Yes, it’s that time of the year.
And YES, it’s that time of year after the entire world has shut down.
If you are a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), there is a good chance that you are in the thick of your yearly budget activities. And, this year’s budget will unfortunately be one of the special ones that you might remember for a long time. Needless to say, there are multiple stressors that are impacting your visitor services and visitor information planning.
At HootBoard, we talk with a lot of DMOs who are now caught between their post pandemic budget period in the midst of low tax collections, social-distancing restrictions, and a faster than expected tourism recovery. And given that they still cannot put their staff, volunteers & visitors at risk, they are looking into digitizing their visitor information on kiosks.
So if you are one of these DMOs planning your visitor information kiosks network across your destination; below is a list of things you will need discuss your Kiosk Visitor Network with your board and stakeholders.
Visitor Information Goals:
First things first, before you start any project, you need a clear idea of your visitor information goals. Typically, there will be a combination of reasons that you are doing this project and it’s best to have them clearly listed. Refer to this blog-post titled “Reasons for having a tourism visitor information kiosks at your destination” for a list of key goals DMOs are citing.
Kiosk Literature:
You will need an overview literature of what a visitor information kiosk network looks like, salient features, economic opportunities, and visualizations so your stakeholders can see what they are signing off on. This is the easiest one of them all. You can simply download this Visitor Information Kiosk Network Information PDF that you can share with your stakeholders in advance of your meetings. If you need hard-copies mailed to you simply request some from here.
Demos & Videos:
As you are pitching your visitor kiosk information network, its best to have a visual of how your kiosks will work. A simple video like this one OR having a custom created demo will make it real. Its much easier for your board members to vote in your favor.
Investment Estimate:
Needless to say, you will need a clear cut understanding of the investment needed for your tourism kiosk network. Along with an investment outline, you will also need financing options in case your board requests leasing options.
Revenue Estimate:
If you are using possible revenues generated as a selling point, you need a reliable estimate of what revenue generation is possible as part of your kiosk deployments.
Locations:
You want to provide a detailed list of locations where you will be deploying your kiosks. While most of your board-members might intuitively know why you have chosen these locations, having reasoning behind each location might come in handy. You might also want to keep a backup list of locations if one of your locations might not be amenable for putting in a kiosk.
A deployment timeline:
You will need a realistic timeline for when you will have the tourism kiosk network deployed. Nothing makes it real like a well laid out plan and you don’t want to walk in to the board room without one.
A kickass presentation:
The board meeting is show & tell time. You want to let your board know this is not an option and you are serious about it. Nothing communicates like a well laid out deck with all key points highlighted. Visuals of how your kiosks will look will also be key.
At HootBoard, we understand that deploying kiosks is not something you do every day. That’s where we come in. Setup an appointment with a HootBoard visitor information advisor who help you create a complete proposal for your budget meeting.
