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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-13-2016 TBID Minutes Minutes TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD Wednesday, July 13, 2016 Regular Meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board CALL TO ORDER A Regular Meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board was called to order on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 10:04 in the Council Hearing Room, located at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, by Chair Wilkins. ROLL CALL Present: Board Members Clint Pearce and LeBren Young-Harris, Vice-Chair Nipool Patel and Chair Matthew Wilkins Absent: Board Members Dean Hutton, Pragna Patel-Mueller, and Kimberly Walker Staff: Tourism Manager Molly Cano and Recording Secretary Kevin Christian. PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. CONSENT AGENDA ACTION: MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER PEARCE, SECOND BY VICE CHAIR PATEL, CARRIED 4-0 to approve the Minutes of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board meeting on June 8, 2016. By consensus the Board directed staff to receive and file Consent Agenda items C.2 – C.6. PRESENTATIONS 1. Marketing Agency Year-End Report Representatives from BCA + Matchfire (formerly StudioGood) presented the 2015-16 year-end report on marketing activities for the SLO TBID. Highlights included an 80% increase in website visits over 2014-15, an 87 % increase in Blog posting, and an above industry average on click-through rates. It was noted that for 2016-17 they will focus on emulation of 2015-16 successes such as the Rainy-Day promotion, optimize content across the board, utilize data gathered over the past two years to refine content and outreach, and explore opportunities for creation and use of unique local video content. Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of July 13, 2016 Page 2 2. Chamber Year-End Report Representatives from the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce reviewed their contract scope of work and presented guest services data from the 2015-16 fiscal year which showed growth in all areas: Phone Contact, Walk-in, Hotel referrals, and events promoted. A review of where travelers come from showed that Germany tops the international market, the South lags behind all other areas nationally, and the greater Central Coast area is by far the largest draw for California. It was noted that this was the first year the Chamber did public relations for the TBID. A review of print and electronic media successes followed. Of particular note was that they had “nearly 60 outlets” come to San Luis Obispo, remarking that this is the most effective way to generate media pieces. It was reported that they generated 308 media placements in the past year, with a potential reach of 730,634,941 people. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. Website Updates for Lodging Pages Tourism Manager Cano recapped that the Management Committee was tasked with formulating a plan to increase member satisfaction of presence on www.sanluisobispovacations.com. The Committee members discussed that their focus was on the user experience and establishing a more effective means of capturing bookings or referrals to member sites. It was noted that the Helium booking engine is working with a contract for two more years, but isn’t being utilized by all member properties. The committee recommendation is to use individual property pages, similar to pre-Helium service, which will have a single booking link directing users to the booking tool of the TBID member choice. Public Comments: Dusty Colyer-Worth, San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center Manager, questioned if there will be a tracking mechanism for users of the “one button” design? Staff responded in the affirmative. ACTION: MOTION BY VICE CHAIR PATEL, SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER HARRIS, CARRIED 4-0, to approve the individual property pages with single button booking link for web site lodging pages. 2. Strategic Plan Update Tourism Manager Cano reviewed the background, timeline, budget, and the scope of work provided by Coraggio Group for the Strategic Plan Update. ACTION: MOTION BY VICE CHAIR PATEL, SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER PEARCE, CARRIED 4-0, to approve the scope of work as presented. (Board Member Pearce left at 11:08) Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of July 13, 2016 Page 3 TBID LIAISON REPORTS & COMMUNICATION 1. Hotelier Update No new reports. 2. Management Committee Update – Minutes: June 28, 2016 No further report. 3. Marketing Committee Update – Minutes: June 29, 2016 Tourism Manager Cano reported on upcoming Bacon & Barrels event and a meeting with SLO Wine Country. 4. PCC Update –Minutes: June 8, 2016 Tourism Manager Cano reported that the PCC reviewed promotional funding recommendations that they had approved their contractor work scopes. 5. Visit SLO County Update Tourism Manager Cano reported on various Visit SLO County activities including: VSLOC is looking to fill three staff positions and noted that April 13, 2017 will be the inaugural flight of Alaska Airlines connection between San Luis Obispo and Seattle. 6. Tourism Program Update Tourism Manager Cano reviewed the projects that Tourism Intern Katie Conroy has been assigned. She reported that City Council approved the TBID budget, including the new staff position at their 6/14/16 meeting, and approved the TBID program recommendations and contracts at their 7/12/16 meeting. It was further reported that the partnership with Cal Poly for “SLO Days”, the new student and transition student orientation program, is allowing engagement with approximately 400 parents and is focused on informing them about the sanluisobispovacations.com web site, the Chamber phone contact, and the lodging loyalty program. She informed the Board that the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art did not receive the California Creative Community grant; that she is the new president of the Central Coast Tourism Council; and that ticket sales for the Bacon and Barrels event scheduled for the weekend of July 17, 2016 are comprised of 80% out of the area attendees. Meeting Updates: The Management Committee will next meet on August 18, 2016. ADJOURN. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:21 a.m. The next Regular meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 10:00 a.m., in the Council Hearing Room, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California. APPROVED BY THE TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD: 08/10/2016