MASON COUNTY LODGING TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes

Commissioners' Chambers 411 North 5TH Street, Shelton, WA 98584

Thursday, February 9, 2017 9:00 a.m.

Members in Attendance: Chair Terri Jeffreys, Heidi Mccutcheon, Kelly Bergh, Bonnie Knight and Shaun Tucker. Absent: Duane Wilson. Also in attendance were Stephanie Rowland and Greg Oldham.

1. Chair Jeffreys called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m.

2. Bonnie/Shaun moved and seconded to approve the June 6, 2016 meeting minutes. Motion carried. Bonnie/Kelly moved and seconded to approve the November 3, 2016 meeting minutes.

3. Quarterly reports from Visitor Information Centers a) Heidi Mccutcheon will provide a full 4th 2016 quarter report for the Shelton Mason County

Chamber of Commerce at the April meeting. She did report that visitors are up 4.6% and passes & maps revenue is up 30% in Hoodsport.

b) Stephanie Rowland presented the 4th 2016 quarter report for the North Mason Chamber of Commerce. Discussion of the various licenses that the Chamber sells and how much actual visitor traffic it generates.

4. Lynn Longan, EDC Director, reported information from the Mason County Economic Development Tourism Roundtables that were held in 2016. They are now working on creating tourism strategies from the information collected at the roundtables. One of the items is creating a destination marketing organization (DMO) which would be a person or organization that would be responsible for all tourism aspects, similar to a visitor convention bureau. Discussion of the difference between a DMO and the services that Blue Collar Agency provided. Heidi stated she believes a DMO's job is to market a destination, not to recruit hotels - that is business recruitment. Stephanie serves as the local liaison for Blue Collar. Review of RCW 67.28.1816 which talks about what lodging tax can be used for. Discussion of marketing the cannabis industry. Marketing analysis for the need of hotels is being conducted by the hotel industry. There is need by the Ridge Motor Sports and in the Belfair area. This information will be considered when the RFP is being developed.

5. Discussion of future of Visitor Information Centers Cmmr. Jeffreys introduced the topic of the need for brick and mortar visitor information centers (VIC's). The funding requests continue to increase and the question is does the LTAC believe this funding should continue. Kelly stated that the Sonoma County report on VIC's encouraged the VIC's to raise money to supplement the revenue, such as selling T-shirts. Shaun asked does it make sense to spend 30% of the lodging tax for VIC's or could that money be better utilized for other tourism efforts. It is common for an existing business (such as real estate office) to dedicate space to provide printed information and this would not have the same overhead costs as a dedicated VIC.

Lodging Tax Advisory Board Meeting Minutes February 9, 2017

Kelly agrees that a concentrated effort throughout the county with existing businesses to have the information (maps, etc.) available to tourists could fulfill a need. She agreed the question is do visitors utilize brick and mortar VIC's. Shaun can understand having a VIC in Hoodsport since internet coverage is not the best there. Bonnie just completed a road trip and did use VIC's but also relied on the internet. She sees value in having some brick and mortar locations and believes printed maps have value. Heidi suggested that LTAC target where we want to provide these VIC services. Shaun talked about having on-line, the locations a visitor could pick up printed materials. Heidi talked about the impact of having park pass information available for visitors. Cmmr. Jeffreys asked if we stay status quo, is $100K enough. Heidi doesn't anticipate her costs will increase. With the current funding, they are in the black. Stephanie doesn't believe their costs will increase. Shaun stated that from a business point of view, the Shelton and Belfair VIC's are not a good investment. The Chambers business would continue. Stephanie suggested the RFP request services with a dollar amount and the entities can apply for the funding. Heidi stated the cost is in excess of $60K for the Hoodsport VIC. Cmmr. Jeffreys will gather information on how other LTAC's dedicate lodging tax. (note -Diane circulated a link to JLARC's information) -http://leg.wa.gov/jlarc/reports/2016/JLARCLodgingTax/default.htm#Totals Heidi left the meeting at 11:05 a.m. Brief discussion of the City of Shelton's process and what they fund.

6. Quarterly reports from Blue Collar Agency - John Mitchell John Mitchell reviewed the 2016 analytics report that was previously circulated. John and April then presented the 4th quarter tourism report via teleconference. Shaun left the meeting at 11:45 a.m. Issues discussed: • Account management cost is increasing. • Increase funding for festivals outside Mason County. • Blue Collar rated the ease of booking at various lodging establishments and Stephanie

then shares the information with the business in an effort to improve the experience with the visitor.

• Blue Collar will provide another social media training. • Review of marketing focus for 2017. Intent is to highlight those events that are unique

and generate visitors who stay in Mason County, therefore increasing lodging tax. Bonnie expressed concern with Allyn Days and other small festivals that are not receiving enough attention of the campaign. Blue Collar will promote via social media for all events and festivals but will provide media support for those events that they believe are tourist attractions and not just a local event. They make their decisions based on the interview they have with the event organizers and the information provided for the events page. Blue Collar left the meeting at 1:00 p.m.

7. Other Business - Cmmr. Jeffreys brought up a possible request for $50,000 for the Little League World Series event. Cmmr. Jeffreys had a short discussion with Kelly and Bonnie regarding VIC's, Tourism Marketing and Destination Marketing Organization.

8. Public Comment - none

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Lodging Tax Advisory Board Meeting Minutes February 9, 2017

9. Calendar - a meeting will be scheduled in March to review the RFP's and funding level for VIC's and Tourism Marketing. A meeting will be scheduled in April to hear quarterly reports.

10. Adjourn - 1:30 p.m.

ATIEST:

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LODGING TAX ADVISORY COMMITTEE MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON