Anne Urban, Owner & President, Destination Planning Corp.

In an interview with Invest:, Anne Urban, owner and president of Destination Planning, talked about how insourcing rather than outsourcing has helped the company differentiate from other destination management companies (DMCs) in Jacksonville. She also talked about the projected impact that the recently announced new Jacksonville Jaguars stadium will have on the region.

What have been the greatest achievements of Destination Planning in the past year?

Our goal at Destination Planning is to support meeting planners who are bringing business to North Florida. For instance, we have a client that runs a four-day conference and brings over 450 insurance agents from out-of-state for it. One of our highlights for this year is signing with that client again for 2025 as it shows the value that we have provided to that corporation. Clients do not need a full-time meeting planner for an event that they do once a year. Instead, they can contract a company like Destination Planning that can give them great value acting as their meeting-planning arm. We also celebrated our 20th anniversary this year.  

How do you expect the recently announced new Jacksonville Jaguars stadium to benefit Destination Planning?

Our company was started in 2004 because of the Super Bowl coming to Jacksonville the following year. We did $1 million worth of business during that Super Bowl week, which makes us one of the success stories that came about because of that event. We were quite excited about the new stadium announcement as we hold some signature events in the area, with the Florida-Georgia game and the Gator Bowl. I also believe that, once completed, the stadium will bring the Super Bowl back to Jacksonville.

Aside from that project, there are other improvements that we hope the city will do as part of its plan to improve Jacksonville. For instance, improving our convention facilities and having a better, walkable, and usable entertainment zone downtown will make the city more attractive for groups. Destination Planning is 100% dependent on group business, so such improvements will be beneficial for my company as they will benefit those groups.

What areas of Destination Planning’s service portfolio do you expect will be the main drivers of growth for the company?

We have increased the trade show portion of our business, and the conference planning side of it has also increased. In 2023, we did the Home and Garden Show for the first time and provided all their pipe and drapes. We were also awarded a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Fairgrounds to provide the in-house decorator services for everything coming in there. As the Fairgrounds relocates, our contract will move with it. 

We have also seen a big uptick in the need for activity and tour management. We are guiding people coming to our area and helping them find the tour that is the right fit for them. Cruise ships have used us for tours and activities when they come into Jacksonville. Thanks to the comprehensive management that we offer, we can provide full transportation management from the moment they land in Jacksonville to the time they leave.

What are the key factors that differentiate Destination Planning from competitors in the Jacksonville tourism sector?

We are the only licensed, bonded, and insured destination management company in town. The bonding factor is important because it ensures that their deposit monies are secure. We have survived two recessions and one pandemic, which is something few licensed and certified DMCs can say. We carry our seller of traveler’s insurance, and are a licensed talent agency, so we have more protection built around from a licensing standpoint. That holds us more accountable to the state than many of the smaller companies in town.

A lot of DMCs are service-oriented rather than product-oriented, so they subcontract everything. In the case of Destination Planning, we are not a middle person as we own our own equipment.  We are the only one in town that started as a DMC and acquired the assets, including an in-house floral company. That means we insource rather than outsource, which saves us and our clients a tremendous amount of money on delivery fees, quality control, and peace of mind, since we are not putting different vendors together. 

I was the vice president of our Convention and Visitors Bureau prior to starting my company and was in the hotel business for 22 years. My broad background in tourism means I understand the hotel side of our community. In my role at the CVB, I was instrumentally involved in bringing the Super Bowl and the housing it entails as well as in creating cruise ship opportunities. 

What is the most important factor that clients should look for when looking for a DMC?

No matter who you work with, you should make sure that they have the depth to handle service in the event someone gets sick or has a life emergency. You do not want to work with a one-man show, as it can mean trouble. Three of our competitors went out of business with COVID-19 because they could not handle the tough times. In our case, that depth includes staff who have been with me for up to 15 years. 

What is the strategy of Destination Planning to provide a high-quality level of customer service to groups?

We maintain our level of service thanks to having long-term employees who have extensive training programs. I have a 100% satisfaction guarantee with my customers, where they do not pay for a service if they are not satisfied with it. I carried that philosophy over into my company from my hotel background. You need to have a lot of confidence to offer that guarantee.

What are the most important challenges that Destination Planning faces and how is the company navigating them? 

With inflation hitting the way it has, everyone is watching their wallet in these times. That includes corporate groups and personal groups, such as wedding customers. We address that by insourcing and not outsourcing so there are no markups. In fact, if we must outsource something and get a discount, we pass that discount on to clients. We do not double-dip in the sense we do not take a service and mark it up.

From a price point, our customers are paying closer attention to those quotes, whereas that did not matter in 2006 and 2007. Back then, I could quote anything, and people would just pay it. The cost of goods has gone up significantly, and clients have not adjusted to what our price points must be. That has caused my profit margins to go down as I cannot increase my pricing at the pace that I need to. 

Another challenge is keeping our employees happy, which ensures that we have low turnover and that my customers are treated properly. I have a strong focus on taking care of my internal customer, which is my employee. 

What factors do you expect will be the main drivers of growth for Destination Planning over the next two to three years?

I am not aware of any new significant events that are coming to Jacksonville in the next two to three years. Nevertheless, we expect that we will be going after bigger events like the Super Bowl within the next five to 10 years. We focus on retaining our good customer base and the good relationships that we have with our partners. We focus a lot on corporate groups, so if there is stuff coming to the convention center or to large hotels like the Hyatt, Omni Amelia Island, or the World Golf Village, that will be our focus.