Destination Stewardship & Governance
Destination stewardship refers to the work of putting the County on the map through
product development and management, ensuring a seamless, positive, and
memorable visitor experience. Oakland County is at a critical point to lead destination
stewardship efforts.
Key Functions of a DMO
A destination organization, also widely known as a Destination Management Organization (DMO) or Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB), is an entity whose core mission is to promote a destination as an attractive place to visit, live, work, and invest.
As such, there are various types of work that DMOs today must undertake to lead various industries towards a collective vision for the destination.
Marketing & Promotion
Programs, initiatives, and campaigns that are primarily focused on attracting visitors by promoting unique attractions and experiences, rather than focusing on individual products or services. This work ensures the creation and maintenance of a positive image of the destination.
Management
Programs and efforts that emphasize connecting various components of a destination, or creating coalitions of organizations/ interests, to create a cohesive and quality visitor experience. This work ensures industry-wide collaborations that drive competitiveness and sustainability of the destination.
Stewardship
Capital improvements, programs, and campaigns that ensure the continuous pursuit of a net positive tourism ecosystem where a positive tourism experience for visitors is balanced with that of the needs of local communities.
Destination Stewardship in Metro Detroit
The following strategies outline steps for the County to establish a destination stewardship coordinator position to finalize the County’s place brand and coordinate the roll out of the strategic plan (in the immediate term), and in the long run, establish a destination stewardship entity.
While Metro Detroit has a strong, existing destination marketing entity (Visit Detroit) overseeing regional marketing for the tri-county area, Oakland County will need to leverage the opportunity to enhance its own storytelling on its own channels and platforms to be amplified by Visit Detroit and other state and regional partners.
Despite the significant value of Oakland County’s tourism economy, as previously outlined, the County has not, as yet, established a sustainable and dedicated resource and team to carry out destination marketing, management, and stewardship functions. Moving forward, the County will need to put itself on the map and take ownership for stewarding the destination in partnership with Visit Detroit and state entities such as Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Pure Michigan.
(Click The Chart Above To Zoom In)
The following strategies outline steps for the County to establish a destination stewardship coordinator position to finalize the County’s place brand and coordinate the roll out of the strategic plan (in the immediate term), and in the long run, establish a destination stewardship entity.
Goal #1:
To create a sustainable framework for destination stewardship in Oakland County
Strategies
01
02
Hire a destination stewardship coordinator.
A Destination Stewardship Coordinator is a full-time, mid-level County staff position (Principal Planner) dedicated to lead the implementation of the Plan and filling existing regional gaps in the roles of destination management and stewardship, primarily a) connecting various sectors/stakeholders within the County to create a cohesive and quality visitor experience, b) creating a county-wide coalition of organizations/interests working towards the competitiveness and sustainability of the destination, and c) ensuring a balanced tourism experience for visitors with that of the needs of local communities (across economic, environmental, and social/cultural perspectives).
| Level of Effort | Phasing |
|---|---|
 Medium |  Immediate |
Key Roles & Responsibilities
In the near term, key roles and responsibilities of the Coordinator may include:
- Convene and collaborate with Visit Detroit, County departments (Main Street, Parks, Airport, Economic Development, Business Development, Workforce Development, Community Development, Transit, etc.), local government and organizations to implement strategies outlined in the strategic plan
- Partner closely with Visit Detroit to ensure alignment of the County’s messaging and positioning as a sub brand
- Support Visit Detroit in the promotion of the County for group travel and events; support stakeholders through lead generation and collaborative sales strategies.
- Track implementation of the strategic plan and measure impacts of strategies implemented to inform policies
- Work closely with a branding contractor to develop final County place brand, guidelines, assets, and a marketing/PR contractor to implement brand
- Grow and manage the destination stewardship budgets and lead the pursuit of grants
Required Background/Expertise
Required background/expertise of the Coordinator:
- Bachelor’s degree (or Master’s degree) in Tourism, Hospitality, or Recreation Management/Public Administration or Public Policy/Business Administration or Nonprofit Management/Community Development
- Minimum 3 years experience in non-profit operations/ tourism/hospitality/cultural institution/chamber of commerce
- Familiarity with county or municipal government processes, budgeting, and grant management, and destination branding, storytelling, and campaign integration.
- Demonstrated success in stakeholder engagement, managing cross-sector partnerships, strategic planning, and program impact monitoring/evaluation
- Must be comfortable leading community workshops, industry training, and public forums.
Establish a destination stewardship non-profit organization
To grow and continuously evolve the work of the Destination Stewardship Coordinator, the County should also consider, in the longer term, the establishment of a 501(c)(3) and/or 501(c)(6) non-profit organization, with its own Board of Directors consisting of local stakeholders (primarily consisting of lodging owners and managers, and other private/non-profit/public stakeholders such as attraction/cultural asset managers and regional marketing partners) that would contract with the County as a destination management organization for Oakland County.
Establishing a separate 501(c)(3) and/or 501(c)(6) nonprofit entity that functions as the County’s Destination Management Organization (DMO), rather than embedding it within a County department, offers a number of strategic, financial, and operational benefits. This includes having the flexibility and ability to make faster decisions around marketing, contracts/vendor agreements, asset management (for example, mobile visitor services or welcome center) and program pivots, and the ability to develop partnerships with corporate/private entities and/or other nonprofits without being subject to government policies. In particular, being structured as a 501(c)(6) may also enable the DMO to apply to grants that may not always be available to government agencies. Finally, it is important that DMOs maintain political neutrality in order to sustain their work and ensure continuity through administrations or Commission turnovers.
In particular, being structured as a 501(c)(6) may also enable the DMO to apply to grants that may not always be available to government agencies. Finally, it is important that DMOs maintain political neutrality in order to sustain their work and ensure continuity through administrations or Commission turnovers.
In order to sustain the work of this DMO, the County should consider a sustainable funding mechanism similar to that of other counties in the region, a government-authorized lodging/accommodations tax that is collected by Oakland County and distributed to its DMO.
In addition to marketing/promotion (primarily focused on the implementation of the County’s place brand and managing that implementation with local and regional/state partners), the DMO should be responsible for executing larger and more impactful stakeholder management and destination stewardship work, as outlined in this strategic plan.
| Level of Effort | Phasing |
|---|---|
 High |  Future |
*Rounded - Based on 2023 Form 990 Reported Total Revenue
Additional functions
Additional functions of the organization may include:
- Lead training, workshops, and community education programs to build brand awareness and implementation
- Lead/support implementation of stewardship projects and product development as outlined in the Oakland County Tourism & Attraction 5-Year Strategic Plan
- Lead capacity-building initiatives (workshops, training, coalition-building) for industry partners.
- Drive research, storytelling, and communications around the County’s place brand
Key Staff Roles
Among key staff roles to be funded in initial years at the DMO:
- Executive Director, whose core responsibilities may include fundraising and grant applications, budget compliance and reporting, staff management, stakeholder engagement, and oversight of marketing and other DMO programs
- Marketing & Communications Manager, whose core responsibilities may include coordination with Marketing teams at Visit Detroit, implementation of Oakland County place brand, advertising, social media, visitor guides, website
- Destination Development/Visitor Experience Manager, whose core responsibilities may include coordination with Sales teams at Visit Detroit, administration and management of key product development programs
- Engagement and Research Manager, whose core responsibilities may include stakeholder management and coalition-building, visitor data collection, economic impact reporting, resident sentiment
- Visitor Services Coordinator, whose core responsibilities may include managing welcome centers, kiosks, call/email/chat support, volunteer programs
Salary Comp
The following reflect salaries of comparative positions and titles at DMOs in the Southeast Michigan market:
*Rounded - Based on current payment schedule and/or 2023 Form 990 Report for each organization