11-04-15 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
Location: Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
November 4, 2015
3:00 pm — 5:00 pm
Location: Kalispell Chamber
Minutes
Board Members Present: Janet Clark, Lisa Brown, Vanessa Nordahl, Nautam Patel, Dawn Hendrickson, Karena Bemis
Board Members Absent: Dan Moderie
Staff Present: Diane Medler, Joe Unterreiner, Dawn Jackson, Vonnie Day
Visitor: Scott Rieke, Best Western Flathead Lake
Meeting was called to order by Janet Clark, Board Chair, at 3:11 PM.
1. Hear from the Public— no public comments
2. Board Action
a. Approve minutes from the October 7, 2015 meeting:
Action: Motion was made by Dawn Hendrickson to approve the minutes. Motion seconded by Lisa
Brown. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. TBID financial statements for September, 2015:
Action: Motion was made by Joe Unterreiner to approve the financial statements. Motion
seconded by Dawn Hendrickson. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
c. Event Grant Application — Kalispell Wrestling Club
Action: Motion was made by Lisa Brown that Kalispell TBID donates $2,000 toward facility rental
cost for the Western Montana Little Guy State Wrestling Championships and assist the organization
by requesting that the City of Kalispell allow the use of its bleachers and provide transport of the
bleachers for the event free of charge. Motion seconded by Janet Clark.
Discussion: organizers requested $3,600 plus help obtaining use of bleachers owned by the city.
They project 1,300 participants and 4,500 in attendance for the March 25-26, 2016 event.
Organizers predict 500 — 550 room nights, a good yield during a slow time of year. TBID awarded
event grants to the tournament in 2012 and 2013. Local schools are working hard to bring sports
events to the area. Grants for this type of event are a way to demonstrate support for and build
local school sports programs. The grant application form is under review and the application
process is being evaluated. The Board discussed raising requirements for post -event reporting.
Amounts granted to events will be emphasized in future communications to member facilities with
the explanation that the funds are being spent to generate room nights. It's hoped that members
will be encouraged to report related room nights so Board can evaluate the return on investment.
Board approved unanimously.
3. Board Discussion
a. Dragon Boat Festival — event economic impact was $955,431 according to ITRR report. 61 teams
participated including new teams from California, Oregon and Alberta. $32,000 in sponsorships
(cash and in -kind) was raised and the event benefited a variety of non-profit organizations. Staff is
looking at ways to enhance the benefit to Lakeside businesses while meeting the goal of providing a
great Dragon Boat event which is necessary to attract out -of -market teams and spectators. Support
from the Lakeside community is important. The Conditional Use Permit requirement is being
discussed with Flathead County Planning Department. According to the ITRR report, 52% of
attendees stayed in a hotel/motel/b&b compared to 64% in 2014. 23% stayed in a cabin/rental
compared to 12% in 2014. Ways of making hotels/motels more attractive to paddlers are being
discussed.
Pond Hockey- 33 teams have registered. An electronic marketing piece is being developed to deliver
information about lodging packages to teams. Lodging facilities are asked to offer strong incentives
to book direct by 12/31/2015. Dawn will distribute a list of ideas for incentives. Scott Crowder,
Pond Hockey promoter, will push out the lodging package information to teams.
b. October Shows - Calgary Women's Show had attendance of 11,000. Traffic to the Kalispell booth
was down somewhat due to the weak Canadian dollar. Diane talked with many attendees who had
never been to Kalispell or had not visited in 10 — 20 years. Many expressed interest in visiting as
soon as the Canadian dollar is stronger. Diane attended media events in Portland, Seattle and San
Francisco that were coordinated by Glacier Country. The events were attended by more than 70
writers. Plans are in the works for bringing a Portland journalist in May. Among journalists at the
Seattle media event, two are interested in winter features. Media personnel attending the San
Francisco meeting were a mix of returning journalists including Travelocity representatives.
Dawn attended the IMEX Conference in October with Whitefish, Missoula and Billings CVB's and
Glacier Country. The event attracted 10,000 attendees, 3,000 of whom were meeting planners.
Dawn had 5 individual appointments and attended an additional 18 meetings with Debbie Picard
from Glacier Country. Discussions are underway for a meeting planner FAM in the spring.
c. Expedia and other OTA handling of TBID fee — Several properties have had guests who booked
through Expedia, were not charged the TBID fee and had questions when the fee was charged at
checkout. The City Resolution that created the TBID will be sent to those that request the
document. This document can be sent to Expedia.
d. Group, M&C updates - Dawn will provide a list of planners and a summary of her conversations with
them. The Montana Lodging and Hospitality Association Conference was held at the Hilton Inn in
October. Dawn and Lisa Brown attended the statewide TBID meeting that was part of the
conference. It was helpful to hear about projects and grants other organizations are working on.
Billings is working on the TBID renewal process. Dawn is communicating with several organizations
who are considering holding conferences here. It's important for a representative to attend current
conferences to engage with the group and convince them to locate future meetings in Kalispell.
Occupancy reports have been received from 10 of the 19 properties. Lodging facilities are asked to
provide packages further in advance of the effective dates to give more lead time for trip planning.
Homewood Suites is seeing more Chinese visitors. CVB will research ways of engaging with Foreign
Independent Travel Operators and Receptive Tour Operators.
e. Marketing updates — September Star Report: occupancy down 6.4% to 68.8%, ADR was up .6% to
$104.97, RevPAR down 5.9% to $72.24. CVB hosted a Calgary blogger who focuses on traveling with
kids. She wrote an extensive post highlighting her visit to Kalispell. The Missoulian recently
published a lengthy article about Kalispell with the headline "State's fastest -growing city is
booming." The three Kalispell episodes of TGO Fishing start in November. Mike Howe with A -Able
Fishing, is participating in the St. Paul Ice Fishing Show and will distribute Kalispell collateral while at
the event. CVB is hosting a Chicago journalist January 9 —12 to promote the direct flight. Lodging
package page of website is being redesigned to make it more user-friendly and better showcase the
packages. The assortment of package and discount offerings will be expanded to include
restaurants, activities and other visitor -related items. CVB did not get the grant to fund the new
Meetings and Conventions website, however the project will be completed with unallocated funds.
Three properties have not submitted TBID payment for the 1st quarter which was due November
1st. Payment so far shows a 17% decrease in room nights compared to 1st quarter last year. The
weak Canadian dollar and summer forest fires are two factors responsible for the decline.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:40 PM
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, Please Contact:
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808