10-02-19 Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
October 2, 2019
3:00 pm
Location: Kalispell Chamber of Commerce Conference Room
Minutes
Board Members Present: Dawn Hendrickson, Lucy Weeder, Emily Schroeder, Joe Alexander, Zac Ford
Board Members Absent: Bryce Baker, Janet Clark
Staff Present: Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Joe Unterreiner, Kate Lufkin, Vonnie Day
Guests: Meg O’Leary – MSU Hospitality Program; Jamie Reeder and Valeria - Kalispell Job Service; Scott Rieke
and Skylar Rieke - Flathead Lake Best Western
Meeting was called to order by Chair Dawn Hendrickson at 3:42 pm.
1. Hear from the Public – None
2. Guest Speaker – Meg O’Leary, Industry Liaison for MSU Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts
degree program. The program has been in existence for 3 years. President Crusado started the
program to help build prosperous communities throughout the state by educating a qualified work
force. The relatively new program will graduate 3 individuals this year, however 60 students have
declared Hospitality as their major. The goal for the program is 100 graduates per year in three areas of
focus: hospitality/facility management, restaurant management, and food enterprise. Internships are a
key part of the program and Flathead Valley is attractive to the students. Properties interested in
hosting interns should contact MSU. The board discussed pre-internships for high school students to
capture their interest in hospitality careers early. DECA is active in hospitality. Career days at the high
schools are an opportunity to generate interest in hospitality careers. Diane met with FVCC about
incorporating hospitality into course offerings.
3. Board Action Items
a. Approval of minutes from September 4, 2019:
Motion was made by Zac Ford to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Emily Schroeder.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. Approval of TBID financial statements:
Motion was made by Emily Schroeder to approve the financial statements for FY19 year-end and
August, 2019. Motion was seconded by Lucy Weeder. Discussion: None. Board approved
unanimously.
c. Sponsorship of Glacier AERO.
Motion was made by Emily Schroeder to approve a Glacier AERO sponsorship of $1,500. Motion was
seconded by Zac Ford.
Discussion: Last year TBID and Kalispell Chamber each provided a sponsorship of $2,500 to AERO.
Kalispell Chamber has approved a $2,500 sponsorship for this year. The TBID has contributed $18,500
cash to AERO since 2014. Discover Kalispell also supports AERO in-kind by allocating part of its
marketing budget every year to promoting the direct flights in Chicago, Dallas and LA. Last year the
value of the media buy directed at non-stop flight promotion was $28,000 and was of high value to the
airlines. American Airlines is very happy with the inaugural summer of the Dallas and Chicago flights and
described the roll-out as the best they’ve ever had. The board expressed support for reducing the
amount of the cash sponsorship from $2,500 to $1,500 for this year and putting the balance toward
Discover Kalispell’s in-kind flight promotion. Board approved unanimously.
4. Board Discussion
a. Event updates
Indoor Soccer – operating partnership is being refined, staff is coordinating with 406 Soccer
Foundation, the adult league, to hold their annual spring tournament the weekend before ours
allowing for sharing costs of turf plus set-up and tear-down at the Fairgrounds. A November indoor
tournament using the same format as our spring tournament is being considered.
Spartan Race – three races will be held in 2020 with the addition of the Ultra. Spartan is considering
adding Montana to their U.S. National Series in 2020. Diane has been working with Bigfork to provide
the comp extra rooms needed for the National Series. No additional cash will be allocated to the event.
b. Event grant updates:
The revised grant program has been launched. Grant information and online application is
available at https://discoverkalispell.com/grants/. A press release will be distributed to local
media.
Northern Rodeo Association Finals take place at Majestic Valley Arena October 24 – 26. Discover
Kalispell is assisting with coordination of a pre-event gathering for NRA staff, rodeo personalities,
stock contractors, and judges to be held at Sacred Waters Brewing and hosted by Human Therapy
on Horseback (HTH). Sacred Waters has agreed to donate $1 per beer sold to HTH.
Flathead Celtic Festival submitted a post-event report which will be reviewed at the November
board meeting. No room pick-up was noted by TBID members present.
Glacier Symphony submitted an application for a grant for their Winter Gala January 18, 2020. The
application will be reviewed and voted on at the November meeting.
c. Marketing updates:
A dashboard of key performance indicators of Discover Kalispell has been created, to be included in
the monthly board packets. Feedback is requested.
Current short term rental numbers have been obtained from Flathead County and cities of Kalispell
and Whitefish: county 417, Kalispell 64, Whitefish 136
AirBnb and Homeaway pay bed tax which can provide insight on local trends. State bed tax for
Kalispell was up 7% April – June, 2019 in contrast to TBID fees which were up only 1% for the same
time period.
AirDNA website provides local data including occupancy rate and ADR from AirBnb and Homeaway.
According to AirDNA, there are 395 short term rentals in Kalispell (in the 59901 zip code area).
MLHA Conference takes place in Missoula, October 21 – 23. Emily will attend conference and Diane
will attend the state-wide TBID meeting held at the MLHA conference.
Glory for Ashes, a local anti-human trafficking organization is willing to do a presentation for hotel
staff. Board recommended making two sessions available and 11am to noon and 3 – 4pm. Date
to be announced.
d. Group, M&C updates:
Dawn went to Small Market Meetings in Green Bay, WI in September. The show was attended by
93 meeting planners and 214 suppliers. Dawn had 30 scheduled appointments and 4 unscheduled
appointments. She felt the show was a good fit for Kalispell, expects to receive 2 RFP’s directly from
her appointments there and made many other contacts to follow up on.
MEDA – Organizers are working on the agenda for their May 2020 conference.
MT Newspaper Association will make a decision on their 2021 conference in September.
Montana Training Conference, June 2021, planning discussions with organizers are going on.
Toastmasters is looking for a room for presentations for their conference. RFP was sent.
Dawn is working with MJ Tours, a women’s hiking organization based in Michigan.
12 teams will compete in the Beer League Talk Outdoor Classic Hockey Tournament February 20-
22, 2020. An aRes lodging page will be set up.
aRes branded lodging pages for events are gaining traction. The board discussed discontinuing
individual hotel packages displayed on lodging package pages on the DK website and replacing
them with the aRes branded pages. It was decided to retain the option for hotels to create their
own packages.
Diane and Dawn will represent Kalispell at the BOOM! Active Living Show for Boomers October 12
in Spokane. Fall and Winter stays and activities will be promoted.
Dawn, Diane and several TBID hotel associates toured Whitefish lodging facilities in September.
Future cooperative activities with Explore Whitefish are planned.
Discover Kalispell’s Beer Now Post-Fam was selected by Meetings Today as a featured case study
in their annual Resource Planning Guide.
e. TBID renewal discussion and updates
Montana Base Camp RV Park is on board.
The only property that has not provided at least a verbal confirmation is the Blue & White Motel.
Diane will present the renewal to the City Council in early November.
f. Roundtable Discussion:
Media reports of extreme winter weather over the weekend of September 28-29 caused room
cancellations. Reservation holders have called asking how close we are to the reported four feet
of snow in Browning.
Jamie Reeder with Job Service has a client who is a good candidate for front desk.
Scott Rieke is looking for a sales manager at Snug Harbor Resort, his property in the San Juan
Islands.
Holiday Inn Express Kalispell is looking for a sales manager.
TBID members are encouraged to maintain rates as season transitions to winter.
5. Guest Speaker – Valeria with Kalispell Job Service
Some TBID properties have had good results employing international students as a way to cope with the
tight local labor market during summer seasons. Valeria from Kalispell Job Service provided an overview of
two US State Department visa programs that are available to help employers with seasonal staffing needs.
a. The J1 Visa Summer Work Travel Program allows university students to come to the U.S. for four months
with a three month work requirement. Depending on the agency, local employers may or may not have to
provide housing. Students can work for more than one employer. Deadline for employers to submit
paperwork for workers for summer 2020 is 12/31/19.
b. The H-2B program is more complicated. It allows for longer stays and applicants can bring their families.
The employer application process involved a lot of paperwork and it may be advisable to hire an attorney.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:57pm
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, please contact:
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808