Chapter by chapter slides based on "Fundamentals of Destination Management and Marketing," provided by Destination Marketing Association International in cooperation with American Hotel & Lodging Association Education Institute.

1. © 2005, Educational Institute
Chapter 9
Member Care
Fundamentals of Destination Management and Marketing
(323TXT)

2. © 2005, Educational Institute
CVB Members
• Businesses whose services might be attractive to
individual leisure travelers or convention attendees
• Convention services members: offer a product or
service to professional meeting/convention planners
o Now form half the membership of large CVBs
in convention destinations

3. © 2005, Educational Institute
Development
• Most prospects come to the CVB on their own.
• Membership sales staff should look for new members in
other industry publications or watch for new businesses
in the area.
• Making face-to-face contact with a potential member
can often close the sale faster.
• It is difficult to get corporations to sign on as members,
but they may be willing to sponsor CVB events.
• Chain restaurants and retailers may be difficult to
recruit.
o Suggest paying dues out of discretionary cash.
o See if restaurants in other cities have joined CVBs.

4. © 2005, Educational Institute
Retention
• Maintain accurate mail and electronic databases.
• Communicate with members to see if they are
using bureau services and whether they have seen
new business because of their membership.
• Make six to ten calls per day.
• Send a renewal letter and invoice when a
membership is about to expire.

5. © 2005, Educational Institute
Dismissal
• Send an invoice and letter 15 days before the
first day of the member’s anniversary month.
• Establish a payment due date.
• After 60 days, send a friendly “drop letter”
expressing disappointment in losing the member
and the willingness to discuss any
dissatisfaction.
• If a dropped member rejoins, treat it as a new
member to avoid confusion and call attention to
its status as a member who is back on board.

6. © 2005, Educational Institute
Dues Calculation
• Hotel dues are usually calculated based on the
number of rooms.
• The dues structure for restaurants should be simple
—lower dues for smaller establishments and higher
dues for more popular ones.
• Keep dues for retailers modest.
• Keep in mind limitations for small museums and
nonprofit attractions when calculating their dues.
• Although CVB membership is valuable for
convention services members, a large annual fee is
tough to sell.

7. © 2005, Educational Institute
Policies
• Money-back policy
o This shows that the bureau is confident in its services.
• Payment installments
• Dismissal/dropped members
o Make sure staff understands that a dropped member
receives no benefits.
• Complaints against members
o Make sure all complaints are documented.
• Patronize only member businesses
• Unacceptable members
o Have application language reviewed by legal counsel.

8. © 2005, Educational Institute
Publications
• Visitors guide
o Hard copies still produced so visitors can take
them when they travel
• Meeting planners guide
o Have gone almost exclusively online
• Group tour manual
• Specialty publications
o Produced for specific marketing objectives