04-05-17 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
April 5, 2017
3:00 pm — 5:00 pm
Location: Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
Minutes
Board Members Present: Lisa Brown, Dan Moderie, Dawn Hendrickson, Zac Ford
Board Members Absent: Laurie Otto -Bradford, Janet Clark, Nautam Patel
Staff Present: Diane Medler, Joe Unterreiner, Dawn Jackson, Vonnie Day
Visitors: Dent Davis - Hilton Garden Inn, Lucy Weeder - Marriott Springhill Suites, Kim Carson — LaQuinta, Christine Mays
and Karen Whitman — Fairbridge Inn, Rob Brisendine
Meeting was called to order by Dawn Hendrickson at 3:03 PM.
1. Hear from the Public— no public comments
2. Safety Awareness Updates and Policy Discussion — CVB will send a suggested script for front desk staff to
use when explaining to a guest that they're on the do -not -rent list. The current method of sharing
information among hotels will be continued.
3. Board Action Items
a. Approve minutes from the March 1, 2017 meeting:
Action: Motion was made by Dan Moderie to approve the minutes. Motion seconded by Zac Ford.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
b. TBID financial statements for February, 2017:
Action: Motion was made by Dan Moderie to approve the financial statements. Motion seconded
by Lisa Brown. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
c. Approval of FY18 marketing plan
Action: Motion was made by Lisa Brown to clarify that Objective 1(c) that was exempted from the
last month's approval of the budget, goals, objectives and target markets, will use TBID collections
as a measurement, that the time interval will be October to June and that it be moved to the top of
the list of objectives. Motion was seconded by Zac Ford.
Discussion: results are more accurate using TBID collections, increasing revenue should be most
important goal, the dates make sense because they follow FY quarters. Board approved
unanimously. Action: Motion was made by Lisa Brown to approve FY18 Marketing Plan. Motion
seconded by Dan Moderie. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
d. Approve applications for expiring board seats
Action: Motion was made by Zac Ford to approve the following changes in board seats - Janet Clark
with Kalispell Grand will renew her seat on the board, Shawn Campbell with ABVI will replace
Nautam Patel, Dent Davis with Hilton Garden Inn will replace Laurie Otto -Bradford.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
e. Approve slate of officers for May 1, 2017 —April 30, 2018 term
Action: Motion was made by Dan Moderie to approve the following slate of officers — Dawn
Hendrickson will remain as chair, Zac Ford as co-chair, Janet Clark will remain as treasurer.
Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously.
4. Board Discussion
a. Event updates:
Montana Indoor State Soccer Championship — nearly 200 winter soccer teams have been identified
in the state, dates are March 3-4, 2018, event will probably be held on the first weekend of March
annually. The championship will be announced in May with registration opening in Sept. It will be
managed by a committee made up of representatives of local soccer clubs and will be chaired by
Rob to start. Work is underway on logo and website.
Spartan Race — registration numbers are consistent with previous years, Canadian numbers are up.
A Guinness World Record Attempt at "the most people performing burpees" will be held in Depot
Park on the Saturday evening of the Spartan Race weekend to attract racers to downtown Kalispell.
The current record of 689 is held by a school in the UK. Many volunteers will be needed for the
weekend.
Glacier Half Marathon — date is June 24, current registration is 2,000 with 2,200 expected to
participate. Camping reservations are closed which may direct some lodging business to Kalispell.
b. Group, M&C Updates:
Kalispell is hosting the International Roundup, April 8 — 11, 2018. Dawn is going to the 2017 RMI
Roundup in Bismarck, ND in May to observe the event. She'll accompany tour operators on the FAM
trips offered. Committee members will be needed to help plan the Kalispell Roundup. Dawn
recently sent out a number of high quality meeting leads. Leads can also be access on the Glacier
Country and MOTBD websites. Kalispell CVB is collaborating with Glacier Country and MOTBD to
host a Brand USA Fam trip in May. Nine Bring It Home leads have been received, several of which
are very strong. There was a discussion group for hoteliers at the Governor's Conference that
offered the opportunity to exchange ideas and information about industry challenges. At the state-
wide TBID meeting held in conjunction with the Governor's Conference, Billings CVB presented
information to the group about their TBID renewal they just completed. They recommended having
documents in order 6 months prior to the deadline, getting testimonials from properties and making
sure all property owners are briefed on what the TBID does. Kalispell was nominated for Gateway
Community of the Year. A Discover Kalispell tour is planned for this spring for TBID sales staff
meeting. The board expressed interest in having front desk staff participate in a FAM tour of
Kalispell and possibly one or more restaurant tours. The quarterly M&C enewsletter has 854
subscribers with an open rate of 19%. Dawn will attend the IMEX meeting in October. Montana
Historical Society shared a new app at the Governor's Conference, Explore Big, which is a good
source of historical information about the state including extensive history about downtown
Kalispell.
c. Marketing Updates:
Pond Hockey Classic survey report shows the event generated $842,803 to the local economy, 79%
of those surveyed were from out -of -market. 96% say they will return to the event next year.
Diane presented a report on the Winter marketing campaign which was focused on the San
Francisco market. Campaign objective was to increase awareness of the new direct flight from SFO
to FCA, promote winter activity in NW Montana, and generate email leads through a trip giveaway.
Kalispell CVB, Whitefish CVB, Whitefish Mountain Resort collaborated utilizing a grant from MOTBD
for bus wraps and BART station signs as the out -of -home portion of the campaign. KCVB featured
native content on Weekend Sherpa, a Bay Area outdoors subscription company to promote the
giveaway through digital media tactics. Facebook advertising was also used in the campaign. Total
impressions: 1.3 million, 242,000 reached in San Francisco Bay Area, campaign clicks to website:
4,259. Spring campaign will continue building awareness in San Francisco in preparation for new
daily flights from SFO to FCA starting July 1 through September. Lodging packages are needed for
the Spartan Race and the Dragon Boat Festival. Dawn will send a RFP for room blocks for the
Kalispell PeeWee Firecracker Tournament.
Sponsorship of Voices of Montana Tourism — memberships are an approved item in the TBID
budget. The board discussed the amount of sponsorship for Voice of Montana Tourism for FY17.
Motion was made by Dawn Hendrickson to approve a $2,500 sponsorship. Motion was seconded by
Zac Ford. Discussion: last hear the TBID provided a $2,500 sponsorship to the organization which
serves as an advocate for the tourism industry in the state. Some communities donate more but the
board chose to remain at the $2,500 amount.
The Flathead Flames host numerous hockey tournaments throughout the year. They're raising
$80,000 to do necessary upgrades to the Woodland Ice Rink. Kalispell Chamber asked whether the
TBID would pay half of a $1,000 donation to the group. CVB will ask Flathead Flames to submit an
event grant application for the TBID board to review. Foy's to Blacktail Trails is also seeking grant
funding for completion of their trail project. Trails and parks are very important amenities to
promote to potential visitors. The managers of the three Hilton properties will discuss as there is
funding available through Hilton corporate for local parks and trails.
Meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, please contact:
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808