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Home My WebLink AboutVLMDACSept 20thFINALVail Local Marketing District Advisory Council Thursday, September 20, 2012 The Vail Marriott Mountain View Board Room 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM VLMDAC Members Present: Laurie Mullen (West Vail Liquor Mart); Susie Tjossem (Vail Town Council); Mia Vlaar (East West Resorts); Skip Thurnauer; Beth Slifer, Chair (Slifer Designs); John Dawsey, Treasurer (CME) Absent: Jamie Gunion (Vail Recreation District); Pete Hayda, Vice Chair (Rock Resorts) Also Present: Kelli McDonald (Town of Vail); Kristin Yantis (MYPR); Meggen Kirkham (SITE Marketing); Chris Romer (Vail Valley Partnership); Jill Lammers (Vail Valley Partnership); Sonny Kiersteins (Marriott); Derek Schmidt (The Wren); Todd Mossa (The Wren) Meeting called to order 8:32am. I. August Financials a. We are on pace for lodging tax revenue for this year. The VLMD gave direction for the $2.5 million budget level for 2013. We have to go back again in an afternoon session on October 16 to get final approval from the VLMD. In the evening of October 16th, the Town Council will adopt the budget. b. There is another exciting opportunity under financials to do an event in New York in November. c. Kristin- If we don’t get to spend the one-on-one time with the media during the fall trip, we will want to go back in January. d. Laurie- I think we would still want to go back in January, especially because of the 50th. e. John- Are they going to continue to talk about Epic Discovery? Will that tie in to the messaging? f. Kristin- Maybe there is an opportunity in the future to figure out the Epic Discovery side of things. We will share as much as we can at that time. g. Kelli- There is $5,000 from the International budget that we don’t plan on using this year. Kristin has $5,000 leftover as well. We would like to reallocate this for the New York trip. II. Approval of Minutes from September 6 VLMDAC meeting. a. Motion to approve minutes/Skip Thurnauer. Seconded/John Dawsey. II. Recap of September 18 VLMD meeting. a. Beth- We don’t really need a recap of this meeting. It seems everything is in order. III. Other Business. a. Kelli- Suzanne and her task force will be issuing an RFP for the Welcome Centers. 1. Beth- I think we should all go and check out the Lionshead welcome center. It’s not the warmest experience. 2. Susie- We are trying to reduce the time people are spending deciding on what to do and increase the amount of time people are doing things. 3. Skip- When I have been in the welcome center, people have been proactive in greeting people. If it’s only staffed with one person, what happens when there are a bunch a people? 4. Meggen- If you don’t know what to ask for, you won’t get it. 5. Mia- What do we do about this? 6. Kelli- The Town will be issuing an RFP. 7. Laurie- Are there any set expectations from the current provider? If it is not happening, then it needs to be changed. 8. Kelli- The Council is split on how far we want to go with guest services. 9. Beth- The weekly and monthly activities need to be very visual. If they are in the corner, they need to be brought out of the corner. 10. Skip- Right off the bat, you should tell people you can get information in three ways. Whatever we are learning with the Lionshead Center, we need to apply to the Vail Center. 11. Mia- Can we bring things in from Imagination Station, so kids have something to do while the parents get information? It would also tell people about the Imagination Station. 12. Beth- We should provide numbers and contact information for all the lodges. 13. Laurie- The Vail.app is great and you could simply add a kiosk with that capability. 14. Mia- If you had a Vail.app on a kiosk, that information could be really robust. If they want to go outside of Vail, then they can look that up. 15. Beth- What is our opinion on providing information for non-Vail lodging? 16. Mia- You give the customer what they want, but you start with Vail. 17. Beth- We use the information we have, but point out all necessary information when asked. 18. Mia- We can give you everything you need to know about Vail. Beyond that, simply point them in the right direction. b. Meggen- Amy Schwelling is leaving this Friday for three months to do a Spanish immersion in Costa Rica. c. Kristin- The notebooks in front of you are how we packaged our press kits this year. I wanted to share that with you. IV. Adjournment a. Motion to adjourn/Susie Tjossem. Seconded/Skip Thurnauer. b. Meeting adjourned at 9:15am.