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September 30, 2022
Dear Valued Tourism Industry Partners,
I know everyone joins me in the sad and disappointing news of the unfortunate cancellation of the Annual Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend activities. Due to the forecasted hazardous wind and rain conditions for the coming weekend, safety must be our priority, first and foremost. The good news is the organizers are optimistic that the International Sandsculpting Championship tent will be able to open to the public on Monday, October 3. More information regarding this event will be forthcoming.
More good news: Additionally, the festival will move forward with their Neptune’s Final Toast: Celebrating our Hometown Heroes event featuring four-time Super Bowl Champion Rocky Bleier scheduled for Sunday, October 2nd at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront. For more information about this event, click here.
Simpleview Partner Pipeline Trainings - Thanks to all our partners who came out to the VBCC this week for our Simpleview training sessions. We appreciated the support and seeing many representatives from all facets of the industry. We hope you found the sessions helpful and informative, and that you’ll call us if you need guidance or assistance on the platform. Email your questions to VBPPL@VisitVirginiaBeach.com.
A special thank you to Smart City for the gratis WiFi service; it was a huge help and we appreciate your support. A huge shout out to CVB IT Manager RubyLee Gardner and the CVB staff who worked diligently for weeks to pull this week's training sessions together. Everyone did a great job and I appreciate all the effort. I’ve heard some great feedback about the sessions already!
CVB M&C Sales & Services Team Keeps Pressure On Competition - Over the next week, the M&C sales team is hosting three major site visits to secure potential future business: Scott Warren has the International Right-of-Way Association previewing the City for their 2025 annual event; Dee Mittman has Groundworks making some major decisions for January of 2023 and Sally Noona has VA Family, Career and Community Leaders of America previewing their venues for next April of 2023! If all goes according to plan, more than 9,000 future room nights will be secured for the City.
Free Movies & Fun At Town Center - Get ready for an evening of family-friendly fun! Presented on a large recessed outdoor screen in the Town Center Fountain Plaza, “Movies In The Plaza” continues each Saturday night at sunset through October 29. Guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets. Limited free popcorn will be provided. Find the full movie schedule here and hope to see you there!
2022 Virginia Tourism Corporation Orientation Program - The 2022 VTC Orientation offers new information, resources, and best industry practices. VTC Orientation is a must for Virginia DMOs, tourism-related business owners, tourism marketers and representatives from Virginia attractions, restaurants, events, retail, and lodging establishments. Receive a brief overview and update from each VTC Division and receive timely ‘Action Items’ to help strategize and plan leveraging VTC resources. Best of all? It’s free! Find out more below but don’t wait long; the next sessions are 10/25-27 and registration closes 10/20/22. Contact VTC’s Judy Watkins for orientation questions: jwatkins@virginia.org | (804) 754-5921.
Other Weekend Event Cancelations Due to Inclement Weather as of September 29 Shared with the CVB
Military Aviation Museum “Tanks & Trucks” 10/1 & 10/2
Holiday Trav-L Park “Common Grounds Collab Beer Fest” 10/1 (new date 5/20/2023)
Virginia Beach Farmers Market “Southeast Virginia Hokie Bugfest” 10/1 (new date 10/8)
Whitehurst Buffington House “Fall Festival” 10/1 (new date 10/8)
Rudee Tours Dolphin Watching and Fishing Boat Trips 9/30, 10/1, 10/2, 10/3, 10/4, cancelled.
Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Dolphin Watching Boat Trips, cancelled until 10/5.
As always, my team and I remain committed to you and our industry. Please let me know how we can assist.
Sincerely,
Nancy Helman
CVB Director
Hotel Performance for the Week of Sept. 11 - 17: According to STR, Virginia Beach was within the top 25 performing DMO’s for the week of September 11 – September 17. Virginia Beach’s hotel occupancy rate for this week was up 4% at 77% occupancy and up 1.8% for the running 28-day trend. ADR was up 5.6% to $162.64 but slightly down at -0.8% for the running 28-day trend. RevPAR was up 10.2% at $125.30, where we also saw a 1% increase within the running 28-day trend. In comparison to 2019’s monthly July report, we are up on occupancy with an increase of 5.9% as well as an increase in ADR and RevPAR of 3.67% and 41.43% respectively.
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