This episode of The New World of Consumer Behavior features an interview with Gary Orfield, Director of Tourism Development at Visit Greater Palm Springs, Southern California’s most storied resort oasis with 300+ days of sunshine annually, mountains you can almost reach out and touch, world-renowned events, and an incredible range of accommodations, meeting spaces, venues and attractions.
This episode of The New World of Consumer Behavior features an interview with Gary Orfield, Director of Tourism Development at Visit Greater Palm Springs, Southern California’s most storied resort oasis with 300+ days of sunshine annually, mountains you can almost reach out and touch, world-renowned events, and an incredible range of accommodations, meeting spaces, venues and attractions.
Gary is also the Chair for the International Marketing Committee of Visit California, a nonprofit organization with a mission to develop and maintain marketing programs — in partnership with the state's travel industry — to keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. Gary received his associates degree in hospitality from Walter State Community College in 1988.
In this episode of The New World of Consumer Behavior, Gary talks about the impact the pandemic has had on tourism trade in California, with tourism in Palm Springs having dropped by 54%. He also discusses how visitors are segmented between in-state and overseas, and how his team uses data to develop long term strategies, bringing Greater Palm Springs back to life.
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Key Quotes
“Do try to find as many sources as possible. And just on the flip side, don't rely on one or two data points. And don't analyze till you're paralyzed. I think that my biggest takeaway on using research and data is to get as clear and a bigger picture from many different angles and opinions as possible.” - Gary Orfield
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Episode Timestamps
01:52 Gary’s role
02:44 Business at Palm Springs
05:00 Top oversea markets
06:13 How the team uses data
08:12 Segment: The Data Vault
11:23 Changes in the last two years
17:21 Measuring improvements with data
18:19 Common itinerary for visitors
19:55 Long-term strategy
21:27 Data security
24:09 Competition
25:36 Advice for others in similar roles
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Links
Kat Harwood: Hello and welcome to The New World of Consumer Behavior: Lessons from Data Pioneers. I'm your host, Kat Harwood, Director of Corporate Communications at Near. This episode features a conversation with Gary Orfield, Director of Tourism Development at Greater Palm Springs. Gary is also the Chair for the International Marketing Committee of Visit California, a nonprofit organization with a mission to develop and maintain marketing programs promoting California as a premier travel destination.
In this episode, Gary talks about the impact the pandemic had on tourism in California. He shares how his team used a powerful combination of data to develop long term strategies to bolster tourism and greater Palm Springs. But first, here's a quick word from our sponsor.
Narrator: Imagine what your company could do with one of the world's largest vaults of intelligence on consumer behavior. The possibilities for business efficiency are endless across people, places, and products, across retail, restaurants, tech and tourism. Data is the key to unlocking insights and drive results for your business. Near is the global SAS leader in privacy led data intelligence with 1.6 billion data points worldwide. Go to near.com to learn how near can help your business make better decisions.
Kat Harwood: Now please enjoy this interview with Gary Orfield, Director of Tourism Development at Visit Greater Palm Springs.
I'm Kat Harwood, I'm the host of the New World of Consumer Behavior and I'm very excited to be here with Gary Orfield with Visit Greater Palm Springs. So thank you so much for being here, Gary.
[00:01:51] Gary Orfield: Thank you. Kat. It's a pleasure.
[00:01:52] Kat Harwood: Wonderful. So let's get started. Can you tell us a little bit about your work and your role with Greater Palm Springs? Yeah. My
[00:02:00] Gary Orfield: role is primarily to oversee our efforts in promoting the destination to leisure guests all across the world. We also work with the airlines as well as Palm Springs International Airport to promote the destination and to expand seasonality of flights.
[00:02:17] So primarily in the travel, trade, and air service.
[00:02:22] Kat Harwood: I feel like Palm Springs already is world famous. Everyone knows it's a beautiful place to come, get some warm weather, play some golf, have some great cuisine. It was really perfectly positioned with the pandemic to support people wanting to get out of the city and being able to do remote work.
[00:02:40] It's just sort of that place, that destination to go despite all odds. I'm sort of curious with. You know, inflation rates and market conditions. Are you seeing any changes to. The people coming into Palm Springs at all, or is it sort of business as usual? I think
[00:02:59] Gary Orfield: as of right now, it's not having a huge impact.
[00:03:02] I think we're starting to see issues of inflation, the high gas prices, the strong hotel room rates. It's not sustainable when that ends as anyone's guest. But so far, just from what we've seen early summer, we're still. Fairly much right where we'd
[00:03:23] Kat Harwood: want to be. That's amazing. And summer overall, is this a busy time of year or does it sort of quiet down with the
[00:03:29] Gary Orfield: heat?
[00:03:29] Sometimes people are a little scared of the heat. I tell 'em that there's nothing to worry. We have 50,000 swimming pools, , so you're never far from a nice float on the pool. Typically, summer is a slower season and that's one of. Primary goals as an organization is to really make this more of a year round destination.
[00:03:48] And I think the data that we look at and behaviors has really helped us focus resources. You know, we put a lot of efforts into the overseas markets who are primarily, typically here June through September timeframe. If you go back and look past 10, 12 years on a percentage basis that summer season, Has actually grown more than our peak season.
[00:04:12] Not a lot, but it's definitely, it's a nice trend to see that growth come in a such a neat period. And as I was talking earlier, with all the air service growth, a lot of that was coming in the summer too. So we've picked up airlines that are not just flying, you know, November through April, it's year round, two new destinations.
[00:04:32] So not only does that. Better opportunity for leisure gas coming in, better opportunity for residents and as well as the groups and conventions. So it's having a big effect on us being able to kind of create that year round season that we'd like. That's
[00:04:47] Kat Harwood: great. That's great. It's nice to see an area that you think maybe wouldn't be as busy.
[00:04:53] Kind of have that uptick in travelers and you know, summer vacation, I would think a lot of your overseas travelers have more time to make the journey to Palm Springs. So I'm curious, who is your typical overseas traveler?
[00:05:05] Gary Orfield: Yeah, I mean, I would think our top overseas market would be the UK. But France, Germany and Australia are not far behind at all.
[00:05:13] So primarily those overseas visitors are here for 10 days, two weeks, three weeks. They're doing a big fly drive itinerary through California or through the Southwest and our typical summer business. Domestic is heavy on the weekends. Friday, Saturdays are still, 80% are better on the hotels and those overseas guests, they're coming whenever.
[00:05:36] They don't have to be only here on a weekend. And typically an international overseas visitor spends more and stays longer in a destination. So their timing is perfect for us. June through September. They don't have to be on a Friday, Saturday, It just depends on where we slot in on their itinerary. We've got a great location.
[00:05:55] We're in the middle of four big international gateways with Phoenix, Las Vegas, la, San Diego with the, that have those overseas flights. So as they're driving and as they're itinerary unfolds, it's easy for them to, to make a stop here and spend two or three nights or
[00:06:10] Kat Harwood: more. Oh, it sounds like the perfect stop.
[00:06:13] Very cool. And how do you and your team use data?
[00:06:16] Gary Orfield: We use data quite a bit. Um, our CEO is a, a big believer in that we have quite a bit of research projects and one of our team members, Rebecca, is our business analyst primarily, her main role is to kind of oversee and manage the data that we collect and utilize to validate where we're putting our resources.
[00:06:36] So everything from economic impact survey. Second home ownership, which is important for us cuz we will use that data with the airlines as well. Kind of showing them where a lot of people live who own second homes here, even the on the Salt and sea. Just with everything that's going on, on, on there and trying to save that and how it could affect not only the visitation, uh, but also the lives of our residents working to try to get a, uh, FIS facility.
[00:07:03] Palm Springs International Airport, you know, research studies that show the feasibility in that hopefully get an overseas flight one day, um, expands quite a breadth of types of data that we use from consumer behavior to obviously with the geolocation data as well.
[00:07:18] Kat Harwood: Very interesting. So it sounds like the team definitely uses data for a whole host of different use cases, and it sounds essential to really the business.
[00:07:27] How does data and sort of day to day operations and marketing come together in your organization? Well,
[00:07:33] Gary Orfield: I mean, I think there's certainly a danger in looking at too much data or you can easily dig yourself a hole if you're only relying on that. So it's really about working together as a team to, to analyze the data and interpret it and to really take what we're seeing, hearing from our partners, from our hotel years, our restaurants.
[00:07:51] And really just trying to find that storyline, but not relying on just one piece of data or one source of information. So it's definitely through, you know, I think a team discussion and analysis. As we look at that and to implement, whether it's a marketing campaign or just dedicating resources,
[00:08:11] Kat Harwood: it's definitely a team effort.
[00:08:12] I know there can be data overload. So now that we have a little bit of the background, let's get into what we call the data vault. So first question I have for you is, what problems are you trying to solve or questions you need to answer when using consumer behavior data?
[00:08:27] Gary Orfield: Well, one big one on the leisure guest role is really just to identify the source markets, the booking environment and ecosystem on leisure travel, especially with our international guests, can be quite complicated and can go through many different hands and companies.
[00:08:45] So just really understanding source markets is always very important for. And then obviously just really looking at what consumers, what travelers are wanting, not only on the positive side, but on the negative side. You know, what are some of the attributes of the place they didn't like before? What are the challenges that they have in actually getting here?
[00:09:06] So it runs what kind of problems, challenges we have, and where that data helps us understand the whole host, not just behavior, but other areas as.
[00:09:15] Kat Harwood: And have you found any surprising wants or don't wants from your leisure travels Travelers?
[00:09:21] Gary Orfield: What's been a little bit surprising coming out of the pandemic is not so much maybe what they want or don't want, but I think it's what they say in surveys and what they do.
[00:09:32] So there's definitely feels like there's a little bit more disconnect in what they would say they would do or would not do versus. What's really happening, Right? So again, just the past few years, everything has been so fluid that it's really been a very difficult task to try to get a handle on what tomorrow brings or you know, what people are gonna want or need down the line.
[00:09:55] To me, that's been one of the biggest challenges over the past few years. So
[00:09:59] Kat Harwood: what are some of the biggest challenges your industry faces with regard to making data and marketing decisions?
[00:10:06] Gary Orfield: Going back to the challenge of what consumers are saying in a survey or in research versus what they're putting to action.
[00:10:14] The big challenge recently, and as I mentioned coming out of the pandemic, we're still understanding what quote unquote new normal will look like, and it seems to still. Changed quite a bit and it's certainly evident the demand is there. With all the things that have happened now, can we fulfill that demand?
[00:10:34] Kat Harwood: That made me think, you know, despite not being able to perfectly predict what's always gonna happen with pandemic and market conditions, that sounds like Greater Palm Springs has been able to really keep. Their leisure travelers coming and know what to expect and get them excited to continue to visit.
[00:10:51] Gary Orfield: We've really looked at the data, look at the consumer behavior, and obviously coming outta the pandemic, people have wanted the outdoor experience, the health and wellness to really get away from it all. And so we've really tried to take that data and showing. What they are wanting in this post pandemic world and really align it well with our brand pillars, enhance that.
[00:11:14] Just reiterate what we've always been known for and how that fits within this new kind of consumer behavior and wants and desires when they're traveling.
[00:11:23] Kat Harwood: So what have the last two years been like for Greater Palm Springs and how did things change for you as a tourist destination since the start of the pandemic?
[00:11:32] Gary Orfield: We are certainly very fortunate. I think there has been many silver linings that have come out of this for us. Not withstanding with all due respect to through personal loss and there has been loss, but we discovered that we kind of rebounded fairly quickly. Starting in the, in the summer of 2020, we had extremely positive summer.
[00:11:56] People were wanting that outdoor experiences to get away from the big cities, and it also didn't hurt that, you know, we're a two hour drive from several million people to come out and do quick getaways. So we started seeing a fairly good recovery. Um, fairly soon and we saw our real estate market boom.
[00:12:18] You know, we had a lot of people move here for remote work, you know, that opened that up and with kids doing remote learning, we started seeing significant air service growth with new airlines and new routes coming in. Um, we saw huge spike in demand for private home rentals, which is something we already had a good inventory of.
[00:12:39] We definitely. Came through this pretty well, Better than a lot of bigger destinations like obviously the big cities and big destinations have suffered much more than us and are slower to rebound. We have just kind of taken again, what our destination has always been known for, and that's really kind of aligned with what a lot of people wanted and still want coming outta the pandemic.
[00:13:05] Kat Harwood: You had mentioned that you use a lot of different sources when collecting data. What are those sources? Which ones do you consider?
[00:13:14] Gary Orfield: So, I mean, vis of view is, is the one that's good for us. You know, showing the cardholder spin while they're in destination based upon their billing zip code. Obviously the near data has been a big, big win for us to have a better understanding of the source markets, the ability to.
[00:13:33] Geo fence, our hotel partners and our attractions and restaurants and retail to really support them in helping them to understand, you know, where their source markets are. When a guest comes to their hotel, where are they going after that? So, you know, they can see if a lot of their guests are going to a certain retail establishment or certain area of restaurants, you know, maybe they can build packages and really try to enhance that a little bit.
[00:13:59] You know, those are two big ones that we use and. We've worked with companies like tourism, economics and destination analysts in the economic impact, um, of tourism. Or we've got a new hockey arena that's being built here to be the minor league team for the Seattle crack. And so we did an economic impact study on that to help understand that we're doing one right.
[00:14:23] For the airport to really understand the benefits of, of putting in an fis, you know, customs and border patrol. So all of those data points really kinda help us validate, I guess, where we're putting our resources is correct.
[00:14:38] Kat Harwood: Yeah. It sounds like you're unveiling really interest. Seen things. I would never think that Palm Springs would open a hockey arena.
[00:14:45] We
[00:14:45] Gary Orfield: have a lot of Canadians here with second home, Sarah, so there's a big hockey fan base here. A lot of people from the Pacific Northwest have homes here, Chicago, Northeast. Okay, so Seattle is a big, the biggest route, or as far as the number of passengers. Coming direct to Palm Springs, so
[00:15:03] Kat Harwood: very interesting.
[00:15:03] I could see that though, Canadians, people up in Seattle, it does tend to be a lot cooler there, if you will, than Palm Springs. So I could see, you know, that population coming down to where you are and wanting to take a little bit of home with them, so it makes sense. Yeah, it's good to know I can bring my ice skates when I come to Palm Springs.
[00:15:22] You can. Yeah, it sounds like Greater Palm Springs really has the pillars, like you said, and you're a North Star and you just kind of move in that direction and you know what people want, and it sounds like data's really helping to support that, so that's great.
[00:15:37] Gary Orfield: Another way. You know, I think that data has really helped us, or you know, as far as consumer behavior and kind of what they're looking for is, is to really help us understand how to get people into areas of the destination that may not be in the front page of the.
[00:15:54] Visitors Guide. Mm-hmm. . And we even created a YouTube series on our YouTube channel called Wonderlust. It's a collection of probably a couple dozen videos that really go to areas of the destination. You know, a typical visitor for the first time may not ever know is there, you know, whether it's Salvation Mountain out in an Salton sea, or a small museum, or, um, You know, it just really does a good job of getting people off the beaten path and into more local and authentic places that they can really understand the community and what we're made of.
[00:16:32] So having the data on consumer behavior and kind of what they're looking for when they travel, they really want to, you know, learn about the culture and the yance of the destination. So, you know, that's, we've used data to, to do things like, Wow,
[00:16:47] Kat Harwood: that makes sense and seems so important with the way people change their behaviors constantly.
[00:16:54] And
[00:16:54] Gary Orfield: actually it's a nice tie into the sustainability. You're trying to level out the playing field, if you will. You know, you're trying to get people in all corners of your destination. There's a lot more to see than unfortunately, what makes it into the guidebooks and visitors guides.
[00:17:10] Kat Harwood: It sounds like you really know who your travelers.
[00:17:13] You know how to meet those expectations of where they go, what they wanna do. But I'm curious how you measure these improvements. When you figure out, you know, where people are going, what they want, how do you kind of know that you're hitting the mark?
[00:17:24] Gary Orfield: That's a good question. You know, at the end of the day, it's, our mission is twofold.
[00:17:28] I mean, it's to drive tourism here and it's to. Impact the lives of our residents in a, in a positive manner. So I think in the big picture, that's kind of what we look at. But going granular, I mean, it could be if it's a social media campaign on something specific I mentioned, you know, measuring the engagements on that, again, hearing what our partners are saying, the feedback, if it's working for them or what's not working or what is working for them.
[00:17:55] We're here to support them and, and you know, we think of them as a client as much as I think. A key client from London, that's our job is to help promote them and support them and their efforts.
[00:18:05] Kat Harwood: And out of curiosity, the traveler coming from Seattle versus the traveler coming from London. I know the international travelers there longer, but sort of on average or what's the common.
[00:18:17] Itinerary for someone coming to Palm Springs, what do you have to see? What can you not miss?
[00:18:22] Gary Orfield: Well, that's a good question. I mean, it's, you know, everybody has different desires and, and interest levels. We're fortunate, I haven't mentioned this, but you know, where we're located is being adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park, so that's a always a nice itinerary.
[00:18:37] A place on your visit here, even though you're kind of going outside the destination, but it's very common for people to come here and do their day visits into the park. So, you know, that's a big one. Some of the big, um, other activities, I mean, the Palm Springs aerial tram, the world's largest rotating tram going up to the Cleveland National Forest.
[00:18:57] There about 9,000 feet up. So especially good in the summer, you know, it's about 30 or 40 degrees cooler. That's nice to the Jeep Tours. That'll, The Jeep Tours that'll go into the San Andrea's fault or to back into the Indian Kenyas where the Native Americans first settled. It is a very artistic community, so a lot of museums, a lot of art galleries, a lot of farmers markets.
[00:19:20] One of the communities, Desert Hot Springs is very well known for their natural hop, mineral waters, and spas. There so much to do, you know, really where. Destination started getting on the map, was the, the Hollywood starts coming out here. Right. And they're, they're getting away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood and, and coming out to relax and relieve the.
[00:19:40] Kat Harwood: Yeah, as you were saying, all the different things you could do once you moved into the waters and the spas and the saunas, I'm like, Ugh, I need to pack my bags and get to Palm Springs immediately. Let's talk a little bit about long term strategic decisions. Looking down the road, how are you continuing to use data to make decisions in the future, if that's a thing, and is that even possible?
[00:20:03] that's the
[00:20:03] Gary Orfield: million dollar question, right, Is really if you stick true to. You do best and what, what we are known for. And again, those brand pillars are there for a reason and that is really the buckets that most of the experiences derive from. I think it's just important for us just to track the new, any new consumer behaviors or desires or patterns and really relate that back to.
[00:20:32] Our strengths are, we'll never be a, a San Diego with amusement parks or universal studios, and we're not gonna be a, a West Hollywood with multiple bars and nightclubs and, and things. So I think it's really just. Embracing what we do best, tweaking it when we can, and just really keeping tabs of what we think is the consumer wants.
[00:20:59] And again, a lot of it is just reading between the lines, collecting, looking at as many different sources of data and types of data that you can, coming together as a team, taking feedback from the community, from the stakeholders, and really just bringing a story and being able to tell a story through.
[00:21:18] Kat Harwood: Makes sense. It's sort of a collective of information and sources. How does data security play a role in the way you use data at your organization?
[00:21:28] Gary Orfield: Well, yeah, we certainly have our own policies as far as the data we collect and share, um, for consumers and yeah, as the world evolves. There is certainly challenges with that, as you probably know.
[00:21:43] I mean, there's some pretty strict policies in Europe. China is obviously very difficult. Going back to that VI view, I think has almost 50% of all the cardholders in the world, but China, it's probably single digits. So you've gotta kind of look at, take all of that into account when you're looking at specific data points and really understand that we just, we find ways of working.
[00:22:06] It is evolving and it is making it more of a challenge as we go forward. Mm-hmm. .
[00:22:11] Kat Harwood: Yeah. And it continues to be more and more challenging, I feel. Yeah, exactly. So I'm curious how your organization sort of thinks about combining that online behavioral data with the real world physical
[00:22:22] Gary Orfield: data. Again, I think it's just important to pull as many data sources and as many feedback and opinions as possible, and not relying too much on one set of data, and then also really just not going too deep.
[00:22:40] Mm-hmm. , you can analyze some of this research and data. So you get paralysis and, and you're not gonna be able to make any decisions. I mean, there is, you know, a lot of it is you're just gonna have to take a chance and, and really just go in the best direction you feel. Just be able to, I think it, if anything, the pandemic has taught us to be very nimble and to have a lot of flexibility.
[00:23:03] So a lot of the, pretty much any marketing or any kind of campaign we're doing now, it's really. There's a big element of design in that where we could pivot, and I hate to use that word, I think that was U, it's been used quite a bit the past two years, but it's appropriate. It's really important to be able to have that flexibility to be able to go into a different direction if need be, just because of the fluid nature of the world.
[00:23:28] Mm-hmm. past few years. I think when we present some of the data to the hotels, I think it's just always, it's always a little bit of an eye opener to see. What their guests are doing and where they're coming from. I think it helps them understand what their hotel offers and why it would maybe attract someone from New York versus someone from from Phoenix, for example.
[00:23:53] So I think that's, that's been a big help for them.
[00:23:57] Kat Harwood: Sounds like you can go down that road again. How would you say this data has maybe given you a leg up with your competitors?
[00:24:04] Gary Orfield: I think we do a really good job going back, aligning with what the consumer's wanting with our brand pillars. And one thing that we're excited about that's getting ready to launch is our investment with, uh, Brand USA Campaign that's called United Stories.
[00:24:18] So this is been a big investment and of both time and money, and this is gonna be released soon, but it's basically a video a. Two to three minute video of telling the story about the destination and the angle that we went with was a multi-generational family coming here to reconnect. That's something that's, that we've used, and whether that's a leg up on the competition, I'm not sure.
[00:24:39] I think we just really try to take the strengths and apply it to what is on consumers and travelers' minds. Right.
[00:24:50] Kat Harwood: definitely sounds like you're hitting the mark. Do you have any number one, data dues and data don'ts.
[00:24:57] Gary Orfield: Do try to find as many sources as possible. And just on the flip side, don't rely on one or two data points and, and don't analyze to your paralyzed, you know, so those, I think that's my biggest takeaway is on using research and data is to.
[00:25:17] To get this clear and a bigger picture from many different angles and opinions as
[00:25:22] Kat Harwood: possible. Do you have any advice for a first time person in a role like yours trying to develop a data strategy, but maybe sort of going back to, not necessarily the dos and don'ts, but where do you even start? Yeah, and
[00:25:34] Gary Orfield: I think it just depends on the ultimate go end goal.
[00:25:36] I think really just understanding what. You know, how is data gonna help you? What is, what is the goal? So, depending on how you answer that, I think would guide you into the specific types of research or types of data to look at. And obviously setting, setting a budget is, is important cuz it, it can get expensive, you know, there's mm-hmm.
[00:25:57] lots of companies. Happy to kind of do a lot of research projects for you. So, yeah, no, I just think it really just start with the end goal. What is it that you want out of this data? What kind of information do you need? Mm-hmm. , you know, what is it that you need to help you dedicate your resources? Yeah.
[00:26:15] Source. There's ways you can collect information from. From your hotel, from your partners and stakeholders and the people you work with. So there's lots of ways to collect data and understand the consumer
[00:26:26] Kat Harwood: behavior. Absolutely. I love that. It's that personalization that really makes things special for tourists.
[00:26:32] And you know, anywhere you're going, wherever you're. Day or eating those touches really do make it that much more special. So I'm happy to hear the Greater Palm Springs is doing that. And it sounds like you really know who your travelers are, whether they're, you know, coming from Seattle or London or wherever that might be.
[00:26:50] So I am ready to pack my bags and come to Palm Springs. I've never been so well, we're open and we'd love to have you. Thank you for your time, Gary. This was, Thank
[00:27:00] Gary Orfield: you. Appreciate your support and everything that you guys have done for us. And, you know, it's still a learning process for us. Definitely. We don't know it all, so we're, we're still an open book and open mind and, and, um, looking at different ways to do it better. So thank you again for your support.
[00:27:15] Kat Harwood: Of course. We're in it together for sure. Thank you for listening to this episode of The New World of Consumer Behavior. To learn more about this. Check out the case study on our website. The link is in the show notes below. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment to leave a rating and a review and tell a friend.
[00:27:34] This podcast was brought to you by Near, one of the world's largest sources of intelligence on people, places, and products.