04-04-18 Tourism Business Improvement District MinutesBoard of Directors Meeting
Kalispell Tourism Business Improvement District
April 4, 2018
3:00 pm — 5:00 pm
Location: Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
Minutes
Board Members Present: Dawn Hendrickson, Zac Ford, Janet Clark, Emily Schroeder
Board Members Absent: Shawn Campbell, Dan Moderie
Staff Present: Joe Unterreiner, Diane Medler, Dawn Jackson, Meche Ek, Vonnie Day
Guests: Scott Rieke, Best Western; Sean Morris, Holiday Inn Express; Lucy Weeder, Marriott SpringHill Suites
Meeting was called to order by Dawn Hendrickson at 3:05 PM.
1. Hear from the Public— none
2. Board Action Items
a. Approval of minutes from March 7, 2018:
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 for February, 2018:
Motion was made by Janet Clark to approve the financial statements. Motion was seconded by
Zac Ford. Discussion: None. Board approved unanimously.
c. Approval of FY19 Final marketing plan:
Motion was made by Zac Ford to approve the FY final marketing plan. Motion was seconded by Emily
Schroeder. Discussion:
Highlights — US Association of Chamber Executives selected Kalispell's winter campaign for its highest
honor in communication excellence, top entry points have changed since FY 2018, Flathead County has
reached 100,000 population.
Strengths - local economy is growing (one of the fastest in the state), development in the downtown
area, variety of winter activity opportunities — MOTBD is focusing on researching ways to attract winter
visitors.
Opportunities - resurgence of the Alberta economy, good feedback at the March Calgary Outdoor Show,
strength in STR report numbers.
Challenges - two new properties coming into the market, wildfires and other results of climate change,
entrance fee increase at Glacier Park, shortage of workforce and affordable housing.
Travel Decision Process — surveys indicate encouraging uptrends in traveler's likelihood of travel to
Montana. Improvements on the new DK website will reflect increased use of online info in trip planning
cycle (discounts, etc.)
Key markets — Kalispell competes with other Flathead Valley towns for nature -based travelers,
increasing flights are important in nurturing key markets, there's a need to continue to encourage
experiences outside GNP
Groups
10% of total Kalispell hotel room nights in FY17 came from groups, Kalispell TBID properties can
accommodate groups of 10 — 500, the most common group size is 50 — 120. The largest number of M&C
RFPs originate from the association market. The Bring It Home Campaign continues to be a good source
of leads drawing from 700 members of the Kalispell Chamber. City staff has also provided multiple Bring
It Home leads. CVB will continue to build Puget Sound as a key geographical market for meeting and
convention business. Direct flights and Amtrak service to Seattle provide easy transportation. CVB
attended the Pacific Northwest Connect trade show in 2017 and continues to partner with MOTBD and
Glacier Country to attend IMEX in Las Vegas.
Increasing international interest in Montana — CVB will seek out tour groups and clubs as international
awareness of Montana increases. IRU Conference that Kalispell is hosting April 9-11 will provide a good
opportunity to build interest in our area.
Travel industry trends— DMOs are moving out of promotion and more into improving the product.
Visitors are doing a lot of the work for DMO's by sharing information about the destination. It's
important for Discover Kalispell to get good data to measure the efficacy of what we do. DMOs have to
stay on top of travel trends and tools which are constantly changing. Discover Kalispell will partner with
Glacier Country and MOTBD to maximize winter campaign initiatives.
Board approved unanimously.
d. Approval of applications for board trustees to fill expiring seats: Emily Schroeder (HGI) reapplied for
another term, Sean Morris (HIE) submitted an application.
Motion was made by Janet Clark to approve the board member applications. Motion was seconded by
Zac Ford. Discussion: Sean Morris is taking the board seat vacated by Lisa Brown, four year term. Emily
Schroeder (HGI) will begin a new four year term. The board's decision will go to the next city council
meeting for approval.
Board approved unanimously.
e. Approval of board officer positions: Chairman, Vice -Chair/ Treasurer.
Motion was made by Janet Clark to approve Zac Ford as Chairman and Dawn Hendrickson as Vice-
Chair/Treasurer. Discussion: none. Board approved unanimously. Vote will go to city council for
approval.
f. Approval of KCVB RFP outline and timeline.
Motion was made by Zac Ford to approve the outline, timeline and the evaluation committee consisting
of Joe Unterreiner, Diane Medler, Kate Lufkin, Dawn Hendrickson and Zac Ford. Motion was seconded
by Janet Clark. Discussion: state regulations require that an RFP be issued every seven years. The last
RFP was issued when the CVB was established in 2010 and renewed annually. Whitefish CVB is issuing
an RFP at the same time. It's possible that agencies will respond to both RFPs. There was some concern
among board members that due to the small pool of agencies, we might be forced to use the same
agency as Whitefish or settle for our second choice. The board discussed that Whitefish and Kalispell
markets are different and there might be cooperative opportunities and advantages of scale. It was
suggested to require applicants to disclose whether they're working with competitor DMOs. Board
approved unanimously.
3. Board Discussion
a. Event updates:
Indoor Soccer - the event was well -received by players, coaches and parents. The Fairgrounds Trade
Center has tentatively been reserved for March 9 — 10, 2019 for next year's tournament.
Dragon Boat — two new BCS teams from Los Angeles and Kelowna, BC have registered.
Spartan Race — 5,800 racers have registered which is on par for this date in prior years. CVB will be
tracking room availability and posting updates on the DK website which is linked to www.spartan.com
b. Event grant updates:
A local youth wrestling group is working on getting a large tournament involving 1,790 athletes
awarded to Kalispell in 2019. Dawn Hendrickson is encouraging them to apply for an event grant in FY19
as this year's event grant funds have been expended.
C. Marketing updates:
• The 2018 — 2019 visitor guide has been printed and is available in VIC
• The consumer enews database now has 13,000+ names
• The winter photo shoot has been completed. Our photo library now includes winter shots of people
enjoying events in downtown Kalispell, Main Street and surrounding area, and the Conrad Mansion
with holiday lights.
• Year -over -year STIR Report shows February up 7.4%, ADR up .1% and RevPAR up 7.5%. Three
properties did not report.
• 2017 bed tax was up 6% over 2016
• Diane attended the Calgary Outdoor Show March 24 — 25. Concern over border crossing seems
to have subsided.
• The Governor's Conference on Tourism takes place in Big Sky, April 15 — 18.
• Glacier Park video from a webcam directed at a bear waking up from hibernation has gone viral.
d. Group, M&C Updates:
• RFP's were sent for International Air Cadet Exchange Program
• A site tour with Wheat Associates was completed
• A proposal was submitted to Wilderness Risk Management, awaiting a decision
• After receiving our proposal, Montana League of Cities and Towns is considering whether a two -
property conference will work for them
• MT State Cup Soccer — The Discover Kalispell website lodging package page is being used to
update info on hotel room availability
• Plans are coming together well for IRU, April 9 —11. There is still a wine sponsorship opportunity
available for the banquet. The $250 sponsorship includes two banquet tickets. 34 tour
operators, 6 country reps, state reps from Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, and 45
suppliers will be participating.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:27 PM.
Respectfully Submitted: Diane Medler
For Further Information, please contact:
Diane Medler, CVB Director, diane@discoverkalispell.com or 406-758-2808