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2018: Best Year Ever

I had the honor of presenting VSL's 2018 Annual Report at our First Quarter Board of Directors’ meeting at The Union Event Center a couple of weeks ago. Below is the Annual Report's 'Letter from the Chair and President':

“Since 1984, Visit Salt Lake has had the honor and privilege of marketing, promoting and selling all aspects of Salt Lake County that fuels the visitor economy, most notably meetings, conventions and leisure travel. Without a doubt, the largest impact we have on the visitor economy is through conventions held at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

Following Outdoor Retailer’s hasty decision to leave Utah’s capital city after 22 growth-filled years, many believed we would struggle for years to fill the void it left, particularly the first full year we did not host both the Winter and Summer OR Markets: 2018.

Through creative planning, programs, hard work, persistence and tenacity, we are thrilled to announce that Visit Salt Lake not only met its lofty goal of 759,000 room nights booked, but exceeded it and tallied a total of 790,787 in 2018!

Not only did we surpass Room Night’s Booked, one of Salt Lake County’s five priorities for Visit Salt Lake, but we also met and exceeded the other four County priorities: Direct Visitor Spending by Convention & Meeting Delegates (+33%), Earned Media (+19%), Website Visitor Sessions (+7%) and Hospitality Industry Jobs (+1%).

The success of 2018 was a remarkable effort and we appreciate all the Salt Lake hospitality community does in support of Visit Salt Lake’s ongoing efforts to fulfill its mission of improving the area economy by attracting and providing support to conventions, leisure travelers and visitors to Salt Lake County.”

This letter is but a synopsis of our 2018 Annual Report, which I encourage you to view it in its entirety here.

Scott Beck
President/CEO

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Visit Salt Lake has developed occupancy forecasting models by using STR Analytics daily hotel data. STR Analytics produces a ‘Daily Trend Report’ (DTR). The DTR is a report of hotels’ daily percentage occupancy, average daily rate, and resulting RevPAR. Visit Salt Lake has purchased a subscription to DTR for Salt Lake in two sets. One for total Salt Lake County (approx. 19,700 rooms), and the other for the Salt Lake County Convention District (“SLCD,” approx. 6,400 rooms). By simple interpolation, we derive the data set for Salt Lake hotels that are located outside the SLCD (approx. 13,300 rooms).

VSL has DTR information from January 1, 2012, to the present. Hotels in the SLCD are located in the downtown area, and 98% of their hotel reservation systems are directly linked to STR Analytics. This enables STR to produce its DTR with a high degree of accuracy and provides reliable insight into the effects of events in Salt Lake. Approximately 80% of the hotels inside Salt Lake County but outside of the SLCD link their reservation systems to STR Analytics. The other hotels participate in surveys conducted by STR.

The graph above shows hotel occupancy forecasts for June 2019. Occupancy forecasts are estimated by the number of convention attendees, day-of-week, seasonality, and location.

There are two graphs for each forecasted month:

• Hotel occupancy inside the SLCD
• Hotel occupancy outside the SLCD

The graphs also show historic year-over-year occupancy rates, convention dates, and claimed convention attendance.

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A Bird's Eye View of Salt Lake

Flying into the Salt Lake City International Airport gives you a rare bird’s eye view of Salt Lake, but we’re here to give you a unique view of our beautiful city. No U.S. state capital can boast the same kind of scenic views and backdrops that set the stage of Salt Lake. With the city sitting on the foothills of the iconic Wasatch Mountains, and epic sunsets glowing off the Great Salt Lake, it's hard to ignore the beauty of the Salt Lake Valley.

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Tip of the Month: Engagement

Just like a gym membership, your opportunities with Visit Salt Lake are most rewarding when you actively use them. Here is a quick review that can help maximize your investment:

• Manage your web listing on VisitSaltLake.com and view its performance through the Member Portal.
• Attend educational sessions such as the annual Social Media Seminar.
• Attend networking events to meet new member businesses and potential partnerships.
• Add coupons and special offers on VisitSaltLake.com for additional exposure.
• Introduce yourself and your business to our Visitors Center and display your collateral.
• Stay informed with our newsletters including occupancy forecasting & valuable information about our destination.
• Derive leads from the Convention Calendar & Convention Profile.

Please join us at one of VSL's FREE monthly trainings to learn more or schedule a time to meet individually to discuss your business’ unique opportunities. Contact Miranda Maisto for more information.

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Featured Members:
Salt Lake Magazine Dining Award Winners

Congratulations to our glittering member restaurants that were just announced as 2019 Salt Lake Magazine Dining Award Winners. Those recognized in the “Utah’s Best Restaurants” category were: Himalayan Kitchen, HSL, Stoneground Kitchen, Table X and Veneto, and those that garnered an award in the “Reader’s Choice” category: Log Haven and Takashi.

These two “Reader’s Choice” winners also recently showed up in a VSL blog that listed Yelp’s best-reviewed Salt Lake dining. Salt Lake magazine, another valued Visit Salt Lake member, described the award winners this way: “Winners pull flavors, ingredients and techniques from cuisines all over the world, becoming ever more particular in the source of their ingredients.”

These stellar restaurants have certainly moved beyond the casseroles and caffeine-free sodas of yore. If you haven’t had the opportunity, and as suggested by Salt Lake Magazine, “Take a peek into the pantries of Utah’s best restaurants” and set a date to experience the delectable cuisine at these member restaurants.

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Meet Our New Members!

• RootRez

Upcoming Member Events:

• Visit Salt Lake Member Training
• Member Connection at Squatters Pub Brewery

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Upcoming Events

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You are subscribed to Visit Salt Lake's newsletters as: mmaisto@visitsaltlake.com