Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-10-2016 TBID Minutes Minutes TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD Wednesday, August 10, 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 10:00 in the Council Hearing Room, located at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, by Chair Wilkins. ROLL CALL Present: Board Members Dean Hutton, Clint Pearce (arrived 10:04), LeBren Young-Harris, Pragna Patel-Mueller, and Chair Matthew Wilkins Absent: Board Member Kimberly Walker and Vice-Chair Nipool Patel Staff: Tourism Manager Molly Cano, Tourism Intern Katie Conroy, and Recording Secretary Kevin Christian. PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. CONSENT AGENDA ACTION: MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER HARRIS, SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER HUTTON, CARRIED 4-0 to approve the Minutes of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board meeting on July 13, 2016. By consensus the Board directed staff to receive and file Consent Agenda items C.2 – C.6. Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of August 10, 2016 Page 2 PRESENTATIONS 1. Marketing Agency Monthly Report Representatives from BCA + Matchfire reviewed their event and website marketing activities for the past month. Marketing highlights included positive event attendance at the Bacon and Barrels SLO event and ongoing success at Cal Poly SLO Days with over 1200 sign-ups to date. Representatives reported that planning has begun for the WinterMezzo, a Chamber Music Series and announced that a new email marketing plan will begin in December 2016. Lodging page links for the Sanluisobispovacations.com website have been directed per hotel member requests. Most hotels are linking to their own homepages rather than to Helium. A new web-tool, SEMrush, is being utilized to fix broken links. A new website page for CowParade SLO has been added to the site. Additionally, there was a 51% increase in use traffic to the “Find Accommodations” search button on the site. Other marketing highlights include that a community blog post focusing on Pokemon Go players was created and that there were positive results on the SLO Happy Hour blog. Additionally, the marketing team is working on implementation of a marketing automation software called Marketo and they are collaborating with the Chamber of Commerce on a Live Chat function for website visitors. The Agency representative reminded the TBID members that Cowparade launches September 17th, with TBID sponsored cows “Marilyn Moonrow” and a live decoration by Man One, and they reported on a collaboration with SLOWine to create local wine tourism videos. The Board commented that many wine advertisements seem to invoke the same sentiment. They stressed that it would be helpful to make video advertisements distinctive about the region. 2. Chamber Monthly Report Molly Kern, Chamber of Commerce Director of Communications and Business Education presented the public relations activities for the past month, stressing their focus on reaching the millennial market. Kern noted that San Luis Obispo was covered by “Sweet,” a Snapchat Discover channel pop up with over 100 million daily viewers, “StyleCaster”, which covers fashion and lifestyle, and “Goop”, which covers lifestyle and is curated by Gwyneth Paltrow. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. 2015-16 TBID Annual Report Tourism Manager Cano reviewed the style, format, and information contained in the 2014-15 TBID Annual Report. Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of August 10, 2016 Page 3 By consensus, the board directed staff to maintain the overall style for creation of the TBID 2015-16 Annual Report, to be presented to City Council on October 18, 2016. 2. Cal Poly Lodging Loyalty Program Tourism Manager Cano and members of the Marketing sub-Committee presented an overview of the Lodging Loyalty trial program. The program offers a night free hotel stay following ten nights of paid stay, and targets Cal Poly student parents. It is initially limited to 250 registrants and has a $200 per registrant cap ($50,000 budget) for stays between September 2016 and June 30, 2017. Registrants will have through December 31, 2017 to redeem their rewards. The Marketing Committee reviewed additional rewards incentives and explained bonus day offers for stays during traditionally low occupancy times. The program will be reviewed for continuation consideration following at the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2017). The Board discussed the potential for collecting data, funding limitations, concerns of limiting participation to 250 registrants, and the desirability of the program in targeting San Luis Obispo City hotels. ACTION: MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER PEARCE, SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER HUTTON, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the Lodging Loyalty program as presented. TBID LIAISON REPORTS & COMMUNICATION 1. Hotelier Update Board Member Hutton reported that the Peach Tree Inn will be changing management. 2. Management Committee Update No meeting in July. 3. Marketing Committee Update – August 8, 2016 meeting No further report. 4. PCC Update – Minutes: July 13, 2016 Tourism Manager Cano reviewed the minutes from the PCC meeting of July 13, 2016. Of note was that the PCC has formed a strategic plan task force that will provide direction for the committee in the next meeting. Chair Wilkins encouraged board members to utilize the SLOHappenings app for events their properties host. 5. Visit SLO County Update Board Member Pearce reported that Visit SLO County has completed creation of their strategic plan and noted that market “seeding” for the new Alaska Airlines connection between SLO and Seattle will begin April 2017. Tourism Manager Cano reported that Visit California will be featuring a “sand surfing” marketing commercial that will feature San Luis Obispo County. Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of August 10, 2016 Page 4 6. Tourism Program Update Tourism Manager Cano reviewed the projects that Tourism Intern Katie Conroy has been assigned; informed the Board that she expects to have the Tourism Coordinator position hired by late 2016 for the permanent tourism assistant position; provided an update on activities related to Cal Poly “SLO Days”; and noted that while the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art did not receive the California Creative Community grant, they hope to apply for it again in the future. Upcoming TBID related meeting dates:  Management Committee, August 18, 2016  Events Committee September 7, 2016  Marketing Committee September 8, 2016 ADJOURN. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:57 a.m. The next Regular meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board is scheduled for Wednesday, September 14, 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: 09/14/2016