HomeMy WebLinkAbout02. VEAC Minutes 08-08-2017VEAC Meeting – August 8, 2017 Page 1 of 4
Vail Economic Advisory Council (VEAC)
August 8, 2017
MEETING MINUTES
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Packet materials found here: http://bit.ly/2w3iV2k
VEAC Members Present:
Laurie Mullen, Rayla Kundolf, Lori Pohl, Matt Ivy, Bob Boselli, Doug Lovell, Chris
Romer, Brian Nolan, Mark Gordon, Alison Wadey, Kim Newbury-Rediker, Jenn Bruno,
Sara Franke, Matt Morgan, Mike Imhoff
Town of Vail Staff Present:
Kelli McDonald – Economic Development Manager, Laura Waniuk - Event Liaison
Specialist, Kathleen Halloran – Finance Director, Patty McKenny – Acting Town
Manager
Others Present:
Katie Barnes, Destimetrics, Stan Zemler – Previous Vail Town Manager, Michael Kurz –
Prior VEAC Member
Economic Indicators Report, Katie Barnes, DestiMetrics (30 minutes)
Please see report and Economic Indicators spreadsheet for further data and details.
This report is produced twice a year, seasonally, and this report was for Winter 2016/17.
Vail had a slight increase in occupancy and outperformed the competition in ADR and
RevPAR. Snowfall was down 11% in town and on mountain 26%. Lovell asked about
occupancy and RevPAR, how did Destimetrics omit the Cascade and Doubletree?
Destimetrics will provide updates based on the Hotel Talisa coming back online. Mullen
mentioned short term rentals and how that category might grow. She recommended that
the Short Term Rental information should be collected and included in the report as
well. Barnes said that data is constantly changing and it’s difficult to collect that
information consistently but they are seeking a software solution to address the issue.
Financial Report, Kathleen Halloran (15 minutes)
Revenue Highlights
Upon receipt of all sales tax returns, June collections are estimated to be up 3.3% from
last year. Year to date is down 2.4% from the prior year. RETT collections through July
27 total $3,498,593 up 29.6% from this time last year.
VEAC Meeting – August 8, 2017 Page 2 of 4
Town Manager’s Report, Patty McKenny (15 minutes)
Chamonix
On track, manufactured units will be stored down valley.
Council
Topics: Ski storage, parking task force, report on Short Term Rentals and areas to
address, life safety and parking. Design for parking structure near Red Sandstone
includes 160 parking spaces.
Town Manager Search
Hired Greg Clifton from Telluride, joining part time 9/1, and full time 9/25.
Other
Community Picnic – 8/15
Underpass is on schedule, end of October or early November
Mid-Summer Report, VEAC Members (45 minutes)
Neighboring business reports
Morgan said that he had another terrific summer this year. He thinks that there is a
“Denver” effect, where Front Range residents want to get out. June and July were great
months.
Mullen provided updates on Safeway said that they were down a little; they have a new
Store Manager from Steamboat. Customer is family-oriented business. Vail Ale House
key customer in the summer is family, sports-oriented. Looking at doing some
upgrades, maybe outdoor space. West Vail Liquor Mart has had a good summer, but
the hotels being closed have impacted their business. They have maintained . Key
customer, sports families, second homeowners. Repeat request is for a marquee sign
for West Vail. Joy Sushi is doing well, since we lost Nozawa. Council approved $150k to
start the West Vail master planning process.
Lovell said he’s seen increased attendance at Epic Discovery and bike haul has
increased dramatically. The Kids Ride Free promotion has driven incremental volumes
up. The NPS for the Epic Discovery pass is quite high, but after 1pm that drops off.
Almost an entirely new leadership team, still have an opening for a Senior Director of
Operations. Focus on grooming and Express Lift turning it into après. New Chair 11 is
on schedule and on budget. It will be a huge addition, moving more people. Try to drive
more people into the back bowls. How good are our demographics for summer?
McDonald said that the VLMDAC collects it through intercept and then follow-up
surveys online.
Nolan reported on Lionshead and said the jeweler had a good start to July, but ended
slow. Business has been above par. Restauranteur said staffing and housing are
challenges. Lionshead continues to be a place that is not considered the center of town.
VEAC Meeting – August 8, 2017 Page 3 of 4
Also Pink Vail has moved out. Nolan’s company is slightly up due to price increases, but
without they are flat. Checks are up, fewer people per check. Tournaments in town
provide great business for the restaurants, the party sizes are s ignificantly large, 30+
people.
Average guest and spend is so much different in the summer, Gordon said that real
estate is doing well. The market mix in the summer is very much a Colorado population.
In the summer the town skews toward day visitor and overnight stay. McDonald said it’s
the same way in every mountain resort. According to research 30% of the people are
here for the first time. The focus for VLMDAC is on overnight destination visitation.
Gordon said the summer started off slowly, but since Bravo! Vail began, things are
moving briskly. Most likely they are buyers from Denver and the Front Range.
Kundolf reported on Meadow Drive and said that retailers are flat, down or doing poorly.
Why is it different this year? There are so many families and people aren’t able to shop
due to kids. What changes did you make between ski and summer? They decided not
to carry as much inventory. Who is your customer? Front Range and value-oriented
customer. Millennials tend to curate their photos more than make purchases. What is
the best thing that occurred for your business? They are going to proceed as they
normally do.
Wadey suggested that marketing for the retailers in terms of shopping would help a lot.
The people she talked to said they didn’t see as many international guests. The
merchants said that the Bluegrass Series helped traffic a lot in Lionshead and they
would like to see it extended.
Boselli said that prices need to discount and promo in order to attract the sales. That’s a
challenge, because the product is a little higher end. GoPro Mountain Games was
great, but there were some issues with “tent city”, they would like to move it out to Ford
Park. They want to hold more merchant meetings. There is a chance to strengthen the
voice of the merchants with regard to events. Solaris store is up, Lion shead is flat or
slightly down. Aspen store is still doing really well, Beaver Creek store is also
performing well.
Bruno said that she noticed that the down valley clients are saying that they want to
come into the village but don’t want to face the parking issue. Lots of visiting family who
just moved to Denver are visiting Vail. Most frequent sale this summer is $40. Trying to
become more creative with her items. Seeing a lot of Houston and Dallas. A lot of
families are so busy doing activities that they don’t have time to shop. It does help the
hotels, activities and restaurants. They aren’t seeing as many retail store bags.
Ivy said Blu’s can’t find the staff for his restaurant. Racquet Club had the best summer
last year.
VEAC Meeting – August 8, 2017 Page 4 of 4
Rediker said that they are having a great summer, they house Bravo! Vail musicians, so
they just need to fill in. They are full every weekend, August is full, but September is
slow.
Romer said occupancy is flat, but rate is up 7%. Trend that has been going up steadily.
People predict their businesses to do better, but the economy to do worse. It’s difficult to
hire and retain employees. Work force housing availability is the highest frustration.
Imhof said that they will know more on September 30, but it will probably be one of the
best years for the Vail Valley Foundation. They are looking to move all the dogs’
infrastructure to Lionshead for 2018 GoPro Mountain Games but then the kids’ zone
would move to Golden Peak. There could be a concern for barking and dog noise
because the dog camp stays in one location overnight. The Antlers is pet friendly, but
for only 20 units. There may be issues with people finding lodging in the Lionshead area
because of the volume.
Members thanked McDonald for her 10 years of service to the town, community and
businesses.
Citizen Input (5 minutes)
Other Business (5 minutes)
Next Meeting:
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
8:00 -10:00 AM, Antlers Lodge