HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 335-08City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
26
TO:
FROM:
DATE: "
sUBJECT:
HONORABLE CITY .COUNCIL
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY
MANAGER’S OFFICE
OCTOBER 6, 2008 CMR: 335:08
Approval Of An Agreement BetweenSan Mate0 County Convention
And Visitors Bureau And The City Of Palo Alto For The Provision Of
Destination. Palo Alto Visitorship Services In ~The Amount Of
$215,000 For Fiscal Year 2008-09 And $240,000 For Fiscal Year 2009-
10.And Approval. Of An Agreement Between The Palo Alto Weekly
And The City Of Palo Alto For The Provision Of The Destination Palo
Alto Website Update And Revision, Visitor Guide And Associated
Services In The Amount Of $25,000 For Fiscal.Year 2008-09,
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council:
Authorize the City Manager or his designee .to execute the attached
agreement xqith San Mateo ¯County Convention and Visitors Bureau (Attachment
A) in a~ amount not..to exceed $455,000 for visitorship services for fiscal year.
2008-09 and fiscal year 2009-10. ,
2.Authorize the City. Manager or . his . designee to - execute .the attached
agreement With the Palo Alto Weekly(Attachment B) in anamount not.to exceed
$25,000 for. fiscal year 2008~09 for Destination Palo Alto Website update and
revision, ViSitor guide and.associated services.
BACKGROUND
In October 2005, the City Council, through a ~Colleague’s Memo authored, by then~Vice
Mayor Kleinbei’g.andCouncil Members Beecham and Mossar, directed staff to agendize
a Council-discussion that-would explore enhancing Palo AltO’s economy by improving
visitor outreach. The motion was approved unarfimouSly.
In February 2006, staff returned to City Council and was directed to convene a committee
of stakeholders for a.Palo Alto visitorship"effort. The committee, Destination Palo Alto;
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was chaired by the City Manager and held its first, meeting on March 15, 2006.
Stakeholders included: the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, Stanford Athletics, Palo
Alto Business Improvement District, Palo Alto .Weekly, Stanford Visitor’s. Center, Palo
Alto Online, California Avenue Area Development Association (CAADA), Stanford
Shopping Center, Stanford University, Town and Country Shopping Center, Palo Alto
Arts Center and business representatives from the hotel, retail and hospitality industries.
The goals of Destination Palo Alto included the development of a specific, actionable and
achievable plan that would strengthen visitorship in Palo Alto. Three key objectives
included:
1.Increasing visitors to Palo Alto
2,Promoting return visitorship to Palo Alto
3.Increasing. visitors stay, using additional amenities and spending more locally
On April 14, 2008, City Council directed staffto issue a Request For Proposal (RFP) for
visitorship services through Destination Palo Alto to enhance the Palo Alto economy-and
authorized staff to describe and link the Destination Palo Alto website to the City of Palo
Alto website. In addition, staff was directed toinclude $240,000 for the Destination Palo
Alto program in the 2008-09 proposed budget and $240,000 in the 2009-10 proposed.
budget.
Based on an- estimate by the Administrative Services Department, a formula was
identified for estimating the City’s. return on its investment for Destination Palo Alto.
Based on a 5% increase in the transient occupancy tax for the five largest hotels in Palo
Alto, the growth in revenue was Calculated to be approximately $240,000 yearly. This
amount is proposed for two years as a part of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 budgets.
DISCUSSION
Solicitation Process
The Destination Palo Alto Request for ProP0sal’s (RFP) was issued May 12, 2008 with
proposals due on June 10, 2008, Four proposals were received from the following
groups:
The Placemaking Group
Rabuck/Stranger
Alison Williams
San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Palo Alto Weekly (with
Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce as a designated subconsultant)
Copies of each proposal were distributed to an evaluation panel comprised of the
following members:
Dan Fenton, CEO of Team San Jose, San Jose Convention and Visitors’ Bureau
.Jim Rebosiol Palo Alto Sheraton and Westin hotels
Bob Carruesco, Stanford Athletics
Lalo Perez, Director, Administrative Services Department
Erik Jacobsen; Three Story Studio
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Khashayar Alaee, Community Services Department
Susan Barnes, Economic Development Manager
!nterviews with the evaluation panel were set for July 3, 2008. Prior to the interview,
Rabuck/Stranger withdrew from the process.
On July 3, interviews were held with The Placemaking Group and San Mateo Convention
and Visitors Bureau, Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, and Palo Alto Weekly. .
As a result of the interview with San Mateo Convention and Visitors Bureau, Palo Alto
Chamber of Commerce, and Palo Alto Weekly (SMCCVB, PAW, PACC), the evaluation
panel requested that a second interview be scheduled with. this group for J.uly 17. In
addition, Alison Williams who was unable to participate in the interview on July 3, was
scheduled for an intei~iew on July 17th.
On July 17th, Alison Williams Was interviewed in person by the evaluation pane!. .The
evaluation team also conducted a second interview with the San Marco Convention and
Visitors Bureau, Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, and Palo Alto Weekly. Proposals
were evaluated according to the following criteria:
Quality and completeness ofprop0sal.
Quality and effectiveness of the solution or services provided by the proposer
Proposers’ track record in delivering visitor services and evaluation of the
effectiveness of services, including the experience of staff to be assigned .to the
project, and the engagement of similar scope and complexity to the City of Palo
Alto
Cost to the City of Palo Alto
Proposer’s financial stability
Proposer.’s ability to perform the work within the time specified
As a result of the RFP evaluatio~ process, the evaluation ¯team evaluated the proposers,
providing an aggregate score as follows:
Proposer Aggregate Score
San Mateo CCV, PAW; PACC
The Ptacemaking Group
Alison Williams
¯ 59O
459
332
The San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau (SMCCVB, PAW, PACC)
. proposal was the top-ranked proposal. The pr0poser’s combination of national and
international expertise, combined with local experience, was determined to be the best fit
for the provision of a targeted vision and implementation plan for Destination Palo Alto.
The SMCCVB, PAW, PACC proposal will address the provision of visitorship services
for Palo Alto from a local, regional; international and media perspective. The SMCCVB,
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in a subcontracting relationship with the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce will establish
a local visitor center, open seven days a week. In addition to the local-marketing effort,
the SMCCVB has a strong track record of providing national and international marketing
to tour providers and the tourism industry, in general. The.Palo Alto Weekly will modify
the Destination Palo Alto website and calendars to reflect current market research and
develop a new, glossy restaurant guide and revised rack brochure. The SMCCVB will
also integrate Palo Alto into. its .efforts, .renaming the visitors bureau the Silicon
Val!ey/San Mateo Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In addition, the SMCCVB will initiate a contract with Godbe Research to create a formal
research plan and conduct surveys to evaluate Palo Alto visitors’ perception of the area
and What factors draw them to Palo Alto. Based on this research, SMCCVB will design a
"branding" campaign and outreach plan to entice visitors to visit and stay longer in Palo
Alto.
RESOURCE IMPACT
The first year of the Destination Palo Alto Visitor Program will be funded through an
allocation from the City’s General Fund for FY 08-09. -The amount of funding allocated
for the program is based on the expected growth in hotel occupancy that results from
implementation of the program. The expected growth in occupancy is estimated to be 5
percent, which translates into $240,000. $240,000 is included .in the 2008-09 Adopted
Budget for the Destination Palo Alto Visitor Program. Staff intends for the Program to be
a two-year pilot with $240,000 for the second year being proposed as part of the 2009-10
budget.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Staff Willprovide City Council with annual reports and-a recommendation for further
funding, options prior to the end of the two year contract period.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action by the City Council is not considered a project pursuant to Section 21065 of
the Cafifornia Environmental Quality Act.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A:
Attachment B:
Agreement between San Mateo County Convention and Visitors’
Bureau and the CityofPalo Alto
Agreement between Palo Alto Weekly and the City of Palo Alto
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Prepared By:SU~RNE~,~anager
Economic Development/Redevelopment
Department Head:
CURTIS WILLIAMS, Interim Director
Planning and Community Environment
City Manager Appr°val: ~t~vl~agerEN~E~" ~’~
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