:18:24] Yeah. I was going to ask you from a messaging standpoint, how are you capitalizing on that opportunity to get people, to get outside and experience the outdoor opportunities that are in your destination, both with your local audience, and then also with these major metropolitan areas surrounding you?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:18:44] Well, we do quite a bit on social, of course, but we also have been working with a Destination DC that has a hundred thousand plus email lists. We did an email campaign with them recently. It was very well received and our messaging is open spaces, friendly faces. And we have that authenticity, that connection to the land, through our 20 plus breweries, our two wineries, farm to table. It's just really a great product to sell at a time when people don't feel comfortable being inside.
Adam Stoker: [00:19:36] Right. So from a tactical standpoint, have you changed where you're putting your message? Are you focusing more on PR or have you changed which digital platforms are working effectively for you? Have there been any pivots like that, that have made sense for you?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:19:55] Yeah, we've really been focusing quite a bit in society that has been really important, especially for the local markets. We have really focused a lot on email marketing maybe a little bit more than we had in the past, just because of the captive audience. And working with our business partners, really getting that cross-pollination going on, we've done a lot internally. We are about to, for our COVID-19 recovery efforts, one of the big things that we are looking to do is to have a new platform that will enable residents and visitors alike to connect with the different businesses and get discounts. We have a Steins, Vines, and Moonshine Trail that we've been developing. And this is going to put us over the edge in terms of getting people out and connecting them through this platform. So we're super excited about that.
Adam Stoker: [00:21:14] And what a great way to reward your locals, right. And to give them the opportunity to get some of these discounts and take advantage of the loyalty programs. I think that's a great idea. Awesome. Well, one of the things that you mentioned to me when we talked before that I thought was really interesting. You said that the private sector has really invested a lot in your outdoor recreation resources. What have they done to help you with that?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:21:40] Well, I have to say there's been a lot of public-private partnerships that have developed. REI is a great retailer as a lot of people know and we do quite a bit with bringing REI into the fold. They do classes and they've been a partner with us on various studies that we've done. Of course, the national park service with having two national parks and a national scenic trail in Prince William County, that's been a really great partnership. Also, with our local healthcare hospitals and health insurance companies. We worked on some projects with some of them in terms of giving back to the community or investing in new parks and things like that.
Adam Stoker: [00:22:42] That's great. Have you seen any of those activities ramping up during COVID-19? Have they intensified those efforts? What's changed since COVID-19 hit with that support from the private sector?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:22:56] Well, I think just in general, people are recognizing the fact that when we join together with a common cause and we put our resources together, we go further, we get more. So in the spirit of that, I think the investment that's occurred and the partners that we have really, I think more than ever appreciate what it is that the tourism office does. We've been able to partner internally here in the County, for instance, this week we've been delivering business recovery kits, and that's only possible because we partnered with our office of communications, our economic development department, and our emergency operation center to create a pledge, it's called the Prince William pledge. It's a consumer and business platform for people to feel more comfortable getting out. When a business in Prince William County takes the Prince William strong pledge, they are committing to adhere to the CDC and the Virginia Department of Health guidelines for business operations. And as a part of that, when they take the pledge, they get a business recovery kit. And in there is free PPE, we're delivering hand sanitizer, masks, we are also delivering floor cleanse, this is all branded in the same way, and decals to show a customer that they've taken the pledge. So that's been really exciting, just the different ways that we've been collaborating to get new things out there for our businesses and for our customers. And communicate that we are taking this very seriously and if you are comfortable with heading out, we're a great place to do that.
Adam Stoker: [00:25:15] I love how the value flows both ways there. They take the pledge, they educate themselves, and then you provide some supplies and a kit that helps them to follow the pledge that they made. I think that's great. There's a couple of programs that you mentioned that I want to touch on before we wrap up today's episode. And the first one is, and I love both of these, but the first of the two that I want to talk about. I know that your hotels, when the crisis hit, got really creative and created some new programs, including one that supported the homeless community that you have in Prince William County, can you speak to that?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:25:54] Sure. So our department of social services contacted us and said, we really need to find some alternative places for our most vulnerable population. And they used some other places beyond a hotel that we wound up helping them secure. But we had a hotel that was interested in this. I mean, they knew that their occupancy was going to be quite low, they worked out a deal with the County and for how things will be handled, for the length, obviously, and then the cleaning and the security. And it's really worked out quite well. They have that contract through the end of the year, and it's been a good partnership. We also have some creativity from our hotels and that we had hotels that are, well, especially one hotel that had done a staycation, come to the hotel and you'll get time at our outdoor pool just for you and your family, a free movie, snacks, just get out of the house with everybody and enjoy our hotel. I thought that was very clever.
Adam Stoker: [00:27:28] Yeah. I think that's great too. It's fun to see creativity from some of those local tourism-related businesses in a destination, and seeing how all that creativity plays together when you get up to the big picture as well. And one of the things that I really love that you guys are doing, this is the second program that I want to talk about is you guys have been providing microloans for tourism-related businesses in your destination. Can you tell me how that came about and how it's gone so far?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:28:01] Sure. Well, we started out with these business relief loans. It was like $5 million that was allocated. And it was primarily focused on small businesses, which did cover some of our, especially independent restaurants and things like that. But our hotels did not qualify because of the amount of revenue historically they had and a couple did, but for the most part, 85% did not. So in talking with our economic development director, we came up with a way to extend the program to include hotels and wound up having about 35 of our 44 hotels apply and receive $20,000 microloans each. And it's just really responding to the needs of the businesses and also communicating, right? I mean, if we weren't working so closely with our economic development office, they may not have ever known how much the hotels were in need of some of these things. And these efforts that we're doing now, it's all collaborative.
Adam Stoker: [00:29:38] Well, and so much of that is having that relationship and communicating with those stakeholder businesses in your community, understanding what they need, and then going to bat for them. I mean, that's what destination marketing and management are all about. And it's fun to see how you guys have chosen to do that during this time. Ann Marie, we're going to need to wrap up the show today, but before we do, I want to have you give us your takeaway. What is the main piece of advice that you could give any destination that's going through the challenges of today?
Ann Marie Maher: [00:30:10] My main piece of advice is to further the relationships that you have, further cultivate them with your community, your residents, with your elected bodies, and with your businesses and see where those lines are that you can draw between all of them. Because what I'm finding out more from COVID-19 than anything else, is that tourism is a community catalyst. And if we weren't doing what we're doing with the relationships that we've built and are building and are continuing to build, I don't think that there would be as much relevancy that our funding sources and things like that, where people would want to continue to invest in tourism. It would be very easy for someone from the outside to say, well, tourism isn't happening right now, so what do we need that tourism office for? So really pivoting to become community cheerleaders, catalysts, and the generators of hope and the future and what we have to offer. Tourism is just a wonderful intrinsic thing that we all maybe took for granted before COVID-19 hit. And now it's like, wow, not only is this our right, but it's our duty to be here for our groups.
Adam Stoker: [00:31:57] And to your point, and I love that your main takeaway is to build relationships because I think it's so critical. But the important thing for people to remember is the time to create those relationships or work on those relationships is yesterday, right? Because when you have to leverage and lean on those relationships that you've built, if you haven't put in the work beforehand, there's nothing there to lean on when the crisis hits. And so if those relationships haven't been built in your community, the time is now to get out there. And like you said, you mentioned the groups, right? It's your residents, it's your community stakeholders, it's your political leaders, and then your visitors as much as you can. And I just think that is such a great piece of advice you've given us today.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:32:43] Thank you.
Adam Stoker: [00:32:44] Well, Ann Marie, it's been fun to have you on the show. Thanks for taking the time to join us today.
Ann Marie Maher: [00:32:48] Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure.
Adam Stoker: [00:32:51] Absolutely. Well, everybody, this has been another great episode of the Destination Marketing Podcast. Thank you for listening. Please make sure that you go on and leave us a rating or review if you enjoyed today's show and we'll talk to you next week.
Okay guys, since we started the Destination Marketing Podcast a little over a year ago, I've had several destinations reach out and say, "Hey, could you help me start a podcast?" And at first, we were like, well, no, that's not really what we do, but after enough requests, we said, “You know what, let's explore this.” And we've created a turnkey program for destinations where we will produce, we will host, we will edit, and we will publish your podcast for your destination on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. And all you have to do is show up and answer some questions. We're really excited about this program. We've got a few destinations that have been doing really well with their podcasts. And if you've ever thought about creating a podcast for your destination, but you don't have all the equipment or you don't have the expertise or any of that type of stuff. Let us take that off your hand. Let Relic handle your podcast creation and production. And all you have to do is show up and answer questions about all the amazing things there are to do within your destination. So let me know if you're interested, email me at adam@relicagency.com and we'll get you set up on this podcast program.
[End of Transcript]
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