HomeMy WebLinkAboutLRC2Tourism Business Improvement District
Management Committee
Meeting Minutes
September 20, 2016 – 3:00 pm
SLO Chamber Office
895 Monterey Street, San Luis Obispo
PRESENT: Clint Pearce, LeBren Harris, Nipool Patel, Dusty Colyer-Worth, Molly Kern, Shari Clark,
Charlotte Ferrari, Chelsea Harden
STAFF PRESENT: Molly Cano, Tourism Manager, Katie Conroy, Tourism Intern
BUSINESS ITEMS
1. Live Chat Program
The Management Committee was briefed by the Chamber of Commerce and MatchFire regarding
key performance indicators of the Live Chat Program. Only four guests initiated the 2,656 chats
that have taken place. Of those chats, 122 were marked as “completed”, or having an average
length of 40 seconds. 75% of users marked the chat as “good” by giving it a thumbs up, and those
who clicked the thumbs down button, marking their overall experience as “bad”, did not
participate in the chat. Of the 122 chats, 30% were hotel-related questions, 38% were area-
related questions, 29% were itinerary- related questions on specific activities, and 3% were
solicitations. The longest chat was a guest looking for senior-focused activities; this chat was over
three minutes in length. At the October Board meeting, the Board will consider continuing Live
Chat for one month to observe progress, or continue the program for a full year, or to not proceed
with the program.
2. SLO Tourism Logo Merchandising
Staff presented the opportunity for the merchandising of the SLO tourism brand through the
Visitor Center. The TBID is focused on building awareness and recognition of the City’s tourism
logo as a represented mark for San Luis Obispo. There is no financial impact to the TBID for this
partnership; the Chamber would be responsible for purchasing and storing the merchandise and
the Chamber would retain the revenue garnered through the sales. This agreement would be in the
form of a license to use the logo for specified purposes. The committee recommends to move
forward with the Merchandising agreement with Clint’s abstention.
Recommendation: The committee recommends to move forward with the Merchandising
agreement with Clint’s abstention.
3. Tourism Trends in SLO
The committee discussed the recent trends in visitor data from the STR Reports for the last six
months. There has been a drop in occupancy, with growth in ADR. Staff indicated the potential
impact to the 2016-17 TBID program budget. Staff also directed concerns of losing possible
market share, and being inconsistent with competitive markets.
4. Staffing Update
The Tourism Coordinator position was posted on September 21 and applications are due October
19. Up to ten applicants will be selected for an in-person interview.
5. Strategic Plan Update
The Board will meet with Corragio on October 20, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hampton Inn, for a
Strategic Plan Update Workshop.
6. New Business Items
a. Committee Discussion
b. Future Agenda Items
c. Next Meeting Date: October 25 at 3:00 pm
Meeting was adjourned at 4:01 pm.