06-06-18 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
June 6, 2018
3:00 pm — 5:00 pm
Location: Marriott SpringHill Inn & Suites
Minutes
Board Members Present: Dawn Hendrickson, Zac Ford, Janet Clark, Emily Schroeder, Shawn Campbell, Sean Morris
Board Members Absent: Dan Moderie
Staff Present: Joe Unterreiner, Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Vonnie Day
Guests: Lucy Weeder, Marriott SpringHill Suites
Meeting was called to order by Chair Zac Ford at 3:06 PM.
1. Hear from the Public— none
2. Board Action Items
a. Approval of minutes from May 2, 2018:
Motion was made by Dawn Hendrickson to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Shawn
Campbell. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. Approval of TBID financial statements for April, 2018:
Motion was made by Dawn Hendrickson to approve the financial statements. Motion was seconded by
Emily Schroeder. Discussion: None. Board approved unanimously.
c. TBID Directors and Officers Liability Insurance
Discussion: City Attorney reported that TBID is a separate entity so is not covered under the City liability
policy. The suit against the Ravalli County TBID board and commissioners was dismissed for a second
time, however the suit clarifies the need for liability coverage for directors and officers. Diane received
a quote for an annual premium of $1,163, zero deductible and recommends allocating funds from the
audit line item in the budget. The Kalispell Chamber has liability and director and officer coverage. The
board asked staff to compare this recommended policy to the Chambers and if the 1M coverage is per
claim for per year. Item will be moved to the July meeting agenda.
3. Board Discussion
a. Event updates:
Spartan Race — 7,316 racers participated with an almost equal split between the Beast and the Sprint.
Racers going for Spartan's Trifecta need to participate in a Beast event and ours is one of only four in the
U.S. Spartan is considering making our race a U.S. Championship location. When Seattle gained that
designation, participation increased more than 30%. The 2019 MT Spartan Race is scheduled for the
first weekend in May. Nine properties reported 921 rooms for the event.
Indoor Soccer — the inaugural event netted $3,300. Dates for the 2019 tournament have been set for
March 15 —17 at the Fairgrounds Trade Center. Moving team check -in to the foyer and locating vendors
outside will allow room for four fields in the Trade Center building. The increased field area will
accommodate 42 teams. The County is talking to Flathead Valley Soccer Association about constructing
I — 2 shared -use buildings adjacent to the Trade Center to accommodate horse stalls in the warmer
months and soccer in the colder months.
Pond Hockey — preliminary discussions are underway with Terry DeVries about his new Sweet Pickin's
property on Holt Stage as a possible event location.
Dragon Boat — 39 teams have signed up. Silver Linings, the BCS team from Missoula, has recruited Dr.
McKenzie, the doctor who first identified the benefits of dragon boating for breast cancer
survivors, to speak at a fundraiser in Kalispell, September 6`". Preliminary discussions have taken place
with Flathead Lake Brewing Co. about taking over the organization of the event after 2018.
b. May 24t"—TBID Red Nose Day Gathering:
Dawn hosted TBID hoteliers for the annual Red Nose Day, an opportunity to network and get up to date
on things to do in Kalispell. The group boarded a trolley and visited Museum at Central School, the
Conrad Mansion, the Hockaday and finished at the new SunRift Brewery. Activities included a social
media photo scavenger hunt. First place winners were the Red Nose Queens team: Joanne Farrell,
Homewood Suites and Kim Carson, LaQuinta.
c. Marketing updates:
• Summer Consumer Enews went out to CVB consumer database which now numbers more than
13,000 subscribers.
• The Summer M&C Enews will be sent to more than 900 qualified meeting planners the first week of
June.
• SEM had more than 29,000 impressions and 1,700 clicks to site January — March
• STIR Report for April: OCC up 13.9%, ADR up 3.7%, Rev Par up 18.1%. Kalispell performed well
compared to comp set. April's positive trend may have been due to increased corporate and
medical travel.
• TBID 3rd Quarter Collections were up 2% to $101,926.
• The Flathead County Trail Project is holding public input sessions about ways to collaborate with
local outdoor groups as well as get suggestions for trail names, activity points, lighting, etc. Diane is
on the trail committee.
• The Kalispell CVB Annual Report, a 2018 year-to-date summary and the FY2019 Marketing Plan have
been sent to TBID members.
d. KCVB RFP Updates — the first scoring meeting for the website redesign took place today prior to the TBID
board meeting. Proposals were submitted by Flathead Beacon, Learned Reality, Simple View and
Hagadone. Flathead Beacon received the highest score and will proceed to 2nd scoring on June 14.
The scoring committee will meet to evaluate proposals for Creative & Media Buy on June 7. Partners
Creative did not respond to any of the RFP's due to staff changes and concern that they couldn't be cost
competitive. Only one proposal was submitted for PR (by Hagadone) so that RFP will be reissued in the
fall in a few months.
e. Group, M&C Updates:
• Working leads: Wilderness Risk Management, MT League of Cities, HAAS Educator Conference,
Professional Trail Builders and discussions with POMA who wants to return in 2020.
• National Retired Shooters Association has chosen the Red Lion for their October conference.
• North American Rail Car Operators will meet in Kalispell but will arrange their own room block.
• KCVB is collaborating with Glacier Country and Whitefish CVB on a FAM for four qualified
meeting planners from New Jersey, California, Minnesota and Georgia. They will tour three
properties, downtown Kalispell, the Hockaday, Museum at Central School and wrap up with
dinner at the Conrad Mansion.
• KCVB will host a similar FAM for meeting planners from the Pacific Northwest in late June.
• Kalispell conference facilities were featured in Meetings News Northwest Magazine.
f. General updates:
Glacier AERO — AERO is applying for a SCASD grant to get American to add a flight from Dallas. MWED
has taken on the role of fundraising. Kalispell Chamber/CVB is the highest contributor of cash since 2011;
in addition, the CVB has directed in -kind marketing support to new direct flights the past two years.
Research shows spending by visitors arriving by air is several times larger and they stay longer. AERO has
been focusing on winter, SCASD grant may allow to expand focus to spring and fall. Joe will propose to
Chamber board to contribute $2,500 to match a $2,500 CVB contribution. The board discussed that
individual TBID properties should consider a contribution as more flights equate to more room nights
sold in the valley. Janet Clark suggested that a property could value the contribution on a per room basis:
example - if ownership feels it is worth $50 per room x total number of rooms = annual contribution. Kim
Morisaki will be invited to attend the July TBID board meeting to provide more information.
July Board Meeting — will take place July 11 since regular meeting day falls on July 4.
TBID Rep on Chamber Board — since the CVB is part of the Chamber, the TBID is the voice for tourism as it
relates to issues discussed by the Chamber board. Since Dawn Hendrickson is on the Chamber board, she can
serve as the TBID representative as applicable.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:25 PM.
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, please contact:
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808