08-07-19 Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
August 7, 2019
3:00 pm
Location: Kalispell Chamber of Commerce Conference Room
Minutes
Board Members Present: Dawn Hendrickson, Lucy Weeder, Bryce Baker, Zac Ford, Janet Clark, Joe Alexander
Board Members Absent: Emily Schroeder
Staff Present: Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Joe Unterreiner, Meche Ek, Vonnie Day
Guests: Jesse Davis and Jamie Reeder, Kalispell Job Service
Meeting was called to order by Chair Dawn Hendrickson at 3:03 pm.
1. Hear from the Public — Jesse Davis and Jamie Reeder with Flathead Job Service attended the meeting to
better understand the staffing challenges faced by local hotels and to see how Job Service can help
meet labor needs.
2. Event grant application presentation: Rob Eberhardy with Flathead Celtic Festival
Motion was made by Janet Clark to award a cash grant of $1,000 plus 2 rooms for 4 nights for event
judges. Motion was seconded by Bryce Baker.
Discussion: the event continues to grow and is moving to a new venue at Centennial Farms this year.
Bryce volunteered to provide one of the rooms for the judges. The Flathead Celtic group is working on
putting together a dance competition in February. Board approved unanimously.
3. Board Action Items
a. Approval of minutes from July 10, 2019:
Motion was made by Zac Ford to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Lucy Weeder.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. Approval of TBID financial statements for June, 2019:
Motion was made by Lucy Weeder to approve the financial statements. Motion was seconded by
Bryce Baker. Discussion: None. Board approved unanimously.
c. Approval of FY20 Discover Kalispell Visitor Development Grant program:
Motion was made by Bryce Baker to approve the Visitor Development Grant Program with a 50%
matching grant requirement. Motion was seconded by Lucy Weeder.
Discussion: board recommended striking the 70 point minimum requirement for applications to be
presented to the board to avoid the perception of non -board members making a decision about who is
awarded a grant.
3. Board Discussion
a. Event updates:
• Northern Rodeo Finals — has not yet decided on a host hotel for the event.
Spartan Survey — the economic impact to the area from the 2019 event was $4.7 Million.
Attendance was slightly less, however spending increased. According to the ITRR survey, those
who stayed nights in Kalispell spent $39,006 at hotels, followed by $20,273 in restaurants/bars.
Avg group size was 2.84 with avg length of stay at 2.12 nights. Of those that stayed nights in
Kalispell 73% stayed in hotels vs. 13% in vacation rentals.
b. Marketing updates:
Northwest Travel Magazine - July/August National Parks issue featured Kalispell as the gateway city to GNP
and included the Discover Kalispell website as a resource for visiting the area.
Digital Campaigns:
• Slight dips in website users and Facebook impressions due to a decrease in media buy since the flight
promotion campaign ended. Session duration was up on the website which is a good measure of
visitor engagement with our destination.
• Media spend for inbound flight campaign with social media and retargeting ads performed well. Along
with Discover Kalispell's campaigns in LA and Chicago, Discover Kalispell had rotating ads along with
Explore Whitefish in two Chicago transit stations and electronic billboards in LAX.
Other Updates:
• New flights are performing well. June enplanements were up 22% over 2018.
• GNP observes a shift in the type of visitor to the park this summer. They're receiving unprecedented
complaints about the impact of wildlife, traffic, perceived lack of amenities.
• Discover Kalispell along with Explore Whitefish, Destination Missoula, and Glacier Country has a
communication strategy prepared should a wildfire occur in our area. We want to remind everyone to
not post photos of fires from previous years as that can be misconstrued as a current fire.
• The June STR report shows a decrease in occupancy and slight increase for ADR. Kalispell data is on
par with comp set. 4 out of 9 economy properties in Kalispell did not report which skewed the data for
Kalispell and eliminated the economy property subset report.
• There has been an ownership change at Motel 6.
TBID Renewal:
Diane and Joe met with Charlie Harball to review the renewal process. A petition similar to the initial
petition will be used and will need to be signed by the owner of the property (entity with legal right to
sign). Support for the renewal will be based achieving 60%+ of land acreage of TBID properties. A report
of the TBID's success and growth will be provided to owners. Need to have all signatures in place by the
end of October. Montana Basecamp RV Park — Charlie Harball stated that it meets the criteria of being a
lodging facility so in addition to collecting bed tax they are within the TBID district.
c. Group, M&C updates:
• N RA — has not yet selected a host hotel.
• Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society revised their dates to September 11-13, 2020.
• MEDA — have committed to Kalispell for May 2020, not host hotel chosen yet.
• DECA — decided to remain at Fairmont for 2020. Will stay in touch with organizers about 2021— 2022.
• Dawn met with Glacier Country, Whitefish CVB and Destination Missoula to evaluate effectiveness
for Kalispell of the combined FAM's. It's not been advantageous for the Kalispell FAM stop to be
sandwiched between Paws Up (for example) and Whitefish Lake Lodge. Discover Kalispell will
work with Glacier Country in other ways to connect with meeting planners. Missoula CVB plans to
focus on sports events. Discover Kalispell will focus on tour operators, FIT's, and continue with
meetings and conventions. TBID members are encouraged to contact Dawn for help with tours,
meetings, etc.
d. FY20 marketing strategy and method implementation plan
• Discover Kalispell held a staff retreat in July to set objectives and goals for FY2020. The strategy
was broken out into six categories with specific goals and objectives listed under each: 1)
Strategic brand promotion, 2) Group Sales, 3) Website, 4) Events, 5) Grant program, 6) Visitor
Information Center.
• The Plan was included in the June board packet which is available online or you may request a
copy from Diane.
• Received 5 proposals in response to the RFP for PR/Branding Content Strategy. Request was made
for board members to volunteer to be part of the committee to evaluate the RFP's.
e. Roundtable Discussion:
• Joe Unterreiner met with a major employer who brings in a lot of out of town guests. 9 out 10
of their guests want to stay in Whitefish due the dining, entertainment and retail options there.
Most spending occurs within a short distance of where visitors stay. This situation emphasizes
the importance of the proposed direction of the Discover Kalispell strategic plan.
• Kalispell Chamber's Downtown Development Plan is hoping to incent developers from Bozeman
and Missoula to do something in the core of Kalispell.
• Group restaurants are needed.
• The group was asked what curriculum is needed if there was a hospitality program at FVCC.
Once suggestion was practical management skills.
• What changes have you noticed this summer compared to last summer?
Shorter stays
More international travelers
Trying to maximize revenue management
More Texas license plates
Meeting was adjourned at 4:45pm
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, please contact:
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808