SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Tentative Schedule of Events
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Registration and Information Desk Open
Royal Palm Pre-Assembly
Wednesday, August 31, 2021
8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Registration and Information Desk Open
Royal Palm Pre-Assembly
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Media Room Open
Veranda Salon IV
For invited media representatives only
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Tourism Marketplace Exhibitors Move-In
Royal Palm Ballroom
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
VISIT FLORIDA Meet & Greet
Estate Ballroom I
Meet the VISIT FLORIDA staff from the Public Relations, Promotions and Travel Trade departments.
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Chairman’s Reception in the Tourism Marketplace, sponsored by The Boca Raton and The Palm Beaches
Royal Palm Ballroom
Sponsored By:
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Chairman’s Dinner, sponsored by The Boca Raton and The Palm Beaches
Grand Ballroom Salon E – J
Sponsored By:
Thursday, September 1, 2022
7:30 am – 5:00 pm
Registration and Information Desk Open
Royal Palm Pre-Assembly
8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Media Room Open
Veranda Salon IV
8:00 am – 10:00 am
Breakfast & Opening Keynote Session
Grand Ballroom Salon E – J
Sponsored By:
10:00 am – 10:45 am
Refreshment Break in the Tourism Marketplace
Royal Palm Ballroom
Sponsored By:
10:10 am – 10:30 pm
DMO Spotlight Session: Visit Tampa Bay
Tourism Marketplace, Royal Palm Ballroom
Visit Tampa Bay’s Destination Development Mission and its Impact on the Destination’s Brand Promise
In this session, Visit Tampa Bay will share how they are staying on the cutting edge of destination development by creating tourism products that showcase the destination’s many things-to-do. Beyond destination marketing, Visit Tampa Bay’s mission is to steer the visitor experience so the brand promise is fulfilled on every trip made. The BayCrafted Pass and the newly launched Riverwalk Pass are the cornerstones for this effort, but the DMO is just getting started. Join Bandwango and Visit Tampa Bay to hear more about the future of destination development and what’s next!
Speakers: Emilie Harris, Director of Marketing Operations, Bandwango
Patrick Harrison, CMO, Visit Tampa Bay
10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Breakout Sessions (four)
10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Breakout Session One
Addison West
Finding Your Own Pirates & Mermaids: How Emotional Marketing Can Get Guests To Market Your Business For You
With so much competition in the hospitality field these days, it’s hard to make your business stand out. Therefore, it’s important to differentiate yourself from your competitor. Guests want a different type of experience, and if you can provide that, well they will help you market your business to their friends. In this session we will look at multiple hotels and restaurants as well as examine psychological neuroscience behind consumer habits to see what it takes to not only create a emotional connection, but to get them to market your business for you.
Speaker: Paul Bonnette, Director of Marketing, Days Inn by Wyndham Panama City Beach
Sponsored By:
10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Breakout Session Two
Grand Ballroom Salon D
Why You Should Care about Public Relations Measurement
Destinations International has combined efforts with AMEC, the world’s largest media intelligence and insights professional body, to collaborate on establishing public relations and communications measurement guidelines for destination organizations. With the combined efforts of industry leaders and AMEC’s expertise, Destinations International will be releasing a Public Relations and Communications Measurement Guidelines Handbook. This session will provide an overview of the findings from our baseline survey and insights into the future of public relations measurement.
Speakers: Caitlyn Blizzard, Vice-President of Communications, Destinations International
Karyl Leigh Barnes, President, Tourism Development Counsellors International, Destinations International
Sponsored By:
10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Breakout Session Three
Addison East
Tools and Financing Solutions for your Destination’s Workforce Development
This presentation will feature data related to workforce challenges but focus on solutions for DMOs and how destinations partner with local governments to create solutions for the tourism industry.
Speaker: Tiffany Gallagher, Vice President of Operations, Civitas
Sponsored By:
10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Breakout Session Four
Estate II, III
The MICHELIN Guide and Florida
Cynthia Ochterbeck of The MICHELIN Guide will provide an overview of the The MICHELIN Guide in its global context from the work of the inspectors to the Guide’s impact on a destination. Chef Michael Beltran of Michelin one-star Ariete in Miami, will share his personal journey as a restaurateur and the impact the Guide has had on his career and restaurant.
Michael Beltran, Executive Chef, Ariete Miami
Sponsored By:
12:15 pm – 2:30 pm
Lunch and Keynote Session
Grand Ballroom Salon E – J
Featuring the Iris D. Larson Awards, Film Florida’s Legends Award, a Hotel Industry Update by Shawn Grenley with STR and a Keynote Session by Dustin Garis: “The Next Frontier of Brand Innovation.”
Sponsored By:
2:45 pm – 3:30 pm
Refreshment Break in the Tourism Marketplace
Royal Palm Ballroom
Sponsored By:
3:00 pm – 3:20 pm
DMO Spotlight Session: Florida’s Space Coast
Tourism Marketplace, Royal Palm Ballroom
Maximizing Your Marketing ROI with Florida’s Space Coast
Florida’s Space Coast is not OK spending their marketing dollars without understanding exactly what economic impact is coming back into the destination, so they’re getting direct attribution for everything! Join Florida’s Space Coast Executive Director Peter Cranis and Adara’s Leroy Bridges to dig into their process and how they are measuring hotel revenue for linear TV buys, programmatic, connected TV and everything in-between.
Speakers: Peter Cranis, Executive Director, Space Coast Office of Tourism
Leroy Bridges, Senior Industry Specialist – Tourism, Adara
3:30 pm – 4:45 pm
Breakout Sessions (four)
3:30 pm – 4:45 pm
Breakout Session One
Addison West
Economic Trends and Travel Megatrends Impacting Florida Tourism
Attendees will get a sense of broader economic and traveler trends that may impact Florida tourism in the next year. North American, European, and South American economies may take unpredictable turns, for good or bad. So we’ll cover what experts are saying about the possibilities for domestic and international demand trends for Florida. We’ll also look at the risks of inflation on travel supply and demand. We’ll also look at broader, multi-year megatrends in shifting consumer demand, such as for new products like glamping, new technologies for automating operations and easing labor troubles. We’ll use practical examples of recently opened and soon-to-open hotel projects in Florida to talk about upcoming trends and keep everything practically related to Florida tourism.
Speaker: Sean O’Neill, Senior Hospitality Editor, Skift
Sponsored By:
3:30 pm – 4:45 pm
Breakout Session Two
Grand Ballroom Salon D
Trends, Opportunities and Challenges in the Meetings Industry
This session will feature a moderated panel discussion with representatives from a Florida DMO, Florida hotel and a Florida=based meeting planner, having a conversation on today’s meeting and incentive planning trends, challenges and opportunities:
a) What are top priorities for planners, program owners and participants? How are hotels and DMOs responding?
b) What are planners looking for in future destinations?
c) How are DMOs tapping into intellectual capitals in market to assist?
d) How key is sustainability in programs? Hotel Response.
e) Trends in F&B and creative ways hotels are adapting to food costs and supply chain.
Moderator: Shalise DeMott, Vice President of Sales, Northstar Meetings Group
Panelists: Emily Snyder, Chief Sales Officer, The Boca Raton
Tracy Wallach, Event Lead, JM Family
Mike Waterman, Chief Sales Officer, Visit Orlando
Sponsored By:
3:30 pm – 4:45 pm
Breakout Session Three
Estate II, III
Storytelling Though Florida’s Food: The Hidden Flavor
At 117 years, the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa is Florida’s Oldest Restaurant. A key to success, in addition to 5 generations of family ownership, is how it harnesses storytelling to add extra flavor to the customer experience and extra power in marketing. That recipe also includes the Columbia Restaurant Group’s other brands: Ulele, Goody Goody Burgers, Casa Santo Stefano and Cafe Con Leche Ybor City. This session will model the ways that the Columbia group effectively deploys storytelling on everything from menus to social media.
Speaker: Jeff Houck, Vice President of Marketing, Columbia Restaurant Group
Sponsored By:
3:30 pm – 4:45 pm
Breakout Session Four
Addison East
Brand USA International Update
Learn about the current international travel landscape and recent international marketing research from Brand USA’s Director of Partner Engagement Chris Ellis as he discusses how Brand USA uses those insights to inform its strategy.
Sponsored By:
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Networking Evening Event featuring the Gypsy Lane Band
Grand Ballroom Salon A – D
Network, enjoy delicious food and beverage and dance the night away with the Gypsy Lane Band, the eight person South Florida’s premier variety show band! What makes this band special, besides seeing them all hyped on stage are their deep roots in awesome music! The original members were the backing musicians for groups as the Village People, Ritchie Family, Instant Funk, etc. After performing with such artists as Patti La Belle, Cindy Lauper and Lou Rawls and recording with the O’Jays, James Brown, Tito Puente Jr and 2 Unlimited, just to name a few, two of the original members brought Gypsy Lane back here in Florida! They play everything from mo’town to reggae, from soul to funk and from disco to hip hop!
Friday, September 2, 2022
7:30 am – 1:00 pm
Registration and Information Desk Open
Royal Palm Pre-Assembly
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Breakfast in the Tourism Marketplace
Royal Palm Ballroom
Sponsored By:
8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Media Room Open
Veranda Salon IV
8:30 am – 8:50 am
DMO Spotlight Session: Experience Kissimmee
Tourism Marketplace, Royal Palm Ballroom
How Experience Kissimmee Accelerated Osceola County’s Pandemic Recovery
Tourism is the largest sector of Osceola County’s economy, with an estimated impact of $5.3 billion in 2017. Just before the pandemic, Experience Kissimmee was responsible for approximately 5.5% of the local visitor economy, representing more than $300 million in impact. But with travel halting in March 2020, the county saw the visitor economy shrink by nearly 25%. With support from the Board of County Commissioners and County Administration, Experience Kissimmee led a triumphant and unbelievable resurgence, staking a nearly 13% share of the visitor economy.
Speaker: Jason Holic, Vice President of Business Applications & Insights, Experience Kissimmee
9:00 am – 10:15 am
Breakout Sessions (four)
9:00 am – 10:15 am
Breakout Session One
Addison West
Leveraging Digital Opportunities for Hotels
In today’s online landscape, there is no shortage of digital channels to choose from. Join us in this session to understand which platforms have the big impact, what content really matters, and why you should invest time into maintaining your customer-facing presence on Google, TripAdvisor, and Bing. Uncover how to leverage both paid and organic opportunities as part of your marketing mix.
Speaker: Angela Vaughn, Director of Marketing & Operations, Hospitality Division, Miles Partnership
Sponsored By:
9:00 am – 10:15 am
Breakout Session Two
Grand Ballroom Salon D
Pitch It or Keep It: 4 Hot Topics in the DMO Industry
Sustainable tourism! Talent acquisition and retention! Metrics and data, and the rise of destination intelligence! The DMO industry is evolving at a rapid pace, and the topics and challenges that matter most to you are changing almost by the day. Join our speakers, Matt Clement with Madden Media and Patrick Harrison with Visit Tampa Bay, to hear a lively debate on today’s biggest industry questions, and even roll up your own sleeves to debate these hot topics amongst your peers.
Speakers: Matt Clement, Managing Partner, Madden Media
Patrick Harrison, Chief Marketing Officer, Visit Tampa Bay
Sponsored By:
9:00 am – 10:15 am
Breakout Session Three
Addison East
REELING in the Followers
In this session we will learn how to create quick, simple and high converting reels that will draw in new ideal customers. We’ll also learn how business owners can fit reels into their already busy schedule to create a REEL plan that will grow your sales!!!
Speaker: Brandee Gaar, Owner, Blush by Brandee Gaar
Sponsored By:
9:00 am – 10:15 am
Breakout Session Four
Estate II, III
Wheel the World: Empowering Travelers Through Accessibility
Travelers with mobility disabilities spend $58.2 billion per year on travel and go on leisure trips with nearly the same frequency as those without mobility issues, and yet this audience is frequently overlooked by travel providers. Wheel the World is a travel booking site with the mission of making the world more accessible. Discover the needs of this market and how your travel organization can be a part of the solution through the company’s innovative Accessibility Mapping System and Wheel the World Academy, a program for travel professionals to learn more about accessible tourism, disabilities, and universal design.
Speakers: Shatia Mason, Communications Manager, Wheel the World
Sponsored By:
10:15 am – 11:00 am
Refreshment Break in the Tourism Marketplace
Royal Palm Ballroom
10:30 am – 10:50 am
DMO Spotlight Session: Gulf County
Tourism Marketplace, Royal Palm Ballroom
How Do You Market The Other Florida?
Everyone knows Orlando, Miami, Tampa, etc., but the Panhandle of Florida is a different market and requires different marketing techniques. The Gulf County, Florida TDC conducted a two-sided campaign in 2021 to 1) attract tourists who would appreciate and care for Gulf County’s unique ecology and 2) to educate locals on the importance of responsible tourism to the local economy.
Speakers: Kelli Godwin, Executive Director, Gulf County TDC
Adrianne Glass, Marketing Director, Gulf County TDC
Kevin Elliott, Producer, Wewa Films
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Closing Keynote Session
Grand Ballroom Salon E – J
Sponsored By:
