CLEVELAND (Sept. 23, 2020) –
Destination Cleveland, the destination marketing and management organization for Cuyahoga County, announced today the completion of its COVID-19 recovery planning process, resulting in new organizational goals for the next 12-15 months and permanent staff reductions due to the continued effect of the global pandemic on the travel and tourism industry. As the local steward of one of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic, the organization’s primary funding source – lodging occupancy tax – remains contracted to less than 50 percent of what was estimated for 2020.
The Sept. 17 weekly travel spending analysis released by the
U.S. Travel Association indicates the country’s travel economy losses from the COVID-19 pandemic have exceeded $376 billion since March 1, including a projected loss of $81 billion in federal, state and local taxes by year’s end. In Cuyahoga County, Destination Cleveland’s lodging occupancy tax revenue for 2020 is nearly 60 percent down year over year (through July). Overall economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local travel and tourism economy is yet to be determined.
“Travel was the first and continues to be one of the hardest hit industries in the global pandemic; Destination Cleveland quickly implemented many proactive and fiscally responsible actions, preventing a more detrimental outcome for the organization,” said David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland. “We’re seeing signs of an industry rebound, and we’ve just completed a thorough recovery planning process that’s provided clarity and direction for the next 12-15 months – albeit with some continued uncertainty due to the ongoing presence of COVID-19. We have our work cut out for us. We must look forward. This new plan will take the organization in the right direction so that we can keep travel and tourism advancing as a growth industry for Cleveland.”
Destination Cleveland’s Recovery and Regrowth Plan indicates the need to become a smaller organization with modified programs and services. The plan resulted from a multi-stage process undertaken over the past three months, which included engaging MMGY NextFactor, an industry leader in strategic planning for destination marketing and economic development organizations, to determine new goals and strategies; a thorough financial analysis that factored in industry data from STR, Tourism Economics and CBRE; and a pragmatic evaluation of the organization’s staffing plan to determine the positions needed to accomplish the organization’s revised goals for the balance of 2020 and 2021. Those goals are:
- Ensure Organizational Sustainability: ensuring financial sustainability and refocusing roles to deliver greatest effect
- Refocus Sales & Marketing: developing a strategic approach to reach new audiences and showcase a vibrant and resilient Cleveland
- Preserve the Cleveland Experience: rebuilding the visitor economy from the neighborhood up
- Prioritize Diversity & Inclusion: engaging the city’s diverse communities and prioritizing social equity
- Build Community Resiliency: helping to ensure Cleveland emerges as a thriving and more resilient destination
Significantly reduced lodging tax collections since March and for the next 12 or more months also necessitate expense reductions, including a transition to permanent layoffs from salary/hours reductions and furloughs that began April 1. The staff reductions, combined with voluntary employee departures since April 1, result in a Destination Cleveland team that is 45 percent smaller than it was on March 31, employing 36 people as of October 1.
“As we have navigated the pandemic and its effect on our industry, two things did not change: our commitment to our staff and our commitment to the community,” Gilbert continued. “While we’ve had to make extremely difficult decisions, we remained dedicated during the past six months to supporting our team in any way we could. Every decision made by our leadership team was rooted in compassion for all our team members. While it’s hard to put into words what it means to lose so many members of our team due to the economics of our industry, I also couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished with a reduced staff.”
Since the introduction of Ohio’s Responsible Reopening program in May, Destination Cleveland has focused on helping Cleveland’s tourism and hospitality industry businesses conscientiously reopen by committing to clean environments for patrons through its CLEAN COMMITTED program. To date, 615 businesses – including nearly 500 restaurants, hotels and attractions – have signed up to follow the safe practices and maintain the cleanliness standards outline in the CLEAN COMMITTED guidelines. The program was developed in partnership with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health and the city’s three major health care systems: Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth System and University Hospitals.
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ABOUT DESTINATION CLEVELAND: Destination Cleveland is Cleveland’s destination marketing and management organization. This private, non-profit organization’s mission is to drive economic impact and stimulate community vitality for Greater Cleveland through leisure and business travel. Cleveland welcomes 19.2 million visitors annually. For more information, visit www.thisiscleveland.com.