08-26-20 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Kalispell Chamber Conference Room
MINUTES
Board Members Present: Emily Schroeder, Zac Ford, Britta Joy, Janet Clark.
Dawn Hendrickson and Joe Alexander attended via Zoom.
Board Members Absent: Bryce Baker
Staff Present: Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Vonnie Day
Guests: Mark Rohweder with KLJ; Abbi Whitaker, Steven Smith, Thaison Kawal with The Abbi Agency;
Jamie Reeder with Kalispell Job Service; Cheryl with Blue & White
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The meeting was called to order at 3:05 pm by Chair Emily Schroeder.
1. Hear from the public – none
2. Presentation – Kalispell Long Range Transportation Plan, Mark Rohweder with KLJ
Mark presented the City’s transportation plan document, Move 2040, outlining key
transportation priorities, issues, predictions and growth models. The City will present model
alternatives in November or December and will solicit public input to help them choose. The
report will be finalized early next year.
3. Event Grant Application – notification was received August 26 that the Northern Rodeo Finals event
had been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The application was withdrawn.
4. The Abbi Agency – meet representatives from TAA, Discover Kalispell’s new creative agency.
Abbi, Steven and Thaison have spent the past several days in Kalispell to meet with staff and
stakeholders and tour the area to get a better understanding of what makes us unique as they
prepare the brand and media strategy as our new creative agency. They’ll return in October to gather
photo and video assets.
5. a. Approval of minutes from July 1, 2020:
Motion was made by Janet Clark to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Zac Ford.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. Approval of TBID financial statements for June and July 2020:
Motion was made by Joe Alexander to approve the financial statements. Motion was seconded
by Janet Clark. Discussion: Three COVID-19 related grants were received from the state and are
reflected in the expense amounts in the financial statements. Board approved unanimously.
6. Board Discussion
a. Event and Grant recipient updates
• CVB has been researching options for holding the October 23 – 25 indoor soccer tournament.
We feel the Flathead County Health Department and US Soccer guidelines could be complied
with. A survey will be sent to teams that were registered for the spring event, asking how
likely they will be to attend the October event. A coaches-only clinic is being considered as a
back-up event in case the tournament is cancelled.
• Northern Rodeo Finals, scheduled for October 22 – 24, has been canceled due to COVID-19.
b. Marketing updates
• Discover Kalispell transitioned from Flathead Beacon Productions to the Abbi Agency two
weeks ago.
• An instate campaign is running as part of the Montana Aware COVID-19 safety Initiative.
• Website analytics are looking good compared to last July with user numbers up 12+%,
durations and views also up.
• Impressions on website marketing are up over last July.
• Social media impressions and followers are up. Pinterest and Pandora are being used for
Instate campaign.
• Discover Kalispell is participating in a DMO website study conducted by Destination
Analysts. Heavily-visited pages are Things to Do, Glacier Park, lodging and COVID-19 safety.
• The Dashboard has been revised to include % of change from previous year in the STR
report. Occupancy rates and patterns of change are largely in-line with our comp set.
• Rebecca with the Great Falls CVB has proposed approaching the state about compensation
for communities affected by the border closure.
• CVB is working with the Montana Aware Campaign through CARES Act Funding to share
COVID-19 messaging: Safety First, Adventure Second. Information is being distributed in
high traffic areas for both residents and visitors. To date the following projects have been
initiated:
o Signs at the airport
o Safety cards to distribute at lodging and car rental check-in
o Sticky notes for visitor guides
o Window clings for high traffic businesses and organizations in Kalispell
o Radio ads and banner ads on local media channels
o Videos showing people recreating safely
o A COVID-19 webpage discoverkalispell.com/travelsafe
c. Group, M&C updates
• 2 RFP’s were received in July
• Inquiries about domestic tours are being received. Representatives of 3 domestic tour
operator companies will be arriving in September for a mini-FAM.
• Content on the M&C pages of the website has been refreshed. TBID members are asked
to check their listing and notify us of any changes.
• The name of the group grant has been changed to Group Incentive
• A request for a group incentive of $1,500 was received from the Montana Lions for April,
2021. It will be countered with a rebate offer for actualized room nights.
• Groups can apply for the incentive program online.
• A new service request page for the M&C section of the website will be launched.
• 14 TBID members answered a survey about average occupancy for July. Key takeaways:
57% of Kalispell hotels had occupancy between 76 – 100% for July
43% were down only 25% forecasted occupancy for August 2019 to August 2020
43% of the hotels forecasted September 2020 to be up to 75%
84% reported that 50% of their occupancy was from instate
d. Coronavirus health crisis – roundtable discussion
• Staffing continues to be a serious problem with employees ghosting or not showing up for
interviews in the first place.
• Prospective hires are choosing to draw unemployment benefits instead of returning to
work. Jamie Reeder encouraged employers to file reports on those individuals.
• $400 additional weekly benefit is now being paid retroactive to the end of the $600 weekly
benefit in late July.
• Job Service currently has 967 job listings
• Hotels are having to take rooms offline because they don’t have enough staff to clean them.
• Hotels are having to deal with more trash left behind than ever before.
• Guests are trying to get discounts and complaining than in the past.
• Hilton Garden Inn is now providing hot breakfast to go.
• Hotels are finding it expensive to comply with COVID-19 safety requirements.
• Eviction regulations can be found at MLHA, Flathead County Health Department and the
Montana COVID-19 safety office.
• One hotel has a guest quarantine onsite. The individual prepaid for two weeks.
• Jamie reported that Job Service will be holding virtual job fairs two times per month.
• Hampton Inn reported a lot of traffic during the fair. Others reported a drop in fair traffic.
• Hotels are seeing a rise in incidents involving theft and malicious intent.
• A guest was having trouble finding a hotel that would accommodate his comfort duck.
Meeting adjourned at 4:40 pm.
Respectfully submitted: Diane Medler
For further information, please contact:
diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808