Hotels experience increased business since founding of Discover St. Louis Park

When Discover St. Louis Park began in 2011, some hotel owners worried they would lose business from higher lodging taxes collected to pay for the convention and visitor’s bureau.

However, Discover St. Louis Park President and CEO John Basill reports business is up at St. Louis Park’s six hotels.

Although the bureau formed in 2011, the group did not kick off its marketing efforts until 2012, Basill noted. Now, he said, hotels in St. Louis Park are regularly reporting an increase of 3-4 percent in business compared to the same month a year prior. The increases exceed projections from bureau founders, Basill said.

“We’re very pleased with where we’re at and the awareness we’ve been able to create for St. Louis Park,” Basill said.

A 3 percent lodging tax the St. Louis Park City Council approved to finance Discover St. Louis Park met initial opposition from hotel representatives.

For example, Robbie Sullivan, area director of sales and marketing for CSM Lodging, said at the time, “It doesn’t appear to be the right time or the right situation to impose a lodging tax, especially after the years we’ve just come through where it’s very difficult to try to get people to spend money on hotels.”

Doubletree Park Place Hotel Director of Sales and Marketing Mike Kottke said during a council meeting at the time, “I see about 87 percent of us sitting in the room here that  do not support this.”

Kottke and a representative from CSM Lodging did not return calls for this article, but Kottke later joined the Discover St. Louis Park board and Basill said hoteliers are now supportive of the organization. New hotel sales representatives at St. Louis Park hotels often meet with Discover St. Louis Park staff to discuss marketing efforts, Basill said.

“I would say we’re all friends,” Basill said. “We area here to create awareness of all the community assets, and hotels are a part of that.”

Basill, who previously served as a St. Louis Park City Council member, said the city needed a convention and visitors bureau when it became more of a destination after redevelopment projects like Excelsior and Grand and The Shops at West End.

Marketing methods

Discover St. Louis Park has sought to make the city more of a destination through a television advertisement, kiosks and staff appearances at trade shows. The television commercial, which Discover St. Louis Park created for a mere $3,000, has aired during Twins games and on travel and cooking channels.

“We had a strong desire to bring as much awareness to St. Louis Park as possible,” Basill said. “The broadest net you can cast is a TV commercial, but traditionally it’s a very expensive procedure.”

Basill said he did not know if a small organization like his could afford a TV commercial, but his two employees convinced him otherwise. They reached out to their network of contacts to create an inexpensive commercial that still met the organization’s standards.

“I credit them for their persistence, effort and ability to not say no,” Basill said. “This is something they believe in.”

Discover St. Louis Park also works with Explore Minnesota to furnish information about St. Louis Park at kiosks along major highways in Minnesota, at the international airport and at the Mall of America. The organization’s small staff attends trade shows throughout the country as a way of luring athletic teams and businesspeople to St. Louis Park for their events.

Representatives of a baseball tournament who became aware of St. Louis Park’s fields and lodging  at a Detroit trade show brought their competition to town in June, for example.

Basill said the increase in visits to St. Louis Park helps out a variety of businesses, including restaurants and shops. The average overnight guest spends $145 in the city, not including the price of the hotel room, while the average daytripper spends $65, according to the convention and visitors bureau statistics.

“It really makes an economic impact and it makes a difference for the community as a whole,” Basill said.

About 10,000 people have requested the Discover St. Louis Park visitors guide, he noted. About 350 groups have communicated with Discover St. Louis Park staff about bringing their members to town for sports events or meetings or for staying in St. Louis Park while in the metropolitan area for other activities.

St. Louis Park’s proximity to Minneapolis is reflected in the city’s Comfortably Close tagline. A logo depicts downtown Minneapolis towers standing behind trees and smaller buildings in the foreground. The organization selected the logo and tagline from more than 60 variations.

“It sends the message we want that there’s vibrancy in St. Louis Park yet we’re comfortably close to Minneapolis,” Basill said. “We’re an inner-ring suburb. You feel the city when you’re in St. Louis Park.”

Overall, Basill said he is excited about what the organization has been able to accomplish.

He said, “I’m very pleased with where we’re at and the awareness we’ve been able to create for St. Louis Park.”

Reported by:  Sun Sailor