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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5. CSE Memo to TOV manager and Finance Director - FINAL 5-9-14 To: TOV Manager, Stan Zemler & Finance Director Judy Camp From: Commission on Special Events Date: 5/8/14 Subject: CSE Budgeting Discussion History of CSE: The Town of Vail Commission on Special Events was established in its current form in 2002 with the purpose of stimulating the local economy, creating a sense of community, establishing a single point of contact for events admin, & supporting events that reflect the high quality image of Vail. Over the past 12 years the commission has evolved to create a strategic vision of differentiated event categories, score cards, event review and accountability. They have worked strategically with the VLMDAC, ERC, and VEAC to select and fund events that drive occupancy, sales tax and group business during the town’s need periods, while optimizing the event calendar. Event recap data that is consistent and comparable across all publicly funded events, including those funded by the Town Council, has proven critical to achieving these strategic goals. The commission entered their first year with an allocation of $565,000 worth of funds, is now responsible for roughly $843,000 (not including one-time allocations by town council or the new tier IV life long learning), and provides critical oversight for all of the Town’s publicly funded events, which total over 2.5M$ in funding. Current Status: In recently reviewed intercept surveys and RRC data it was proven that special events are a driving factor for regional and destination visitors to plan a vacation in Vail versus other mountain competitors. The study also indicated a good return on investment for the tax dollars spent across the total of events. The Burke Study has also shown an increase in brand recognition and NPS (Net Promoter Scores) which indicates guests would recommend Vail as a vacation destination to friends and family at a high level. The CSE has recently modified their funding strategies to include a score card which ranks not only the increase in room nights & tax revenue, but also the brand & demographic fit, growth of the event, producer qualifications and the marketing strength of the event. Goals: Our principle goal is for Vail to remain ahead of our mountain community competitive set, increasing Brand Growth by utilizing the CSE’s 2013-2017 strategic plan & mission, while being accountable to deliver an annual plan which ensures that funded events are fully aligned with the Vail brand. W hile we have seen an increase in year over year lodging, retail, & restaurant tax revenues with surges in key event periods throughout Town of Vail Page 2 the year, there is still much room for event and brand growth, and some measure of flexibility to react quickly to opportunities is necessary. And, although the CSE has improved the fiscal responsibility and reporting of the event promoters by standardizing post-event surveys and prioritizing individual event funding based on those results, we still must rely on the individual promoters to provide this data, and therefore are beholden to their varied assumptions. Requests: The CSE would therefore ask for the following to be considered for the 2015 budget: • Post Event Survey funding - To level the playing field for all events and producers. Currently each event promoter is required to obtain post event data. The surveys cost the promoters roughly $2,000 regardless of size. This has a drastic impact on an event that is only given $10,000 versus and event with $50,000. If the surveys were funded separately this would allow the event promoters to use the funds to increase marketing and awareness. It would also allow CSE to survey the entire complement of events, including those funded by the Town Council, and collect objective and consistently comparable data with which to make future decisions. At $2000 per event, the total over all events is up to $100,000, but TOV should find significant economies of scale by facilitating surveys through one organization. A request of no more than $50,000 would likely be sufficient. • Permanent Fireworks funding – The purpose of separately funding fireworks is to ensure that on each 4th of July and New Year’s Eve the town can deliver a show that meets the community’s expectations and is up to par with Vail’s brand, so that we do not lose market share to other mountain destinations. Currently, the fireworks portion of an event budget that is managed by a third party producer must compete with all of the other expenses involved in producing the event, most notably ever increasing liability insurance costs. The estimate to deliver Vail-caliber fireworks at America Days and New Year’s Eve would be approximately $50,000 per year. • New Event Continuation policy– Leverage funding for maximum effectiveness without asking Council for special allocations each year. Assist newly established events to return for the first 2 to 3 years while they build on sponsorships for future years. In recent years this amount has been $50,000 - $85,000 of one-time funding. Or, as an alternative, any amount of one-time Special Event funding that is approved by Council in a given year could be added to the CSE budget for the following year if the event meets criteria, so that CSE can continue to support late-added events in the next year without having to reduce our support for other qualified events. Conclusion: Our intent is to provide the most value possible for each tax dollar that is spent by the Town on special events. We have proposed these three items for consideration by Town Manager and Finance Director to create more efficiency and effectiveness in the event funding process. Of course, CSE operates at the pleasure of Town Council, and we look forward to receiving guidance and direction on how best to achieve these goals.