2002-25072 ResoAfteraction November 13, 2002 DRAFT #1 City of Miami Beach
3:24:38 p.m.
R7G A Resolution Accepting The Recommendation Of The City Manager Pertaining To The Ranking Of
Proposals Received In Response To Request For Proposals (RFP) 49-01102. Review, Assessment,
And Recommended Structure Of The Greater Miami Convention And Visitors Bureau; Authorizing
The Administration To Negotiate With The Tap-Ranked Firm Of Economic Research Associates
(ERA), And If Unsuccessful, Authorizing The Administration To Negotiate With The Second-Ranked
Firm Of C.H. Johnson Consulting; Further Authorizing The Mayor And City Clerk To Execute An
Agreement Upon The Administration Successfully Negotiating An Agreement.
(City Manager's Office)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2002-25072 adopted as amended. Motion made by Commissioner
Steinberg to approve the City Manager's recommendation with the provision that the consultant will
not be providing this service for the City of Miami or Miami-Dade County; seconded by
Commissioner Smith; Voice vote: 6-0; Absent: Vice-Mayor Cruz. Christina Cuervo to handle.
Prepared by the City Clerk's Office Page No. 2~
F:1C L E R \C O M M O N12 0025200 2 1 1 1 31021 1 1 3d 7. d oc
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY
Accept the CityVManager's recommendation pertaining to the ranking of proposals; authorizeihe
Administration to negotiate with the top-ranked firm of Economic Research Associates (ER,4), and if
unsuccessful, authorizing the Administration to negotiate with the second-ranked firm of C-H. Johnson
consulting; further authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an agreement upon the Administration
successfuu ne otiatin an a reement.
Issue:
Whether to accept the City Manager's recommendation, authorize negotiations, and authorize the Mayor
and City Clerk to execute an agreement.
Item Summa !Recommendation:
In connection with the renewal recommendation presented to the Mayor and City Commission, the
Administration issued a RFP to hire a consultant to provide the following services:
• Review and assess the Bureau governance, structure, processes and overall operations;
• Make recommendations as to what type of model?structure should exist to enhance the City of
Miami Beach's tourism and convention industries:
• Compare and provide a comprehensive report on Bureau operations relativeto industry standards;
and
• Recommend strategic approaches for the City of Miami Beach to meet objectives identified in the
Market Assessment.
An evaluation committee appointed bythe City Manager unanimouslyrecommended ERA in association
with Tourism Development Associates (TDA) as the top•ranked firm, and recommended that if
negotiations with ERA are not successful, that the Administration negotiate with C.H. Johnson as the
second-ranked firm.
The ER.4 Team has proposed to conduct this analysis for a fixed fee of $100,000 in professional time.
Expenses with be charged in addition, but will not exceed 15% of the professional time total without
written authorization from the City. This cost will be negotiated as part of the contract negotiations, but
will not exceed the cost proposed herein.
AGENDA ITEM f'r ! (T
DATE I~ ~~~~
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER URIVE MIAA41 BEACH, FLORIDA 33135
w•,vw.ci.mlami-beach.8.us _
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor David Dermer and Date: November 13, 2002
Members of the City Commission
From: Jorge M. Gonzalez -~,c~~
City Manager
Subject: A RESOLUTIOIJ F THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF
THE CITY MANAGER PERTAINING TO THE RANKING OF PROPOSALS
RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) 49-
01102, REVIEW, ASSESSMENT, AND RECOMMENDED STRUCTURE OF
THE GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION AND VISITORS
BUREAU; AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATION TO NEGOTIATE WITH
THE TOP-RANKED FIRM OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
(ERA), AND IF UNSUCCESSFUL, AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATION
TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE SECOND-RANKED FIRM OF C.H. JOHNSON
CONSULTING; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY CLERK
TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT UPON THE ADMINISTRATION
SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATING AN AGREEMENT.
Adopt the Resolution
ANALYSIS
On May 22, 2002, the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2002-24854,
authorizing the renewal of the Agreement between the City of Miami Beach and the
Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (the "Bureau") conditioned upon the
issuance of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to review and assess the current Bureau
governance, structure, processes and overall operations, and make recommendations as
to what model and/or structure should provide the services to achieve optimal sales,
marketing, and public relations efforts to enhance the City's Tourism and Convention
Industries.
On July 17, 2002, the Administration met with the Bureau to discuss several issues,
including:
• Status of Bureau's Office Relocation -status of Watson Island and negotiations
with the City of Miami.
• Ongoing and new initiatives to increase bookings at the Miami Beach Convention
Center.
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 2 of 14
• Status of the implementation of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee initiatives.
The City's issuance of the RFP for professional services to study the existing and
recommended structure of the Bureau.
• Status of the Bureau's strategic plans and market assessment.
Concurrent with the City of Miami Beach's review and evaluation of the Bureau in
connection with the Bureau's contract renewal, Miami-Dade County, at the request of
County Commissioner Natasha Seijas, adopted a resolution directing the County Manager
to work with the Cities of Miami, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour in completing a
performance audit of the Bureau.
In an effort not to duplicate efforts, on July 19, 2002, Carlos Gimenez, City Manager of the
City of Miami, Bill Johnson, Assistant County Manager, and Cathy Jackson, Management
and Audit Director for Miami-Dade County, met with me and representatives of the Bureau
to discuss the City of Miami Beach's participation in a coalition effort to evaluate the
Bureau's performance and make recommendations on what type of structure would be
recommended if no such structure currently existed throughout the region.
On July 31, 2002, the Mayor and City Commission discussed whether the City of Miami
Beach should participate with Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami in a collaborative
study and evaluation of the Bureau, and elected to conduct its own study.
In connection with the renewal recommendation presented herein, the Administration, in
accordance with the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee's directive, has developed a
scope of services for the issuance of an RFQ that will seek qualifications from consultants
to:
• Review and assess the Bureau governance, structure, processes and overall
operations;
Make recommendations as towhattype of model/structure should exist to enhance the
City of Miami Beach's tourism and convention industries;
• Compare and provide a comprehensive report on Bureau operations relative to
industry standards; and
Recommend strategic approaches for the City of Miami Beach to meet objectives
identified in the Market Assessment.
The scope of services set forth by the City and presented to the Mayor and City
Commission on May 22, 2002, was incorporated in RFP No. 49-01102, and is attached to
this memo and labeled Exhibit 1.
On August 22, 2002, DemandStar by Onvia issued RFP No. 49-01102 to 1,095
individuals/firms. Additionally, the Procurement Division advertised in the Miami Herald, the
Daily Business Review, and the International Association of Assembly Managers. This
resulted in 39 individuals/firms requesting or downloading a copy of the RFP, and the
receipt of proposals from the following three firms:
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 3 of 14
1. C.H. Johnson Consulting
2. Economics Research Associates (ERA)
3. Ernst & Young
Letter to Commission (LTC) No. 243-2002, appointed the following individuals to serve as
evaluation committee members:
Larry Herrup, Chairperson, Budget Advisory Committee
Elsie Howard, Chairperson, Miami Beach Visitor & Convention Authority
Norman Litz, Director of Facilities, New World Symphony
Grisette Roque Marcos, Director of Miami Beach Visitor & Convention Authority
Doug Tober, SMG General Manager
Nancy Walcott, Chairperson of Cultural Arts Council
Patricia Walker, Chief Financial Officer, City of Miami Beach
On November 6, 2002, the Evaluation Committee for the Bureau RFP (the "Committee")
convened with the following members in attendance: Larry Herrup, Norman Litz, Doug
Tober, and Patricia Walker. Additionally, the following individuals were in attendance as
non-voting staff support: Christina Cuervo, Assistant City Manager; Kevin Crowder,
Director of Economic Development; and Gus Lopez, Procurement Director.
The following members were absent due to scheduling conflicts: Elsie Howard, Grisette
Roque Marcos, and Nancy Walcott.
The Committee appointed Patricia Walker as its Chairperson. The Committee agenda
consisted of the following:
1. Introductions. Each member introduced himself/herself;
2. Project overview. Christina Cuervo, Assistant City Manager, provided the Committee
with an overview of the purpose and scope of services of the project.
3. Evaluation criteria. Gus Lopez provided the Committee with evaluation matrix forms
based on the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP.
4. Presentations. All three responsive firms provided the Committee with a 15-minute
presentation followed by 20-minute question and answer sessions.
5. Deliberations. The Committee deliberated and after discussion of the pros and cons
of each firm, completed their evaluation matrix forms, and voted as follows:
ERA C.H. JOHNSON ERNST & YOUNG
Larry Herrup 90 (1) 80 (2) 70 (3)
Norman Litz 100 (1) 75 (2) 60 (3)
Doug Tober 87 (1) 84 (2) 45 (3)
Patricia Walker 95 (1) 85 (2) 75 (3)
The Committee unanimously recommended ERA in association with Tourism Development
Associates (TDA) as the top-ranked firm, and recommended that if negotiations with ERA
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 4 of 14
are not successful, that the Administration negotiate with C.H. Johnson as the second-
ranked firm. The Committee recommended that Emst & Young not be ranked as part of
the process. Although ERA's proposed cost exceeds the cost proposed by the other firms,
the Committee felt that their experience and qualifications as well as their past successful
performance were instrumental in the Committee's recommendation.
Why ERA and TDA?
Economics Research Associates {ERA) and Tourism Development Associates (TDA) have
worked successfully together in the past. The following describes the experience and
qualifications of both firms:
ERA's qualifications. ERA has 44 years of continuous consulting practice, and has
completed over 14,500 assignments. A major area of their practice has been in the
formulation of public strategies to develop local economies through convention and tourism
promotion. ERA has conducted hundreds of feasibility studies for initial construction and
for expansion of meeting facilities, ranging from small resort conference centers all the way
up to the largest convention centers in North America. In the mid 1980s, ERA's San
Francisco office conducted a very similar study to the one requested by the City of Miami
Beach, which was analyzing the effectiveness and optimal structure for what was then the
Greater Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau for the City of Los Angeles, reporting
to a blue ribbon Task Force appointed by the Mayor. The ERA principal in charge of that
assignment, Steve Spickard, is still with ERA and will head up this assignment for the City
of Miami Beach.
The specific ERA professionals available forthe Miami Beach study have been responsible
for the following recent convention and tourism work:
Strategic survey of 10 of the largest convention destinations in the U.S. to identify
best practices in municipal governance, management, and marketing of the facilities
(1998).
Feasibility of expanding the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco (1996).
Strategic options for event programming and restructuring the marketing program at the
Cow Palace in San Francisco (1996).
Target market identification and revenue projections for continued use of the Memorial
Coliseum as event and exhibition space in Portland, Oregon. (2001)
Feasibility of a 150,000 square foot exhibit hall with meeting rooms for Santa Clara
County, California. (2002)
Feasibility of a day-use conference center and exhibition expansion program for the San
Mateo County Expo Center. (2000)
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November'13, 2002
Page 5 of 14
Feasibility of a new conference/convention center with adjacent exhibition/event space for
the Town of Vail. (2000)
Feasibility of a conference center for the Great Valley Center, California. (1999)
Feasibility of a convention and tradeshow pavilion near Union Square in San Francisco.
(1997)
Analysis of the future potential of Brooks Hall as a meeting and exhibition hall in San
Francisco. (1996)
Analysis of potential synergy between the Los Angeles Convention Center and the
proposed Staples Sports and Entertainment Arena. (1995)
Analysis of the convention market shares of five West Coast cities. (1995)
Over the last 15 years, ERA's convention bureau and facility experience has also included:
- Los Angeles Convention Center
- Baltimore Convention Center
- Anaheim Convention Center
- Atlantic City Convention Center
- Vail Congress Hall
- Rochester Riverside Convention Center
- Ashbury Park, New Jersey
- Charlotte, No. Carolina
- EI Paso Convention Center
- Palm Springs Convention Center
- New York City Jacob K. Javits
- Long Beach Convention Center
- Phoenix Convention Center
- Santa Fe Convention Center
- Hartford
- Albuquerque Convention Center
- Reno-Sparks Convention Center
- Mobile, Alabama
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Hampton, Virginia
TDA FIRM DESCRIPTION AND GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS:
TDA works exclusively with tourism and convention issues and has over 35 years ofhands-
on management experience in developing and building a successful tourism effort in
communities large and small.
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 6 of 14
TDA provides an "inside/outside perspective". To enable them to effectively evaluate and
analyze the specific situation, TDA brings an insider's knowledge and experience of the
convention and tourism industry. At the same time TDA will also bring an outsider's
perception of the community's product that helps them give a more objective analysis of
strengths and weaknesses, competition, and marketing efforts. Additionally, TDA has
worked in a variety of cities brings a broader viewpoint and fresh ideas.
RELEVANT PROJECT EXPERIENCE OF ERA AND TDA
ERA -City Of Los Angeles: Analysis of Alternative Management Structures for the Los
Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and Los Angeles Convention Center over the last
15 years, ERA has conducted numerous studies for the City of Los Angeles and for the
Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau regarding the marketing, operations and
management of the Los Angeles Convention Center as it has gone through a major
expansion program. These have included an analysis of the City's booking policy for the
facility, a management audit for the Greater Los Angeles Bureau, an economic impact
analysis, a review of competitive market share, and other minor studies addressing
discounting and other issues.
ERA's most recent work was a major assignment analyzing alternative management
structures for Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and for the Los Angeles
Convention Center. As part of this study, ERA visited and conducted case studies on the
bureaus and convention centers in Las Vegas, Anaheim, San Diego, San Francisco, New
Orleans, Atlantic City, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Dallas. The purpose of the most recent study
was to identify the optimum method of governance of the LA Convention Center, including
strategies to ensure that the convention center and the Visitor's Bureau will work effectively
together.
ERA -City of San Francisco: Feasibility of Convention Center Expansion. Despite the
recent expansion of the Moscone Convention Center in the early 1990s, the City of San
Francisco, in 1994, found that meeting business had already filled the new exhibit hall and
meeting space to capacity. The City retained ERA as the head of a multi-disciplinaryjoint-
venture team of consultants formed to determine whether San Francisco should further
increase its meeting andlor exhibit space in order to maintain its market share. To assess
the demand for additional space, ERA traveled to Chicago, Washington, DC and other
cities throughout the United States to conduct high-level interviews with association
executives regarding their future needs for convention business in the North American
market. After taking into account and evaluating market trends, ERA determined that
sufficient support does exist for two of the four alternative forms of expansion being
considered by the City. In the second phase of the work, ERA completed an analysis of the
economic impact that the new convention business would have on the City, and a financial
feasibility analysis of constructing the expansion. The project was approved by the voters
(based in part on ERA's economic impact analysis), was funded, and is now nearing
completion.
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 7 of 14
ERA -San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau: Tourism Research in addition to its
heavy involvement in the development of meeting facilities and attractions in San
Francisco, ERA has also been a primary research provider to the San Francisco
Convention and Visitors Bureau over the last 20 years. In a series of studies taking place
approximately every three years, ERA has conducted "man in the street" interviews with
visitors and compiled the visitor profile data the Bureau has used to base all its marketing
and planning efforts on. In addition, ERA has developed an economic impact model forthe
Bureau and updated both data and structure every few years to quantify the value of the
tourism and convention industry to the San Francisco community. The most recent of these
assignments, The Economic and Employment Impacts of Visitors to San Francisco, was
completed in 2001.
ERA - City of Hampton, Virginia: Analysis of City Investment in Tourism Infrastructure ERA
has conducted a series of studies for the City of Hampton, Virginia, in recent years. The
most recent has focused on analysis of proposed public investments in tourism
infrastructure, including a new convention center, a headquarters hotel, and amixed-use
retail-entertainment complex. The results of the analysis were used by City staff and
elected officials to understand the implications of their investment decisions. The study will
also be used to help secure bond financing for the project.
TDA (with ERA as Subcontractor) -- Syracuse and Central New York rural and urban
tourism assessment and strategy. Including: tourism product inventory and analysis;
tourism infrastructure inventory and analysis; organizational infrastructure inventory and
analysis; current tourism market survey and analysis; visitor satisfaction survey and
analysis; potential tourism market survey and analysis; potential attraction survey and
analysis; key issues analysis; market area definition; direct community economic impacts;
multiplier effects; impacts of construction; public revenues; competitive analysis;
positioning and image recommendation; goals and objectives; strategies; budget;
evaluation mechanism; and leveraging opportunities.
ECONOMICS RESEARCH ASSOCIATES TEAM
Steven Spickard, ERA Senior Vice President, will serve as the Project Manager and
principal analyst for this assignment. Mr. Spickard has over 24 years of experience with
ERA. He served in this same capacity on a high level analysis of the options for the City of
Los Angeles in how to best structure its relationship with what was then called the Greater
Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau (the name was later changed as one small
result of ERA's policy recommendations atthe conclusion of the study). He has specialized
in convention and tourism consulting throughout his career, and has studied the need for
new and expanded convention ceniers of all sizes, and has provided a wide variety of
research needs under contracts to convention and visitors bureaus. His primary passion
has remained good government, however, and he has diligently attempted to protect the
best interests of America's public agencies throughout his career.
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 8 of 14
Another ERA Principal, David Bergman, will backup Mr. Spickard. Mr. Bergman recently
completed a nationwide assignment where he personally interviewed executive bureau
staff, convention center general managers, and key city management staff in 10 of the
largest convention destinations in the United States.
Two ERA Associates will provide analysis and research support to the ERA principals:
Sujata Srivastava and Erwin Cho. Both have formal training in public policy analysis
(masters degrees from University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard's Kennedy School
respectively), and have worked on a variety of municipal economic and fiscal analysis
assignments for ERA.
A third principal-level participant in the project comes in the form of ERA's sub-consultant,
Trudy McNulty, President of TDA. Ms. McNulty is the founding Executive Director of the
Convention and Visitor Bureau of Greater Portland, Maine, for over eight years, and
has been involved in tourism marketing for over 35 years. Trudywill participate in all major
sections of the study, but will be especially valuable to the consultant team in analyzing
bureau operations in the context of industry standards.
ERA'S WORK PLAN
TASK 1: PROJECT ORIENTATION
At the outset of the consulting assignment, and in preparation for the initial trip to Miami
Beach, the ERA Team will request and review a variety of written documents, plans,
statistics and websites. ERA staff will also work with the City to identify potential
stakeholders and schedule a week's worth of interviews.
The ERA Team will solicit help from CMB Staff, Bureau Staff, and others throughout Tasks
1 and 2 to collect an initial database that includes, but is not limited to:
• Bureau Current Annual Work Plan and Goal Statement;
• Bureau organization chart, board composition, and other indicators of existing
structure;
• Budget information from CMB and Bureau including summary data on key
measures from the past three to five years;
• Identification of current partnership arrangements and outside firms involved in
advertising and marketing;
• Hotel inventory data for Miami Beach and the Greater Miami area, including trends
in transient occupancy tax collections; and
• Current status and any output to date from the Market Assessment.
TASK 2: STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS
Three key staff (Steve Spickard, Trudy McNulty, and one of ERA's Associates) will then
spend a week in the greater Miami region conducting interviews with stakeholders
(approximately 15person-days). The ERA team will start with CMB staff, and will include
multiple interviews with key staff of the Bureau. Interviews will be held with other
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 9 of 14
stakeholders as well; including for example, hoteliers, staff of other cities, convention
center management, and (if appropriate) selected city commissioners and bureau board
members.
During this initial trip, the ERA Team will seek to gain a thorough understanding of all
issues, the existing structures of the Bureau and the relationship of the Bureau with the
City, the marketing programs in place, and existing partnership arrangements in place.
ERA will expect to collect additional documents and materials beyond those briefly
reviewed in Task 1.
TASK 3: BENCHMARKING OTHER BUREAUS
Among the many topics discussed during the ERA Team's week in the Miami area will be
the similarity of the Greater Miami situation to other metro areas with a significant
convention and tourism draw. After returning to their respective offices, the ERA Team will
initiate a "benchmarking" research effort to gather and format information describing other
major metro marketing efforts to compare with that of the BUREAU. ERA will discuss the
applicability of European examples with the tourism development staff in our London office,
and may include one or more European metropolitan areas' in the mix of comparable cities
for benchmarking. The majority, however, will be other major US metro areas for which
individual city vs. metro area marketing is a potential issue.
This research effort will establish industry standards, as well as suggest alternative
structures and strategies that are currently working well in other locations (along with
lessons learned from failed experiments elsewhere).
TASK 4: INITIAL ANALYSIS OF THE BUREAU
All insights and material collected in the Greater Miami area in Tasks 1 and 2 will be
compared with the industry information gained in Task 3, and analyzed with the goal of
addressing every point requested in the RFP Scope of Services. The ERA Team will
develop initial findings on all points, but before proceeding with preparation of a formal
report, the ERA Team will again visit Miami Beach (in Task 5).
TASK 5: INITIAL FINDINGSIADDITIONALlNTERVIEWS
The two senior analysts (Steve Spickard and Trudy McNulty) will meet with City staff to
present initial findings from the research and analysis conducted to date. The ERA Team
will budget for a couple days in the Miami area, presenting an opportunity to meet with
other stakeholders who could not be available during the initial visit. If deemed appropriate
by City staff, the consultants could also present selected initial findings to the BUREAU
allowing them to correct any misperceptions or explain extenuating circumstances during
this visit.
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 10 of 14
Specific Approach to Managing Conflicting Opinions and Obtaining Consensus
One objective of this interim trip will be to help build credibility and acceptance for the final
report. ERA's methodology is to conduct many individual and small group interviews
allowing specific and sensitive issues to be adequately aired and factored into the analysis,
and to stay away from "workshops" and other open forums. The role of the consultants is
to provide the City of Miami Beach wish the best objective advice in the interests of the
Miami Beach community. In the end, some individuals in the greater Miami area may, or
may not, be happy with the ultimate findings and recommended direction of the report, but
the goal of ERA's study process is to have consensus agreement that the study process
and report itself were fair, inclusive, comprehensive, accurate, responsible, and
reasonable.
DELIVERABLE 1: Initial Findings
The first deliverable in ERA's study process will be a verbal report to the City's staff.
During ERA's meetings in Miami Beach, the consultants will also have preliminary drafts of
specific tables, graphs, and some other written material, but they will not be publishing any
draft report at this point. Issues addressed in the initial assessment will include:
The measurement of the Bureau's performance against stated goals and work plan.
A comparison of the Bureau's operation against other comparable organizations.
An evaluation of the Bureau's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges
in the context of its market competition.
An identification of areas where productivity can be improved.
• An assessment of the Bureau's key processes in sales, marketing, customer
service, administration and support services.
An evaluation of the research conducted by the Bureau, including prioritization of
initiatives and concentration of resources.
An assessment of the effectiveness of the Bureau's measurement system for
evaluating performance.
TASK 6: FORMULATE DRAFT REPORT
Upon returning from the Task 5 trip, the ERA Team will formulate all draft
recommendations and prepare a formal written report. Each of the five topics in the
RFP Scope of Services will be specifically addressed. The report will be delivered in
draft form to the City for review.
DELIVERABLE 2: Draft Report
In addition to covering the findings identified in Task 5, the report will recommend strategic
approaches to the following:
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 11 of 14
• Targeting -the current and future markets.
• Positioning - to accentuate differentiation of destination.
Communications -ranging from public relations and advertising to community
relations and government affairs.
The draft report will address all of the questions raised in Section I I of the RFP Scope of
Services, including the fundamental issue of continuing to market the Greater Miami area
versus Miami Beach alone.
TASK 7: PRESENT DRAFT REPORT TO STAFF
The ERA Team principal analyst (Steve Spickard) will meet with City staff to discuss the
draft report. If deemed appropriate by City staff, some or all of the draft report
recommendations and conclusions could be presented to others (e.g., the Bureau)
during the same trip.
TASK 8: FINALIZE REPORT
The ERA Team will respond to comments on the draft and refine the analysis as
necessary to produce a final report. Fifteen bound copies and an electronic copy in PDF
format will be delivered.
DELIVERABLE 3: Final Report
The final report will address all of the concerns in the RFP Scope of Services. In summary,
these will include:
1. Assessment of the current BUREAU governance, structure, processes and operations.
2. Recommendation of an ideal governance, structure, and operating model forthe future
of Miami Beach as if no marketing organization currently existed in the region.
3. Benchmarking of the BUREAU relative to other comparable major metro marketing
organizations and industry standards.
4. Recommended strategic approaches for meeting the objectives of the upcoming Market
Assessment.
5. Assessment of whether continuing to participate in the Greater Miami marketing effort
is more or less effective than focusing on Miami Beach alone in meeting the objectives
of the Miami Beach City and community.
The key staff on the ERA Team will remain available for other services on a time and
expenses basis as requested by the City. For example, the key ERA staff will make a
presentation of the final report to the City Commission.
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 12 of 14
COST
The ERA Team has proposed to conduct this analysis for a fixed fee of $100,000 in
professional time. Expenses with be charged in addition, but will not exceed 15°/D of the
professional time total without written authorization from the City. This cost will be
negotiated as part of the contract negotiations, but will not exceed the cost proposed
herein.
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission accept the City
Manager's recommendation pertaining to the ranking of proposals received in response to
Request for Proposals (RFP) 49-01102, review, assessment, and recommended structure
of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau; authorizing the Administration to
negotiate with the top-ranked firm of Economic Research Associates (ERA), and if
unsuccessful, authorizing the Administration to negotiate with the second-ranked firm of
C.H. Johnson consulting; further authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an
agreement upon the Administration successfully negotiating an agreement.
JMG CMC:GL
TiNGENDAtc 09NUV1392tRFGUFARtGA1CV8 RFGnem.Ox
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 13 of 14
EXHIBIT 1
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The City of Miami Beach ("CMB") is soliciting qualifications and proposals from Contractors
in written format to provide:
• A review and assessment of the current Greater Miami Convention and Visitors
Bureau ("BUREAU") governance, structure, processes and overall operations,
including an assessment of the following areas:
• Assess and measure BUREAU performance against stated goals and work plan;
• Benchmark the current BUREAU operation against other comparable convention
and tourism sales organizations;
• Evaluate and understand the Bureau's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
challenges based on current and future market conditions and competition;
• Identify areas that must be improved and developed and how the organization can
increase its productivity;
• Assess the quality level of key processes in sales, marketing and customer service
and administration/management and support services; and
• Evaluate research conducted by the BUREAU. Assess the methodology employed
and the impact on prioritization of initiatives and concentration of resources.
• Assess the effectiveness of evaluation and tracking systems used to measure and
report performance.
Make recommendations as to what type of model/structure should exist to provide the
services necessary to achieve the optimal public relations, sales and marketing efforts to
enhance the CMB's tourism and convention industries. The consultant will make
recommendations as if no such structure currently existed throughout the region by
evaluating:
Partnership arrangements
Range and types of functions performed
• Funding arrangements
• Performance Indicators
Advertising, marketing and public relations methods and approaches
Cost effectiveness of strategies
Visitor services provided
• Impact and use of computerized databases
• Uses and formats of multimedia information
Commission Memo Re Bureau RFP
November 13, 2002
Page 14 of 14
• Information Technology systems in operation
• Information Technology development strategies
Research Methodologies
Consultant will compare and provide a comprehensive report on the BUREAU operations
relative to industry standards based on:
• Organizational structures and governance
• Partnership arrangements
• Funding sources
• Available facilities
• Tax rates
• Budgets
• Staff structure
Expense categories
The Consultant will evaluate and recommend strategic approaches for the CMB to meet
objectives identified in the Market Assessment, including:
Targeting: assessing the current and future target market,
• Positioning: differentiating destination from its competition so that it's most meaningful
to your visitors, and
• Communicating: marketinglrelationships, public relations, advertising, promotion,
community relations, government affairs.
Assess any adverse/positive impact as a result of the Bureau's efforts to market Greater Miami
versus Miami Beach only. In this context, assess Bureau's efforts in marketing, promoting and
supporting all segments of Miami Beach as a preferred destination. Evaluate how those
efforts impact and maximize the assets and attributes of smaller communities through broad
destination-wide sale and marketing approach. Formulate recommendations for increasing
overall effectiveness that unifies and considers all stakeholders, creating a collective
atmosphere in which to promote Miami Beach as a premier convention and tourist destination.