Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau

What Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau does

Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau, doing business as Experience Rochester MN, is the official nonprofit destination marketing organization (DMO) for Rochester, Minnesota. The organization promotes Rochester as a destination for conventions, corporate meetings, sports events, medical travel, weddings, and leisure tourism. Its core stakeholder segments are meeting and event planners, sports event organizers, medical travelers (principally Mayo Clinic patients and families), and leisure tourists. The organization operates from 30 Civic Center Drive SE, Rochester, MN with a staff of seven.

The CVB's core product is the experiencerochestermn.com destination website, built on the SimpleView CRM platform — an industry-standard DMO technology used by hundreds of U.S. convention bureaus. The site functions as a comprehensive visitor information portal covering hotels, restaurants, attractions, an events calendar, an Insider's Guide travel guide, meeting and convention planning services, and specialized Mayo Clinic patient travel and wayfinding content. Supporting products include a monthly e-newsletter, a podcast series, media/press resources, and a secure PartnerExtranet portal for hotels, venues, and attractions. Marketing and distribution are executed through content marketing, social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), email, public relations, and partnerships with Explore Minnesota, Brand USA, the City of Rochester, Destination Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, the Rochester Downtown Alliance, and Rochester Civic Music.

The CVB does not sell products or charge visitors; it is funded as a nonprofit DMO through member dues, lodging-tax-derived assessments, government appropriations, and sponsorships. Its revenue model is best characterized as affiliate-style destination promotion: marketing effort drives visitor spending across the local hospitality economy (hotels, restaurants, attractions, event venues, transportation) rather than producing direct top-line revenue. The organization has no parent company, no venture funding, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed management team changes.

Name

Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau

Legal name

Experience Rochester MN

Website

https://visitrochestermn.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau (Experience Rochester MN) is the official nonprofit destination marketing organization for Rochester, Minnesota, promoting the city to meeting planners, sports organizers, medical travelers, and leisure tourists via a SimpleView CRM-powered destination website and event programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tourism promotion services: The CVB promotes Rochester as a destination for conventions, meetings, sports events, and leisure travel, generating value for the local hospitality economy including hotels, restaurants, attractions, and transportation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau (dba Experience Rochester MN) promotes Rochester, Minnesota as a destination for conventions, corporate meetings, sports events, weddings, and leisure travel. It delivers free visitor information, meeting planning assistance, and event promotion through its official website, events calendar, insider's travel guide, e-newsletter, and partner extranet. The organization supports medical travelers visiting Mayo Clinic and the broader Destination Medical Center ecosystem with specialized travel guidance and construction updates.

Product overview

Experience Rochester (formerly Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau) operates the official destination marketing website for Rochester, MN. The core offering is a comprehensive visitor information platform that connects travelers with hotels, restaurants, events, attractions, and travel planning tools. The organization provides specialized services including Mayo Clinic patient travel guidance, meeting and convention planning, and a monthly e-newsletter. Key digital products include an events calendar, insider's travel guide, and construction/wayfinding updates for downtown visitors. The platform is powered by SimpleView CRM technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Experience Rochester Destination Website
• Meeting & Convention Planning Services Comprehensive planning services for meeting and event planners including venue selection at Mayo Civic Center and partner hotels, off-site venue coordination, wedding planning support, and green event initiatives for conventions, corporate meetings, and celebrations.
• Events Calendar Online events calendar system featuring Rochester events including fairs, festivals, seasonal activities, concerts, and community celebrations, organized by season and event category.
• Insider's Guide (Visitor Travel Guide) Free comprehensive visitor travel guide providing detailed information about Rochester attractions, accommodations, dining, and activities for prospective visitors.
• E-Newsletter Subscription Monthly electronic newsletter subscription providing snapshots of Rochester restaurants, nightlife, shopping, entertainment, and scenic attractions for prospective visitors.
• Mayo Clinic Patient Travel Information Services Specialized travel guidance and construction update services for Mayo Clinic patients visiting Rochester, including parking, shuttle, charitable lodging, wayfinding, and downtown construction impact information.
• Rochester International Airport (RST) Information Services Airport travel information services for Rochester International Airport (RST), including flight details, ground transportation, rental cars, and the Caring Tails pet therapy program.
• PartnerExtranet Portal Secure partner portal powered by SimpleView CRM for industry partners including hotels, venues, and attractions to access resources, tools, and promotional materials and manage their listings on the destination website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rochester named 'Best Small City in America' by Money Magazine

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Explore MinnesotacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerState tourism partnership promoting Rochester as a destination through Explore Minnesota's statewide marketing channels, resources, and promotional activities. The partnership extends Reach to prospective visitors across Minnesota and beyond.
• Destination Medical Center (DMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative initiative between the City of Rochester, Destination Medical Center and Mayo Clinic to coordinate downtown construction updates and travel impacts. DMC is a $5+ billion public-private investment initiative driving medical center expansion and infrastructure development.
• Brand USAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Brand USA (U.S. Department of Commerce's national marketing organization) to promote Rochester as an international tourism destination through VisitTheUSA.com and related channels.
• Mayo CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMayo Clinic is Rochester's primary economic driver and medical tourism anchor. The CVB collaborates with Mayo Clinic on patient visitor resources, parking information, construction updates, and promoting the city as a medical destination. Mayo Clinic's $5 billion Bold. Forward. Unbound. initiative represents major campus transformation.
• City of RochestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CVB works closely with City of Rochester on downtown development, construction coordination (via DowntownRochesterConstruction.org), transportation initiatives including Link Bus Rapid Transit, and general city promotion.
• Rochester Downtown AllianceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership supporting Thursdays Downtown summer festival and other downtown events and promotions.
• Rochester Civic MusicminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership promoting the Riverside Music Series (free outdoor concerts at Mayo Park) and other live music events throughout Rochester.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• SimpleView: Destination marketing CRM and website platform provider powering the Rochester CVB's technology stack. Adjacent ecosystem participant — not a competitor but a peer technology vendor to nearly every U.S. DMO, including all CVB peers above.
• Brand USA: U.S. national destination marketing organization. Direct partner of Rochester CVB for international tourism promotion; comparable as an ecosystem peer in destination marketing, though operating at national rather than city scale.

Direct peers

• Destination Madison: Greater Madison, Wisconsin convention and visitors bureau. Comparable mid-sized Midwest city DMO with similar meeting, sports, and leisure segments; useful peer for benchmarking Midwest CVB economics.
• Visit Saint Paul: Convention and visitors bureau for Saint Paul, Minnesota. Direct peer in same state DMO category, serving a state-capital market with comparable meeting planning, event, and visitor information services.
• Visit Duluth: Official CVB for Duluth, Minnesota. Closely comparable mid-sized Minnesota DMO with similar outdoor recreation, events calendar, and leisure tourism focus; strong structural match for benchmarking.
• Visit Grand Rapids: Destination marketing organization for Grand Rapids, Michigan. Comparable mid-sized Midwest city DMO with similar meeting, sports, and craft/food tourism positioning; strong benchmark for like-sized CVB performance.
• Visit Denver: Official CVB for Denver, Colorado. Mid-sized urban DMO with similar meeting, convention, sports, and leisure segment focus; larger in scale but directly comparable in mandate and product mix.
• Meet Minneapolis: Official convention and visitors bureau for Minneapolis, Minnesota. Comparable DMO serving a Minnesota city with similar meeting, event, and leisure tourism remit; differs in scale (larger metro) but directly comparable in mandate and structure.

Broad incumbents

• Choose Chicago: Official DMO for Chicago. Larger-scale urban CVB with overlapping conventions, meetings, and leisure tourism remit; useful as a benchmark for what scaled CVB operations look like and where Rochester sits in the growth curve.
• Explore Minnesota: State-level tourism marketing organization for Minnesota. A direct partner of Rochester CVB but also a broader-scope DMO covering the entire state; useful for understanding state-level tourism dynamics and partnership economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ExperienceRochesterMN
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rochester-convention-&-visitors-bureau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau