Nashville Unveils New Music Video
Mayor Karl Dean, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCVB) Board Chairman Francis Guess, and NCVB President Butch Spyridon unveiled Nashville's new promotional music video "Music Calls Us Home" to members of the city's hospitality industry at a holiday open house last week.

Local pop/rock singer/songwriters Gabe Dixon and Jeremy Lister were also on hand to talk about the process for writing and recording Nashville's new hit song "Music Calls Us Home."

The new music video began airing on Great American Country Saturday, Dec. 13 and will continue to run in rotation on-air and on-line. Footage from the video is also being used to create a new commercial spot to be aired on ESPN during the Music City Bowl. The video will also be utilized to recruit conventions and meetings and footage will be used to provide b-roll to media.

To view "Music Calls Us Home" visit www.visitmusiccity.com/richmedia/musicCallsUsHome.html
Keep the video playing by requesting it on GAC.

Music City Offers ExperienceFinder
The Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau has teamed up with Travelocity to offer ExperienceFinderSM, an interactive planning tool designed to showcase the unique personality of a destination. ExperienceFinder allows travelers to research, explore and plan their visit to Nashville by searching through hundreds of photos, interactive maps and videos. They can then save hand-picked items of interest, from activities, to hotels, to event tickets, to a wish list to be booked then or at a later date.

The NCVB has made a significant investment for the city to develop this product with Travelocity and is offering participation at no cost to members. Partners will reach agreements with Travelocity on room rates & ticket prices to participate through the Travelocity Partner Merchant Program.

To learn more about this new tool, check out Music City's ExperienceFinder here.

ExperienceFinder is currently available only to a special list of destinations.

Live Music Begins at Nashville's
Visitor Information Center
Nashville’s Visitor Information Center, located inside the Sommet Center tower, now features live music. David Anderson kicked off the new live music program entertaining visitors on Tuesday, Dec. 9 and country stars Little Texas, Andy Griggs and songwriter Wynn Varble serenaded guests with festive Christmas carols on Wednesday, Dec. 10. Performances will occur mainly on Tuesdays and Fridays during the 10 – 11 a.m. and 1 – 2 p.m. time slots. Musicians will perform 45 minute sets then interact with spectators, sign autographs and sell CDs when available.

Special Holiday Offer for Friends of the NCVB
Special Holiday Offer for Friends of the NCVB Save up to 50% on select radios and get "The Best of SIRIUS" FREE* for 3 months when you sign up for the "XM Everything Plus The Best of SIRIUS" package.

For complete details, click here.

* Minimum quarterly subscription plan required. Offer expires 12/27/08.

Convention Sales
August 08 September 08 October 08 Total
Leads 79 99 79 257
Bookings 26 54 11 91
Room Nights 40,540 81,053 8,771 130,364

Tourism Sales
August 08 September 08 October 08 Total
Leads 27 21 26 74
Room Nights 1,335 1,046 2,257 4,638

Marketing Activity
August 08 September 08 October 08 Total
Unique Visitors to Website 91,334 70,114 78,348 239,796
Articles Generated 75 138 58 271
RMN Booked Online 342 356 308 1,006

Industry Indicators

October's hotel occupancy rate was 66.7 percent,
a decrease of 8.2 percent compared to October 2007.

The 2008 year-to-date occupancy rate is 63.7 percent,
a decrease of 6.8 percent compared to last year.

September hotel occupancy tax collections were $ 1,807,531,
a decrease of 10.9 percent compared to September 2007.

Year-to-date hotel tax collections are $ 19,312,193,
an increase of 1.2 percent compared to last year.

The CVB Sales, Marketing & Membership Teams:

Sales

  • The Sales team hosted 37 national account managers from Experient in Music City for a Fall Encounter weekend. Guests attended a Sirius XM Radio show taping at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum featuring Curb Recording Artist Heidi Newfield.
  • Sales hosted clients for the CMA Awards show. Clients were able to have their photo taken with a CMA Award.

    Marketing

  • The Marketing staff hosted eight international journalists during the CMA Awards week.
  • Marketing ran a special Jack Daniels promotion online for the Jack Daniels Barbeque Cookoff. The value of the promotion was $25,000.
  • The marketing team worked on editorial coverage in New York Times, Lucky Magazine and Elle Décor.

    • Membership

    Maximize Your Membership
    Use your NCVB membership benefits to grow your business! For great information on how to maximize your membership, please contact Fatima Thompson, Manager of Member Services at (615) 259-4744 or fatima@visitmusiccity.com.

    Training opportunities for your business
    Your NCVB membership offers complimentary training programs. This service is provided in hopes of enriching the guest experience through increased knowledge of the city and providing applause-worthy service. This is done by offering three training programs: Nashville Backstage (Nashville Familiarization), All Access (Disability Sensitivity), and Creating Applause (Customer Service). For more information or to schedule a training session at your property you can contact Shannon Largen, Director of Training, at (615) 259-4789 or shannon@visitmusiccity.com.

    Membership Invitation
    If you know a company that would benefit from an NCVB membership, please send us their name. We will be happy to contact them.
    Chris Brown, Vice President of Membership
    (615) 259-4751 or chris@visitmusiccity.com

    For a complete listing of our new members as well as existing member businesses, visit our online membership section at www.visitmusiccity.com/members/newmembers

    Brand Champion
    Phillips Printing knows how to connect with Nashville area businesses - use music. The company's current advertising campaign has embraced the Music City brand boasting that everyone has different grooves, but no matter your preference, they can help you get your groove on. What a great way to incorporate Nashville's diverse musical heritage. Congratulations to Phillips Printing, our December Brand Champion!

    Hit of the Month

    Still looking for holiday gifts? You won't want to miss our Lugs Travel Accessories. Throughout the month of December, take advantage of a 20% discount on Lug Travel Blankets & Pillows, Travel Wallets, Sidekick & Skipper handbags in assorted colors at Nashville's Visitor Information Centers. This discount cannot be combined with any other sale or promotion.