(Note: meetNKY will release its financial report for 2015, at its annual meeting today at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, One West RiverCenter Blvd in Covington. The report is expected to include some impressive tourism numbers, bolstered by regional events, most notably the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Other highlights include presentation of the Star of Tourism Industry Award and introduction of the reinvigorated “NKY Legends” program. Networking and registration starts at 5 p.m. and the meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.)
By Vicki Prichard
NKyTribune Reporter
Armed with a succinct new moniker and an initiative that shines a light on what’s unique and special about Northern Kentucky, the Convention and Visitors Bureau has had a stellar year. And, if numbers talk, the future looks bright too.
Two years ago, CVB conducted an exercise to determine how its brand was perceived. The perception, it turned out, was that it was considered a proximity to another destination – the southern side of Cincinnati. So they decided to make a change, to go with something that provided more identity. The result was the adoption of a new initiative and a name that wasn’t such a mouthful — meetNKY.
“Northern Kentucky is generally considered a region of Kentucky, but to others it’s a direction,” says Eric Summe, president and CEO of meetNKY. “A lot of the challenge for us is that name recognition of being a destination.”
And when your direction is a destination, he says, that requires a bit more education and experiential process. But once the visitors come, they will come back.
Summe points out that Northern Kentucky is also part of the Greater Cincinnati region, and that is an asset to capitalize on as well.
“We all know that when a visitor comes here, the river means nothing,” says Summe. “The river is just a means of conveyance, and they’ll stay here. They may go to Turfway Park or attend a Bengals game. But it is a regional experience and we capitalize on that. And yet, we’re still Kentucky, and we’re still Northern Kentucky.”
Big economic impact
Tourism and visitors translate into strong economic impact, says Summe.
“In Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, last year, we did 1.5 million room nights,” he says.
With the average “spend” for a room per night at $220, Summe says the impact was well over $300 million.
Jobs created by tourism are a piece of the equation too. Summe says that one of every ten jobs in Kentucky is in the hospitality industry.
“One of the returns on investment (ROI) elements that we like to cite is that for every dollar we spend from our bureau marketing Northern Kentucky, we get a ROI of almost $15, and that includes hotel, restaurant, sightseeing, shopping and the whole list of experiences that visitors like to do.”
Northern Kentucky, as a destination, says Summe, has no shortage of experiences for every interest and age. In fact, he says, when the state tourism cabinet does an economic impact study, they find that among visitors visiting the Commonwealth, Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties account for one-fifth of all visitor expenditures in Kentucky.
Phenomenal year – behind — and more ahead
Julie Kirkpatrick, meetNKY’s vice president of sales and marketing, says 2015 was a year that she didn’t want to see end.
“When you think about all the momentum that has started, I want to make sure that it keeps going in 2016,” she says. “We’ve had phenomenal results, unprecedented vision and unprecedented exposure.”
Looking ahead, Summe says they have set their sights on some aggressive goals for 2016, much of them a continuation on what they did in 2015.
“We had a great year,” he says. “From our occupancy levels, which were the highest they’ve been in ten years, and the amounts of the rates that the hotels are getting in this area are as high as they’ve been in a long time, specifically since the recession of 2008 and 2009.”
For the first time, says Summe, the CVB has groups booked into Northern Kentucky – into the convention center and other venues – as far ahead as 2022.
“This is impressive for us because this just shows the difference that we have made in our sales in looking forward and in getting our hotel partners and convention center partners to start looking ahead and putting business on the books,” says Summe.
Make it NKY
Knowing that Northern Kentuckians have a near palpable pride in their region, meetNKY will launch a new program called The Legends, which enlists locals to encourage guests to visit Northern Kentucky.
“One thing that we’re really passionate about is getting Northern Kentuckians excited about bringing guests to Northern Kentucky,” says Kirkpatrick. “The Legends asks people who have a lot of pride in Northern Kentucky – who live in Northern Kentucky, and belong to organizations — to help convince those organizations to come and meet here.”
The program is groundbreaking, says Kirkpatrick.
“This is really activating the local pride in where they live, to take that to the groups and organizations where they belong and ask those organizations to Make it NKY,” she says.
Renee Wuerdeman, meetNKY’s director of convention services, knows first hand that Northern Kentucky residents readily volunteer to be part of the regions hospitality experience.
Wuerdeman headed up the meetNKY’s certified ambassador program, which was initially developed to make sure that every visitor to Northern Kentucky had a positive experience.
“We had a goal of 500 students and wound up having 800 people go through the program,” says Wuerdeman. “We initially wanted to have our front line hospitality personnel go through this program, but, as it turned out, we had a lot of volunteers and residents who wanted to go through the program.”
Preparing for a flood of visitors
As Northern Kentucky attracts an increasing number of guests, the region’s existing hotels are responding with upgrades and new boutique hotels are emerging.
“One thing that’s great is occupancy,” says Kirkpatrick. “The amount of people staying in hotels has never been higher, and the rate that guests are paying is higher than it’s been.”
Those indicators, she says, tell hotel owners in the region that it’s time to invest. And, for the first time in years, new hotels will open. The Hotel Covington, opening in the original Coppins Department Store location, will be the Northern Kentucky’s first boutique hotel.
“It’s really going to speak to the history of Covington,” says Kirkpatrick. “It will have a fabulous restaurant, and it’s going to be located next to the Madison Event Center which will make it a fabulous venue for wedding couples, and of course it’s owned by the Salyers family which has so much pride in Northern Kentucky.”
Summe says whereas visitors used to come to a destination and simply want to stay in a hotel, now they want to experience a hotel, and hotels like the Hotel Covington will be an experience hotel.
“A lot of hotels are adjusting,” says Summe. “They’re changing designs of the room, the furniture in the room.”
Attractions are key to visitors as well, and Summe points out that Northern Kentucky has a big one arriving.
“The one – clear and away – is the Ark Encounter which is being developed in Grant County,” says Summe.
While he doesn’t know how big the numbers of visitors will be, he says one thing they’re sure of is that they’re going to be significant. He says they are already seeing an increase in the amount of religious groups that are interested in the area, as the Creation Museum is located in Boone County.
“We can be competing for a religious group and there are a lot of them, and if they know we have an offering like the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum, that puts us at a distinct advantage,” says Summe.