Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Find out when the CVB will open its doors and its website.
The Beachwood Convention and Visitors Bureau will launch Oct. 1, Director Wayne Lawrence told the Economic Development Committee today. The first of its kind in Cuyahoga County, the Beachwood CVB will be one of a few organizations in the state that support travel and tourism for just one city. Most CVBs are county or regional efforts. The Beachwood Economic Development Committee got a sneak peek at the CVB's marketing plan and website Monday night. The CVB will begin chasing leads, targeting religious, sports, educational and medical conventions, next week, said Lawrence. "It's time for us to go and get business," he added. The website will also lanch Oct. 1, featuring hotel, restaurant and attraction listings; news; coupons; and an event …
Monday, July 30, 2012
It's the only Convention and Visitors Bureau run by a city in Cuyahoga County, but other organizations in this region and statewide are similar.
It may seem unusual for Beachwood to have its own convention and visitors bureau, but Ohio Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus Executive Director Philip Craig points out that there are several in other parts of the state. The Beachwood Convention and Visitors Bureau, a 501(c)(6) whose $65,000 launch budget came from the city's bed tax revenue, will launch around the beginning of September. In Franklin County, where Columbus is located, half a dozen bureaus have been established in suburbs like Hilliard, Worthington and Dublin. Some, like Hilliard’s, are focused on tourism, unlike Beachwood’s, whose purpose will largely be to market the city and attract conventions. But the Dublin Convention and Visitors Bureau is very similar to…
Monday, May 7, 2012
Liquor permit before Council Monday; Beachwood City Council meets at 7 p.m. in City Hall
Beachwood City Council will consider a liquor permit for a Beachwood location of Winking Lizard's Lizardville Beer Store and Whiskey Bar. Lizardville Beer Store and Whiskey Bar, owned by Winking Lizard, has a location in Bedford Heights and is slated to open stores in Rocky River and in Cleveland's Galleria, the Sun News reports. The business, which focuses on retail sales of whiskey and beer but serves alcohol in-house, as well, has applied for a liquor permit at 25800 Central Parkway. Council will also hold a public hearing for an ordinance to allow goats and sheep on residential property and consider an ordinance to contract the Beachwood Chamber of Commerce to create a Beachwood Convention and Visitor's Bureau, which was tabled at the …
Monday, April 2, 2012
Beachwood Chamber of Commerce halves seed cost for proposed CVB
The Beachwood Economic Development Committee will discuss a revised budget for a proposed Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) at tonight's meeting. The Beachwood Area Chamber of Commerce proposed a plan to run the CVB at a January City Council meeting, asking for $150,000 annually from the city's lodging tax account to run the services. Now they have halved the first year's budget, asking for $65,000 for 2012 and $150,000 annually beginning in 2013. Chamber Executive Director Wayne Lawrence said the proposed Beachwood CVB would focus on marketing the city as a destination spot primarily for a secondary convention market of “social, military, educational, religious and fraternal” SMERF groups. An economic development study conducted by SZD…
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Chamber to ask for $65,000 instead of $150,000 in first year to run CVB
Beachwood Mayor Merle Gorden told City Council during a special meeting Monday that their first-year costs for a Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) could be cut by more than half. The Beachwood Area Chamber of Commerce proposed a plan to run the CVB at a January City Council meeting, asking for $150,000 annually from the city's lodging tax account to run the services. The Chamber is expected to make a new presentation April 2 that would ask for $65,000 in initial costs and $150,000 annually beginning in 2013. Lawrence said that the Chamber was asked to submit a revised proposal that would call for a smaller initial cost and a later 2012 start date - possibly May 1. The Chamber will seek a multi-year contract to keep the costs flat. An …
Monday, March 19, 2012
Council will discuss possibility of incentives to bring Aloft to Chagrin Highlands
Council will again be speaking with Aloft Hotel developers in a public meeting scheduled for tonight before their regular meeting. City council called the special meeting for 6 p.m. to discuss incentives for Aloft Hotel, the hotel that was previously proposed to be located at Signature Square on Chagrin Boulevard. The hotel has now been proposed for the Chagrin Highlands area. Developers pulled the first proposal after outcry from residents of an adjoining street who expressed concern that the hotel would be disruptive to their neighborhood, and some alleged that Council was giving the developers and property owners special treatment. More: Aloft Hotel Topic Page Scott Berkowitz, a local developer who has been working with the national …
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Weigh in and tell us why in the comments
The Beachwood Chamber of Commerce proposed a plan for a Convention and Visitors Bureau at Monday's special meeting of City Council. Some readers have disagreed with the proposal on Beachwood Patch. Micheal Silver, resident and co-founder of Beachwood Residents for Responsible Development, wrote, "This is one of the craziest ideas I've heard in a long time and would be a waste of money that should be used for the taxpayers! Included in the budget is the CVB paying 1/2 the cost of rent and operations for the Chamber! This is nothing more than funding for the Chamber and is not to benefit the citizens of Beachwood!" The proposal follows a recommendation from an economic development study that the a CVB could help the city attract more …
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Beachwood Chamber of Commerce Requests $150,000 in Lodging Tax Funds to Promote City as a Destination Spot for Secondary Convention and Tourist Markets
The Beachwood Chamber of Commerce is asking Beachwood City Council for $150,000 to operate a new Convention and Visitor Bureau that will market and promote Beachwood as a destination for convention attendees and leisure tourists and visitors. For more than 90 minutes, Beachwood Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Wayne Lawrence gave a formal presentation and answered questions during a city council special meeting Monday evening. Lawrence said the proposed Beachwood Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) would focus on marketing the city as a destination spot primarily for a secondary convention market of “social, military, educational, religious and fraternal” SMERF groups. “Those are organizations that are smaller in nature and can …
Michael Silver
9:10 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Let me be a little clearer, I'm not necessarily opposed to a CVB. I am opposed to funding one at this level with funds that otherwise would be in our general fund and go for paying for essential services like POLICE, FIRE and ROADS. Especially since the City just needed a tax increase and is faced with the looming loss of the estate tax we need to be more prudent with taxpayer's money. Rather, I … more ›