Director talks funds, success

NOW Newspapers recently posed a few questions about the Convention and Visitors Bureau to Executive Director Nancy Justman.

Q: How is the CVB funded?

A: We are solely funded by the room tax, so our budget varies from year to year, but it has been in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. About 60 percent of our budget is spent on marketing. The room tax is 8 percent, and the CVB gets 15 to 20 percent of the total.

Q: How has Brookfield's hotel industry weathered the economic turbulence of the past few years?

A: There was a massive decline in occupancy and then a deep slide in average daily rates - those are the two main indicators. It's straight economics. We have 2,100 hotel rooms here. When the demand is low, the rates are adjusted. Occupancy has come back, not as strong as in 2007, let's say, but it's stronger. And rates are starting to come back too. January 2009 was the low point for occupancy - down 14 percent from 2008. 2010 occupancy was up 11 percent over 2009, and 2011 occupancy through November held steady. We don't have December information yet, so we can't say for sure how 2011's numbers will end up.

Q: How do you measure your success?

A: People we talk to today might be planning an event in 2015, so it's hard to track how many groups we bring into the community. Instead, we look at how many direct contacts we make. Our goal is to make 40 contacts a week with organizations and sporting events. I think it's a fairly attainable goal - it works out to almost 2,000 direct contacts a year. We also had 25,000 requests for visitor guides last year and 63,000 unique visitors to the VisitBrookfield.com website.

Q: What sells people on Brookfield?

A: We look at the fact that we're a suburban location but with urban flair. We have great proximity to the airport and many hotels offer free transportation to the airport. We're near Interstate 94. We really hone in on the fact that we have 13 hotels, 250 retail shops and 150 restaurants, so there's a lot of choice for travelers.

Q: One of the areas the CVB has chosen to promote is sporting events. Why?

A: The facilities here are amazing with the parks. This is a big soccer community, so that just made sense. And we have some great facilities surrounding us that we can work with. State Fair Park is near enough that people attending events there will come out to Brookfield.

Q: Most of your work involves working with people from other parts of the state and the Midwest. What does the CVB do that Brookfield residents would see?

A: The one event we do locally is Dine-In Brookfield, which is a great opportunity for people to try the restaurants in the area. We also publish and distribute a coupon book that Brookfield residents are welcome to use to get discounts at local restaurants and businesses, and of course there's the website, which features a calendar of things to do in the area.