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LET'S CALL THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO ORDER ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH, 2022 AT 3:00 PM WOULD YOU ALL RISE AND JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE? I PLEDGE.
I MEAN, THAT'S, IT'S NOT FORWARD NATION UNDERGRAD.
INVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
AND NOW WE'LL HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE.
MADAM CLERK, WOULD YOU CALL A ROLE PLEASE? MAYOR MORIARTY.
SHE'S UP IN THE CORNER OF THE SCREEN.
[3.a. AB 2760 Presentation/discussion/possible direction regarding the status update from the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau (SCC&TB) on the FY23 work program and budget]
OUR ITEM THREE IS SPECIAL BUSINESS AB.ITEM A IS AB 27 60 PRESENTATION.
DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE DIRECTION REGARDING THE STATUS UPDATE FROM THE SEDONA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND TOURISM BUREAU ON THE F Y 23 WORK PROGRAM AND BUDGET.
WHO IS GOING TO INTRODUCE? YOU ARE MICHELLE.
YOU'RE GONNA JUST START WITHOUT, I'LL JUST JUMP IN.
UM, MAYOR MORIARTY, VICE MAYOR, JLO AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY TO SHARE WITH YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR FY 23 PROGRAMS. BEFORE WE BEGIN, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR, MOTI COUNSELOR, COUNSELOR LAMBKIN, AND COUNSELOR THOMPSON FOR YOUR YEARS OF SERVICE.
I'VE VERY MUCH ENJOYED WORKING WITH YOU.
I BELIEVE THIS IS THE LAST OFFICIAL TIME WE'LL BE TOGETHER.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU.
I'VE LEARNED A LOT FROM YOU ON BEHALF OF THE CHAMBER AND BOARD AND, UH, BOARD AND MEMBERS.
WE WISH YOU THE BEST IN YOUR NEXT ADVENTURES AFTER COUNCIL.
YOU CAN ATTEND THE NEXT MEETING.
WE'LL STILL HEAR THEN
WE HAVE COVERED A SOLID AMOUNT OF WORK IN OUR FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THERE IS ALWAYS UPFRONT TIME INVOLVED AND REQUIRED WHEN SETTING UP A PROJECT, SUCH AS IDENTIFYING THE PROJECT OWNERS AND FACILITATORS, TIMELINES, ET CETERA.
NONETHELESS, WE'VE INITIATED ALL OF THE PROGRAMS IN THE FY 23 DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN.
WE ARE ALSO PLEASED TO REPORT THAT IN ADDITION TO THE RESULTS THAT I'LL SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.
WE ALSO RECRUITED, PLACED AND TRAINED FOUR NEW STAFF PEOPLE DURING Q1.
FINALLY PUTTING US BACK TO OUR NORMAL STAFFING LEVELS.
UHOH, THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WORKING.
DID YOU SAY I COULD DO THIS? BOTTOM ONE? NO, I MIGHT HAVE TO JUST SCOOT UP.
YOU CAN USE THE MOUSE AS WELL.
AND THAT YOU, OH, THERE WE GO.
SO WE BEGAN TO IMPLEMENT THE WORK IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING OUR JUNE PRESENTATION TO THE CITY, BEGINNING WITH THE KICKOFF AT OUR OFFICE TO DISCUSS THESE APPROVED GOALS, THEIR ASSOCIATED PROGRAMS AND KPIS BACK IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS WERE CREATED TO KEEP US ON TASK THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
TODAY'S PRESENTATION WILL COVER EACH OF THESE SIX GOALS IN THEIR ASSOCIATED PROGRAMS. OUR FIRST ANNUAL GOAL IS TO ENCOURAGE POSITIVE VISITOR BEHAVIOR, AND THESE ARE THE PROGRAMS THAT WILL HELP US ADDRESS THE GOAL, THIS GOAL THIS YEAR.
LET'S FIRST TAKE A LOOK AT GEOFENCING.
WITH GEOFENCING, WE'RE FOCUSED ON EDUCATING VISITORS WHO ARE ALREADY HERE IN MARKET.
ONCE SOMEONE ENTERS OUR CITY LIMITS, THEY'LL SEE OUR SUSTAINABILITY ADS ON THEIR PHONE, WHICH WILL SEND THEM TO OUR NEW LANDING PAGE.
RED ROCK COUNTRY.COM IS NOW SERVING AS OUR CENTRAL HUB FOR EVERYTHING RELATED TO VISITOR EDUCATION.
WE LAUNCHED THE PROGRAM ONCE THE
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VARIOUS ADS AND LANDING PAGE WERE CREATED JUST IN TIME FOR OUR BUSIER FALL SEASON.THIS PROGRAM WILL RUN FOR THE BALANCE OF THE FISCAL YEAR WITH AN INCREASE IN BUDGET AROUND THE BUSY SEASONS, AND WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TAKEN TO WATCH THE RESULTS AND ADJUST MESSAGING AS NEEDED.
IF CLICK THROUGH RATES ARE LOW.
SINCE THE CAMPAIGN JUST LAUNCHED IN OCTOBER, WE'LL NEED TO REPORT ON THE KPIS IN THE NEXT CITY REPORT.
WE'RE USING IN ROOM VIDEOS IN OVER 85% OF SEDONA AREA HOTEL ROOMS, INFORMING VISITORS HOW TO NAVIGATE, RESPECT AND LEARN ABOUT SEDONA.
THROUGH THESE FIVE VIDEOS, THESE WILL RUN YEAR ROUND.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING INTO AIRING IN SMALLER PROPERTIES AND SHORT TERM RENTALS THROUGH RED ROCK TV'S SMART TV PROGRAM.
ON THE LEFT OF THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE AND THE FOLLOWING SLIDES, YOU'LL SEE THE PROGRESS ON OUR ACTIVITY KPIS OR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
AS YOU SEE HERE, WE'RE PACING THAT 25% OF OUR ANNUAL TARGET FOR THIS PROGRAM, WHICH IS APPROPRIATE FOR FIRST QUARTER PROGRESS.
ENCOURAGING POSITIVE VISITOR BEHAVIOR IN MARKET ALSO INCLUDES ALL OF THE GOOD WORK DONE AT OUR OFFICIAL UPTOWN VISITOR CENTER SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
OUR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS ARE HIGHLY TRAINED AND LOVE WHAT THEY DO WHILE PROVIDING USEFUL MAPS AND INFORMATION, AS WELL AS EDUCATING ON THE LEAVE NO TRACE PRINCIPLES.
THE VISITOR CENTER ALSO OBTAINS AN AVERAGE OF 20 COMPLETED SEDONA CARES PLEDGES PER WEEK.
WE MANAGE ROUGHLY 500 WALK-IN VISITORS A DAY WITH A SMALL VOLUNTEER STAFF AND TAKE INQUIRIES BY PHONE AND EMAIL OF APPROXIMATELY 110 PER WEEK.
WE'RE JUST SLIGHTLY BELOW 25% HERE, BUT WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE MONTHS OF FIRST QUARTER BEING SUMMER MONTHS, IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE AND WE ANTICIPATE THE MIDYEAR REPORT TO SHOW HIGHER NUMBERS.
GIVEN THE FALL SEASONAL INCREASE, GIVEN THE SLOWER SUMMER MONTHS, WE EXPERIENCED OUR EXPERIENCED SEDONA GUIDE DISTRIBUTION WAS ALSO DOWN A BIT FROM WHERE IT SHOULD BE.
THIS GUIDE REMAINS A VERY POPULAR GUIDE THOUGH, AND SO WE ANTICIPATE REACHING THE TOTAL DISTRIBUTION GOAL BY YEARS END.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE DID HAVE TO MAKE THE DIFFICULT DECISIONS SINCE THE LAST TIME WE MET, TO CUT OUR PRINTED QUANTITY FROM 250,000 DOWN TO 200,000 DUE TO THE EXORBITANT INCREASE IN PAPER COSTS.
THE FINAL ACTIVITY KPI FOR THE VISITOR CENTER IS TO MAINTAIN HIGH VISITOR SATISFACTION RATINGS, WHICH WE GET FROM BOTH OUR EMAIL VISITOR SURVEY AS WELL AS OUR WALKING GUEST BOOK.
ANOTHER CHANNEL FOR INMARKET VISITOR EDUCATION IS SEDONAS OWN CONCIERGE.
WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE CONCIERGE CONNECTION PROGRAM INCLUDES OUR DESIGNATED CONCIERGE CONNECTOR, WHO HAS BEEN A LIAISON BETWEEN THE CHAMBER AND THE LODGING PROPERTIES, EDUCATING THEIR FRONT DESK AND CONCIERGE AGENTS, AND DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY ORIENTED COLLATERAL ON OUR BEHALF.
WE'RE CONTINUING THIS COMMUNICATION WITH CONCIERGE ALSO THROUGH FRONT, OUR FRONT LINER E-NEWSLETTER, WHICH GOES OUT WEEKLY, AND WE'RE REALLY WORKING TO SCRUB THAT LIST AND ADD TO IT.
UM, REALLY TAKING A LOOK AT THE CURRENT LIST, DROPPING ANY OF THAT SEEM, UM, LIKE INACTIVE, YOU KNOW, OPT-IN SUBSCRIBERS AND ADDING THOSE AND CONSTANTLY PUSHING THE LIST AND LETTING THOSE KNOW THAT THEY CAN SIGN UP FOR IT TO GET TO BE REGULARLY UPDATED ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SEDONA.
AS YOU CAN SEE, BY THE 56% AVERAGE OPEN RATE, WE ARE DOING VERY WELL WITH THE NEWSLETTER, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO, TO, UM, PROVIDE THE CONTENT THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
OUR NEXT TO-DO WITH THE CONCIERGE CONNECTION IS THAT COLLATERAL REVIEW, WHICH I MENTIONED THE LAST TIME WE TALKED, AND THAT INVOLVES TAKING A, A HARD LOOK AT ALL OF THE COLLATERAL THAT WE HAVE AND THAT WE SUPPLY AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, MEETING WITH THE AGENTS, MEETING WITH THE HOTELERS AND FIGURING OUT WHAT IS IT THAT THEY NEED SPECIFICALLY AND WHITTLING IT DOWN TO SOME ONE OR TWO VERY IMPORTANT PIECES.
AND, UM, SO THAT'S GONNA BE THE THING WE WORK ON NEXT QUARTER IS, IS DOING THAT ASSESSMENT AND THEN PRODUCING THAT PIECE.
SO I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED AS WE FINALIZE THAT INFORMATION AND DIRECTION.
THERE IS, UM, A REALLY NEAT THING THAT JUST KIND OF AROSE, UM, THAT WASN'T ON OUR PLAN THAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT I'LL SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.
WE, WE HAVE FOUND THAT THE CURRENT CONCIERGE MEETINGS THAT HAVE BEEN HELD AS OF LATE ARE REALLY A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE TRADE ASSOCIATION MEETINGS AND A LITTLE BIT LESS NETWORKING.
SO WE'VE MET WITH THIS GROUP, WE'VE MET WITH THE MANAGER OF THIS, UM, THIS EVENT, THIS MONTHLY EVENT, AND WE FOUND THAT THERE IS A DESIRE AND A NEED TO ACTUALLY HAVE A TRUE NETWORKING EVENT.
SO IN CONJUNCTION WITH HIS CURRENT MONTHLY MEETING, WE'RE GONNA HOLD QUARTERLY MEETINGS OR QUARTERLY EVENTS THAT WILL REALLY ENCOURAGE NETWORKING, HELP, UM, INGRATIATE THE CONCIERGE TO US AND US TO THEM, AND REALLY GET TO KNOW THEM MORE AND BE ABLE TO EDUCATE THEM, AND THEN THEREFORE THEY EDUCATE THE GUESTS THAT ARE IN TOWN.
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UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO PRESENT THIS, UM, NEW OPPORTUNITY AS A WAY TO, AGAIN, GET CLOSER TO THE CONCIERGE, UM, SECTOR AND, AND TO, UM, LEVERAGE, YOU KNOW, LEVERAGE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND THEIR EXTENSION TO THE GUESTS.ANOTHER TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX IS THE, OOPS, I THINK I'M GOING TOO FAST ON THIS AS A VERY SENSITIVE MOUSE, UM, IS THE SEDONA CARES PLEDGE.
THE PLEDGE IS DOING REALLY WELL.
WE, UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO GET 4,200 NEW PLEDGES THIS YEAR BY WORKING THE AVENUES MENTIONED HERE ON THE SLIDE.
AND THEN WE ALSO ARE ENCOURAGING POSITIVE VISITOR BEHAVIOR BY EDUCATING THE CONSUMER WHO IS ALREADY PREDISPOSED TO TRAVELING TO SEDONA.
SO IN THESE FIVE PUBLICATIONS, THE STATE GUIDE, THE PHOENIX GUIDE, THE TUCSON GUIDE, THESE ARE FOLKS WHO ARE ALREADY INTERESTED IN COMING TO THE AREA, OR ALREADY INTERESTED IN COMING TO ARIZONA AND ARE LOOKING AT THE MAJOR METROS AROUND US.
SO THEY'RE VERY DISPOSED COMING UP NORTH.
SO TO GET IN FRONT OF THEM AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DESIRE AS A DESTINATION, WE ARE MARKETING TO THEM, UM, TO SET THE EXPECTATION OF WHAT, OF WHAT WE EXPECT WHEN THEY ARRIVE.
WE DID CHOOSE TO RUN THIS PARTICULAR AD.
AGAIN, THE MESSAGE IS STILL VERY RELEVANT.
UM, IT REALLY IS A PERFECT BLEND OF BRANDING AND EDUCATION AND THIS A'S VERY STRONG.
FINALLY, CHAMBER STAFF CONTINUES TO LEVERAGE ITS COMMUNICATION CHANNELS TO EDUCATE VISITORS ON HOW TO TREAD LIGHTLY HELPING TO NAVIGATE OR HELPING TO MITIGATE THOSE OHV ISSUES.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO JOIN THE RED ROCK OHV CONSERVATION CREW AT THEIR REGULAR MEETINGS, AS IT IS OUR DESIRE TO STAY ABREAST OF THE ISSUES AND HELP ONE MCKEN.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ROCK GROUP AND ALL OF THEIR GREAT WORK.
I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, MAKE A NOTE, UM, ON THE, UH, ACTUALLY HOLD THAT THOUGHT.
I'M GONNA COME BACK TO THAT PIECE.
SO LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT GOAL.
THIS IS OUR SECOND GOAL OF THE YEAR TO LESSEN THE DENSITY OF VISITORS AT BUSY LOCATIONS.
AND THE LEADING STAR OF THIS GOAL IS THE SECRET SEVEN CAMPAIGN.
WE'VE BEEN SHARING, UH, SEDONAS SECRET SEVEN THROUGH OUR REGULAR CHANNELS, MAKING A VERY GOOD DENT, 44% OF OUR PAGE VIEW TARGET.
AS YOU'LL SEE HERE, OUR WORK SO FAR INCLUDED THE REMOVAL OF TWO CATEGORIES.
IF YOU'LL RECALL, WHEN WE MET LAST, WE FELT THE SPIRITUAL CATEGORY AND THE ARTS AND CULTURE CATEGORY JUST DIDN'T QUITE FIT THE CONCEPT AND DIDN'T QUITE MAKE SENSE.
SO TRY AS WE MIGHT, WE, WE, WE DECIDED, UM, TO NOT FORCE THAT AND GO AHEAD AND REMOVE THOSE LOCATIONS OR THOSE TWO CATEGORIES.
SO NOW WE'RE DOWN TO FIVE SECRET SEVEN CATEGORIES, SEVEN LOCATIONS WITHIN EACH FIVE, AND THEY'RE ALL TRAIL BASED.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IS THE ORIGINAL INTENT OF THAT CONCEPT IS TO TAKE FOLKS WHO ARE GOING TO BUSY LOCATIONS AND DIVERT THEM TO LESS BUSY LOCATIONS OR TRAILS.
SO WHAT WE ARE DOING THOUGH, BECAUSE WE DO SEE VALUE IN THE ARTS AND CULTURE AND WELLNESS SECTORS, IS THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING A, A NEW PROGRAM CALLED, DID YOU KNOW, THAT WILL HELP US TO SHARE THE DE SOME OF THE HISTORY THAT SOME OF THOSE THAT THOSE TWO SECTORS HAVE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.
THERE'S A LOT OF VERY INTERESTING TIDBITS AND HISTORY WITH THE ARTS IN SEDONA AND WITH THE SPIRITUAL AND METAPHYSICAL SIDE OF WELLNESS SIDE OF SEDONA THAT WOULD BE VERY VALUABLE TO SHARE OUT IN OUR OWNED CHANNELS.
AGAIN, NOT PUSHING OUT MARKETING PER SE, BUT COMMUNICATING THOSE THROUGH OUR CH THROUGH OUR WEBSITE, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, AND OUR CONSUMER NEWSLETTER UNTIL THE TIME COMES WHEN WE CAN IN FACT MARKET AGAIN.
SO IN THE COMING, UH, QUARTER, WE'LL LOOK AT UPDATING THE SECRET SEVEN BROCHURE AND REPRINTING THAT.
SO TAKING OUT THOSE TWO CATEGORIES, UPDATING THE BROCHURE WITH THE MOST CURRENT, UM, TRAIL FOR, UH, SERVICE APPROVED TRAIL CHANGES THAT WE MADE IN 2021.
AND THEN GETTING THAT REPRINTED, HOLLY'S CALLING.
HOLLY WANTS TO BE RECOMMENDED.
OH, HOLLY, WE CAN, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU TOO.
WELL, HOLLY, I'M LOOKING AT, YEAH, THE VOLUME'S REALLY LOW.
OH, I DON'T THINK I CAN MAKE IT ANY.
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HOLLY, CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING? HI THERE.UM, WHAT PRESENTATION ARE WE LOOKING AT? BECAUSE I HAVE THE, I'M STILL HAVING A HARD TIME, SO REALLY SPEAK UP PLEASE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT PRESENTATION WE'RE LOOKING AT BECAUSE THE ONE WE JUST RECEIVED IS NOT MATCHING THE NARRATIVE.
SO I'M WONDERING, IS THIS YET ANOTHER PRESENTATION? TRYING TO FOLLOW.
SO WHAT PRESENTATION IS THE CHAMBER MAKING? THE ONE FROM THE PACK RIGHT NOW? THE, THE, THE ONE I THINK YOU CENTERED OUT EVEN TODAY, DIDN'T YOU? YEAH, THAT'S BEFORE THE MEETING.
CAUSE I TRIED TO FOLLOW ON THAT PRESENTATION.
THAT'S THE ONE I'M USING AND I'M HAVING TROUBLE ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THE NARRATIVE WITH THE SLIDES.
LIKE, HOLLY, DID YOU SEE THE ONE THAT THAT CHARISE MAILED OUT THIS MORNING? YEAH, THAT'S THE ONE I'M USING.
IT SEEMS TO MORE CLOSELY BE FOLLOWING THE ONE THAT WAS IN THE PACKET.
YEAH, ACTUALLY THE ORIGINAL ONE.
HER, HER FRIEND, THEY WERE ONE IN THE SAME.
WELL, I'M FOLLOWING ALONG ON THE ONE I GOT TODAY, SO, SO MAYBE, UH, MICHELLE, IF YOU'D ANNOUNCE THE HEADING AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE YEAH, I CAN DO THAT.
HOLLY, I ALSO MOVED THE ANGLE OF THE CAMERA TO VIEW WHAT WE CAN SEE HERE.
UM, THAT MIGHT HELP A LITTLE BIT TOO.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
SO I SEE MY FACE ON THE SCREEN.
SO, UM, THAT'S A GOOD SUGGESTION, MARY, I'LL, I'LL DO THIS.
UH, SO THE, NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT GOAL ASSISTANT PRESERVING SEDONAS NATURAL RESOURCES.
THAT'S OUR THIRD GOAL FOR THIS YEAR.
AND THE PROGRAMS YOU SEE LISTED THERE, STARTING WITH LEAVE NO TRACE ARE THE, ARE THE PROGRAMS, IN FACT THAT WE'RE GOING TO, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON TO ADDRESS THAT GOAL.
SO WE'LL START WITH THE LEAVE NO TRACE UP AT THE TOP.
YOU'LL SEE THAT WRITTEN AND YOU'LL SEE Q1 ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN YELLOW.
UM, SO WE'RE LEVERAGING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LEAVE NO TRACE TEAM TO A GREATER DEGREE THAN EVER BEFORE WITH A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM THAT BREAKS DOWN INTO THREE AREAS.
THE FIRST BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE ALL THE GOOD VISITOR COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THROUGH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHANNELS, AS NOTED ON THE SLIDE IN THOSE BULLET POINTS.
THE SECOND BEING THE PROUD SUPPORTER PROGRAM, WHICH IS HOW WE ENGAGE OUR PARTNERS, HOW WE ENGAGE OUR MEMBERS TO UTILIZE THESE ASSETS AND GET THAT LEAVE NO TRACE MESSAGE OUT THROUGH THEIR CHANNELS.
AND WE DO THAT THROUGH THE SEDONA LEAVE NO TRACE TOOLKIT.
YOU CAN CHECK THAT OUT AT SEDONA L N T TOOLKIT.COM.
AND RIGHT NOW, OUR KPI ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE SEDONA LT TOOLKIT.COM, TARGET 80.
SO WE'RE LOOKING TO GET 80 NEW MEMBERS ON BOARD WITH USING THE CONTENT.
AND, UH, WE'RE ABOUT 18% OF OUR ANNUAL GOAL.
THE THIRD PIECE TO THE LEAVE NO TRACE PARTNERSHIP IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VOLUNTOURISM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK.
SO NOW I'M ON THE SLIDE THAT SAYS, LEAVE NO TRACE, EXPANDED SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATIONS AND ENCOURAGE ACTION VOLUNTOURISM PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.
THE FIRST STEP IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROGRAM IS RESEARCH.
SO THIS, THIS LAST QUARTER, FIRST QUARTER, WE PREPARED, UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SURVEYS AND INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WERE, UM, HAVE A SURVEY QUEUED UP FOR OUR MEMBERSHIP TO GAUGE THEIR LEVEL OF INTEREST AND ABILITY TO PARTNER AND FACILITATE VOLUNTEERISM EVENTS WITH US.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE INTERVIEWING NOW, UH, AREA NONPROFIT STAKEHOLDERS THAT WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE VOLUNTEERISM PROCESS BEFORE.
AND, AND FIND OUT FROM THEM WHAT CHALLENGES THEY MAYBE HAVE EXPERIENCED, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE, WHAT BARRIERS THERE ARE IN, IN ENGAGING WITH VISITORS.
WE'RE GONNA LEARN FROM THOSE WHO HAVE DONE THE WORK IN THE PAST, AND THEN BRAINSTORM WITH THEM ABOUT WHAT COULD BE DONE IN THE FUTURE.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING TO VERDE VALLEY, UH, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER, OAK CREEK WATERSHED COUNCIL, AND KEEPS IT ON A BEAUTIFUL, AND THEN FINALLY, WE PREPARED A SURVEY FOR OUR VISITORS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR ATTITUDES, PERCEPTIONS, AND PREFERENCES FOR ENGAGING IN VOLUNTOURISM WHEN THEY ARRIVE TO SEDONA WHILE SPENDING TIME HERE.
SO ONCE ALL THIS, UH, RESEARCH IS, IS FACILITATED, I'LL BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO YOU IN JANUARY WHEN WE SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN AT OUR JOINT WORK SESSION AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT THE DATA IS SHOWING, AND THEN THAT WILL HELP, UM, INFORM US TO DEVELOP A STRATEGY FOR VOLUNTEERISM.
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GOT IT.MOVING ON TO AN UPDATE FROM THE SUSTAINABILITY ALLIANCE AND THEIR, UH, THEIR CERTIFICATION, UH, PROGRAM AND THE EXPANSION AND HOW WE'VE WORKED WITH THEM THROUGH THE YEARS TO REALLY GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE VARIOUS LEVELS AND PARTICIPATION BUSINESSES CAN, UM, GET INVOLVED WITH AS FAR AS CERTIFICATION GOES.
IT THERE, AS I BELIEVE I MENTIONED TO YOU IN THE LAST MEETING, UH, THIS PROGRAM, THE SUSTAINABILITY ALLIANCES KIND OF MOVING OUT MM-HMM.
I, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S TOO STRONG OF A WORD, BUT THE, THE TWO VOLUNTEER, UH, PARTNERS ARE, YOU KNOW, ARE NO LONGER GOING TO BE MOVING IT FORWARD.
SO VERDE VALLEY REGIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION IS ADOPTING AND KIND OF TAKING UNDER ITS WING THE SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATION.
AND, UH, THIS WAS JUST ANNOUNCED AT THEIR, UH, PUBLIC MEETING LAST WEEK ON FRIDAY, AND, UH, FITS UNDER THEIR SUSTAINABILITY PILLAR.
AND SO THEY ARE ADOPT, LIKE I SAID, ADOPTING THE PROGRAM, AND THEY'LL BE KIND OF TAKING THIS BALL AND RUNNING WITH IT.
AND SO THE CHAMBER WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST AND GET IN TERMS OF GETTING, UM, BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, ENGAGED IN THE PROGRAM AND, AND, UM, CERTIFIED AS THEY'RE ABLE TO.
SO THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION UP HERE THAT YOU CAN READ, UH, AT YOUR LEISURE, BUT THIS IS KIND OF WHERE WE CURRENTLY ARE.
IT'S REALLY JUST KIND OF KICKED OFF TO THE PUBLIC, UH, LAST WEEK.
SO, UM, I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED AS THIS KIND OF EVOLVES.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, OUR TRAIL KEEPERS PROGRAM, UM, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR, OF OUR SECOND 2.0, UM, ITERATION OF THE PROGRAM.
SO REALLY WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW IS ONGOING SPONSORSHIP RECOGNITION THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
WHEN THE SPONSORS CAME ON BOARD, THEY, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A PROMISE THAT WE MADE TO THEM THAT WE WOULD TOP THEIR INVOLVEMENT AS A SEDONA TRAIL KEEP.
AND THEN OF COURSE, ALL OF THE INCREDIBLE VOLUME OF WORK THAT'S BEEN ACHIEVED ON THE LAND, UH, THROUGH SEDONA RED ROCK TRAIL FUND.
UM, IN ADDITION TO WHAT YOU SEE HERE, THEY'VE ALSO, UH, THROUGH THE TRAIL KEEPERS PROGRAM AND THE FUNDS PROVIDED FROM THAT PROGRAM, THEY WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN 275 MILES OF TRAILS.
OVER 3,400 FEET OF RETAINING WALLS IN ARMORING WAS BUILT.
122 ROCK STAIRS WERE INSTALLED, AND 3.7 MILES OF SOCIAL TRAILS WERE NATURALIZED.
SO A LOT OF GREAT WORK WITH THIS, WITH THIS PROGRAM BEING FACILITATED.
THE FLY FRIENDLY PROGRAM CONTINUES TO DO ITS GOOD WORK WITH CONTINUED ADHERENCE TO THE PROGRAM AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH, SUCH AS PARTICIPATION AT EVENTS LIKE OUR BIANNUAL COMMUNITY PULSE.
AND FINALLY, HERE'S A QUICK UPDATE.
I SPOKE WITH KAREN ABOUT THE, UH, SHARING ALSO SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE IN THE SUSTAINABILITY, UH, SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY NOT BE LEADING THEM.
WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS AN UPDATE? THERE ARE STILL SOME ACTIVE PROGRAMS IN THE WORKS, SO YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK HERE.
UM, WHAT SOME OF OUR NONPROFITS, UH, LEADERSHIP GROUPS ARE DOING IN TERMS OF, AND THIS IS SPECIFIC TO ENVIRONMENT, THE ENVIRONMENT PILLAR.
SO, UH, YOU'LL SEE SOME VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS TAKING PLACE WITH OAK CREEK WATERSHED COUNCIL, AND THEN KSB IS MOVING THINGS FORWARD, UM, AND STILL DOING SOME WORK TOWARDS SINGLE USE PLASTICS INITIATIVE, PUBLIC LAND ADVOCACY, DARK SKY, AND, UM, ELIMINATING PESTICIDES AND HERBICIDES.
SPEAKING OF THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN, AND GIVEN THE TIMELINESS OF THE COMMUNITY PLAN UPDATE, WE'VE, KAREN AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HOW THERE ARE TWO MAJOR PLANS THAT ARE KIND OF IN AN UPDATE STAGE AND IN THAT LINE OF THINKING IT MIGHT MAKE SENSE TO ALIGN OUR EFFORTS.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO, TO COMMENT ON THAT AT ALL, KAREN? SURE.
UM, MAYOR, COUNSELORS, AS, AS WE LOOK AT OUR CURRENT WORK PROGRAM FOR CITY STAFF, AS WELL AS TRYING TO COORDINATE, UM, MOSTLY THE EFFORT, UH, TO UPDATE THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN, WHAT WE THINK PROBABLY MAKES THE MOST SENSE IS THAT SINCE WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A VERY, VERY ROBUST COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORT FOR THE COMMUNITY PLAN, AND THROUGH EVERY ELEMENT OF THE COMMUNITY PLAN, THE, THE, THE TOURISM, UM, ISSUE IS, IS WOVEN.
SO WE ARE GOING TO BE IN THE COURSE OF THE NEXT SIX OR EIGHT OR NINE OR SO MONTHS, COMPILING A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY INPUT AS IT RELATES TO TOURISM THROUGH THAT PROCESS, GIVEN THAT EFFORT AND THE FACT THAT OUR SUSTAINABILITY TEAM HAS A, UH, A VERY AMBITIOUS WORK PROGRAM THEMSELVES, THAT WE MIGHT WAIT UNTIL WE HAVE ALL OF THAT INPUT TO REALLY TAKE THE NEXT LIFT, WHICH WOULD BE UPDATING THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN MM-HMM.
[00:25:01]
BOTH MICHELLE'S NEW STAFF MM-HMM.SO I THINK THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT MICHELLE AND HER TEAM CAN KIND OF GET GET GOING THIS YEAR, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE OTHER PILLARS AND SORT OF DEVELOPING THE, THE PLAN OF OUTREACH IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO, TO REVISIT THOSE THINGS AND IDENTIFY KIND OF WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE DO NEED TO FOCUS ON IN AN UPDATE.
AND WE CAN DO THE SAME AS IT RELATES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PILLAR, BUT THAT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE NEXT YEAR'S WORK PROGRAM THAT THIS, THIS PLAN, UM, UPDATE WOULD REALLY BE MORE ACTIVELY PURSUED.
SO, UM, THE OTHER GOAL THAT WE HAVE IN OUR FISCAL 23 PROGRAM OF WORK IS TO MAINTAIN FUTURE ECONOMIC HEALTH.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT WITH OUR WORK WITH THE MEETING PLANNERS AND TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS.
SO IN 2021, JUST 33% OF OUR VISITORS STAYED OVERNIGHT, AND THAT'S ABOUT, UH, THAT'S NOT CHANGED.
30, ABOUT 33% OF OUR VISITORS STAYED OVERNIGHT WITH THE RE BEING DAY TRIPPERS.
WHILE THE DAY TRIPPERS OBVIOUSLY DO STILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE COFFERS AS A DESTINATION WITH ITS MIND ON SUSTAINABILITY AND INTEREST IN FEWER CARS ON THE ROAD.
AND, AND THE LIKE WE DO SEEK, WE'VE ALWAYS SOUGHT FEWER VISITORS WHO WILL STAY LONGER AND SPEND MORE, AND PARTICULARLY, PARTICULARLY DURING THE, OUR OFF PEAK PERIODS.
THEREFORE, OUR PLAN INCLUDES SALES PROGRAMS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO POSITION SEDONA AS AN OVERNIGHT MULTI-DAY DESTINATION.
CAN I JUST ASK A QUICK QUESTION ON THAT? SURE.
THE 32%, THE VISITORS THAT STAY OVERNIGHT, DO YOU KNOW, IS THAT ONE NIGHT, TWO NIGHTS, THREE NIGHTS? THE AVERAGE IS 3.3.
THAT'S THE AVERAGE OF THE 33%? CORRECT.
THIS GROUP SALES THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MM-HMM.
SO, UH, SO FAR, SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, VICE MAYOR JLO, WE ATTENDED MEETINGS, UM, MEETINGS TODAY, LIVE WEST TRADE SHOW, WHICH WAS AN OPPORTUNITY, OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE 24 QUALIFIED PLANNERS ON SEDONA.
WE SPEAK TO THIS GROUP THROUGH OUR QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER, WHICH IS SENT OUT TO ABOUT 3000 SUBSCRIBERS, AND WE ORGANIZED ONE FAM IN Q1 FOR A MEETING PLANNER, CONSIDERING SEDONA FOR THEIR RETREAT PROGRAM.
WE ALSO, IF THERE ARE ANY LEADS WHO ARE ONLINE, ANY LEAD CONTACTS WHO ARE ONLINE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION, WE SEND THEM TO OUR GROUP MEET MEETING WEBPAGES ON VISIT SEDONA.COM.
AND WE ALSO DIRECT THEM TO OUR DESTINATION EVENT PLANNER.
AND THE DESTINATION EVENT PLANNER WAS JUST COMPLETED, UM, IN FIRST QUARTER, AND IT'S DESIGNED MAINLY FOR MEETING PLANNERS ON THE TRAVEL TRADE SIDE.
THE OTHER SIDE OF OUR SALES EFFORTS, UM, I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING, THIS JUST CAME OUT THIS WEEK.
UM, BRAND USA, WHICH IS THE NATION'S PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP DEDICATED TO INCREASING INTERNATIONAL VISITATION TO THE US IS INDICATED THAT THE RECOVERY AND INTERNATIONAL VISITATION IS LOOKING BETTER THAN ANTICIPATED, BUT THAT IT WILL REQUIRE A LOT OF WORK TO ENSURE THAT TRAVELERS GLOBALLY MAINTAIN THEIR LONG HELD INTEREST IN A HOLIDAY IN THE US IN THE FACE OF INFLATION CURRENCY EXCHANGES, THE WAR IN UKRAINE AND WORKFORCE ISSUES.
BRAND USA REGULARLY WORKS WITH THE TRAVEL TRADE, AS DO WE.
THEY'RE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING A MEGA FAM TOUR WITH 60 UK TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS COMING TO THE US.
I'M LETTING YOU KNOW THIS BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S THIS LARGE INITIATIVE GOING ON AT THE COUNTRY LEVEL, IT'S ALL THE MORE REASON WHY WE CHOOSE.
AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU AGREED THAT THERE'S A VALUE IN MAINTAINING OUR OWN RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE TRAVEL TRADE SO THAT WE CAN DEFINE OUR DESTINATION'S NEEDS AND OUR DESTINATION'S DESIRES, AND THE TIME WHEN WE WANT THAT BUSINESS HERE OFF PEAK AND MIDWEEK.
SO TO THAT END, WE, UH, WE DID COMMUNICATE WITH THE TRAVEL TRADE THIS LAST QUARTER THROUGH OUR QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER.
UH, WE HELD A COUPLE OF FAM SITE VISITS, WHICH WERE A VERY WELCOMED RETURN, ESPECIALLY SINCE COVID MANY OF THE FAMS, UH, AND THE TRAVEL OBVIOUSLY WASN'T HAPPENING.
SO IT WAS NICE TO SEE FOLKS IN PERSON.
WE ALSO ATTENDED BRAND USA TRAVEL WEEK, WHICH BROUGHT TOGETHER KEY PLAYERS IN THE US, UK, AND EUROPEAN TRAVEL INDUSTRY TO DISCUSS TRENDS, CHALLENGES, INNOVATIONS, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE FUTURE VISITATION TO THE US A TOTAL OF 130 BUYERS REPRESENTING 12 COUNTRIES AND 127 EXHIBITORS REPRESENTING US, DESTINATIONS LIKE OURS AND ATTRACTIONS GATHERED FOR BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS AND NETWORKING.
DURING THAT WEEK, WE ALSO CONNECTED
[00:30:01]
WITH 40 KEY TRADE PRODUCT MANAGERS AND TOUR OPERATORS WHOSE CLIENTS TEND TO TRAVEL TO DURING SEDONAS NEED SEASONS.SO AGAIN, VERY TARGETED MANAGED BUSINESS.
IT WAS AN EFFICIENT WAY TO EDUCATE THEM ABOUT SEDONAS CURRENT SITUATION AND OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS AT THIS SHOW.
JUST FOR CONTEXT, FOR EVERYBODY WHO'S LISTENING, COULD YOU DEFINE AGAIN THE NEED TIMES? ABSOLUTELY.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THE JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, AND THEN THE WINTER MONTHS, UM, NOVEMBER, PART OF NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, FIRST HALF OF FEBRUARY.
SERVICE REQUEST REFERRALS, UM, IS ANOTHER KPI ON THE SALES SIDE.
YOU'LL SEE IT ON THE, UP ON THE UPPER LEFT OR LEFT HAND SIDE OF THIS SLIDE.
THOSE ARE OUR PARTNER REFERRALS.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE LIKE TO CONSIDER US, UH, OUR OFFICE AS A BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MATCHMAKER TO FOR OUR MEMBERS.
SO MAKING SURE THAT THE RIGHT LEAD GETS TO THE RIGHT PERSON.
AND SO FAR WE'VE PRODUCED 36% OF OUR ANNUAL TARGET.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE WITH ALL OF THE SALES EFFORTS WE'RE DOING REALLY WELL, WE'RE PACING WELL ABOVE THE 25%, UM, IDEAL MARK FOR Q1.
MOVING ON, OUR NEXT GOAL SPEAKS TO EASING NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS, OR, I'M SORRY, EASY NEIGHBORHOOD BURDENS AND SUPPORTING WORKFORCE.
AND THE TWO PROGRAMS THAT WERE, THAT WERE CHOSEN TO HELP AND ASSIST IN THOSE AREAS ARE THE SHUTTLES, THE SHUTTLE SYSTEMS, THE TWO SHUTTLES.
UH, SO THE SEDONA SHUTTLE, WE ARE DOING, UM, UH, JUST LOVING THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY.
I MEAN, WE, WE TALKED TO ROBERT WEBER, UM, ON A REGULAR BASIS WITH OUR TRANSIT MARKETING CALLS.
AND I THINK WE JUST ARE A REALLY GREAT STRONG TEAM IN COLLABORATING AND FINDING, YOU KNOW, SOLUTIONS TO ISSUES THAT HAVE POPPED UP, UH, AND REALLY TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE IN ADDRESSING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MIGHT BE COMING DOWN THE PIPE.
SO THE PROGRAM HAS SEEN GREAT STRIDES IN RIDERSHIP.
YOU MAY KNOW, UM, THIS ALREADY, BUT WITH NEARLY 44,000 PASSENGER BOARDINGS IN Q1 PLACING THE SEDONA SHUTTLE AS THE HIGHEST PRODUCING RURAL TRANSIT SYSTEM IN ARIZONA.
WE'VE BEEN USING MULTIPLE CHANNELS TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE SHUTTLE, INCLUDING NEWSLETTERS AND PRINTED MATERIALS.
WE'VE ALSO REFRESHED THE SEDONA SHUTTLE TOOLKIT AND ENHANCED ITS VISIBILITY WITH THE LOCAL HOTELS.
WE'VE ALSO WORKED WITH THE RED ROCK TRAIL FUND AND THE FOREST SERVICE TO DEVELOP ALTERNATE TRAIL MAPS FOR KIOSK DISPLAYS AT SHUTTLE PARK AND RIDES.
AND THAT WILL HELP US IN DISPERSING VISITORS TO LESSER KNOWN TRAILS.
SO REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, SOME SUSTAINABILITY ORIENTED STRATEGIES THERE.
I'D LIKE TO NOTE THAT YOU'LL SEE THE PAGE VIEWS AT ONLY 13% ON SEDONA SHUTTLE.COM.
THAT IS OBVIOUSLY LOWER THAN WE'D LIKE TO BE, UM, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT'S LARGELY DUE TO THE DROP IN SUMMER VISITATION.
UM, AND SO I DO EXPECT TO SEE IMPROVEMENTS IN THIS KPI AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE YEAR.
WE ALSO DO HAVE SOME GREAT IDEAS TO DRIVE MORE VISIBILITY OR INCREASE MORE VISIBILITY TO SEDONA SHUTTLE.COM, INCLUDING ENCOURAGING OUR CONCIERGE TO USE THE ONLINE TOOLKIT AND DIGITAL CONTENT FOR THEIR GUESTS IN ADDITION TO ALL THE PRINTED COLLATERAL THEY RECEIVE.
SO THAT'S JUST ONE IDEA AND WAYS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO INCREASE THE VISIBILITY OF THAT SITE.
AND THEN ON THIS VER SHUTTLE SIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE OBVIOUSLY ARE INTERESTED IN GETTING MORE WORK DONE ON THE, ON THE SHUTTLE SIDE, BUT WE, WE KIND OF PAUSED IN THE FIRST QUARTER IN TERMS OF JULY AND AUGUST BECAUSE THE SERVICE LEVELS WEREN'T AT A HUNDRED PERCENT.
SO THEY HADN'T INSTALLED OR HADN'T INSTITUTED THEIR EVENING SERVICE UP UNTIL JUST SEPTEMBER.
BUT ONCE SEPTEMBER HIT AND THAT SERVICE, THAT SERVICE, UM, THEY WERE UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT SERVICE, UH, LEVELS, THEN WE WENT AHEAD AND BEGAN TO COMMUNICATE THAT OUT.
SO YOU'LL SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH WE KIND OF, UH, YOU KNOW, TOOK CARE OF SOME TASKS TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE VERDE SHUTTLE.
AND ACTUALLY, EVEN DESPITE THAT KIND OF SLOW START IN Q THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF Q1, WE ACTUALLY HAVE SEEN GREAT STRIDES IN THE RIDERSHIP.
SO IT'S, THEY'RE UP TO, UH, 15,557 PASSENGER BOARDINGS IN Q1.
UM, WE ALSO ARE, AGAIN, SIMILAR TO THE SEDONA SHUTTLE, WHERE LITTLE SHY IN OUR PACING WITH OUR KPI ON THIS PROJECT, WHICH IS LIKE THE SEDONA SHUTTLE PAGE VIEWS IT, WE'RE LOOKING AT PAGE VIEWS ON VERDE SHUTTLE.COM.
UM, BUT I DO AGAIN, THINK THAT THIS WAS BECAUSE THE SERVICE WASN'T A HUNDRED PERCENT AND WE WEREN'T REALLY PUSHING THE MESSAGE OUT ABOUT THE VERDE SHUTTLE, UM, UNTIL SEPTEMBER.
SO WE'LL START TO SEE THAT NUMBER INCREASE AS WE MOVE AGAIN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
AND THEN MOVING ON GOAL DEEPEN ENGAGEMENT WITH SHORT-TERM RENTAL SECTOR, AND WE'RE DOING THAT THROUGH OUR SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROGRAMS. SO, UM, AMONG OTHER THINGS, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO HERE IS WORK WITH THE OWNERS AND OPERATORS TO FIND OUT WHAT MATERIALS WOULD BE MOST EFFECTIVE
[00:35:01]
FOR THEIR GUESTS.OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THE STARS JOINING OUR OTHER TOURISM BUSINESSES AND BEING THAT SAME SUSTAINABILITY DRUM.
AND IN Q1 WE REALLY DID HAVE SOME, I THINK A GOOD START.
THERE WERE SOME, UM, DISCOVERIES THAT WE UNCOVERED IN TALKING WITH THE SHORT, SOME OF THE KEY SHORT TERM RENTAL PROPERTY OWNERS AND MANAGERS.
UM, SOME CONCERNS THAT THEY HAD IN THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WAS, THAT HAD STARTED TO FORAGE LAST YEAR, THAT KIND OF THEN GOT HALTED.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS, I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM AND OUR INTEREST IN SUPPORTING THEM AS A BUSINESS, WHICH IS WHAT A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DOES.
UM, SECONDLY, THEY UNDERSTAND OUR DESIRE TO, UH, HELP KIND OF BE ANOTHER CHANNEL FOR, AGAIN, THAT RESPONSIBLE VISITOR MESSAGE, AND THEY'RE ALL ABOUT IT.
SO I THINK WE'VE HAD A LITTLE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE IN Q1, UH, WITH THEM.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE KEEPING THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN AND JUST FURTHER ENGAGING THEM AS WE CAN.
WE ALSO ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY, UM, THERESA ARTHUR, OBVIOUSLY YOU KNOW HER AS YOUR SHORT-TERM RENTAL SPECIALIST.
ME, NORTON, OUR NEW PROGRAMS MANAGER WHO IS HERE WITH US TODAY.
UM, HER AND THEREA ARE DEVELOPING A GOOD RELATIONSHIP, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW BEST TO WORK TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY'RE BOTH, THEY BOTH HAVE THEIR EYE ON SHORT-TERM RENTALS, SO IT'S KIND OF NICE TO BE ABLE FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO COLLABORATE AND SEE WHERE THE NEEDS ARE, WHERE, WHERE THERE MAY NEED HELP, WHERE MELEE MAY, MAY NEED HELP.
AND IT'S JUST A GOOD PARTNERSHIP.
AND I'M, I FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
I, I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF MOVING PARTS TO THE SHORT TERM RENTAL PIECE, INCLUDING, UM, THE CURRENT BILL THAT'S PASSED.
SO, UM, BUT AT, LIKE I SAID, AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU KNOW, AS A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WE DO SUPPORT A, OUR BUSINESSES.
AND I THINK THAT KNOWING THAT THERE ARE MORE SHORT TERM RENTAL ROOMS IN THE MARKET THAN THERE ARE HOTEL, TRADITIONAL HOTEL ROOMS, THEY'RE GO, THEY'RE HERE.
SO, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE WORK WITH THEM.
THE, THE ULTIMATE GOAL HERE OF THIS PROGRAM, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, AND YOU MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING OR WE MAY HAVE THE SAME UNDERSTANDING, IS THAT IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY, IT'S GETTING THE SAME INFORMATION INTO THE SHORT TERM RENTALS IN TERMS OF SHUTTLES SUSTAINABILITY, UM, BANNING OF FIREWORKS MM-HMM.
UM, I DIDN'T REALLY GET A SENSE OF, WHAT I HEARD FROM YOU WAS THAT YOU ARE WORKING TO BUILD THE RELATIONSHIP WITH, I GUESS THE, THE LARGER RENTERS, THE LARGER, UM, COMPANIES THAT RENT THE SHORT, MANAGE THE SHORT TERM RENTALS.
WHAT ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL OWNERS? WHO, AND, AND THAT THAT'S IN A STILL A RELATIONSHIP BUILDING MM-HMM.
BUT YOUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE, IS TO GET MATERIAL AND, AND GET IT INTO ROOMS. CORRECT.
AND IT'S STILL VERY VAGUE TO ME.
WHAT ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL? YOU'RE WORKING SO THEREA AND YOUR STAFF, ARE THE PEOPLE WORKING ON HOW TO DO THAT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL OWNERS? YES.
SO WHAT'S YOUR TARGET DATE FOR GETTING MATERIAL READY AND GETTING IT INTO ROOMS? I GUESS THAT'S, THAT'S MY QUESTION.
WHEN IS IT ACTUALLY GOING TO BE WHERE WE NEED IT TO BE IN YOUR ESTIMATION? NO.
YOU, YOU'VE SUMMED UP EVERYTHING PERFECTLY.
WE'RE ON THE SAME EXACT PAGE FOR THE INTENTION OF THE PROGRAM.
WE DID HAVE TO START WITH THE RELATIONSHIP, BUT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE ACTUALLY HAVE ALREADY STARTED DISTRIBUTING MATERIALS TO, UM, SOME OF THE KEY, SOME OF THE LARGER PROPERTY MANAGERS.
AND YES, WE DID START WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE THE MORE OBVIOUS, UNDERSTAND, EASIER, YOU KNOW, TO, THEY WERE KNOWN.
IT'S GONNA BE HARDER TO GET TO THE INDIVIDUAL OWNERS, BUT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS THAT.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE ROOMS MANAGED BY THE, SO ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT THE MATERIAL IS ACTUALLY GETTING INTO THE, INTO THE ROOMS AND BUT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE SHORT TERM RENTALS MANAGED BY THE LARGER COMPANIES, DO YOU THINK IT'S ALREADY GOTTEN INTO? MARY, DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF THAT? I DON'T HAVE, I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT NUMBER HERE, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, WE COULD GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
I DON'T NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING.
I'M JUST TRYING TO GET A SENSE OF, WE HAVE A THOUSAND OF THEM OUT THERE, A THOUSAND SHORT TERM
[00:40:01]
RENTALS.HOW MANY, WHERE'S HOW MANY ARE GETTING IN THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED? I MEAN, YEAH, WE ARE JUST TALKING AMONGST OURSELVES HERE.
I I WOULD SAY, I MEAN, PROBABLY AT LEAST A THIRD BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN, SOME OF THESE ARE ALREADY MEMBERS OF OURS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ALREADY TOO.
SO I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE RIGHT IN THAT FLOW OF DISTRIBUTION OF COLLATERAL.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S HAPPENING ALREADY AND IT'S, IT'S A CHUNK.
CAN YOU HEAR ME, HOLLY? YOU CAN GO FIRST.
UH, MICHELLE, CAN YOU CLARIFY, DO THE SHORT TERM RENTAL COMPANIES HAVE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE CHAMBER IN ORDER TO GIVE MATERIAL? NO, THEY DO NOT.
UM, OUR DESIRE IS FOR THEM TO EVENTUALLY BE A MEMBER.
BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE BACK IN THAT SITUATION WHERE THIS IS PUBLIC FUNDS TO ACCOMPLISH A GOAL, TO EDUCATE SHORT TERM RENTAL OWNERS AND THEIR GUESTS ON BEHAVIORS THAT WE WANT THEM TO, UH, HOW WE WANT 'EM TO CONDUCT THEMSELVES WHEN THEY, THIS YEAR MM-HMM.
AND WE WANT TO, WE WANNA ENGAGE AS MANY OF THOSE THOUSAND OR 1200 OWNERS AS POSSIBLE.
AND WE AS THE CITY DO NOT HAVE AN INTEREST IN THEM JOINING THE CHAMBER.
WE WANNA EDUCATE THEM, WE WANNA EDUCATE THEM ON EVACUATION, WE WANNA EDUCATE THEM ON SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS.
WE WANNA EDUCATE THEM IN ALL KINDS OF WAYS SO THAT THEIR, THEIR GUESTS ARE GOOD NEIGHBORS.
SO I JUST WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE.
UM, THANK YOU COUNSELOR, LUKE.
IT WOULDN'T BE, NO, IT, I MEAN, YES, WE WOULD LIKE TO INCREASE OUR MEMBERSHIP AND AS WE DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE BUSINESSES, IT'S, IT'S A NATURAL THING FOR US TO WANT MEMBERSHIP, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE INTENT OF THE PROGRAM.
IF, IF IT HAPPENS, IT HAPPENS.
BUT OUR INTENTION IS TO, IS TO WORK WITH AS MANY AS WE CAN, WHETHER THERE ARE MEMBERS OR NON-MEMBERS.
I HAVE ANOTHER SORT OF FOLLOW UP QUESTION, WHICH HAS TO DO WITH DISTRIBUTION OF NON SUSTAINABILITY AND BEHAVIOR MATERIALS.
UM, AND I GUESS THIS IS MORE A QUESTION FOR MAYBE OUR STAFF THAN YOU IN TERMS OF LIKE THE EVACUATION MATERIAL, THE MATERIAL THAT THE, THAT THE FI THE CHIEF PUT OUT ABOUT SAFETY AND EVERYTHING, THE NEW FIREWORKS ORDINANCES, THINGS LIKE THAT, WHICH NEED TO GET TO OUR VISITORS.
HAVE, ARE WE DOING THAT THROUGH THE CHAMBER OR ARE WE DOING IT SOME WAY OURSELVES TO GET IT INTO THE SHORT TERM RENTALS? SURE.
COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMSON, ACTUALLY, MICHELLE AND I HAVE ALREADY, UH, SPOKEN ABOUT DISTRIBUTING THE, THE COMMUNITY EMERGENCY GUIDE AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE, THE DOOR HANGER THAT WE HAVE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, GETS PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS.
AND I THINK WE CAN LOOK AT DISTRIBUTING OTHER MATERIALS, BUT WE, WE ARE GOING TO NEED OUR NEED TO UPDATE OUR COMMUNITY GUIDE ON THE NEW FIREWORKS ORDINANCE.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT REMINDER.
DO YOU MEAN HARD COPIES OR DIGITAL? WE TALKED ABOUT HARD COPIES THAT THESE, I'M ASSUMING ARE ALL SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE ROOM.
THEY ALWAYS HAVE THIS BIG, AT LEAST THE ONES I'VE, THEY HAVE THE BIG BOOK OF STUFF,
BUT BECAUSE I THINK THAT IN ADDITION TO THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, THERE MAY BE OTHER COMMUNITYWIDE THINGS THAT COULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM ALSO BEING, UM, TRANSMITTED TO OUR, TO OUR VISITORS WHO ARE THERE.
AND, AND ALSO TO OUR GUESTS, PERHAPS THROUGH THE CONCIERGE.
SO I THINK THIS COULD BE A FAIRLY ROBUST EDUCATION PROGRAM.
AND I KNOW IT'S IN ITS INFANCY, BUT I REALLY ENCOURAGE, UM, US TO BE FAIRLY PROACTIVE IN, IN THINKING WHEN THE CITY UNDERTAKES SOMETHING, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT, THAT HOTEL GUESTS AND SHORT TERM RENTAL, UM, GUESTS NEED SHOULD HAVE AS WELL? AND IS IT SOMETHING APPROPRIATE TO BE DISTRIBUTED THAT WAY? MICHELLE, I'M SORRY.
I I DO THINK, I'M GLAD COUNSELOR PUE BROUGHT
[00:45:01]
UP THE IDEA ABOUT IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MEMBERS, IT'S ABOUT GETTING THE INFORMATION OUT.AND SO I, I APPRECIATE YOU CLARIFYING THAT.
IF YOU SIGN UP MEMBERS THAT ARE SHORT-TERM MENTAL, THAT'S A BYPRODUCT OF THE PROGRAM, BUT THAT'S NOT THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM.
IT'S TO HELP GET THIS INFORMATION OUT.
HOW MANY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES ARE THERE IN SEDONA OR OUTSIDE THAT MANAGE SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN OUR CITY? AND THEN HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE MEMBERS SO FAR? 13 MEMBERS.
AS FAR AS MANAGEMENT COMPANIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE, MAYBE MANAGING LOCALLY.
MAYBE YOU COULD COME UP TO A MICROPHONE.
CUZ WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU.
WE HEARD THE VOICE, BUT WE DON'T NEED YOU ON A MICROPHONE SO WE CAN HEAR CUZ WE MAY HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
SHE'S OUR NEW PROGRAM'S MANAGER HIRED FOR THIS PROGRAM AS WELL AS THE STP UPDATE.
AND SHE IS JUST REALLY TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS AND IS REALLY GETTING US VERY ORGANIZED IN EVERY WAY.
SO, UM, I WAS SAYING THAT AS FAR AS THE NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT COMPANIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY MEMBERS, WE HAVE 13 MANAGEMENT COMPANIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY MEMBERS.
UM, AS FAR AS OTHER COMPANIES WHO MAYBE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES OUTSIDE OF SEDONA SAY SCOTTSDALE, THAT I COULDN'T TELL YOU FOR SURE HOW MANY THERE WOULD BE IN TOTAL, BUT IF THAT'S RESEARCH I NEED TO DO, THEN I COULD DO IT BECAUSE I'M CONCERNED FOR THOSE COMPANIES THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE CITY.
IF, UH, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THESE PACKETS THAT ARE GOING OUT WITH THE INFORMATION, LIKE WITH CASTLE WILLIAMSON BROUGHT UP ABOUT THE FIREWORKS.
IF IT'S GONNA BE HARD COPIES, HOW ARE YOU GONNA GET THEM TO COMPANIES OUTSIDE THE CITY THAT ARE GONNA COME BACK THE CITY, PUT THEM IN THE HOMES? I MEAN, I DON'T EVEN THAT WAS A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING, ASKING THAT QUESTION BECAUSE ACTUALLY THE WAY THAT THESE ITEMS GET INTO THESE HOMES PREDOMINANTLY IS THROUGH THE MANAGERS WHO ARE LOCAL OR THROUGH HOUSEKEEPING WHO ARE LOCAL.
SO THOSE HOUSEKEEPING STAFF CAN BE ACTUALLY UPDATED THROUGH OUR CONCIERGE CONNECTOR AND WE CAN GET THOSE, THOSE MATERIALS INTO THE HANDS OF THE HOUSEKEEPING STAFF WHO ARE THE ONES WHO MAINTAIN THE BINDER THAT YOU SPOKE OF EARLIER.
AND HOW OFTEN DO YOU UPDATE THE, YOU KNOW, OR HOW OFTEN DO YOU CONNECT WITH THE HOUSEKEEPING COMPANIES AND, AND THE LOCAL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES? I MEAN, ONCE A MONTH, EVERY OTHER WEEK.
I MEAN, OUR CONCIERGE CONNECTOR IS OUT ALL DURING THE MONTH AND HE ACTUALLY MAINTAINS ALL OF THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND REPORTS BACK TO US, EVERYONE THAT HE DELIVERS MATERIALS TO, DEPENDING ON WHAT THEY NEED AT THAT TIME.
SO HE WILL CONNECT WITH EACH OF THEM DURING THE COURSE OF THE MONTH TO DISCOVER WHAT THE NEED IS AND MAKE THE DELIVERY.
AND IS THAT THE SAME CONCIERGE, UH, DISTRIBUTOR THAT YOU HAVE GOING TO THE HOTELS? YES, SIR.
I HAVE A QUESTION TO TAG ONTO THAT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY, UM, TABULATION OF HOW MANY ROOMS ARE ENTAILED IN THE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES? I MEAN, X X MANAGEMENT COMPANY HAS A HUNDRED, ANOTHER ONE HAS 50.
I DO, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU EXACT NUMBERS, BUT YES, WE DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND I'D BE INTERESTED TO SEE THAT.
WE, UM, JUST SO EVERYONE IS AWARE, I BELIEVE ON THE NEXT AGENDA ON THE 22ND WE'RE GOING TO BE UPDATING OUR SHORT TERM RENTAL RULES.
AND, AND ALSO INSTITUTING LICENSING, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
SO ONCE WE GET THAT GOING AND, AND WE'RE, BECAUSE WE ALREADY KNOW WHERE MOST OF THEM ARE, WE'RE AHEAD OF A LOT OF CITIES IN THAT REGARD.
SO, SO WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO DO A GOOD JOB OF GETTING THEM LICENSED AND ONCE WE DO, WHEN THEY COME TO GET A LICENSE, OR I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'LL PICK IT UP PHYSICALLY OR NOT, BUT THAT WOULD BE A TIME WHEN WE COULD DISTRIBUTE LIKE AT LEAST HERE'S AN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT GUIDE FOR EVERY ONE OF YOUR PROPERTIES.
CORRECT ME, I I I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT WHEN WE HAD AN INITIAL MEETING TO, UM, TO INTRODUCE MARILIA AND TERESA, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUTTA THAT MEETING WAS THAT WE DO HAVE THE BEST CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ALL OF THE SHORT TERM RENTALS, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OUR SYSTEM.
AND THEN ONCE WE GET THE LICENSING IN PLACE, WE'LL HAVE EVEN BETTER INFORMATION.
OUR CONTACT IS NOW THROUGH THE EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE, BUT WE TALKED ABOUT SHARING THOSE CONTACTS AND THEN DISTRIBUTING THE MATERIALS, UM, THAT WAY.
UM, SO I THINK IT'LL BE A GOOD PARTNERSHIP.
AND AGAIN, THE LICENSING WILL GIVE US BETTER INFORMATION ON,
[00:50:01]
ON, YOU KNOW, THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, HOW MANY THE INDIVIDUAL SHORT TERM RENTAL OWNERS, ET CETERA.SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THOSE COMPANIES, YOU KNOW, KEV HAVE A GOOD CONTACT.
THEY CAN ALWAYS CONTACT THE CHAMBER FOR SOMETHING THAT THEY PROVIDE AND THEY CAN CONTACT US FOR SOMETHING IS EASIER FOR US TO PROVIDE.
SO I THINK IT'LL WORK WELL ONCE WE, UH, GET IT SET UP.
AND IT SHOULDN'T TAKE AS LONG AS IN OTHER CITIES, BECAUSE AS I SAID, WE KNOW WHERE THEY, MOST OF THEM ARE ALREADY.
I THINK WE'VE GOT 85%, UH, REGISTRATION OF EMERGENCY CONTACTS.
YOU
SO CAN I JUST ASK ONE MORE PLEASE? YEAH, SURE.
UM, SO WE, LAST NIGHT WE INSTITUTED A, A BAN ON OR RULES AND REGULATIONS ON FIREWORKS AND IT, IT'S PRIMARILY ABOUT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR, 4TH OF JULY AND NEW YEAR IF SOMETHING COME IS COMING UP FROM US THAT IT'S TIME SENSITIVE AND WE WANNA GET TO EVERY SINGLE WAS MANY SHORT TERM RENTALS AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE GUESTS COMING IN HERE AND LIGHTING OUR CITY ON FIRE.
HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO GET A BROCHURE, A PIECE OF PAPER, A CARD THROUGH YOU TO THEM AND GET INTO THE HOUSES? WHAT'S IT APPROXIMATE TIMEFRAME? A MONTH, A WEEK? SEVEN TO 10 DAYS.
WE JUST NEED TO, YEAH, WELL AND I WOULD THINK YOU CAN CONTACT 'EM BY EMAIL.
YOU PROBABLY HAVE ALL THE EMAILS.
SO YOU COULD, LIKE WE'VE GOT NEW YEARS COMING UP BEFORE VERY LONG.
SO IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET SOMETHING INTO THEIR HANDS, JUST EVEN AN EMAIL TELLING THEM.
BUT THERE IS, AND THERE ARE FINES ATTACHED TO IT.
SO THIS WAY THEY KNOW AHEAD OF TIME.
WE TALKED ABOUT THAT LAST NIGHT, RIGHT? DON'T YOU THINK? THANK YOU.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS PROGRAM? NO.
SO THE NEXT PIECE IS, OOPS, SORRY, I KEEP DOING THIS.
UM, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE GOALS, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROGRAMS AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR FOUNDATIONAL ASSETS, OUR OWNED CHANNELS, WHICH IS, UH, VISITS ON A, UM, DOT COM, OUR CONSUMER NEWSLETTER AND OUR, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO VISIT SEDONAS, DOING WELL AT 57% OF OUR ANNUAL TARGET, UM, FOR, UH, VISITORS TO THE SITE.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO TO VISIT SEDONA.COM, YOU'LL SEE, UH, EVERYTHING ABOUT, UH, RECREATING RESPONSIBLY AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL GETTING QUITE A FEW FOLKS OVER THERE.
SO THAT IS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THEY SEE IN ADDITION TO WHAT TO DO, WHERE TO STAY, ET CETERA.
OUR NEWSLETTER CON, UH, CONTINUES TO PERFORM WELL WITH AN AVERAGE 30% OPEN RATE.
AND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA IS STILL ROCKING IT, STEALING, GAUGING VISITORS AS WE INCREASE OUR FOLLOWERS IN FIRST QUARTER BY NEARLY 6,000.
SO I WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT OF YOUR TIME TODAY TO ALSO BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ECONOMICALLY SPEAKING AS REFERENCED AT OUR ANNUAL MEETING.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE IN ATTENDANCE, THANK YOU FOR COMING.
UH, WE HAD A GUEST SPEAKER, ECONOMIST, JIM ROUNDS FROM THE VALLEY, WELL RESPECTED ECONOMIST, AND, UH, HE SHARED A FEW THINGS THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU.
CAUSE I, I KNOW NOT EVERYONE WAS PRESENT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, TOURISM IS ONE OF THE STATE'S LARGEST INDUSTRIES.
UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS HERE, IT'S QUITE INCREDIBLE.
UH, OF COURSE THESE ARE 20, 21 NUMBERS.
AS THE STATE BEGAN TO OVERCOME THE PANDEMIC IMPACTS FROM 2020 WITH TRAVEL SPENDING IN ARIZONA AT NEARLY $24 BILLION LAST YEAR, IT IS CLEAR THAT TOURISM IS IN THE ECONOMIC MAJOR POWERHOUSE AND IT'S EVEN MORE CRITICAL IN OUR RURAL AREAS.
I FOUND THIS, UH, INTERESTING FROM JIM'S, UH, PRESENTATION OUR RURAL AREAS WHERE ECONOMIC DIVERSITY IS NOT AS BROAD AS IN THE LARGER CITIES.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT SEDONA AS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT.
YOU CAN SEE HERE IN THE WHITE ROWS THAT TOURISM EMPLOYMENT IS AT 26% IN COCONINO COUNTY AND 16% IN YAVAPAI COUNTY.
SEDONA ALONE, YOU'VE SEEN THESE NUMBERS, HAS MORE TOURISM RELATED JOBS THAN THERE ARE PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIVING WITHIN CITY LIMITS.
I WANTED TO, UH, SHARE WITH YOU A QUICK LOOK AT OUR FORECAST.
ACCORDING TO THE US TRAVEL ASSOCIATION IN 2022, THE NATION IS EXPECTED TO HIT 90% OF 2019 TRAVEL SPENDING LEVELS WITH LEISURE AT 95%, WHICH IS PREDOMINANTLY WHAT WE RECEIVE IS THAT LEISURE, AUDIENCE AND BUSINESS SPENDING REACHING JUST 73%
[00:55:03]
IN LOOKING AT THE SEDONA PRESCOTT REGION.SO LOOKING INITIALLY AT THE US NOW NARROWING IT DOWN TO THE SEDONA PRESCOTT REGION SPECIFIC TO TRADITIONAL HOTEL PERFORMANCE METRICS, THE GROWTH LEVELS WE WERE SEEING ARE NOT EXPECTED TO CONTINUE.
UM, YOU'LL SEE OVER TO THE FAR RIGHT OF THE CHART THAT BY MID 2024 FORECASTS, UH, FROM SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH INDICATE THAT OCCUPANCY IS EXPECTED TO ACTUALLY DECLINE FROM THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR.
AVERAGE DAILY RATE GROWTH WILL BE MODERATE AND THE REVPAR, SUBSEQUENT REVPAR GROWTH IS ANTICIPATED TO DROP BELOW 10%.
MICHELLE, EXCUSE ME, CAN WE GO BACK TO THAT? SURE.
UM, I HAD A LITTLE TROUBLE WITH THIS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, THERE, THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY OCCUPANCY DATA FOR THE FIRST TWO DAYS.
IS THAT INTENTIONAL OR FOR THE FIRST TWO DAYS? YEAH, JUNE 18TH AND 19TH.
UM, THERE IS, OH, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS? YEAH.
UM, THAT MIGHT BE, THAT MIGHT BE AN ERROR ON OUR PART, NOT HAVING THAT ON THE CHART.
I'LL HAVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON, ON THAT PIECE.
IT, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO SURE.
LED TO THAT DROP THERE, RIGHT.
UM, AND THEN JUST LOOKING FROM, UH, 20 TO 21, IF I'M READING THIS CORRECTLY, YOUR OCCUPANCY JUMPS AT THE SAME TIME AS YOUR ADR DOES MM-HMM.
AND I GUESS IT DEPENDS ON WHICH ONE DRIVES THE OTHER AS WHETHER THAT MAKES SENSE OR NOT.
ANY HOTELIERS IN THE ROOM THAT WANNA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD TO THAT? THAT'S WHAT OCCURRED.
CAN YOU USE THE MICROPHONE, PLEASE? COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE.
WE WOULD JUST ASK THAT ANYONE USE THE MICROPHONE.
JAKE CHRISTIE, GENERAL MANAGER OF THE WILD.
UM, YES, YOUR QUESTION OF 2021 TO ADDRESS THAT, THAT IS WHAT TOOK PLACE.
OCCUPANCY WENT UP, AVERAGE RATES WENT UP IN THE TRAILING YEARS SINCE 2021.
WE'VE SEEN RATES GROW AND MAINTAIN OCCUPANCY GO DOWN DRAMATICALLY.
SO YOUR QUESTION OF DO THE TWO RELATE? ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK SOME OF OUR CHALLENGES OF OCCUPANCY ARE DEFINITELY A LITTLE BIT OF STORYTELLING AND MARKETING.
THE OTHER PART MIGHT BE, AND, AND THERE'S NO WAY TO KNOW, WE'VE DRIVEN CONSUMERS OUT OF THE MARKET THROUGH RATE POSITION.
SO IT, IT MAKES SENSE THAT IF YOU, IF YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE YOUR OCCUPANCY GROWING UP OR YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO GO UP CUZ OF HIGH SEASONS OR WHATEVER, YOU WOULD SET YOUR RATES HIGHER AND YOU'D HAVE A HIGHER ADR.
UM, BUT IF YOU KNOW THAT THEY'RE GOING TO COME DOWN, IS THERE, UM, BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONNA COME DOWN FROM YEAR TO YEAR NECESSARILY.
BUT ISN'T IT A MATTER OF, OF LOWERING YOUR, UH, RATES IN ORDER TO KEEP OCCUPANCY UP TO, TO TRY AND GET THAT BALANCE? BECAUSE I'VE, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? WE, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE, UH, STR INVASION, RIGHT? ALL THESE EXTRA ROOMS MM-HMM.
THESE ROOMS OF THIS JUST BEEN PROFITING UP LIKE CRAZY.
YOUR ADRS HAVE JUST BEEN GOING UP LIKE CRAZY AS WELL.
AND I'M, I'M THINKING WHY WOULDN'T YOUR ADRS COME DOWN TO ENCOURAGE MORE OCCUPANCY IN YOUR HOTELS? YEAH.
WHAT, WHAT YOU'VE SEEN GOING ON IS PRICING ISN'T JUST A MAN RELATED, IT'S COST RELATED.
IF YOU CAN'T MAKE A DOLLAR AT A CERTAIN PRICE BECAUSE OF RAISING LABOR, RAISING COST TO GOODS, RIGHT? SO SOME OF THE ADR YOU'RE SEEING NO ONE'S IN A POSITION TO LOWER THEIR RATES CUZ COSTS JUST KEEP GETTING MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE.
IT SEEMS TO BE IN SOME OF THE REPORTING WE SHARE AS HOTEL YEARS, IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS, SOME OF THE HOTELS HAVE TRIED TO LOWER THEIR RATES TO DRIVE DEMAND AND THEY'VE ACTUALLY RESULTED IN LOWER OCCUPANCY, LOWER RATES.
AND NOW IT SEEMS LIKE LAST MONTH A LITTLE BIT MORE RATE CONFIDENCE CAME BACK KNOWING THAT IF PEOPLE AREN'T COMING, THEY'RE NOT COMING.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU MAKE IT $2, IF THEY'RE NOT COMING, THEY WON'T BE HERE.
SO I THINK EVERYONE'S TRYING TO FIND THEIR WAY.
AND THE CONCERN GOING INTO OUR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, STARTING JANUARY IS IF WE HAVE TO FORGIVE OCCUPANCY, WE'VE GOTTA KEEP PUSHING RATE.
NOTHING'S GETTING CHEAPER, EVERYTHING'S GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE.
AND AS YOU PUSH RATE, UH, HIGHER IN ORDER TO MAKE YOUR COST, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ACTUALLY ENCOURAGING.
I MEAN, I'M NOT SAYING YOU'RE DOING INTENTIONALLY, BUT IT HAS THE EFFECT OF ENCOURAGING MORE SHORT-TERM RENTALS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE KIND OF COST YOU DO.
I MEAN IT COULD, RIGHT? SHORT-TERM RENTALS ARE A NEW TYPE OF A CONSUMER.
PEOPLE ARE EITHER HOTELERS OR SHORT-TERM RENTAL PEOPLE.
ALTHOUGH THERE IS AN ECONOMICS THAT'S PROBABLY FOR YOUNGER DEMOGRAPHIC.
[01:00:01]
TRUE LUXURY TRAVELER WITH SEDONA ATTRACTS, THEY WANT EXPERIENCE, THEY WANT HOSPITALITY, THEY WANT TO BE TREATED WELL.THEY WANT TO BE MADE TO FEEL WELCOME, CARED FOR, AND EAGER TO RETURN, RIGHT? SO, UM, AND OFTENTIMES THAT CONSUMER WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, HEY, LET'S FIND LESS TOURISTS AND HAVE A HIGHER QUALITY, THEY DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT PRICE.
RIGHT? IT COULD BE FREE AND IF THEY DON'T FEEL WHILE THEY'RE NOT DOING IT AND YOU KNOW, SO, ALL RIGHT.
SO WHAT I SHARED WITH YOU WITH SUPPORT CAST DATA, HERE ARE THE ACTUAL NUMBERS THROUGH SEPTEMBER, UH, SO FAR THIS FISCAL YEAR, SO JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER.
UM, THEY SHOW THAT WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN STRONG GAINS IN ADRS, OCCUPANCIES HAVE IN FACT FALLEN.
AND AS JAY HAD MENTIONED, THE COST OF RISEN.
SO, UM, WHAT WE'VE RECENTLY DONE IS TAKEN A LOOK AT OUR ANNUAL LODGING SURVEY, UH, WEIGHT SURVEY THAT WE FACILITATE EACH YEAR.
AND WE HAVE SEEN THAT, UH, COST OF, OF WAGES HAVE INCREASED BY OVER 10% JUST SINCE LAST YEAR.
UM, WE'VE ALSO RECENTLY SURVEYED OUR MEMBERS, UM, IN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS TO KIND OF GET A BETTER GAUGE OF PROFITABILITY, UM, BECAUSE OF THAT RISING COST IN SOME OF THESE OTHER VARIOUS FACTORS.
AND, UH, I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT HERE.
UM, THE MAJORITY OF OUR MEMBERSHIP THAT RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY SAID THAT THEY'VE SEEN INCREASED COSTS BETWEEN 11 AND 30%.
83% STATED THAT THE LOWER TOURIST TRAFFIC IS AFFECTING THEIR BOTTOM LINE.
AND ROUGHLY HALF OF OUR MEMBERS ATTRIBUTE THE LACK OF DESTINATION MARKETING AS AFFECTING THEIR BOTTOM LINE, FOLLOWED BY INFLATION AND A LACK OF CONSUMER SPENDING.
AND ONLY 20 WHAT'S DISTURBING TO ME IS ONLY 23% ARE FORECASTING A PROFIT THIS WINTER.
SO, UM, THAT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO JUST SHARE SOME OF, SOME OF THE SENTIMENT, I GUESS, AND SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE'RE RECEIVING FROM OUR MEMBERSHIP BECAUSE WE, WE WANTED TO KNOW IT TOO.
WE WANTED TO GET THAT KIND OF HARD DATA FROM THEM, MICHELLE.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SMALLER BUSINESS? ACTUALLY, THAT, UH, SURVEY THAT I JUST REFERENCED, UM, THAT WAS TO OUR, OUR ENTIRE MEMBERSHIP.
NOT EVEN TOURISM SPECIFIC MEMBERS, BUT THE GRAPHIC SAYS TRADITIONAL LODGING PERFORMANCE.
WHAT I VERBALIZED WAS OUR MEMBERSHIP IN TOTALITY, BUT YES, THESE NUMBERS UP HERE ARE SPECIFIC TO HOTEL.
IT WOULD BE NICE TO, TO SEE A BREAKDOWN ON SOME OF THE OTHER BUSINESSES AS WELL, UH MM-HMM.
I WANNA SEE IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF IMPACT, POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE.
THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO SEE.
WELL, AND AND THAT IS, THAT IS WHAT I, THE NUMBERS THAT I JUST RATTLED OFF ARE IN FACT FROM ALL OF OUR BUSINESSES, NOT, NOT JUST HOTELS.
WELL, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S JUST NOT VISUALLY UP HERE, BUT IT'S WHAT I'M ASKING FOR.
LIKE, I JUST, JUST LATE YESTERDAY, SO SORRY, I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO IT'S FINE.
BUT I THINK THAT WITH YOU WRITE DOWN THE DIFFERENCE, UH, FOR ME, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, CORPORATIONS OR CORPORATIONS, BUT THE SMALLER BUSINESSES IN UPTOWN ARE REALLY SELF OWNED.
AND I WANNA KNOW, AND WE ALSO HAVE, UH, JEEP TOURS, AGAIN, THEY'RE PRIVATELY OWNED FOR MOST OF THEM ANYWAY.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW IT'S AFFECTING THEM.
THAT'S ALL I SEEING IS LODGING.
UH, WE'LL CLEAN UP THE, THE DATA.
WE, WE, LIKE I SAID, WE JUST FACILITATED IT ON FRIDAY.
PULLED THE DATA, ROUGH DATA YESTERDAY.
SO, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY SEND THAT, THOSE RESULTS OUT TO THE COUNCIL THROUGH KAREN, AND, UM, HAPPY TO DO THAT.
AND IF, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME.
I THINK WE'VE BEEN KIND OF HAVING SOME INPUT ALONG THE WAY, BUT IF THERE ARE ANY SMALL BUSINESSES, NON LODGING THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK UP IN THE AUDIENCE WOULD BE A GOOD TIME.
WE WANNA SEE YOU AND YOUR NAME, AND YOU NEED TO NINA BARLOW.
I OWN, UH, BARLOW JEEP RENTALS R RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.
UM, OUR SEDONA JEEP RENTAL OPERATION IS DOWN 43% FROM LAST YEAR.
FOR WHAT TIME PERIOD? FROM, UH, OCTOBER.
COMPARING JANUARY THROUGH OCTOBER.
UM, I KNOW WE'VE HAD AN INFLUX OF OTHER, UH, BUSINESSES THAT RENT OHVS AND SO FORTH.
HOW MUCH OF IT, OF YOUR LOSS CAN YOU EVEN IDENTIFY HOW MUCH OF IT JUST FROM INCREASED TRANS, UH, COMPETITION? NO, UH, MOST, SO THE BIGGEST INCREASE, OF COURSE, THAT WE'VE SEEN IS IN, UM, ATV OHV RENTALS.
AND, UM, THAT IS ACTUALLY PREDATING C AND, YOU KNOW, THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE THAT WE'VE
[01:05:01]
BEEN EXPERIENCING FOR THE LAST, UH, TWO AND A HALF, TWO YEARSUM, SO, UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S ABOUT COMPETITION, BUT IT IS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE VISITOR.
UM, AND LIKE MICHELLE MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, THIS WAS A NUMBER THAT REALLY STUCK OUT TO ME IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT ONLY 33% OF OUR VISITORS ARE OVERNIGHT STAYS.
AND THAT IS NOT THE VISITORS THAT ARE GONNA DO THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, RENT OUR JEEPS, AND, YOU KNOW.
WE'RE NOT DAY, WE'RE NOT A DAY TRIP BUSINESS.
SO, IF YOU DON'T MIND NEED, IS THAT, IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, I KNOW YOU DO FOUR HOUR AND EIGHT HOUR RENTALS.
IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE? WE REALLY DON'T PROMOTE THAT.
OCCASIONALLY WE'LL OFFER, UM, YEAH.
BUT LIKE, AS FAR AS WHAT WE MARKET, WE MARKET, YOU KNOW, THE MINIMUM THAT WE MARKET IS A, A 24 HOUR RENTAL.
YOU KNOW, AND WE, WE, MOST OF OUR, OUR CUSTOMER BASE, OUR LONGTIME CUSTOMER BASE, OUR MULTIPLE DAY RENTERS, THREE DAYS, SEVEN DAYS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING THE WHOLE SOUTHWEST, NOT JUST SEDONA.
SO, BUT OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT REALLY COMING THESE DAYS, SO.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION, PLEASE? YEAH.
IS THIS NINA? I'M NOT SURE WHO.
UH, NINA, WHAT IS THE, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT BETWEEN 21 AND 22.
WHAT ABOUT PRE COVID NUMBERS? UM, SO, AND, UH, SO WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD SOME CHANGES AS WELL THAT AFFECT, UM, LIKE OUR PRE COVID NUMBERS.
UH, SO WE USED TO DO QUITE A FEW, UH, CORPORATE GROUPS HERE, YOU KNOW, TEAM BUILDING EVENTS AND RETREATS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AS, UM, TRAILS HAVE BECOME MORE CROWDED, PARTICULARLY OUR MOTORIZED TRAILS, WE HAVE CHOSEN FOR, UH, BASED ON THE QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE THAT WE WANT OUR CUSTOMERS TO HAVE, WE HAVE CHOSEN TO MINIMIZE THOSE BECAUSE WE DON'T FEEL IT'S RESPONSIBLE OR A QUALITY EXPERIENCE TO SEND FIVE OR SIX OF OUR JEEPS OUT IN A GROUP ON ANY TRAIL IN SEDONA ANYMORE, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL, UM, THEY'RE ALL SO CROWDED.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE CHA YOU KNOW, SO THAT, THAT IS BUSINESS THAT WE NO LONGER HAVE.
WE USED TO PUT UP SOME REALLY BIG NUMBERS BASED ON, UM, ON THAT.
2020 IS WHEN WE STARTED GOING TO THE, YOU KNOW, TWO OR THREE JEEP PARTY LIMITATIONS AND TURNING AWAY A LOT OF THOSE BIG, UH, CORPORATE EVENTS.
WE, WE TRY TO REDIRECT THEM TO SOME OF OUR OTHER LOCATIONS LIKE MOAB, UTAH, THAT CAN ACCOMMODATE THOSE SORTS OF NUMBERS ON TRAILS.
I JUST WANTED, SO WHEN YOU TALKED EARLIER ABOUT PE PEOPLE, ACTUALLY, A PORTION OF YOUR BUSINESS IS PEOPLE COMING HERE AND RENTING, SAY, A JEEP FOR FIVE DAYS AND THEN THEY LEAVE SEDONA AND THEY, OKAY.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS JUST DAY RENTAL STUFF.
BUT YOU DO THE, THE MAJORITY OF IT IS DAY RENTAL.
THEY'LL, THEY'LL PICK UP THE JEEP FOR 25.
THE MAJORITY OF IT IS STILL YOUR DAY RENTAL.
SO, NINA, I I, YOU GAVE ME SOME STATS YESTERDAY AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
AND I'M JUST CONCERNED THERE'S A REALLY HIGH NUMBER FOR AUGUST FROM 2021 TO 2022 OF A, OF A DROP OF 54%.
IS THAT ACCURATE? THAT IS ACCURATE.
AUGUST OF THIS YEAR WAS THE WORST YEAR WE'VE EVER HAD, UH, SINCE BEING IN BUSINESS SINCE 2009 AT THE JEEP RENTAL STORE HERE.
AND DOES THAT, I MEAN, CAN YOU COME UP WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN LACK OF CUSTOMERS COME IN? IS THERE ANY REASON FUEL, I MEAN, FUEL WAS HIGH, BUT IT WAS COMING BACK DOWN AROUND AUGUST, BUT CAN YOU, YEAH, I THINK, UM, WHAT'S INTERESTING IS, UM, WHEN WE LOOK BACK AT OUR NUMBERS, OUR OVERALL NUMBERS, NOT JUST THE SEDONA NUMBERS, BUT ELECTION YEARS, EVEN NUMBERED YEARS, ARE ALWAYS A LITTLE LOWER
AND CONGRATULATIONS, ALL OF YOU THAT ARE STILL STANDING
UM, BUT, UM, UH, SO THE, UH, I THINK IT'S A NUMBER OF FACTORS.
I THINK IT'S, UM, WE DON'T HAVE, OUR INTERNATIONAL VISITORS ARE QUITE COMING BACK YET.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE, AND IT'S EVEN TOUGHER FOR US TRYING TO DEAL WITH AUTO INSURANCE SITUATIONS.
WE DON'T HAVE, UM, UH, THE CONSUMER CONFIDENCE.
THEY'RE NOT DRIVING, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY, UM, WELL, A LOT OF OUR BUSINESS COMES FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND I DON'T THINK WE'RE SEEING QUITE AS MUCH OF THAT WHEN GAS IS $7 A GALLON IN CALIFORNIA, IT'S LOWER HERE, IT'S LOWER HERE, BUT THEY GOTTA LEAVE THEIR HOUSE WITH A FULL TAKE OF GAS TO GET HERE.
AND, UM, UM, AND YEAH, JUST CONFIDENCE IN THE ECONOMY, I THINK PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR, THEIR JOBS AND WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
SO EVERYBODY'S TIGHTENING THEIR BELTS A LITTLE BIT.
AND THEN IN MAY OF THIS SAME TWO
[01:10:01]
YEARS MM-HMM.SAME REASONS OR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, I THINK.
AND I COULD, UM, WE'D HAVE TO LOOK BACK, BUT I, I THINK LOOKING BACK IN MAY, IT WAS LIKE THAT WAS WHEN THE GAS PRICES REALLY KIND SPIKED, AND IT JUST, I THOUGHT SURE.
EVERYBODY WAS JUST LIKE, OH, WE'LL JUST STAY HOME AND WAIT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANSWER, UNLESS THERE'S ANY OTHERS.
TO ADD TO THAT, I, I WAS ABLE TO JUST PULL UP SOME OF THE INPUT THAT WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING FROM OUR GALLERIES TO, TO YOUR POINT, VICE MAYOR.
UM, AND I, I WON'T CALL OUT WHO IT, WHO IT WAS, BUT THERE WAS AN INQUIRY, YOU KNOW, AMONGST THE GALLERY MANAGERS AND OWNERS, HOW THEIR BUSINESS HAS BEEN.
AND, UM, A COUPLE OF THEM SAID THAT THEY HAD THE WORST OCTOBER SINCE 2009.
FOR OCTOBER, THEIR FOOT TRAFFIC WAS DOWN 19% FROM 2020 AND DOWN 34% FROM 2021 SALES DOWN 60% AND 78% ALSO RESPECT RESPECTIVELY.
AND THEY, THEY'RE GIVING THE SAME KIND OF REASONS.
FUEL, YOU KNOW, UH, TRAVEL, GAS OR WHATEVER.
I DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, I, I DIDN'T ASK SPECIFICALLY.
UM, BUT I CAN, BUT YEAH, THEY'RE JUST, THEY'RE JUST SEEING DOWN, DOWN TRAFFIC IN SALES.
AND I'VE BEEN HEARING THAT FROM SOME OTHERS, BUT, UM, I ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE THE, THE SURVEY WHEN I SAW THAT EMAIL.
SO I'LL GET THAT THE SURVEY RESULTS BACK OUT TO YOU JUST SO THAT YOU HAVE SOME.
WHAT ABOUT THE RESTAURANTS? UH, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT'S, DURING THE COVID WE HAD A LOT OF ISSUES WHERE PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING THEY COULDN'T GET INTO THEIR FAVORITE RESTAURANT.
WELL, NOW YOU'VE SEEN THAT YOU CAN GET INTO YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT AND NOW THEY MAY NOT EVEN BE OPEN ANYMORE.
UH, BUT ARE YOU STILL SEEING THAT SAME TREND CONTINUING WITH THE RESTAURANTS AS WELL? I MEAN, I, I TALKED TO VNO DE SEDONA OFTEN, AND I HEAR THAT THERE'S PROBLEMS THERE, BUT SOME OF THE OTHER RESTAURANTS OF AROUND TAN ARE DOING BETTER.
SO IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF COMPARISON TO SHOW THAT THIS IS A CITYWIDE ISSUE.
I'M HEARING WHAT, WHAT YOU ARE STATING IT IS A LITTLE BIT VARIED, UM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO TRY TO GET TO NAIL DOWN SOME, SOME DATA ON IT WOULD HELP.
I THINK YOUR QUESTIONS ARE WONDERFUL.
I THINK YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT DIFFERENT BUSINESSES, DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, RESTAURANTS, THAT'S THE WAY BUSINESS WORKS.
COMPETITION MIGHT CREATE MORE BUSINESS FOR ONE BUSINESS.
THEY MIGHT SAY THINGS ARE FANTASTIC FOR ME.
I'M FORTUNATE THE WILD, I'M NOT SEEING DECLINES IN OCCUPANCY.
I'M NOT SEEING, BUT WE'RE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT HOTEL.
WE'RE NOT TO SIT ON A ROUGE ANYMORE.
BUT I, I DO KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF RESTAURANTS THAT HAVE GONE FROM ONE AND A HALF YEARS AGO, NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND EMPLOYEES CLOSING.
MULTIPLE DAYS A WEEK TO NOW WE'RE TRYING TO STAY OPEN, WE DON'T HAVE CUSTOMERS AND WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP OUR PEOPLE BUSY.
I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE THE DATA, MICHELLE, ON WHAT AN ACTUAL OVERNIGHT VISITOR SPENDS PER DAY.
BUT IN OUR MARKET, THERE'S 90,000 AVAILABLE HOTEL ROOMS TO SELL IN A MONTH.
IF WE DO A 10% DECLINE, THAT'S 9,000 HOTEL ROOMS. ONE AND A HALF PEOPLE ON AVERAGE PER ROOM IS 15, 16,000 PEOPLE.
NOT HERE, NOT GOING INTO THE MARKET AND SPENDING IN ALL THESE LITTLE SHOPS.
I WAS THERE THE OTHER DAY AND THE OWNER ASKED ME, YEP.
YOU KNOW, SHE ASKED ME, WHEN IS TOURISM COMING BACK? I'M DYING HERE.
AND I WAS LIKE, HOW IS TOURISM AFFECTING YOU? SHE GOES, I DON'T.
ISN'T LOCALS WASHING THEIR CLOTHES HERE? NO, IT'S TOURISTS.
AND SHE'S VERY, VERY CONCERNED OF HER FUTURE.
I HAVE A SORT OF A CLARIFICATION QUESTION.
WHAT I'M HEARING FROM WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING IS THAT THE PROBLEM THAT, THAT YOU'RE SEEING IS A LACK OF, OF OVERNIGHT VISITORS.
UM, THAT YOU'RE, THAT A LOT OF THE BUSINESSES SEEM TO BE AFFECTED BY THE, BY THE PREPONDERANCE OF DAY VISITORS.
AND I HEARD ABOUT, I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT I HEARD FROM NINA ABOUT THE JEEPS AND I, I THINK FROM THE LAUNDRY LADY, CUZ I KNOW WHEN I GO LONG, I, I USE THEIR LOCAL LAUNDROMATS WHEN I TRAVEL.
SO, UM, I'M BEGINNING, I'M SORT OF HEARING THAT AS A THEME.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, THAT IS ACCURATE OR AM I JUST SORT OF OFF THE MARK THERE? NOT, NOT FROM BACK THERE.
STEVE
DID YOU BUT ARE YOU FINISHED? I AM FINISHED, YEAH.
UM, PULL THE MIC DOWN A LITTLE BIT BIT.
STEVE EGNER, UM, SONOMA LOGIC COUNCIL.
[01:15:01]
HPC AND I'M ALSO A TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONER.WHAT I'M SEEING HERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF MICROMANAGING.
WE'RE LOOKING, SHOULD THE CITY COME IN AT LOW SEASONS AND MARKET OR HIGH SEASONS AND MARKET? WHEN THE CITY, WHEN THE CITY, UH, SAYS ITS JOB IS TO SUPPORT TOURISM AND MERCHANTS IN THE CITY, IT'S IN THE COMMUNITY PLAN.
WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS JUST SUPPORT ON A LONG TERM BASIS.
I CAN READ IT TO YOU IF YOU LIKE.
UM, LET ME JUST PULL IT UP AND IT SAYS HERE, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THE TOURIST BASED ECONOMY SECTOR, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE.
WE'RE NOT LAST ASKING FOR HELP IN A LOW SEASON, OR DO WE HAVE TO JUSTIFY HELP? WE'RE ASKING FOR SUSTAINABLE MARKETING LIKE WE TRIED TO DO.
I HAVEN'T ABSOLUTELY HEARD ANY ASK.
NO, WAIT, THE, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE ONLY PART WAY THROUGH THE PRESENTATION TOO.
SO WHEN I SAY ASK, WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY OUTSIDE MARKETING FOR ALMOST FOUR AND A HALF YEARS.
THE HOTELS ARE ASKING ME WHY DO WE PAY A HOTEL TAX IF WE CAN'T MARKET? WE NEED, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, SUSTAINABLE MARKETING TO BRING PEOPLE TO HOTELS.
WHEN OUR OCCUPANCY DROPS 50% FROM APRIL TO AUGUST, THAT MEANS THERE'S 50% LESS PEOPLE UPTOWN SHOPPING.
THAT'S WHAT'S AFFECTING EVERYBODY.
WE NEED TO KEEP THE HOTEL ROOMS FULL AND IT TRICKLES DOWN.
WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS TO LET US MARKET FULL TIME AGAIN THE WAY WE USED TO WHEN WE PUT IN THE BED TAX.
I'M SORRY, I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR.
IS THAT YOUR POSITION AS LODGING COUNCIL OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S COMING FROM THE CHAMBER? BECAUSE THEY ARE TO, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY OVERLAP.
I'M SPEAKING FROM A LODGING COUNCIL.
WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY MARKETING FOR ALMOST FOUR YEARS.
UM, WE COME BACK EVERY YEAR AND WE, WE HAVEN'T GOT IT.
WE JUST ASK YOU TO LOOK AT IT AND GET BACK TO LONG TERM SUSTAINABLE FOR THE RIGHT TIME.
A CLIENT, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, I MEAN THE, UH, CHAMBER KNOW THE CLIENT.
WE'RE JUST ASKING YOU TO FREE THEM UP TO DO IT.
UH, YOU MENTIONED STEVE, THAT YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO ANY MARKETING.
DO DO, DO YOU MEAN THAT THE HOTELS THEMSELVES DO NO MARKETING REGARDLESS? DOES HOTELS MARKET THEIR OWN PRODUCT? BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF GOING TO NEW YORK CITY AND SAY, COME TO SEDONA.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE DEPEND THE CITY AND THE CHAMBER TO DO.
AND WE HAVE NOT BEEN DOING THAT FOR ALMOST FOUR YEARS.
WE HAVE EVERY CITY AROUND US RIGHT NOW MARKETING SAYING COME TO, UH, A NEW, UH, NEW YORK, COME TO UM, PALM SPRINGS, COME TO SANTA BARBARA.
WE HAVE A HUGE COMPETITION WITH PALM SPRINGS RIGHT NOW.
ALL WE'RE ASKING IS THAT WHEN WE AGREED TO RAISE THE BED TAX A HALF A CENT, OUR UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT IT WOULD GO TO OUTREACH MARKETING THAT HAS BEEN STOPPED FOR FOUR AND A HALF YEARS.
I DON'T WANNA SEE THIS IDEA OF, WELL WE SHOULD MARKET IN APRIL OR WE SHOULD MARKET IN MARCH.
WE NEED A SUSTAINABLE STORY TOLD ABOUT SEDONA ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AND ISN'T IT USUALLY IN THE NEEDS SEASONS ONLY? NO, WE DON'T WANT, NOT THE NEEDS.
WE THINK NEEDS IS PROBABLY NOT A GOOD WAY TO MARKET, FRANKLY.
IT YOU START AND STOP AND START AND STOP.
WE'D LIKE TO SEE THE MONEY GOING 12 MONTHS A YEAR.
WELL THAT IS A CHANGE I THINK.
NOT REALLY BECAUSE WE'VE HAD THE NEEDS MARKETING MONEY, BUT WE'VE NEVER SPENT IT.
IT'S BEEN HELD FOR FOUR YEARS.
I HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG, KAREN? I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS FOUR YEARS.
IT WAS FEBRUARY OF 2021 THAT WE STOPPED MARKETING.
ALTHOUGH EVEN THAT SIX MONTHS OR SO THAT WE WERE DURING THE PANDEMIC, IT WAS ALL ABOUT MASKING UP.
SO IT'S NOT DESTINATION MARKETING.
WE HAD, WE HAD NEEDS MARKETING IN AUGUST AND, AND IT WAS STOPPED.
WE WERE GONNA DO BILLBOARDS IN PHOENIX.
SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS WAS THAT IN 21? THAT WAS IN 19.
YOU'RE SAYING 1921 WAS THE LAST TIME WE MARKETED IN LA AND IN PHOENIX WHEN WAS, UM, WINTER OF 2021.
BUT AGAIN, IT WAS VERY COVID CENTRIC, YOU KNOW? MM-HMM.
SO IT WAS ALL ABOUT KEEPING YOUR DISTANCE AND MASKING UP.
ALL, ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT WE, IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER SEVEN, IT SAYS PRESERVE AND ENHANCE SEDONAS TOURIST BASED ECONOMY SECTOR.
[01:20:01]
UNDERSTANDING THAT, THAT ONE OF THE FOCUS AREAS WAS TO NEEDS PERIODS WHEN THINGS WERE LOW AND TO BRING IN THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD STAY OVERNIGHT AND STAY LONGER AND SPEND MORE MONEY BECAUSE THEY SPEND THREE OR FOUR TIMES WHAT THE DAY TRIPPER WOULD DO.NOT THAT WE BELITTLE THE DAY TRIPLE, WE LOVE THEIR BUSINESS AS WELL.
BUT I GUESS THE QUESTION I'D HAVE IS, ARE WE ABLE TO REALLY MEASURE THAT METRIC TO SEE IF WE, THAT EFFORT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
AND I KNOW WE SAID WE SAW SOME BUMP IN OF A FEW PERCENTAGE POINTS, TWO, 3% PERHAPS MM-HMM.
UH, WHAT I'M HEARING IN THE COMMENTS TODAY ARE WE NEED PEOPLE THAT ARE INSULATED FROM INFLATION AND HAVE THE MONEY TO SPEND, WE NEED THE PEOPLE THAT SPEND A LOT OF MONEY AND IT DOESN'T BOTHER THEM IF THERE'S INFLATION BECAUSE THEY CAN COME UP AND THEY NEED TO FILL THE NEEDS THAT THE OTHER PEOPLE ARE SLOWING DOWN ON RIGHT NOW THAT ARE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR JOBS, ET CETERA.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE FOCUS PROBABLY WOULD NEED TO BE.
UM, IF MARKETING WERE TO START UP AGAIN.
AND THEN I WOULD SAY, WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE WE NEED TO MARKET PEOPLE MAKING OVER 150,000 A YEAR AND, AND MAKE FOUR TRIPS A YEAR, WHATEVER THAT THOSE DEMOGRAPHICS ARE.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE GOT THAT IN THERE SOMEWHERE.
I MEAN TOO, AND, AND THANK I APPRECIATE THE BUSINESS IS COMING UP BECAUSE WE, WE KNOW THAT YOU WANNA HEAR FROM THEM.
AND, AND SO I'M GRATEFUL THAT THEIR INPUT HAS BEEN PART OF THIS DISCUSSION TODAY.
WELL, MY CONCERN IS WE JUST START ADVERTISING AGAIN AND NOBODY COMES BECAUSE NOBODY'S TRAVELING DURING THIS WEIRD TIME OF INFLATION.
HIGH GAS PRICES OR WHATEVER THAT IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME, DOESN'T WORK.
YOU NEED TO ADDRESS THE MARKET OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT IF YOU BUILD REALLY GOOD STUFF, THE GOOD PEOPLE WILL COME THAT WE NEED.
I MEAN, I DUNNO WHAT THE ANSWER IS, RIGHT? BUT I THINK WE NEED TO DISCUSS THAT IN OUR OVERALL CONSIDERATION COUNSELOR.
I THINK YES, WE DO NEED THOSE PEOPLE, BUT THAT DOESN'T HELP THE MOTEL OWNER, THE SMALL IN OWNER.
IT DOESN'T DO BUSINESS IN THAT DEMOGRAPHIC.
IT DOESN'T HELP THE HOTDOG STAND PERSON WHO DOESN'T DO BUSINESS WITH THAT DEMOGRAPHIC.
SO IT'S SUPER DIVERSE, LIKE THE TOWN'S DIVERSE.
SO IT MAKES IT REALLY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHO TO MARK TO.
I DON'T WANNA GO AGAINST WHAT YOU'VE SAID, STEVE.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE MARKETED, AND IT WAS IN 2021, TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO BEHAVE WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
I HEARD TOURISM BE CALLED A PROBLEM TODAY.
IT SAID THE TOURISM ISSUE IS WHAT I HEARD.
AND WE'VE SOMEHOW DIVIDED SEDONA BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND TOURISTS AND WE'VE ALLOWED THAT TO HAPPEN.
AND I THINK BUSINESS NEEDS TO STEP UP.
CAUSE I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO YOU GUYS, MICHELLE, TO THE CITY MANAGER AND YOUR STAFF THAT ONLY THE LODGING PEOPLE SHOW UP.
SO WE, WE'LL TRY TO BE BETTER CONSTITUENTS.
I THINK WE HAVE TO PARTICIPATE.
THAT'S WHY I REACHED OUT TO NINA.
BUT BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE SMALLER BUSINESSES AND, AND YOU KNOW, MID-AGE BUS BUSINESSES, WE DON'T HEAR FROM THEM.
BUT YEAH, SAME THING UP THERE.
THEY'RE HURTING AND SOME OF THEM DON'T HAVE THE TOOLS AND RESOURCES AS THE CAPABILITY TO SPEAK UP.
SO WE NEED TO CREATE FORUMS WHERE WE'LL TRY TO REPRESENT THEM IF WE CAN, BUT THEN WE ALSO HAVE EMAILS ACCESS.
BUT IT'S, UM, I JUST LIKE US TO SEE OUR MESSAGING.
WE'RE JUST TELLING A STORY OF RECREATE AND TOUR THE WAY WE WANT YOU TO TOUR OR DON'T COME HERE.
I HEARD OF FIREWORKS LAW POINTED RIGHT.
SO THESE PEOPLE BEHAVE WELL, THERE'S PROBABLY RESIDENTS THAT BLOW OFF FIREWORKS AND DO THINGS.
SO LET'S PUT THE MESSAGING AT THEIR HOUSE TOO.
MY HOUSE AND TELL ME DON'T DO IT CAUSE I DO IT.
BUT WE HAVE A WAY TO REACH THOSE RESIDENTS AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE A WAY TO REACH THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE STR AND THAT WAS THE POINT THAT WAS UNDER DISCUSSION.
BUT WE GOTTA LOOK AT IT BOTH WAYS.
AND I THINK I'D LIKE US TO JUST CHANGE OUR, THE WAY WE'RE PERCEIVING THINGS AND SEEING THINGS TO BE TOURISM AND RESIDENTS.
THEY'RE KIND OF EQUAL AND THE SAME.
MANY OF US WERE TOURISTS FIRST AND THEN MOVED HERE.
AND TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE BEFORE WE LIVED, WHEN WE GOT HERE, THEY WERE LIKE, GET OUTTA HERE.
SO THERE'S NO EASY ANSWER, BUT I THINK WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
UH, BUT I, BUT I THINK THIS IS A REALLY INTERESTING POINT.
THIS SLIDE HERE, THE COMPETITIVE DESTINATIONS, I MEAN IT'S, IT BEHOOVES ALL OF US TO LOOK TO SEE WHAT OUR COMPETITIVE SET, MEANING THOSE WHO ARE SIMILAR IN OFFERINGS SIZE AND WHATNOT, HOW THEY'RE DOING.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK, THIS IS FY 23 OCCUPANCY WITH A PERCENT CHANGE FROM FY 22.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE AVERAGE DESTINATION, WELL YOU DON'T SEE THIS PART, BUT THE AVERAGE DESTINATION IN MY RESEARCH IS, IS IN THE US GREW ITS OCCUPANCY PERFORMANCE IN FY 23 BY ALMOST 3% OVER LAST YEAR'S LEVELS.
[01:25:01]
ACTUALLY DOWN 9%.YOU KNOW, WE'RE PERFORMING ALMOST 12 POINTS BELOW THE AVERAGE DESTINATION.
WE'RE ACTUALLY PERFORMING 5.9 POINTS WORSE THAN SCOTTSDALE.
AND WE'VE ALWAYS DONE REALLY WELL COMPARED TO SCOTTSDALE.
NOW SCOTTSDALE'S NOT OUR SIZE, BUT WE'VE ALWAYS CONCLUDED THEM IN OUR COMPETITIVE SET BECAUSE OF PROXIMITY AND ALSO ATTRACTING THAT AFFLUENT BUYER OR THAT AFFLUENT TRAVELER.
SO I THINK THIS IS A GOOD THING TO, UM, TO TAKE A LOOK AT AND TO REALLY KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, SEDONA IS A LEISURE DRIVEN MARKET.
AND I MEAN, WE REALLY ARE TRAILING BEHIND IN TERMS OF OCCUPANCY WHERE COMPARED TO OUR COMPETITIVE SET.
AND I JUST WORRY ABOUT THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF THAT BECAUSE IT IS VERY HARD TO GET BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE WHEN YOU DROP OUTTA MARKETING FOR AS LONG AS WE HAVE, WHETHER IT'S TWO AND A HALF YEARS OR FOUR YEARS.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, SEEING A LOT OF KIND OF AGGRESSIVE OFFERS FROM DIFFERENT DESTINATION SANTA BARBARAS IN OUR COMPETITIVE SET.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, JUST EVEN ON A BASIC LEVEL OF JUST SOCIAL ADVERTISING, I MEAN, HERE IS A CLUSTER OF OUR COMPETITIVE SET, UH, DESTINATIONS ALSO MAKING SURE THEY'RE OUT THERE AND THEY'RE, THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM SAYING, OH, SEDONAS NOT MARKETING.
WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE THEIR SHARE.
UM, SO THEY'RE COMING OUT THE GATE HEAVY AND HARD WHILE WE'VE BEEN OUT OF THE PICTURE FOR A WHILE.
AND SO THE ONLY THING I WOULD LIKE TO JUST KINDA LEAVE YOU WITH AND THEN A AND THEN A AND THEN A QUESTION FOR YOU IS, YOU KNOW, WITH WHAT WE'VE HEARD TODAY AND KIND OF ALSO KNOWING WHERE WE'VE BEEN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND SEEING SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE'VE HAD WITH O H V USAGE AND SOME OF THE PERCEPTION OF SEDONA AND WHAT IT OFFERS A VISITOR, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DEFINE WHO WE ARE AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ATTRACT THE RIGHT PEOPLE HERE THAT ARE GONNA TREAT US WELL.
THEY'RE GONNA STAY LONGER, SPEND MORE.
AND, UM, WE CAN'T DO THAT IF WE'RE NOT THERE.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO JUST ASK THAT WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU IN JANUARY, UH, WHEN WE MEET AGAIN AT OUR JOINT WORK SESSION, YOU KNOW, AND PRESENT SOME CONCEPTS AND SOME REALLY INTELLIGENT STRATEGY AND TARGETING, UM, NOTIONS TO GET BACK OUT THERE.
BUT WE WANTED TO ASK THAT OF YOU TODAY TO SEE IF YOU WERE OPEN TO THAT.
WE'VE BEEN KIND OF IN INFORMAL MODE.
SO LET'S GO BACK TO CALLING ON PEOPLE.
THANK YOU MANIR, MICHELLE, WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
OHV COMPANY ARE DEFINING WHO WE ARE.
HOW IS, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? PROBABLY NOT VERY GOOD.
I KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT I WANT THE PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND RIGHT.
WHAT THAT ANSWER IS AND WHY WE, MAYBE THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE HAVING SUCH A PROBLEM IN THE FOREST.
SO CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT FOR ME? YEAH, HAPPY TO.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WILL ONLY REMEMBER WHAT THEY LAST SAW OR HEARD.
SO IF ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE IS SHOWING SHREDDING UP THE LAND, THAT'S WHAT THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND CONSTITUENTS AND PARTNERS AND ET CETERA ARE GOING TO SEE.
AND THAT'S WHAT THEY THINK THEY DO WHEN THEY COME UP TO SEDONA.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A PROPONENT AND I UNDERSTOOD THE REASON FOR THE PAUSE INITIALLY, BUT I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A PROPONENT OF NEEDING TO STAY AT THE TABLE BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO DEFINE AND, AND GIVE EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE ARE AND WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE EXPECT AND WHO WE WANNA BRING UP TO JUST WALK AWAY AND SAY THAT WE DON'T EXIST IS, IS A SCARY, YOU KNOW, NOTION.
AND I, AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND THE ORIGINAL INTENT, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO GET BACK OUT THERE AND DEFINE OURSELVES BECAUSE IF WE DON'T, SOMEONE ELSE WILL.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
I THINK I'M GETTING A GOOD UNDERSTANDING, BUT IT'S MORE THAN THE OHV COMPANIES.
DO YOU HAVE HAVE ANY OTHER EXAMPLES OF, UH, EITHER ORGANIZATIONS OR COMPANIES THAT ARE JUST ADVERTISING AND SETTING OUR BRAND MM-HMM.
I MEAN, I THINK A LOT OF, A LOT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IS SHOWING THAT CA YOU KNOW, SHOWCASING SEDONA AS JUST THAT WHEN THEY'RE NOT ILLUSTRATING THE VALUE OF, OF SHOPPING IN OUR GALLERIES AND STAYING LO STAYING LONGER AND STAYING OVERNIGHT AND EATING IN OUR FINE ESTABLISHMENTS.
AND I MEAN, IT'S, WE'RE MORE THAN JUST THE BEAUTY.
I MEAN, WE HAVE, WE HAVE INCREDIBLE AMENITIES FOR SUCH A SMALL TOWN.
AND I DON'T THINK OUR SOCIAL, YOU KNOW, ANY OF THOSE ORGANIC POSTS OFTEN SHOW THAT IT'S MORE OF A SELFIE CENTRAL THING.
AND SOMETHING THAT, UH, STEVE EGNER SAID A FEW MINUTES AGO ABOUT BILLBOARDS WHO HAD BILLBOARDS, WE ELIMINATED BILLBOARDS.
THE OHV COMPANIES HAVE NOW BILLBOARDS DOING EXACTLY WHAT WE DIDN'T WANNA DO,
[01:30:01]
IF I'M UNDERSTANDING.AND IT'S, WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS REALLY DETRIMENTAL TO OUR CITY.
I DON'T, I WISH I HAD A VISUAL, BUT I DON'T, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO BRING THAT TO THE, THE JOINT WORK SESSION.
BUT, UM, BUT AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE IT'S, IT'S JUST NOT REALLY HOW WE WANNA BE PERCEIVED.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, TO YOUR POINT, IF WE'RE NOT AT THE TABLE AND WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT PRESENT IN THE MARKETPLACE, PORTRAY THE SEDONA, WE BELIEVE WE ARE, SOMEONE ELSE WILL DO IT FOR US INCORRECTLY.
AND I REMEMBER I ATTENDED, WHAT'S THAT NEW ORGANIZATION FOR? OHVS? THE ROCK GROUP.
UH, WE HAD A MEETING AT, UM, WHERE WERE WE AT THE CHAMBER OFFICE? NO, UM, THE AIRPORT.
AND THEY SHOWED A VIDEO OF WHAT OT COMPANIES WERE ADVERTISING FOR US AND IT REALLY WAS RIPPING UP THE CITY, RIGHT.
SO IT WOULD BE GOOD TO SEE OTHER EXAMPLES OF POOR ADVERTISING AND POOR BRANDING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING, UH, ALL OF US HERE ON THE DAY, THE ISSUES WITH OHVS FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT STUDY.
AND YET HERE'S THE COMPANY, UH, I'M NOT GONNA SAY THAT THE MANUFACTURER'S NAME
UH, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MM-HMM.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING NEW THAT I NEVER HEARD OF BEFORE UNTIL I WENT TO THAT MEETING.
I NEVER KNEW THAT, THAT THAT WAS EVEN HAPPENING.
SO JUST SOMETHING I WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT VERY MANY VARIABLES IN THIS WHOLE THING THAT MAKE IT HARD TO KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT THING IS TO DO.
UH, IT'S INTERESTING, I THINK THAT YOU TALK ABOUT ADVERTISING AND BILLBOARDS IN PHOENIX, AND YET WHAT I HEARD WAS WE NEED TO ADVERTISE IN NEW YORK.
SO, UM, WE, WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL HOW WE HAVE IT.
AND THE REASON I MENTIONED BEFORE THAT WE TRY AND GET HIGHER QUALITY, LONGER STAYING PEOPLE IS BECAUSE SOMEONE WHO IS SPEAKING EARLIER SAID IT'S A TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT FROM THOSE PEOPLE THAT STAY, THAT GO BUY THAT HOTDOG, THAT GO BUY THAT POPCORN THAT DO THOSE THINGS.
BUT I GUESS THE QUESTION I HAVE IS, UH, UH, THE REASON THAT THE RESIDENTS AND THE TOURISM CON CONFLICT SEEMS TO BE THERE IS THE REASON THAT WE STOPPED ADVERTISING WAS BECAUSE OF INPUT FROM OUR RESIDENTS WHO SAID, STOP DOING IT
THE TRAFFIC'S TOO HIGH, WE'VE GOT TOO MANY TOURISTS.
AND THEN THINGS WERE EXACERBATED BY THE COVID PROBLEM.
RIGHT? AND NOW WE'RE SEEING A SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
C'S KIND OF SEEMED TO HAVE DROPPED OFF THE, THE EXCEPTIONAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WERE GETTING FROM THE PHOENIX AREA WITHOUT ADVERTISING AND FROM CALIFORNIA AND OTHER PLACES THAT WERE LOCKED DOWN THAT COULDN'T DO ANYTHING, CAME TO SEDONA.
AND WE BENEFITED FROM SOME OF THAT.
I DON'T BELIEVE THE CITY CAN HELP YOU COMPETE WHEN SOMEBODY IS IS SAYING, COME HERE AND YOU GET 25% OFF YOUR HOTEL COST.
THAT'S SOMETHING THE BUSINESSES ARE GONNA HAVE TO STEP UP TO, I THINK IF THEY WANT TO BE COMPETITIVE.
UH, SO THE ADVERTISING THERE IS PROBABLY NOT THE BEST WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
I DO LOOK AT THE 9% DROP THAT WE SHOW IN PHOENIX IN SEDONA COMPARED TO, SAY SCOTTSDALE HAD A 3% SHIFT, AND YET YOU LOOKED AT THE REV PAR SCREEN THAT WENT UP 70% IN ONE YEAR.
GRANTED IT WAS FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE HIGHEST POINT, UH, DURING COVID, WHICH WAS AN ANOMALY THAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA EXPECT TO SEE 70%, 30%, 20% A YEAR.
IN THE OVERALL THEME OF THAT SCREEN, IF YOU LOOKED AT IT, IT STARTED, IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS ZERO.
IT WAS AROUND THE THREE TO 4% THAT SEEMED TO BE KIND OF RIGHT.
AND IT DROPPED DOWN TO THAT KIND OF AT THE END.
IT, IT ALL COMES BACK TO, I THINK WHAT IS, HOW MANY TOURISTS ARE ENOUGH.
YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA GET THAT BALANCE BETWEEN THE RESIDENTS WHO WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO, BECAUSE SEDONA IS SEDONA AND THE TOWN OF SEDONA PEOPLE, UH, GRANTED TOURISM PLAYS A BIG PART IN OUR ECONOMY.
AND CERTAINLY IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA, YOU SHOWED 10% ROUGHLY OVERALL FOR THE STATE.
I DO SEE A CONCERN, I'D SEE A DROP OF 9%.
BUT MY QUESTION IS, IS THAT 9% FROM A 40% INCREASE THE YEAR BEFORE, I'M HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THE CONTEXT OF, UH, COMPARING ME TO OTHER PEOPLE THAT ONLY SAW IN CALIFORNIA A 0.3% DROP OR A SHIFT BECAUSE THEY WERE LOCKED DOWN AND COULDN'T SHIFT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
OR SANTA FE AND NEW MEXICO, WHICH WAS LOCKED DOWN.
I WENT TO SANTA FE MANY TIMES AND OTHER PLACES AND IT WAS A TERRIBLE PLACE TO BE CUZ NONE OF US DOORS WERE OPEN, THE RESTAURANTS WEREN'T OPEN BECAUSE THEIR GOVERNOR HAD LOCKED IT DOWN.
[01:35:01]
THE, THE, WHEN YOU SEE A 0.3% SHIFT, YOU HAVE TO PUT IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT WAS THE SHIFT BEFORE AND WHAT WERE THE OTHER THINGS THAT WERE MITIGATING OR CAUSING OTHER PROBLEMS. SO THOSE KINDS OF THINGS WOULD BE HELPFUL, UH, FOR ME IN THE, WELL, FOR HELPFUL FOR COUNSEL IN THE FUTURE.I WON'T BE HERE, BUT THE NEW COUNSELORS WHO WILL BE INSTALLED WILL BE WHEN YOU COME BACK IN JANUARY AND WANT TO GO OVER THOSE THINGS.
SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO HAVE THAT DATA AVAILABLE OVER A LONG TIME RATHER THAN ONE YEAR COMPARISON TO HISTORICAL COMPARISONS, BECAUSE IT'S A MUCH BETTER WAY TO LOOK AT IT IN TERMS OF WE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW MANY TOURISTS COME HERE FOR 10 YEARS.
I HEARD 3 MILLION PEOPLE COME HERE.
WELL WHY WASN'T IT 3.2 MILLION AND 3.7 MILLION, 4.1 MILLION? I'M NOT SURE HOW WE GET A HANDLE OF THAT.
IT'S AN AVERAGE, BUT THAT'S THE, HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WAS THE AVERAGE? HOW DO WE, AS I KNOW, THE ANNUAL, THE ANNUAL, UH, THE ANNUAL VISITATION.
AND SO YOU LOOK AT IT AND THEN I THINK THE COUNCIL WILL HAVE TO LOOK AT MM-HMM.
YOU KNOW? SO WE NEED HELP IN THAT AREA.
I AGREE WITH COUNSELOR LAMPKIN AND BECAUSE THAT'S ONE OF THE COUNSELORS WHO WILL BE HERE IN JANUARY WILLING.
UM, THAT'S THE INFORMATION I WANNA SEE.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE THESE PROJECTIONS ARE COMING FROM, WHAT THEY'RE BEING COMPARED TO.
AND I THINK WE'RE A LITTLE PREMATURE TO BE GETTING INTO IT TODAY BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THIS WAS A PRESENTATION ON THE WORK PROGRAM THAT WAS DIRECTED.
WE NEEDED TO KNOW THE SUCCESS OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON TOGETHER BEFORE WE EVEN GO INTO CHANGING SOMETHING IN AN ADDITIONAL QUOTE ASK.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S A LITTLE CART BEFORE THE HORSE, AND I THINK THAT THE DATA THAT WAS JUST REQUESTED IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE PART OF ANY CONVERSATION THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY IN THAT DIRECTION.
JESSICA? WELL, I THINK FROM MICHELLE'S POINT OF VIEW, IT MAY VERY WELL BE THAT SHE WANTS TO KNOW WHETHER IT'S WORTHWHILE TO COME IN JANUARY WITH THIS INFORMATION OPTIONAL.
NO, WITH THIS INFORMATION THAT SHE JUST SAID SHE WANTED TO BRING, OR WHETHER WE WERE SO TOTALLY OPPOSED TO ANY MARKETING THAT IT WASN'T WORTH HER WHILE.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S, IF SHE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT, I THINK IT'S WORTH US, US RESPONDING TO THAT.
I, I NEVER SAID WE WERE NEVER GONNA MARKET AGAIN.
THERE WAS THAT TIME, UM, IN 20 OR WHENEVER WE HAD SO MANY VISITORS THAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE SIMPLY COULD NOT ACTUALLY HANDLE IT.
UM, THAT TIME SEEMS TO HAVE PASSED, I THINK.
UM, I THINK THE SHREDDING UP THE LAND VIDEO AND THE SHREDDING UP THE LAND BILLBOARDS ARE GONNA BE THERE NO MATTER WHAT WE DO.
I THINK WE'RE NOT GONNA BE, IF WE GO OUT AND MARKET OURSELVES, IT DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE GOING TO STOP DOING THAT.
SO IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE A MIXED MESSAGE.
THE, THE BAD MARKETING GIFTS, AONA WILL ALWAYS CONTINUE.
UM, WE CAN, WE CAN OF COURSE ADD A DIFFERENT DEFINITION AND I'M, I'M PERFECTLY WILLING TO CONSIDER THAT TIMES HAVE CHANGED SUFFICIENTLY THAT IT IS TIME TO MARKET AGAIN.
I WOULD WANNA SEE THE INFORMATION THAT, THAT TOM MENTIONED, UM, THAT WOULD BE CRITICAL.
IF SOMETHING GOES UP 40% AND COMES DOWN FIVE, IS THAT A CRISIS?
YOU CAN'T REALLY COMPARE IT TO SEVEN YEARS AGO BECAUSE PRICES OF GOD INFLATION HAS GOT UP 30% SINCE THEN.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S NOT AN EASY THING.
UM, AND I THINK IT IS COMPLICATED BECAUSE OF SHORT TERM RENTALS.
WE HAVE A, A STOCK OF HOTEL ROOMS THAT WE MONITOR.
WE HAVE A STOCK OF OF A THOUSAND OTHER, UH, PROPERTIES THAT WE DON'T MARKET AS IT, IT'S OCCUPANCY, IT'S SUCCESS, IT'S AVERAGE DAILY RATE, ANY OF THAT.
BUT YET THOSE PEOPLE COME HERE AND THEY ARE TOURISTS AND THEY IMPACT OUR TOWN.
SO BECAUSE HOTEL OCCUPANTS AREN'T COMING IN THE NUMBERS THAT THEY USED TO, DOES NOT MEAN THAT OUR OVERALL BURDEN ON THE COMMUNITY FROM, FROM VISITORS IS BEING REDUCED BECAUSE IT MAY IN FACT BE TAKEN UP BY THE SHORT TERM RENTAL VISITORS.
AND IS OUR OBLIGATION, WHAT IS OUR OBLIGATION IN TERMS OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND THE NUMBER OF, OF VISITORS? I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALWAYS FACED WITH.
I, I THINK I APPRECIATE, I FORGET YOUR NAME, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT, ABOUT BUSINESSES.
I THINK BUSINESSES ARE A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY.
[01:40:01]
BEEN HEARING LATELY.WE SHOULD DO NOTHING FOR BUSINESSES.
WE SHOULD NEVER, EVER INVEST IN ANYTHING THAT HELPS BUSINESSES BECAUSE BUSINESSES ARE BAD.
I THINK THAT THE COUNCIL WOULD BE UNWISE TO BUY INTO THAT AS, AS A, AS A WAY TO DIRECT AND DECIDE POLICY BECAUSE THE BUSINESSES ARE PART OF OUR COMMUNITY.
WE STAND UP HERE DAY AFTER DAY AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR RESIDENTS, UM, TO SAY THAT RESIDENTS GET NOTHING AND WE DO EVERYTHING FOR BUSINESSES.
I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S A NARRATIVE THAT WE SHOULD ACCEPT OR BUY INTO.
AND, UH, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT AT LEAST ONE BUSINESS OWNER IS WILLING TO COME WHO SEEMS TO UNDERSTAND THE DYNAMIC AND BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN LACKING THAT.
UM, I WOULD BE PERFECTLY HAPPY TO HEAR FROM MICHELLE, UM, LAYING OUT WHATEVER IS HER BEST ARGUMENT.
UM, UNDERSTANDING THAT WE MAY NOT BUY IT
BUT I I CERTAINLY, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU THINK NEEDS TO BE DONE, I I JUST WILL HAVE, I JUST, I I MEAN I WILL DO THAT.
I JUST WANNA, AS A, AS AS JUST A NOTE, I HAVE NEVER, EVER ACTUALLY HEARD PEOPLE, BUSINESSES NOT WANT TO DESTINATION MARKET.
UM, IT COULD BE, IT COULD BE THE HIGHEST MARKET IN THE WORLD.
THEY COULD BE HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT FULL EVERY NIGHT, A THOUSAND DOLLARS A NIGHT ROOM AND THEY'LL STILL WANNA MARKET.
SO SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THAT EXPECTATION AND WHAT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO IS SOMETHING YOU'LL HAVE TO MAKE THAT CASE.
SO THAT'S MY ANSWER TO YOUR QU TO THE QUESTION OF WHY WE SHOULD DISCUSS IT NOW.
I WOULD BE WILLING TO HEAR THAT WHEN YOU COME AND TALK TO US IF YOU THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS A CASE THAT CAN BE MADE.
I'M GONNA CALL ON MYSELF NEXT AS I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
SO I, I THINK WE'VE HAD THE FIGURE WE'RE HEARING NOW FOR VISITORS, ANNUAL VISITORS, 3 MILLION, THREE AND A HALF MILLION LAST YEAR WAS THE HIGHEST I'VE SEEN OVER 10 YEARS AT 3.7.
AND WHERE DO YOU GET THAT NUMBER? IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A CONFIGURATION, A CALCULATION THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS.
IT'S, IT, IT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT, UM, ALL SORTS OF FACTORS.
I CAN, I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO, IT'S, IT'S VERY COMPLICATED
AND SO, UM, IT'S DEFINITELY IN GOOD APPLES TO APPLES TO APPLES, YOU KNOW, METHODOLOGY.
SO WE KNOW WE'RE CALCULATING IT SIMILARLY ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND I COULD, IF YOU'D LIKE, I CAN, I CAN SPEAK WITH YOU AND CAN LINE IT OUT SO IT'S REAL, REALLY CLEAR IN WRITING.
I JUST THINK MAYBE THAT WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO OTHERS.
I'M NOT GONNA BE HERE THAT MUCH LONGER, SO MM-HMM.
I AM IS, AND PART OF THE THING IS I'VE BEEN HERE 50 YEARS AND I SWEAR WHEN I CAME HERE 50 YEARS AGO, I HEARD IT WAS TWO TO 3 MILLION VISITORS, MAYBE EVEN FOUR.
50 YEARS AGO, HUH? SO THIS IS WHY I DON'T KNOW HOW WE COUNT DAY TRIPPERS OR, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW WE GET A GAUGE OF WHAT PART OF MY BELIEF IS, AND I, AND I SAY THIS PARTLY FROM MY EXPERIENCE IN 50 YEARS IN SEDONA AND WORKING FOR, UH, DOING SMALL ACCOUNTING, UH, SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING WITH A CPA FIRM FOR MANY YEARS, IS EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A BUSINESS, A CPA FIRM THAT ISN'T OSTENSIBLY A TOURIST BUSINESS, AND YOU COULD NAME LOTS OF OTHER BUSINESSES LIKE THAT, BUT MY, THAT BUSINESS IS IMPACTED BY TOURISM BECAUSE SOME OF OUR CLIENTS ARE IN THE TOURISM BUSINESS, RIGHT.
AND WE WOULDN'T HAVE THOSE CLIENTS IF THEY WEREN'T IN THE, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
SO, SO I THINK IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS IN THE NEXT ITEM, BUT, BUT IT IS DIFFICULT TO SEPARATE OUT TOURISM BUSINESSES FROM NON TOURISM BUSINESS.
CUZ I THINK THERE'S SOME IMPACT ON ALMOST EVERY BUSINESS IN THE CITY FROM TOURISTS.
UM, AND THEN, AND THEN JUST THE SHEER NUMBERS, CUZ AS I SAY OVER THE YEARS MM-HMM.
[01:45:01]
INTERESTED MM-HMM.UH, BUT, BUT YEAH, I THINK THAT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE A BONE OF CONTENTION.
AND, AND UH, AND I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE A TOURIST COMMUNITY AND WE ARE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON TOURISM MM-HMM.
AND THEN AS I SAY, IT'S, I THINK ALL BUSINESSES IN SEDONA AND THE VERDE VALLEY ARE IMPACTED BY IT IN, IN VARIOUS, UH, DEGREES IN WAYS.
SO, SO I THINK WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
AND THEN, AND THEN HOW WE COUNT THE DATE AGAIN, HOW WE DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DAY TRIP VISITORS AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WHO'S IN THE HOTELS AND I'M NOT SURE WHERE ARE WE WITH THE OTHER, UM, FIRM THAT YOU'RE EMPLOYING TO TRY AND TRACK VACATION RENTALS? I'M STILL TRYING TO GET TO CALL 'EM VACATION RENTALS.
I, I THINK I SKIPPED OVER THAT, UH, ON THE KEY DATA, KEY DATA IS THE, THE FIRM THAT WE'RE USING, WE'RE STILL AROUND 25% OF THE MARKET REFLECTED IN THAT KEY DATA RESEARCH.
AND THAT IS ON THE DOCKET FOR NEXT QUARTER TO REINSTATE THAT RECRUITMENT EFFORT TO GET MORE PARTICIPATION FROM THE STARS INTO THE KEY DATA PLATFORM.
SO WE HAVE A LARGER SAMPLE BECAUSE I, I THINK THERE IS, IT IS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT MARKET THAN HOTEL ROOMS AND IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO TO KNOW MM-HMM.
BUT, UM, IN THE MONTHLY REPORT, THE LODGING, THE LODGING PERFORMANCE REPORT AND THE BACK PAGES, IT DOES INCLUDE SHORT TERM RENTAL PERFORMANCE.
AND IT'S VERY, IT'S VERY SIMILAR ACTUALLY.
THEY, THEY, THEY SEE SIMILAR DIPS AND PEAKS AND WHATNOT, UM, ACROSS THE METRICS BECAUSE, BECAUSE WE DO THINK OF, AS DO THE HOTELS, I THINK WE DO THINK OF VACATION RENTALS IN SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
AND OUR INVENTORY HAS GONE UP NOW TO 1,029 AS OF THE END OF OCTOBER.
UH, I, I'VE GOT TO GET BACK TO WHERE WE ACTUALLY STARTED WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TRACKING THEM, BUT IT, IT'S GONE STEADILY UP.
WE'VE HAD VERY FEW TIMES WHEN IT DECREASED AND THERE WAS A PRETTY GOOD SIGNIFICANT JUMP IN OCTOBER, BUT IT'S, IT'S HIGH SEASON HERE.
SO YOU WOULD EXPECT THAT MARCH AND OCTOBER I THINK, OR MAYBE THE PEAK MONTHS.
BUT, UH, AND SO IT IS INTERESTING BECAUSE YOU DO THINK MM-HMM
OR IF YOU'VE GOT KIDS, ESPECIALLY, I THINK IT'S EASIER TO DEAL WITH KIDS IN A HOUSE THAN IN A HOTEL ROOM.
UH, AND, AND PROBABLY LESS EXPENSIVE CUZ YOU CAN GO TO THE GROCERY STORE AND GET STUFF AND COOK.
BUT, UH, SO IT, IT'S JUST INTERESTING TO TRACK THAT MARKET AND, AND I, I'LL BE INTERESTED TO, TO KEEP, KEEP IN TOUCH WITH HOW THAT'S GOING.
UM, SO I DO HAVE SOME CARDS AND I THINK THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC.
I'VE GOT SIX AND, UH, NINAS ALREADY SPOKEN, SO MAYBE SHE WON'T HAVE ANY MORE TO SAY, BUT MAYBE SHE WILL AND SHE'S WELCOME TO.
SO
SO THE RULES ARE AS THEY ALWAYS ARE, START WITH YOUR NAME AND CITY OF RESIDENCE.
YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES AND WATCH THE TIMER OVER ON THE BAR THERE.
DONNA JO VARNEY, SEDONA, ARIZONA.
I ACTUALLY WANTED TO SPEAK ON THE NEXT PORTION ABOUT MODELING THE CHAMBER, UM, INTO THE FUTURE.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY ASKING THE CHAMBER TO DO, THEY, THEY PHYSICALLY CAN'T.
AND THE REASON WHY THEY CAN'T IS THERE'S SO MANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND THEY ARE A ASSOCIATION.
THE CITY OF SEDONA CAN ONLY GO TO ONE MODEL.
WE HAVE SEDONA AREA COMMUNITIES, BUT THE MUNICIPALITY FOOTPRINT IS IN ONE LOCATION, AND IT IS NOT IN THE VILLAGE.
IT'S NOT OUT IN RED ROCK WILDERNESS AREA.
THE, YOU HAVE AN INCREDIBLE DEPARTMENT, ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT, SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT, AND WITH GREAT MANAGERS THAT COULD IMPROVE THE TOURISM POLICY IF THEY WERE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY.
THE STANDARD MODEL FOR ARIZONA IS AN OFFICE OF TOURISM UNDERNEATH THE ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT WITH ATTACK OR A TOURISM ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR THE BUSINESSES IN THE TOURISM HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY.
IT UNITES THE CITY WITH THE RESIDENTS AND THE CITY'S STAKEHOLDERS ALIGNING US WITH OUR JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES IN OUR INCORPORATED CITY.
WE CAN'T COMPARE OURSELVES TO OTHER
[01:50:01]
LOCATIONS BECAUSE SEDONA IS SO UNIQUE.WE HAVE NO VOTER APPROVED TOURISM DISTRICT, WHICH TRANSLATES TO ONLY THE IN CITY BUSINESSES ARE PAYING THE THREE AND A HALF PERCENT CITY SALES TAX AND THE 7% LODGING TAX.
BY BRINGING THE SEDONA CITY DEPARTMENT MANAGERS AND THIS TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS TO THE SAME TABLE, WE CREATE A MENU FOR SUCCESS.
THAT MENU FOR SUCCESS DOESN'T MEAN EXCLUDING THE CHAMBER.
IT MEANS INCLUDING THE IN CITY TOURISM RELATED BUSINESSES TO THE MENU LIMITING AND CONTROLLING AND MICROMANAGING THE TOURISM POLICY.
AT THE CITY COUNCIL LEVEL LIMITS AND CONTROLS OUR CITY.
IT PROHIBITS AND IT LIMITS INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION WITH THE IN CITY BUSINESSES, HOTELS, AND BUSINESSES ALIKE.
AND THE DEPARTMENT MANAGERS PLEASE UNLEASH THE IN CITY COMMUNITY AND ALLOW UNITY BETWEEN THE CITY'S TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS AND OUR CITY STAFF.
ENABLE THEM TO DO WHAT ONLY THEY CAN DO.
AND IF THE CHAMBER COMES IN AFTER THAT FINE AND DANDY, BUT PUT YOUR PEOPLE TOGETHER TO WORK ON THESE SOLUTIONS AND HELP US MAINTAIN A AND GROW A HEALTHY BALANCE.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, CITY COUNCIL PERFORMANCE, YOU WATCH THE MEASUREMENTS AND YOU CAN DECIDE.
SECOND SPEAKER IS ROBERT PKE TO BE FOLLOWED BY NINA BARLOW.
HI, BOB PKE, UH, RESIDENT OF SEDONA.
BEEN HERE ABOUT THIS SUBJECT A NUMBER OF TIMES.
UM, I HAVE A FEW OBSERVATIONS, UH, BASED ON THE REVIEW OF, OF, UH, THE PRESENTATION AND, AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
FIRST OFF, I WANT TO COMPLIMENT MICHELLE AND KAREN FOR ADOPTING A GOALS BASED APPROACH TO ORGANIZING THE TOURISM, UH, PROGRAM.
UM, I THINK IT MAKES SO MUCH, BRINGS SO MUCH MORE CLARITY THAN THE PREVIOUS APPROACH.
UM, HOWEVER, I DO THINK THAT THERE STILL NEEDS TO BE SOME WORK IN TERMS OF ALIGNING, UH, KPIS AND THE BUDGET TO THOSE GOALS.
UH, SECONDLY, I AGREE WITH MAYOR MOTY, UH, THAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW DO WE GET TO THAT NUMBER OF TOURISTS MM-HMM.
SO THAT'S, UM, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND.
UM, I THINK WE OUGHT TO ALSO CONSIDER, UH, OFF THE WALL THING FOR THE, UM, THE LOWER SEASONS OF PERHAPS PARTNERING WITH THE SEDONA FILM FESTIVAL AND MAKING THAT A MUCH BIGGER EVENT DURING OUR OFF SEASON.
UH, AND ALSO AT THE SAME TIME RAISING THE STATURE OF THAT, THAT EVENT, THAT PROGRAM, UH, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, UH, TO RIVAL SUNDANCE, UH, OR, YOU KNOW, HAVE, HAVE BIG DREAMS OF, OF THAT.
I THINK IT'S THAT, THAT COULD BE THE TWIST THAT WE NEED TO BUILD BUSINESS DURING THE TROUGHS.
UH, ANOTHER ONE, I THINK, UM, VISIT SUN CITY.
SUN CITY SEEMED BASED ON READING THROUGH THE MATERIALS TO BE THE MOST, UH, THE CITY MOST REMARKABLY LIKE US.
IT'S SIMILAR SIZE, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT HAS SIMILAR ISSUES FROM THE RESIDENTS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT COUNSEL WOULD BE WISE TO, UH, TALK WITH YOUR COUNTERPARTS IN SUN CITY TO GET MAYBE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AND SPIN ON HOW THEY'VE ADDRESSED SOME OF THE SAME ISSUES THAT WE'VE BEEN ADDRESSING THE PAST TWO YEARS.
UM, THERE'S A KNIT FOR, FOR LEGAL COUNSEL, UM, I'VE BROUGHT UP BEFORE.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE OWNERSHIP OF THE URLS.
UH, EVERY CLIENT, UH, THAT I'VE EVER WORKED WITH IN MY LIFE, UH, OWNS THEIR URLS.
UH, EVEN IF AN AGENCY IS COMPLETELY MANAGING IT, AND I THINK THAT'S A RISK THAT THE CITY IS TAKING THAT'S UNNECESSARY.
IT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN THE FUTURE.
UM, I ALSO REMEMBER THERE WERE A NUMBER OF SYNDICATED RESEARCH, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR.
UH, ONE OF 'EM IS ON SHORT TERM RENTALS.
UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC, UH, HAD A ABILITY TO GET IN AND SEE MORE OF THAT RESEARCH, UH, THAT, THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR, BECAUSE I THINK THAT COULD BRING SOME INSIGHTS TO THE ISSUES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
CAN I HAVE ONE MORE MINUTE? OKAY.
ONE, WELL, ONE YOU CAN ONE MORE SENTENCE.
HOW ABOUT WRAPPING UP ONE MORE SENTENCE? ONE SENTENCE, AND THAT WASN'T IT
[01:55:01]
CONTINGENCY PLAN NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN TERMS OF DESTINATION MARKETING.UH, WE'RE GONNA, WE HAVE A VERY HIGH CHANCE OF A RECESSION IN THE COMING YEAR.
WE'VE ALREADY STARTED TO FEEL SOME OF THAT.
UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE LOOK AT DESTINATION MARKETING AGAIN, HOWEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
AND SHE'LL BE FOLLOWED BY STEVE EGNER.
UM, NINA BARLOWS, UH, SEDONA JEEP RENTALS, BARLOW ADVENTURES.
UM, I GAVE YOU SOME OF MY DIRTY NUMBERS ALREADY SO I GET TO SKIP THAT.
UM, SO I, WHAT, WHAT I WILL SPEAK ON IS, UM, IS JUST A PLEA FOR FUNDING FOR DESTINATION MANAGEMENT.
UM, WHICH IS ALSO, YOU, YOU GUYS ARE USING THE, THE TERM MARKETING.
MARKETING ONCE AGAIN IS NOT ADVERTISING, UM, TO ATTRACT ANY AND ALL.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GETTING RIGHT NOW.
IT'S A FREE FOR ALL OUT THERE.
AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO, UM, WE DON'T WANT ANY AND ALL TO COME TO SEDONA.
WE WANT PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO COME HERE AND RESPECT OUR TRAILS AND RESPECT OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THOSE ARE THE MESSAGES THAT WE NEED TO DEFINE.
WE NEED TO SPEND THE EFFORT TO DEFINE WHO WE ARE.
WE CAN'T BATTLE IF POLARIS IS GOING TO PUT UP A HUGE BILLBOARD COMING OUT OF PHOENIX, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY PUT PRESSURE ON THEM THROUGH OTHER CHANNELS.
UM, WE, UH, CAN'T BATTLE ALL OF THE, THE, THE SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS WHO ARE TAKING SELFIES, DOING, YOU KNOW, YOGA POSES ON DEVIL'S BRIDGE OR WHATEVER.
BUT WE CAN COMBAT THAT BY HAVE SPENDING OUR MONEY AND ENERGY ON CREATING THE IMAGE THAT WE WANT TO, TO, UH, TO PROJECT TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND WHEN WE ARE SAYING, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE GOING TO COME HERE, UM, YOU ARE GONNA TREAD LIGHTLY.
YOU'RE GONNA BE, UH, NICE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA RESPECT THE RESIDENTS.
YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE PLAYING LOUD MUSIC.
WHAT, WHATEVER THOSE MESSAGES ARE, YOU KNOW, WE COME TOGETHER AS A, THE CHAMBER DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION AND DEFINE THOSE THINGS.
UM, AND WE HAVE A CHANCE TO OVERPOWER SOME OF THAT NEGATIVITY THAT'S OUT THERE.
CAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW.
UM, I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S ALL I REALLY HAVE TO SAY IS JUST YES, WE, WE NEED TO, MARKETING IS NOT ADVERTISING TO ANY AND ALL IT IS DEFINING WHO WE ARE.
STEVE EGNER WILL BE FOLLOWED BY MARY LEES, STEVE EGNER, SEDONA LODGING COUNCIL.
UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE OTHER MERCHANTS? WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE PEOPLE IN TOWN? AND WE DON'T REALLY KNOW.
THE SEDONA LODGING COUNCIL ASKED OUR BOARD IN SEPTEMBER TO LOOK AT MARKETING ON OUR OWN.
WE FELT THAT THERE WAS A RECESSION COMING.
WE HAD A TERRIBLE SUMMER AND OUR GROUP FELT WE SHOULD BE OUT MAYBE RAISING OUR OWN MONEY IN MARKETING.
WE DECIDED, AND WE'RE GONNA INVITE YOU ON NOVEMBER 17TH AT THE LIBRARY AT EIGHT 30.
WE MAILED OUT A MAILING YESTERDAY THAT WENT OUT TO 350 BUSINESSES IN SEDONA.
WE ASKED THEM TO COME TO THIS MEETING.
WE ASKED THEM TO LISTEN TO A PRESENTATION.
WE'RE GONNA LISTEN TO THEIR INPUT AND WE WANT THEM TO SPEAK UP.
I THINK IT WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU ALL TO COME AND LISTEN TO WHAT THE PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO SAY, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GONNA SAY WE WANT TO MARKET OR NOT TO MARKET, BUT WE FELT WE NEEDED A FORUM FOR PEOPLE TO SPEAK.
I'VE MANAGED SMALL BUSINESSES, ALL MY LIFE.
I RAN THE WORLDWIDE PET SUPPLY ASSOCIATION, 2000 MEMBERS.
IT'S VERY HARD FOR GETTING PEOPLE WHO WORK EVERY DAY IN SMALL BUSINESSES TO GET INVOLVED.
AND THAT'S WHY ORGANIZATIONS LIKE MYSELF AND THIS AND THE CHAMBER REPRESENT THE GROUPS, BUT DON'T JUDGE IT ON WHO SHOWS AND DOESN'T SHOW BECAUSE THESE ARE HARDWORKING PEOPLE AND THEY NEED HELP.
SO PLEASE COME TO THE MEETING.
I THINK IT'LL BE INTERESTING FOR ALL OF US.
THE SECOND THING I WANTED TO SAY IS, WHAT TIME IS THAT MEETING SHEET? IT'S AT EIGHT 30 AT THE LIBRARY.
8:30 PM AND IT'S, IT'S MORNING.
AND IT'S, IT'S MEANT TO GET INPUT FOR ALL OF US SO THAT WE CAN GO DOWN THE ROAD AND MAKE DECISIONS.
UH, WE DON'T PARTICULARLY WANT TO HAVE TO RAISE MONEY.
THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE A CHAMBER FOR.
WE FEEL A CHAMBER DOES A GOOD JOB.
WHEN WE STARTED THIS IDEA, JOHN MARTINEZ AND I ABOUT RAISING THE BED TAX, WE FORMED A MARKETING COMMITTEE AND I THINK JOHN THOMAS WAS ON IT.
AND WE MET WITH SEVERAL, A GROUP, UH, IN DIFFERENT BUSINESSES, AND WE KIND OF CAME UP WITH THE IDEAS THAT WE THOUGHT WE NEEDED FOR MARKETING, AND THEN WE HANDED IT OVER TO THE CHAMBER.
AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD SYSTEM.
SO WHETHER WE GO BACK TO MARKETING OR NOT, I THINK WE HAVE A, A GREAT COMPANY THAT KNOWS HOW TO DO IT,
[02:00:01]
BUT I DO FEEL WE NEED SUSTAINABLE MARKETING.AND PLEASE COME TO OUR MEETING.
MARY, WE'LL BE FOLLOWED BY AL CAMILLO.
I'M A RE RESIDENT OF SEDONA RURAL SEDONA, AND I ALSO MANAGE NINA STORE IN WEST SEDONA BARLOW ADVENTURES.
I'VE HEARD MORE GOOD INFORMATION IN THIS MEETING FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE THAN I'VE HEARD IN A LONG, LONG TIME.
AND FOR THAT, I'M VERY THANKFUL TOURISM IS THE MAINSTAY OF SEDONA, AND I DON'T SEE HOW YOU GUYS ARE GONNA CHANGE THAT.
THAT WAS AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.
UM, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I THINK FOR, FOR WHAT I DO IS I TALK TO HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE EVERY MONTH AND, AND SMALL BUSINESSES, AND I TALK TO VISITORS, AND WE HAVE A COMMUNITY OPEN DOOR POLICY FOR PEOPLE THAT WANNA COME INTO THE STORE AND ASK QUESTIONS.
I MAKE REFERENCE OR REFERRALS TO, TO RESTAURANTS, TO CRYSTAL SHOPS, TO WHATEVER.
I AM A PART OF A COMMUNITY, AND IT IS A TOURIST BASED COMMUNITY.
RESPECT THE RESIDENTS, TREAD LIGHTLY, DO ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE DO.
I'VE SEEN A HUGE, HUGE IMPROVEMENT IN O HB USE BECAUSE I'M ON THESE TRAIL TRAILS EVERY DAY JUST TO GET TO AND FROM MY HOUSE AND BACK AND FORTH WITH THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE DO.
THE PROBLEM THAT I HAVE WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, QUITE FRANKLY, IS THE UP AND DOWN, UP AND DOWN.
WHO ARE WE? WHAT ARE WE, WHAT ARE WE DOING? NO, WE ARE A TOURIST DRIVEN COMMUNITY AND WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO MANAGE, LIKE NINA SAID, DESTINATION MANAGEMENT.
THAT COMES WITH STRONG MESSAGING.
ROCK WAS FORMED TO CONTROL A PROBLEM THAT YOU GUYS COULDN'T CONTROL.
AND THAT'S WHAT A GOOD COMMUNITY DOES, IS WE GET BEHIND IT.
WE WORK WITH THE YOU GUYS, WE'VE INVITED EVERYBODY TO OUR MEETINGS.
WE WANT EVERYBODY TO PARTICIPATE.
WE DON'T WANNA SEE PEOPLE TEARING UP TRAILS.
THERE'S A HUGE IMPROVEMENT IN BEHAVIOR OUT ON THESE TRAILS.
EVERYBODY SEES WHAT WE'RE DOING.
BUSINESS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, JUST LIKE THE RESIDENTS.
I HAVE RESIDENTS OUT BY WHERE I LIVE THAT ARE THE WORST OFFENDERS TO THE TRAILS THAT I SEE THE WORST OFFENDERS.
AND THEY'RE THE ONES IN HERE SAYING, OH, YOU DRIVE A JEEP, SO YOU MUST BE THE PROBLEM.
I DRIVE A NICE JEEP DOWN MY ROAD AT SEVEN MILES AN HOUR WHILE PICKING UP THEIR GARBAGE THAT THEY'RE THROWING OUT THE WINDOWS.
LET'S GET THIS DESTINATION MANAGED.
LET'S LET EVERYBODY KNOW WHO WE ARE IN SEDONA.
AND MOTORIZED USE IS NOT THE SCOURGE OF THE EARTH.
HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN AROUND THE HIKING AREAS LATELY? IT'S NOT ONE PROBLEM.
IT'S ALL PROBLEMS. LET'S WORK TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY.
AND JUST LIKE STEVE SAID, PRESERVE IN ADVANCE, THAT'S CONSISTENT MESSAGING ALL THE TIME.
HOW MANY RESIDENTS COMPLAINED? THANK YOU.
MARY AL CAMILLA WILL BE FOLLOWED BY BRIAN FOLTZ.
IF YOU WANNA SPEAK, PLEASE FILL OUT A CARD.
UH, AL CAMMEL, RESIDENT OF THE CITY OF SEDONA.
UH, THIS IS SORT OF A TEMPLATE FOR, UH, ALL FUTURE DECISIONS GOING FORWARD IN SEDONA.
THIS IS SORT OF MY PHILOSOPHY AND THE WAY MY, THE WAY I THINK, UH, AS A RESIDENT OF SEDONA, I'VE COME TO SOME CONCLUSIONS ABOUT REALITY.
SEDONA IS A RESORT, AN OUTDOOR ADVENTURE DESTINATION.
WE, WE ARE A, UM, WE ARE IN A WORLD THAT WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A NATIONAL PARK, BUT WE ARE NOT.
WE HAVE A, WE ARE A SMALL 19 SQUARE MILE CITY WHERE HALF OF IT IS IN THE NATIONAL FOREST.
AND THE NATIONAL FOREST IS OWNED BY 300 MILLION AMERICANS.
WE HAVE TWO STATE HIGHWAYS COMING IN AND OUT OF SEDONA.
THESE ROADS, EXCEPT FOR UPTOWN, ARE OWNED BY THE 7 MILLION ARIZONANS.
WE HAVE FOUR SUPERMARKETS IN THE CITY LIMITS AND ONE OUTSIDE.
AND WE'RE A TOWN FEWER THAN 10,000 PEOPLE.
ONE OF THOSE SUPERMARKETS IS WHOLE FOODS, WHICH TRADITIONALLY DOES NOT EXIST IN A TOWN WITH UNDER 200,000, UH, POPULATION OF COLLEGE EDUCATED PEOPLE WITHIN A DISTANCE OF 20 MILES.
BUT WE HAVE ONE IN A TOWN OF 9,700 PEOPLE.
WE HAVE A SIX SCREEN MOVIE THEATER, A TWO SCREEN ART CINEMA, AND A TOWN OF 9,700 PEOPLE.
WE HAVE OVER 50 RESTAURANTS AND DINING ESTABLISHMENTS AND A TOWN OF 9,700 PEOPLE.
AND ONE THING THAT THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON, THEY RELY HEAVILY ON TOURISTS.
THOSE DAMN TOURISTS FOR MOST OF THEIR
[02:05:01]
INCOME.MOST OF THEM WOULD NOT BE HERE IF THIS WAS SUN CITY NORTH, JUST FILLED WITH RETIREES.
AND SEDONA BUSINESSES NEED A CONSISTENT FLOW OF CUSTOMERS FROM OUT OF TOWN TO BE PROSPEROUS.
SURE, WE'LL HAVE TIMES OF THE YEAR WHEN, UH, IT'S BUSY HOLIDAY, WEEKENDS AND WEEKS, UH, THAT SEEMS TO BE OVERCROWDED.
BUT THERE'S NO WAY TO UNINVITE VISITORS.
THEY COME OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL AND THEY COME HERE TO ENJOY WHAT WE AS RESIDENTS ALSO ENJOY ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
WE HAVE TO ADMIT THAT WE NEED THESE VISITORS TO HAVE THE AMENITIES THAT WE ENJOY IN THIS LITTLE TOWN OF 9,700 RESIDENTS.
WE NEED TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH THAT FACT AND BE HAPPY AND DO WHAT WE MUST TO PROTECT AND SECURE A HEALTHY TOURISM ECONOMY.
THE HUNDREDS OF BUSINESSES WE ALL RELY ON, AND THE VISITORS WHO ALSO ENJOY THOSE BUSINESSES.
I LOOK FORWARD TO A NEW FUTURE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, MOST OF WHOM DEPEND ON A HEALTHY TOURIST ECONOMY TO SUCCEED.
I THINK WE'RE ON A GOOD PATH NOW, NOW THAT THE ELECTION SEASON IS OVER, LET'S LOOK FORWARD TO A NEW PARADIGM OF SEDONA RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES WHERE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM.
YOU'RE MAKING ME DO SOME WORK HERE.
AND YOU ALL JUST LIKE STOLE ALL MY THUNDER, LIKE ALL OF YOU WITH THE, A LOT OF THE OBSERVATIONS THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.
UM, UH, I'M GRATEFUL THAT, UH, FOR ME, UH, THE ELECTION PROCESS TECHNICALLY ENDED IN AUGUST.
UH, BUT CERTAINLY CONTINUING TO LEARN AS A COUNSELOR ELECT AND GOING THROUGH THE, UH, UH, ELECTION THAT FINALLY CAME TO A CONCLUSION YESTERDAY CERTAINLY HAS GIVEN ME OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO LEARN, UH, ABOUT WHAT OUR COMMUNITY MIGHT JUST NEED.
SO A FEW OF THE OBSERVATIONS I WANNA SHARE, UH, NUMBER ONE, BUSINESSES ARE IN FACT PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE'VE GOTTA WORK ON CHANGING THAT MINDSET.
I'VE HEARD IT OVER AND OVER AND AGAIN FOR MONTHS NOW ABOUT, YOU KNOW, JUST THIS SENSE OF RESIDENT, RESIDENT RESIDENT MM-HMM.
AND WE GOTTA DO RIGHT BY RESIDENTS, BUT THE BUSINESSES ARE MADE UP OF RESIDENTS, SO WE NEED TO WORK ON THAT.
UM, I'D LIKE TO SEE BUSINESSES ENGAGE RESIDENTS MORE DIRECTLY.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT A TIME OR TWO, UH, AS WELL.
UM, I THINK PART OF CURING THE ILL RIGHT NOW IS FOR RESIDENTS TO SEE BUSINESSES AS MADE UP OF PEOPLE AND NOT JUST A CORPORATE ENTITY THAT'S TRYING TO MAKE MONEY.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF WISDOM IN SEDONA OWNING ITS BRAND.
UM, NOT ONLY WHAT BOB WAS TALKING ABOUT OWNING THE URLS, BUT HE, I HAD A GREAT TIME TO, UH, YESTERDAY BEING POLL OBSERVERS TOGETHER.
UH, SO WE HAD A CHANCE TO SOLVE ALL OF SEDONAS PROBLEMS OVER ABOUT FOUR HOURS YESTERDAY.
UM, BUT WE DO NEED TO OWN OUR BRAND.
AND PART OF OWNING OUR BRAND, I THINK MEANS THAT THERE DOES NEED TO BE AN ONGOING DEGREE OF MARKETING THAT REALLY EXPRESSES WHO AND WHAT SEDONA IS, RIGHT? THIS NOTION OF RESPECT IS I THINK, VERY IMPORTANT.
SO, UM, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER THING.
NOW, AS FAR AS DATA GOES, IT SEEMS LIKE 2019 IS BECOMING A ACCEPTED BASELINE FOR COMPARISON.
AND WHEN YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HOTELS AND STR AND USE STR ROUGHLY AS HAVING AS MANY ROOMS AS HOTELS, EVEN THOUGH IT'S MORE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL RIGHT NOW OF OCCUPANCY IN THOSE TWO CATEGORIES OF OVERNIGHT LODGING, THEN YOU COULD IMPLY THAT RIGHT NOW THIS CITY'S FULL RIGHT NOW, THIS MINUTE THE CITY IS FAULT, EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE CATEGORIES OF BUSINESS THAT ARE STRUGGLING, WHICH I BELIEVE IS A BYPRODUCT OF THE FACT THAT STR VISITORS ARE DIFFERENT THAN HOTEL VISITORS.
IT'S PARTLY BECAUSE OF WHO COMES HERE, IS JUST WHOEVER COMES HERE RIGHT NOW.
BUT MY CONCERN AS WE TALK ABOUT MARKETING PROGRAMS IS IF WE TRY TO TAKE HOTELS TO A LEVEL OF OCCUPANCY WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO BE, WHAT ARE THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF DRIVING UP STR OCCUPANCY TO WHERE WE PUT OURSELVES RIGHT BACK INTO A 2021, UH, PICTURE WHERE EVERYBODY'S GOING CRAZY ABOUT TRAFFIC.
SO I THINK IN THE JANUARY DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE THOSE SMART IDEAS NEED TO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
AND I GUESS THAT'LL JUST HAVE TO COVER MY POINTS FOR NOW.
WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE THIS IN JANUARY.
OKAY, LET'S BRING IT BACK TO COUNCIL.
DOES ANYBODY NEED A NEED A BREAK BEFORE WE GO ON, ON THE COUNCIL? FIVE MINUTES? YES.
[02:10:02]
OKAY, EVERYBODY, LET'S GET BACK TO WORK HERE.AND I'M BRINGING SOME IN ANTICIPATION OF CERTAIN QUESTIONS.
IS IT ALL RIGHT IF I BRING SURE.
YOU IF YOU KEEP PEOPLE UP HERE WITH ME.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE SECOND PART OF THE PRESENTATION, I WANTED TO JUST, UH, MAKE A COUPLE POINTS.
WE WERE ON THE FIRST PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
WE RECEIVE A MONTHLY, UH, SALES AND BED TAX REPORT, WHICH IS A PUBLIC DOCUMENT THAT IS PRODUCED BY OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, SHERRY WHITE.
AND IT IS BEHIND, SO WE JUST RECEIVED AUGUST IN OCTOBER, SO IT'S SEVERAL MONTHS BEHIND BECAUSE THE INFORMATION IS BASED ON REVENUES THAT COME TO SEDONA FROM TAX COLLECTIONS THAT GO THROUGH THE ALASKA, I MEAN THE ARIZONA, SORRY ABOUT THAT OLD PAST, UH, THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE.
UH, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, THEY DON'T MATCH.
THEY'RE OUT SYNC WITH WHAT THE CHAMBER PROVIDES TO US.
AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO RECONCILE THESE NUMBERS BECAUSE THEY DON'T SHOW AN ECONOMIC IMPACT AS SEVERE AS WHAT WE'VE HEARD TESTIFIED, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE HEARD PRESENTED BY THE CHAMBER AND TESTIMONY FROM SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK BY, FOR OUR JANUARY MEETING, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE DISCREPANCIES ARE BECAUSE THEY DO NOT SHOW A PICTURE.
AND, AND AUGUST IS ONE OF THE WORST MONTHS OF THE, AND, AND THIS IS REAL TAX DOLLARS THAT ARE COMING INTO OUR OFFERS.
SO IT'S REAL MONEY BASED ON REAL SALES THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN, IN THESE MONTHS.
AND HOWEVER WE NEED TO RECONCILE WHY WE SHOW MORE REVENUE THEN INDIVIDUAL BUSINESSES.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AN INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS AND AN OVERALL COMMUNITY, AND AN OVERALL, EVEN IF YOU BREAK IT DOWN, THE OVERALL, UH, LODGING COMMUNITY AS AN EXAMPLE, IT, BUT, SO AT ANY INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS WITHIN THAT, UH, GROUP MAY HAVE HIGHER OR LOWER SALES, BUT AS A GROUP, WE'RE JUST NOT SEEING THE SAME REDUCTIONS.
ARE YOU? I WOULD REALLY, CAN YOU BE, HOLLY? CAN YOU BE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHICH CHART YOU'RE REFERRING TO? SURE.
I HERE, UH, I'M NOT GONNA DO A CHART, I'M JUST GOING TO USE, THIS ISN'T THE CHART FROM THE CHAMBER, BUT FROM SHERRY'S, UH, EMAIL TO US.
SHE SAYS HOTEL MOTEL WAS DOWN 11%.
FOR WHAT PERIOD? IS THIS FOR OCTOBER THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? NO, THIS IS AUGUST.
THIS IS THE LAST MONTH WE HAVE, WE DON'T, IT'S NOT CURRENT, BUT IT'S AUGUST, 2022.
IT'S THE LAST MONTH THAT IS AVAILABLE TO US.
UH, AND HOTEL, HOTEL WAS DOWN 11%, BUT IT WAS 48% HIGHER THAN PRE COVID LEVELS AND, UH, RESTAURANTS AND BAR WAS DOWN 9%, BUT WAS 10% HIGHER THAN PRE COVID LEVELS.
UH, RETAIL WAS DOWN 2%, HOWEVER, IT WAS 49% HIGHER THAN PRE COVID LEVELS.
NOW SHE DOES TALK ABOUT INFLATION, AND FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE RETAIL SEGMENT, SHE SAYS INFLATION WAS 16% OVER THAT TIME PERIOD.
SO IF YOU JUST DO SIMPLE MATH AND SAY 16% MINUS, I MEAN 49% MINUS 16%, YOU WOULD GET, YOU KNOW, 33% HIGHER AND, UH, THAN PRE COVID.
UH, AND SO IT JUST DOESN'T SHOW A PICTURE THAT IS AS BAD AS WHAT WE'RE HEARING IN A MONTH THAT IS TRADITIONALLY REALLY SLOW.
UH, AND I WOULD LIKE JUST TO LOOK AT YEAR TO DATE, AND, AND WHEN WE GO INTO
[02:15:01]
JANUARY, WE SHOULD HAVE MOST OF THE, OF THE CALENDAR YEAR OF 2022.WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE WHAT THE NOVEMBER NUMBERS BY THEN, JUST TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHY WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND, AND THE MONEY THAT WE'RE RECEIVING IS OUT OF SYNC WITH WHAT WE'RE HEARING.
SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MONTH OF AUGUST? YES.
OF THIS YEAR, JUST USING AUGUST AS, BECAUSE IT'S THE LATEST MONTH THAT WE HAVE TO SAY THAT IN A TRADITIONALLY BAD MONTH.
UH, AND, AND SHE ALSO DOES YEAR TO DAY NUMBERS.
THEY JUST ARE NOT SHOWING THE SAME REDUCTIONS THAT WE'RE HEARING.
HOLLY, CAN I JUST PIGGYBACK ON THAT? BECAUSE YES, THIS ONE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS AUGUST, AND I NOTICED THE EXACT SAME DISCREPANCIES, BUT IT'S BEEN LIKE THAT EVERY MONTH.
IT'S NOT JUST THESE, THE AUGUST NUMBERS, IT WAS THE MONTH BEFORE THAT, AND THE MONTH BEFORE THAT, AND THE MONTH BEFORE THAT, THAT THERE'S JUST A, UM, THEY'RE JUST NOT JIVING.
THE NUMBERS THAT WE GET FROM THE REPORTS THAT CHAMBER'S GIVING US AND THE REPORTS THAT WE'RE GETTING INTERNAL IN HOUSE, THEY'RE SHOWING TWO DIFFERENT STORIES.
AND THAT'S BEEN CONSISTENT OVER THE LAST YEAR.
THIS DOESN'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY, BUT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT REVENUES, YOU'RE LOOKING AT REVENUES, YOU'RE NOT LOOKING AT NET INCOME.
BUT IT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MORE THAN JUST TAX COLLECTIONS THAT GO ON.
THERE ARE, THERE'S INFLATION AND THERE'S ADDITIONAL COSTS GOING ON.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT.
BUT AS I SAID, INFLATION IN THAT ONE CATEGORY WAS 16%, BUT THE OVERALL CATEGORY WAS UP 49%.
SO, AND IF I, IF I COULD ADD TO, I'M SORRY, COUNSELOR PLUG.
I, I THINK ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE NEED TO, TO RECONCILE IS, IS IT APPROPRIATE? SHOULD WE BE COMPARING 2022 TO 2019? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.
BUT WE'VE NEVER, IN THE, IN THE HISTORY OF ANY COMPARISONS THAT I CAN NEVER RECALL SAID, LET'S COMPARE TO SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AS OPPOSED TO LOOKING AT WHAT TRENDS HAPPEN YEAR OVER YEAR.
SO IF YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE COMPARING TO 2019, THEN IT IS, YOU ARE SEEING A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE.
BUT THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE ALSO HAPPENED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AND SHOULD WE BE SAYING, WELL, WE SHOULD BE BACK TO 2019 NUMBERS, AS OPPOSED TO LOOKING AT, SHOULD WE BE AT 2022 NUMBERS OR 2021 NUMBERS? UM, I KNOW WHY WE INITIALLY STARTED TO DO THAT AND SAY, WELL, 2019 WAS MORE OF A BASELINE YEAR, UH, BECAUSE IT WAS PRIOR TO COVID.
BUT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT HOLDS TRUE IN TERMS OF OUR GOAL TO, TO BE AT 2019 NUMBERS MM-HMM.
YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT QUESTION.
THAT LINE OF THINKING, YOU KNOW, IS WHAT, WHAT ARE, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO REACH CONSENSUS ON WHAT IS THAT, WHAT IS THAT ONE DESIRABLE YEAR? RIGHT.
WHAT DO WE WANNA GET BACK TO? BUT, BUT I KNOW FROM A TOURISM, UH, INDUSTRY STANDPOINT, WE ABSOLUTELY LOOK AT THE 2019.
THAT'S JUST KIND OF WHAT THE INDUSTRY'S DOING, JUST BECAUSE IT WAS PRE PANDEMIC.
UM, BUT YEAH, WE'RE OPEN TO, TO COLLECTIVELY, YOU KNOW, COMING TO THAT, THAT DECISION AS TO WHICH, WHICH YEAR DO WE WANNA LOOK AT.
UM, I THINK I, I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH COUNSELOR P'S COMMENT THOUGH ABOUT FEELING LIKE THE STORIES ARE DIFFERENT AND, AND I'VE BEEN NOTICING THAT TOO.
AND, AND YET WE PROVIDE THE SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH DATA TO, TO YOU TO DEVELOP THE REPORT.
SO I THINK, I THINK HAVING SOME MORE EFFICIENT, WHAT I WOULD SAY WOULD BE AN EFFICIENT EFFICIENCY, UM, TASK TOO, AND HAVING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ONE REPORT THAT WE CAN ALL LOOK AT AND IT'S ALL SAYING THE SAME THING, THAT WOULD BE SO GREAT.
UM, AND MAYBE SAVE SOME STAFF TIME ON EITHER END IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, COME TO TERMS ON WHAT IT IS THAT THOSE MEASURABLE PIECES ARE.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THAT'S THE OTHER QUESTION IS, ARE WE LOOKING AT A HOTEL OCCUPANCY IN ADR AND REVPAR? WHAT CAN WE AGREE ON AS MEASUREMENTS OF SUCCESS OR, OR NOT SUCCESS? SANDY? YES, JUSTIN? WELL, I THINK THAT, I MEAN, BY THE JANUARY MEETING, I VERY MUCH WOULD LIKE A RE UH, A RECONCILIATION OF THE NUMBERS BECAUSE WITHOUT THAT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, I ALSO THINK, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO TAKE, I, I'M NOT SURE THAT MY GOAL IS TO LOOK AT WHERE WE SHOULD BE.
UM, I'M NOT SURE 2019 WAS PERFECT.
[02:20:01]
WHERE WE WERE HAPPY? WHERE WE ALL HAPPY IN 2019? WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.AND I, DT KNOW, I MEAN, MY ANSWERS NO, WE WEREN'T HAPPY IN 2019, AND SO I'M NOT, AND AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ALWAYS BOTHERED ME IS THIS IDEA THAT WE HAVE TO GET TO SOMETHING AND IT'S ALWAYS GOTTA BE MORE.
I MEAN, THAT I DON'T, THAT IS NOT A PRINCIPLE THAT, THAT I OPERATE BY.
I MEAN, IT MAY BE THAT WE'RE EXACTLY WHERE WE SHOULD BE, AND THAT WOULD BE NICE BECAUSE THAT'S REALITY
UM, SO I, I THINK A LOT OF THE AS AND THE THIRD, THE THIRD ASSUMPTION THAT I THINK THAT THE COUNCIL HAS TO REALLY THINK ABOUT IS, WHICH I, I MEAN I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, IS WHAT IS THE CITY'S OBLIGATION? IF OUR TAX MONIES ARE COMING IN, WHAT IS OUR, AND SHORT TERM RENTALS HAVE BASICALLY CHANGED THE WHOLE HOSPITALITY PARADIGM.
WHAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE HOTELS WHOLE, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS SHIFTING, IN THIS SHIFTING SANDS? AND WHAT IS WHOLE? IS MARRIOT ACTUALLY GOING TO LIKE, GO BANKRUPT AT WHATEVER OCCUPANCY AND, AND, AND RATES THEY HAVE NOW? I DON'T KNOW.
UH, I THINK TRYING TO TO DEAL THAT WAY JUST DOESN'T WORK.
I THINK WE HAVE TO BALANCE, WE HAVE TO SUPPORT, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT MEANS SUPPORT TO ENSURE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF PROFITABILITY.
AND SO I THINK IT'S A REALLY HARD, HARD DECISION TO MAKE.
BUT I THINK THOSE NUMBERS AS TO RECONCILING WHAT SHERRY SAYS AND WHAT I'M HEARING, BECAUSE FRANKLY, I HAVE ACTUALLY NEVER HEARD PEOPLE SAY BUSINESS PEOPLE SAY THINGS ARE GREAT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING
SO IT'S A LOT CRYING WOLF IS A LOT OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE BACKGROUND AND, AND TO KIND OF DEMAND THAT PROFITABILITY ACTUALLY ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS INCREASE.
AND THAT, THAT'S SOME KIND, THE EXPECTATIONS I THINK ARE INTERESTING.
SO I THINK ALL OF THESE AT LEAST ARE GOING TO FIGURE IN MY CONSIDERATION, UM, IN JANUARY.
UM, AND I THINK THEY'RE THINGS THAT WHAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO INDIVIDUAL CLASSES OF, OF, OF BUSINESSES IF A BUSINESS MODEL CHANGES AND, AND A CERTAIN CLASS OF BUSINESS IS, IS SUFFERING FROM THAT, WHAT IS THE CITY'S RESPONSIBILITY VERSUS THAT ECONOMIC SEGMENT OF BUSINESSES RESPONSIBILITY TO, TO BECOME, TO MAKE ITSELF ONCE AGAIN, UM, PROFITABLE? I DON'T KNOW.
THESE ARE ALL TOO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AT A PRETTY HIGH LEVEL OF, OF ABSTRACT AS I UNDERSTAND.
BUT I THINK A GOOD BEGINNING WOULD BE, AND THANK YOU HOLLY, FOR, FOR RECONCILING THE NUMBERS.
I THINK THAT WOULD PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE FOR ME.
SO I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT NUMBERS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RECONCILING.
I'M TALKING ABOUT RECONCILING THE, THE SALES TAX BUSINESS NUMBER WITH THE STORY WE'VE HEARD ABOUT HOW BADLY BUSINESSES ARE DOING SALES TAX COLLECTIONS, THAT THE OKAY, THE SALES TAX, UM, AND BED TAX NUMBERS SEEM TO INDICATE IN THE, IN OUR INTERNAL DOCUMENTS SEEM TO INDICATE A ROBUST COLLECTION BASED ON A HIGH PROFIT LEVEL.
WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE INDUSTRY IS THAT THERE IS NOT A HIGH PROFIT LEVEL AND THAT THEY'RE HURTING THESE, THESE, THESE TWO NARRATIVES ARE CONTRADICTORY.
AND I DON'T, I WE NEED SOME DOCUMENTATION, SOME DATA, SOMETHING THAT TIES THAT TOGETHER.
IT'S LIKE RECONCILING YOUR CHECKBOOK.
YOU KNOW, I, I, I CAN'T JUST GO ON THE NARRATIVE.
I WANNA SEE SOME NUMBERS THAT SHOW WHAT THE STORY IS, BUT IT'S, EXCUSE ME, IT'S NOT A HIGH PROFIT LEVEL, IT'S A HIGH REVENUE LEVEL.
AND EVEN THEN, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE, I MEAN THAT THE REPORTS ARE REFLECTING A, A HIGH REVENUE LEVEL, IT, WE ARE TAPERING OFF IF WE CONTINUE AT THE SAME PACE FOR THE REST OF THE FISCAL YEAR, SALES
[02:25:01]
AND BED TAX WILL BE 8.4 MILLION LESS THAN WHAT WE BUDGETED.SO WE ARE SEEING A DOWNWARD TREND THAT'S BASED ON THE FACT THAT YEAR OVER YEAR AFTER YEAR, WE HAVE SEEN SIGNIFICANT INCREASES TO REVENUE.
SO ALTHOUGH WE TEND TO BE CONSERVATIVE IN OUR FORECAST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL ANTICIPATING AN INCREASE.
SO NOT ONLY ARE WE NOT INCREASING, WE'RE WE'RE NOT EVEN LEVELING OFF.
SO, SO WHILE THE STORIES ARE NOT EXACTLY ALIGNED MM-HMM.
SO, SO I THINK WE CAN GET TOGETHER BETWEEN NOW AND JANUARY AND, AND TRY TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A, A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE NUMBERS AND, AND WHAT THE INFORMATION THAT MICHELLE HAS COLLECTED FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND START TO DO SOME MORE RECONCILIATION.
UM, THAT WOULD BE GREAT, THANK YOU.
THE, THE, THE REPORTING DOES LAG AND THAT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, BY THE TIME A BUSINESS REPORTS THEIR SALES TAX, THEY DO IT MONTHLY.
WELL, SOME OF IT'S, IF YOU FILE ELECTRONICALLY, IT'S DUE AT THE SECOND TO LAST BUSINESS DAY OR THE LAST BUSINESS DAY.
SOMETHING CRAZY LIKE THAT, INSTEAD OF JUST BEING OKAY, IT'S DUE AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
NO, NO, IN ARIZONA, THAT'S DUE ON THE 20TH, BUT IF YOU FILE ELECTRONICALLY YOU CAN PAY.
BUT, BUT MY POINT IS THERE'S ALWAYS A BIG LAG THERE IS.
SO WE HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN BEYOND AUGUST.
AND BUSINESS HAVE, YOU KNOW, AND SO BY JANUARY YOU'LL HAVE A BETTER PICTURE OF THAT.
SEE, SEE WHAT THE FALL WAS LIKE, BECAUSE I HAVE A FEELING THE FALL WASN'T AS ROBUST AS IT'S BEEN IN THE PAST, JUST FROM WATCHING THE TRAILHEAD BY MY HOUSE.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT PRIMARILY WE'RE HERE FOR TODAY.
[3.b. AB 2760 Discussion/possible direction regarding the future relationship between the City and the SCC&TB, possible request for organizational restructuring of the SCC&TB to better delineate between the chamber of commerce and destination management divisions of the organization, and the use of the proceeds of the 1/2 cent bed tax increase that was added in 2014.]
TO MOVE ON TO ITEM B, WHICH IS AB 27 60 DISCUSSION POSSIBLE DIRECTION REGARDING THE FUTURE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE SCC AND TB.POSSIBLE REQUEST FOR ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING OF THE SCC AND TB TO BETTER DELINEATE BETWEEN THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT DIVISIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION, AND THE USE OF THE PROCEEDS OF THE HALF CENT BED TAX INCREASE THAT WAS ADDED IN 2014.
WHO IS GOING TO LEAD? UH, UH, MAYOR, I CAN AT LEAST JUST MAKE A FEW COMMENTS TO, TO HELP FACILITATE THE CONVERSATION.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS REQUESTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
IT STARTED REALLY WITH THE COUNCIL WORK GROUP THAT WAS SET UP LAST JANUARY AND WAS DISCUSSED AT THE FULL COUNCIL, UM, DURING SEVERAL OF THE WORK SESSIONS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THEN.
SO WE DID AGENDA IT TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION TONIGHT AMONGST THE COUNSELORS.
WE PROVIDED A COUPLE DOCUMENTS IN YOUR PACKET EXHIBITS B AND C THAT, UH, OUTLINE THE, THE, THE BASIC, THE THREE BASIC MOST COMMON STRUCTURES, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES FOR DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS AND WHY THOSE STRUCTURES ARE TYPICALLY USED.
THERE IS NOT NECESSARILY A ONE SIZE FITS ALL, AND, AND THINGS ARE DIFFERENT FROM DESTINATION TO DESTINATION.
BUT YOU'VE GOT IN THE PACKET, UH, PART OF EXHIBIT C JUST LISTS SOME DESTINATIONS THAT USE THE STANDALONE DMO MODEL, THE AGENCY OF A CITY OR COUNTY MODEL.
AND THEN THE COMBINATION CHAMBER AND DMO MODEL THAT WE HAVE HERE IN SEDONA.
AND THEN WE HAD, UH, STAFF REACHED OUT TO THE SEVEN THAT ARE LISTED.
AND THIS IS NOT OBVIOUSLY AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST.
THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE, UM, SOME OF SOME EXAMPLES THAT WE THOUGHT IN ONE WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM HAD SOME NEXUS TO OUR ORGANIZATION.
YOU CAN SEE SOME ARE REALLY, REALLY LARGE ORGANIZATIONS, BUT THEY'RE APPROXIMATE SCOTTSDALE, PHOENIX AND OTHERS ARE, ARE CLOSER TO OUR SIZE.
BUT THEY ARE, UM, BASICALLY TOURISM ECONOMIES, UM, DESTINATIONS THAT REALLY ARE, ARE SOLELY TOURISM BASED.
AND YOU'VE GOT SOME OF THOSE EXAMPLES IN YOUR PACKET AS WELL.
WE REACHED OUT TO THE SEVEN ON THE LIST THAT WERE JOINT DMO AND, UH, CHAMBERS TO JUST ASK SOME BASIC QUESTIONS.
[02:30:01]
IS YOUR EXHIBIT C.AND WE HAD RESPONSES FROM FOUR AT THE TIME OF PRODUCING THE PACKET.
SO YOU HAVE SOME CONTEXT THERE FROM THESE VARIOUS, WE, IT WAS, UM, ASPEN, VALE, KALISPELL, MONTANA, AND THEN PARK CITY, UTAH, WHO GAVE US SOME ANSWERS TO THE VARIOUS QUESTIONS WE POSED TO THEM.
SO WE INCLUDED THAT INFORMATION TO HELP GIVE YOU A STARTING POINT FOR CONVERSATION.
BUT REALLY I WILL TURN IT BACK TO YOU, UH, MAYOR AND COUNSELORS, TO, UM, TO, TO, TO EITHER HAVE A DISCUSSION, ASK US QUESTIONS.
THE CHAMBER FOLKS ARE ALSO WILLING TO, TO BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS TOO.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF THE SESSION WE HAVE SOME SENSE OF ANY ADDITIONAL DIRECTION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE EITHER THE CHAMBER OR STAFF TO IN PREPARATION FOR FURTHER CONVERSATION IN JANUARY AT THE JOINT MEETING.
NOT, NOT SURE HOW WE WANNA START.
I, MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE THE CHAMBER HAS DONE THIS RESEARCH.
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE AS TO A MODEL?
WE, WE ARE STILL LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR OPTIONS AT THIS POINT.
UM, YOU KNOW, MY BOARD AND MYSELF AND UH, THE STAFF STILL DOING SOME RESEARCH AS WELL.
AND I MEAN, THERE, THERE REALLY ARE PROS AND CONS AND, AND THE THING THAT WE HAVE REALLY DISCOVERED OVER THE MONTHS SINCE OUR LAST CONVERSATION IN THE SUMMER WHEN THIS TOPIC CAME UP WAS, OR IS THE FACT THAT THERE ARE JUST SO MANY OPTIONS, IT'S ALMOST OVERWHELMING.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT'S BEST FOR US, YOU KNOW, IT, OUR COMMUNITY, WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR BUSINESSES, WHAT'S BEST FOR THE CITY, AND, AND, UM, SO WE'RE STILL SUSSING ALL OF IT OUT.
I, I REALLY DON'T HAVE A STRONG STANCE AT THIS POINT, BUT WE INTEND TO COME BACK IN JANUARY WITH, WITH OBVIOUSLY OUR POSITION AND RECOMMENDATION AS TO WHAT WE THINK IS BEST.
BUT WE WE'RE REALLY ANXIOUS MORE TO HEAR FROM YOU TONIGHT.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING MOSTLY FOR INPUT FROM US.
SO I SAW JESSICA FIRST AND THEN SCOTT.
WELL, FROM READING THIS INFORMATION, I WAS PERSUADED INIT, I MEAN AT FIRST BLUSH TO THAT THE SINGLE, UM, ORGANIZATION APPROACH IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE TO RETAIN.
I DID THAT ON THE BASIS OF LOOKING AT THE, THE DIFFERENCES OF THE CITIES THAT USE THE VARIOUS APPROACHES, THE STANDALONE DMO, THEY ARE FOR THE MOST PART HUGE CITIES.
AND THEY HAVE A VARIED ECONOMIES.
THEY HAVE, THEY'RE NOT LIKE 95% TOURIST BASED.
THEY HAVE VERY DIVERSE ECONOMIES.
SO IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE FOR THERE TO BE A SEPARATE UHU, UM, A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE THAT DEALS ONLY AT A SEPARATE TOURISM.
SO YOU HAVE A CHAMBER THAT DEALS WITH THE OVER OVERARCHING DIVERSE ECONOMY, MANY, MANY DIFFERENT ECONOMIC ENGINES.
AND THEN YOU HAVE TOURISM THAT JUST DEALS WITH THE TOURISM.
WE DON'T HAVE OTHER INDUSTRIES.
WE DON'T HAVE OTHER, UM, ECA WE ARE TOURISM.
AND THAT'S WHAT THESE FOUR OR FIVE OR SEVEN OR HOWEVER MANY WERE, THAT THEY WERE COMBINATIONS I LOOKED AT THOSE.
THEY WERE THE ONE, THE GROUPS THAT WERE ROUGHLY THE SAME SIZE AS SEDONA, THEY WERE THE, THEY WERE THE CITIES THAT ARE ALMOST ENTIRELY, UH, TOURISM BASED, WHERE THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AS THE MAYOR POINTED OUT EARLIER, VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE BUSINESSES RELATE TO TOURISM, WHICH IS NOT THE CASE IN THE OTHER, IN THE OTHER, UM, MODELS WHERE THE STANDALONE, UM, AND EVEN WHEN IT'S PART OF AGENCY CITY, IT DOESN'T, IT JUST, WE ARE EXACTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF WHERE THOSE SINGLE CHAMBER AND DMO PEOPLE ARE.
I WAS ALSO INTERESTED TO SEE THAT VEIL USED TO HAVE SEPARATE ONES AND PULLED THEM TOGETHER BECAUSE IT, FOR, FOR UM, ECONOMIES, IT, IT, IF WE DECIDED TO GO TO SEPARATE ONES, THE ADDITIONAL COST OF OF SUPPORTING AN ENTIRE NEW IS GOING
[02:35:01]
IS REALLY GONNA BE BIG.IT'S NOT LIKE WE'VE GOT 150,000 PEOPLE.
WE HAVE WHAT WE HAVE FOR OUR SIZE TOWN AND FOR THE NATURE OF OUR ECONOMY.
TO ME, IT MAKES SENSE TO KEEP IT
I I ALSO THINK THOUGH THAT HAVING ONE CHAMBER, ONE HAVING ONE BOARD THAT IS COMPOSED PRIMARILY OF BUSINESS PEOPLE, IT HAS TO CHA WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE UNDER THAT MODEL.
THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE, SOMEONE TOLD ME, AND I'M SURE THEY'RE RIGHT, THAT IT'S PROBABLY ILLEGAL TO HAVE TWO SEPARATE BOARDS FOR ONE, UM, ENTITY.
IS THAT PROBABLY TRUE? IT, IT WOULD BE IF YOU HAD A SINGLE, YOU MAY NOT KNOW, UM, RIGHT NOW A SINGLE ENTITY THAT BOTH WAS A CHAMBER AND A DMO.
COULD YOU HAVE A SEPARATE BOARD FOR EACH OF THOSE ENTITIES? ARE YOU SAYING HERE? I'M SAYING THERE, YEAH.
I MEAN, YEAH, CERTAINLY THERE COULD, I MEAN THAT TYPE OF STRUCTURE, SEPARATE BOARDS ISN'T AN ISSUE.
OH, SO THEN, THEN MY, THEN, THEN HOW I'M FEELING RIGHT NOW WITHOUT FURTHER TALKING ABOUT IT WOULD JUST BE YOU HAVE A BOARD FOR THE CHAMBER THAT ADVISES THE THE THE CHAIR.
YEAH, I'M SORRY THAT THAT, I MEAN THAT'S OBVIOUSLY LEGALLY THERE'S, THERE'S NOT AN ISSUE WITH THAT PROCEDURALLY IN HOW IT MIGHT WORK OUT.
BUT THERE'S NO LEGAL OBSTRUCTION TO THAT RIGHT NOW.
SO YOU HAVE A, A SMALL BOARD MADE UP ENTIRELY OF JUST BUSINESSES THAT ADVISES ON CHAMBER BATTERS AND YOU HAVE A SEPARATE BOARD, WHICH IS MUCH BROADER IN OF DIFFERENT COMPOSITION THAN WHAT YOU HAVE NOW THAN INCLUDES NOT FOR PROFITS, IT INCLUDES RESIDENTS.
AND THAT RIGHT NOW, AND THAT WOULD ADVISE, THAT WOULD BE THE ONE THAT WOULD ADVISE ON TOURISM RELATED, THE CITY WOULD BE ON IT, I'M ASSUMING.
I MEAN, AND THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE TALKED ABOUT THE MAKEUP OF THAT BOARD.
BUT THAT'S RIGHT NOW WHAT I SEE AS THE, SO THAT THE CHAMBER BOARD ONLY DEALS WITH CHAMBER ISSUES AND THE OTHER BOARD, WHICH IS A MUCH BROADER BOARD, WHICH INCLUDES PRETTY MUCH EVERY FACET OF THE COMMUNITY.
TELLS YOU ABOUT, ADVISES ON THAT.
CAN I ASK FOR, JUST SO I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE, WHAT, WHY, WHY IS THE TWO BOARD IDEA APPEALING TO YOU? JUST SO I CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND MAYBE THAT BECAUSE THERE IS NOT, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THERE, THERE IS A PERCEPTION AND ACTUALLY IT'S, IT'S A FACT THAT THE CHAMBER BOARD IS, IS BUSINESS PEOPLE.
UM, CAN I SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH.
UM, I AM THE BOARD CHAIR OF THE CHAMBER MM-HMM.
I KNOW I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH TOURISM.
UM, JULIE RICHARD IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SEDONA ART CENTER.
SHE'S REPRESENTING ANOTHER NONPROFIT ON OUR BOARD.
WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM APS PROVIDING US WITH OUR UTILITIES.
WE'VE WORKED VERY HARD TO PROVIDE, WE HAVE, UM, SCHLOMO A NEW MEMBER TO THE COMMUNITY WHO HAS AN INTERNET BUSINESS WHO HE HAS, HE SELLS FLOWERS THAT ARE IMPORTED FROM ACROSS THE WORLD AND HE DOESN'T SELL, I DON'T THINK HE SELLS ANY FLOWERS IN SEDONA.
SO WE'RE REALLY, WE'VE WORKED VERY HARD TO HAVE A BROAD REPRESENTATION AND I REALLY HAVE AS THE BOARD CHAIR AND REPRESENTING THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, PRIDE OURSELVES ON THIS EFFORT.
SO I I I'M WOULD LIKE TO JUST CLARIFY THAT FOR THE RECORD, THAT'S PROBABLY FACTUALLY CORRECT.
HOWEVER, OUR CONCERN IS THAT IT BE CLEARER THAT THE CHAMBER IS SEPARATE FROM THE TOURISM DESTINATION AND HOW YOU DO THAT WITH A SINGLE ENTITY.
UM, I WOULD BE GLAD TO HEAR OTHER PEOPLE'S SUGGESTIONS.
I THINK HAVING SEPARATE BOARDS CLARIFIES THINGS, HAVING JUST, AND I MEAN, I THINK IT CLARIFIES THINGS.
I'M NOT, I'M NOT DENYING THAT YOUR BOARD IS BROADER THAN THAT.
HOW, HOW THAT WOULD BE SET UP WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT YOU, I MEAN, MAYBE YOU WANNA KEEP YOUR BOARD NOW AND ADD RESIDENTS AND, AND OTHER, I MEAN OTHER NOT FOR PROFITS, I MEAN, AND, AND CREATE A SMALL CHAMBER FOCUS BOARD.
I'M NOT, THAT WOULDN'T BE SOMETHING.
IS THAT AN IDEA THAT, THAT YOU COULD LIVE WITH? WELL, THANK YOU JESSICA FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO, FOR THE RECORD, LET
[02:40:01]
YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE, UM, ANALYZING THOSE MODELS.AND MICHELLE'S DONE A FABULOUS JOB AND WE'VE REALLY GOT SOME GREAT PLANS THAT MAP OUT SOME OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN WITH, WITH ONE ORGANIZATION OR A STANDALONE? I MEAN, I'M NOT, UM, PRIVY TO TALK ABOUT THE DETAILS OF THAT AT THE TIME AS WE'RE ANALYZING THE VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES.
I'M JUST GIVING MY OPINION AT THIS POINT.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT GOOD THAT'S GONNA DO.
IF, UM, IF WE'RE GIVING DIRECTION HERE, WHAT GOOD, MAYBE I COULD JUST TRY TO, WHY DON'T, TO CLARIFY WHAT CLARIFY AS I HAVE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH BOTH CITY COUNSELORS AND, UH, AND THE CHAMBER STAFF AS WELL.
SO I THINK BECAUSE THE ISSUE OF RELATIONSHIP ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, FUTURE CONTRACT HAS BEEN RAISED OVER THE COURSE OF MANY MONTHS, THE CHAMBER STAFF AND BOARD HAS RECOGNIZED THAT THERE IS SOME WRITING ON THE WALL.
THERE ARE SOME DESIRES, UM, REQUESTS NEEDS FROM THE COMMUNITY AND FROM THE ELECTED OFFICIALS TO, TO MAKE SOME ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES.
ALTHOUGH I DON'T THINK WE ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE YET.
THEY'VE ALREADY STARTED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS SO THAT THEY CAN HELP GET CREATIVE MM-HMM.
WITH THAT SAID, THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY.
SO THEY'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET.
THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR MORE DIRECTLY ABOUT IF THERE ARE ANY CONCEPTS LIKE YOU'VE JUST SUGGESTED COUNSELOR WILLIAMSON AND, AND OTHERS WHO ARE GOING TO BE WEIGHING IN THIS AFTERNOON, THAT THEY CAN FURTHER GO BACK TO THEIR BOARD AND THEIR MEMBERS AND, AND, AND TRY TO, TO GUIDE THOSE DISCUSSIONS ACCORDINGLY.
AND IF I CAN ADD TO THAT, WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US IS, IS TO REALLY GET VERY CLEAR ON WHAT THE ISSUES ARE BECAUSE I THINK THEN WE CAN BE THAT MUCH MORE CREATIVE IN COMING BACK WITH A RECOMMENDATION.
UM, NOT TO SAY THAT I'M NOT INTERESTED IN THE CONCEPTS, CUZ WE ARE, I MEAN, WHATEVER IS ON YOUR MIND, WE JUST WANNA HEAR MORE FROM YOU SINCE JUNE.
UM, BUT, BUT I KNOW THAT IF WE CAN REALLY DRILL DOWN TO WHAT THE ISSUES ARE, FLAT OUT BLANKET, IT'LL REALLY HELP US TO KNOW HOW TO PRIORITIZE THEM.
HOW MANY ARE THERE, WHAT ARE THEY, AND, AND HOW CAN WE ADDRESS THEM? AND THAT'S WHAT WE, WE WANNA ADDRESS 'EM BACK IN JANUARY OR COMING UP IN JANUARY.
SO SCOTT IS NEXT, THEN TOM, THEN KATHY.
WOULD YOU CALL ON ME TOO, PLEASE? SURE.
THESE ARE JUST MY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER.
SO, UH, AS I WAS, WAS COMPILING EVERYTHING, I JUST PUT IT DOWN.
I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THAT SOME OF THESE, UH, CITIES, UH, THAT THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT VARIABLES.
I WAS TOLD THAT FOR THE MOST PART IN OUR REGION OR IN OTHER PARTS OF THIS STATE, THAT THE, EVERYBODY'S GOING TO A, UH, CITY MANAGE DESTINATION MARKETING OR ORGANIZATION.
THAT THERE'S, IT'S VARIED THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
I MEAN, OTHER THAN PRESCOTT AND FLAGSTAFF, UH, THERE'S REALLY MOST DOING WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW, BUT I STILL DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S, THAT CAN'T BE IMPROVED ON.
THAT'S HOW YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW WITH EVERY PACKET.
UM, IF, YOU KNOW, I'M CONCERNED, WE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, IN THE PAST BRINGING MARKETING OF SOME SORT, WHATEVER WE WANNA CALL IT IN HOUSE, BUT THEN I JUST GOT INVOLVED OR JUST FINISHED OR COMPLETED, UH, A JOURNEY FOR THE PAST 15 MONTHS WHERE PEOPLE WERE CRITICIZING ME AND THE COUNCIL FOR BLOATING STAFF, TOO MUCH STAFF, TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT MM-HMM.
SO IT'S REALLY A CATCH 22 FOR ME WHEN I WANNA BE RESPONSIVE TO OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR BUSINESSES AND OUR OTHER MERCHANTS AND HOTELS AS WELL, EQUALLY.
BUT TO DO THAT, YOU KNOW, IF I DO ONE, IT'S, I'M A BAD GUY WITH ONE GROUP AND VICE VERSA.
SO, UH, BUT I THINK SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS AN ISSUE OR, OR
[02:45:01]
PERCEPTION THAT BY WORKING THE WAY WE HAVE BEEN WORKING, WE ARE HELPING YOUR MEMBERS.THAT THERE'S, AND THAT'S WHAT WHERE THE ISSUE THAT I HAVE, I WANT TO SEPARATE TO SOME DEGREE SO THAT WE KNOW THAT THE DMO IS SEPARATE FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIP.
SO THERE COULD BE NO, HOWEVER IT LOOKS, I'M NOT, I DON'T KNOW IF A BOARD, A SEPARATE BOARD IS THE RIGHT WAY.
I'M SAYING IT'S NOT, I DON'T KNOW.
UH, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT.
I THINK ONE ANSWER MIGHT BE HAVING A CITIZENS GROUP BE PART OF AN ADVISORY GROUP THAT WOULD SHARE THEIR OPINIONS AND CONCERNS WITH WHATEVER KIND OF, WHETHER IT'S TWO BOARDS OR ONE BOARD, YOU NEED TO HAVE OUR RESIDENTS HEARD.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A GROUP OF RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES, HOTELS, AND OTHERS OKAY.
WORKING TOGETHER BECAUSE EVERYBODY SEEMS TO, AND IT WAS DISCUSSED EARLIER, TOURISM IS A BAD THING.
I DON'T THINK IT'S A BAD THING.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT THIS IS WHAT WE'RE COMPRISED OF.
SO, BUT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER.
SO, UM, AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS THAT OR NOT.
WELL, I'M SEEING THAT THERE'S NOT, THE, THE RESIDENTS AREN'T UNDERSTANDING THAT, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF SOME OF THE BUSINESSES.
THAT THAT'S HOW WE, UH, GENERATE AND, AND RUN THE CITY.
WE GENERATE TAXES, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, SALES TAX, NOT A PROPERTY TAX.
SO THERE'S A HUGE BENEFIT TO OUR RESIDENTS BY NOT HAVING A PROPERTY TAX.
SO, UH, THAT'S IMPORTANT, BUT YET WE HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC AND, AND SOME OF THE RESIDENTS ARE EQUATING TRAFFIC BUILDUP TO TOURISM.
SO THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME TYPE OF GROUPING, UH, WHETHER IT'S A YEARLY PANEL BROUGHT TOGETHER OR, OR WHATEVER, UH, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING TWO SEPARATE BOARDS BECAUSE I, I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD WORK.
UM, I THINK THAT COVERED IT FOR ME, MICHELLE, QUESTION VICE MAYOR THEN.
SO MAKING SURE THE RESIDENTS ARE HEARD IS WHAT I'M PULLING OUT OF WHAT YOU JUST SHARED.
UM, AND HOW WE DO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN COME BACK WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON THAT.
UM, THE, THE CAN, IF I MAY ASK JUST DIRECTLY, WHAT DO YOU, WHAT WAS THE BENEFIT WHEN THE IDEA OF BRINGING IT, THE MARKETING IN HOUSE, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BENEFIT OF THAT WOULD'VE BEEN IN ANSWER TO THE PUBLIC, UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU'RE BEING, AND I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, YOU'RE BEING CRITICIZED AS DOING A GOOD JOB.
AND I KNOW THAT WHEN WE TASK YOU WITH SUCH PROJECTS OF THE, UH, THE BUSING SYSTEM, THE TRAIL HAD SHUTTLED.
I, THERE'S A LONG LIST I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO TO EXPAND MY, MY TALKING HERE, BUT WE GIVE YOU PROJECTS AND YOU DO A GREAT JOB.
BUT SOME PEOPLE SEEM TO SAY YOU'RE BETTERING THE MEMBERS OF THE, OF THE CHAMBER THAT THEY'RE BEING, YOU KNOW, UH, ENRICHED IN SOME WAY BY OUR DOING OUR PROJECTS.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S TRUE, I DON'T THINK IT'S TRUE, BUT IT'S STILL THE PERCEPTION BY THE COMMUNITY AND THEY NEED TO BE HEARD.
BUT THEY NEED TO ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT TRAFFIC IS NOT AN INDICATOR OF TOURISM.
IT'S AN INDICATOR OF PEOPLE COMING FROM PHOENIX AND DRIVING UP ON THEIR OWN ON A DAY TRIP THROUGH, UH, TO THE GRAND CANYON AND ANY OTHER, UH, WHAT, OKAY, I'M SORRY.
UM, SO THESE ARE THE KIND OF ANSWERS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT ANSWER IS, BUT I'D LIKE TO HAVE SOME CHOICES.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, THIS LIST IS REALLY COMPELLING OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS AND IT'S NOT WHAT WE WERE TOLD I WAS TOLD BEFORE.
SO THIS IS REALLY EYE OPENING FOR ME.
AND IT, IT HELPS BECAUSE THERE'S A VARIED WAY OF DOING THINGS.
UH, SO I THINK THAT COVERS ME FOR, FOR NOW.
MAYOR, WOW, THERE'S A LOT IN THIS.
I'M A BIG PROCESS GUY,
[02:50:01]
THE BUSINESSES.THEY DON'T LIKE TOURISM OR THEY DON'T, IT'S, I ASK WHY, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHY IS THERE THAT PERCEPTION? BUT WHY DO THE RESIDENTS NOT LIKE TOURISM? WELL, BECAUSE THEY CREATE TRAFFIC.
WELL, YEAH, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD.
AND, AND, AND SO WHY DO THE TOURISTS CREATE TRAFFIC? BECAUSE WE ADVERTISE AND WE ASK THEM TO COME UP HERE AND, AND, AND WHY DO THEY COME UP HERE? BE BECAUSE WE WANT TO SELL STUFF TO THEM AND GET TAX REVENUES AND MAKE THE CITY BETTER WITH SOME OF THE AMENITIES WE HAVE.
WELL, WHY DO WE WANNA DO THAT? WELL, BECAUSE THEN THE RESIDENTS HAVE BETTER AMENITIES AND THINGS AND, AND IT KIND OF GOES FULL CIRCLE.
I'M A RESIDENT MYSELF AND I LIKE BUSINESSES.
I LIKE TO EAT THE RESTAURANTS.
SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO GET A RESERVATION, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S THE WAY IT GOES.
I DON'T WANNA EAT AT THE SAME DINER WHILE I LOOK OUT AT A SILO EVERY TIME LIKE I DO IN MIDWEST WHERE I CAME FROM A TOWN OF 10,000 PEOPLE.
SO IT'S, THE BUSINESSES ARE ARE IN THERE.
SO THE PROBLEM YOU HAVE IS THE CHAMBER GETS BLAMED.
WHY? BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT WE PERCEIVE ARE DRIVING THE TOURIST TO COME UP BECAUSE WE CONTRACT WITH THEM TO DO THAT.
ONLY WE TELL THEM, STOP MARKETING.
SO WE COME UP WITH THIS GREAT SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN.
I'M STILL NOT SURE WHAT THAT DOES.
I HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH YOU BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT IT TO BE, BUT OH, IT'S SUSTAINABLE AND THAT WE PROTECT THE LAND AND THE SACRED HILLS AND ALL THIS GREAT STUFF.
BUT IT ALSO PROTECTS THE BUSINESSES BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE THEM COME UP AND PEOPLE SAY, WELL, WHERE IS THAT SUSTAINABILITY POINT? SO THE CHAMBER'S GONNA GET TO A POINT WHERE THEY KNOW THAT 3.2 MILLION TOURISTS ARE EXACTLY THE RIGHT NUMBER AND WE'RE GONNA MANAGE TO THEM, AND THEY'RE GONNA BE THIS PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE THAT STAY OVER THIS PER, IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY.
YOU CAN'T MANAGE IT THAT EFFECTIVELY.
BUT WHEN PHOENIX GROWS BY 2 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE NEXT DECADE, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE GONNA COME UP HERE.
AND AS PEOPLE LOVE SEDONA AND WE GET REPETITIVE BUSINESS, THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE.
SO NOW WHAT'S THE STRUCTURE THAT WE SHOULD HAVE WITH THE, THE CHAMBERS OR THE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING HEARD BECAUSE THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO BE HEARD AND IT'S THEIR TOWN.
SO THEY SHOULD HAVE THEIR INPUT.
AND I, AND AS A RESIDENT, I'VE TALKED TO A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS, SO I KNOW WHERE, WHAT SOME OF THEM HAVE SAID.
SO WHAT, WHAT I HAVE A QUESTION IS WHAT'S THE RIGHT STRUCTURE THEN? IS IT REALISTIC TO SAY THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SHOULD BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH A SUSTAINABILITY PLAN THAT MANAGES THE EXACT NUMBER, THAT GIVES US THE EXACT REVENUES WE NEED ON AN ONGOING BASIS, ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION THAT EVERYBODY'S HAPPY ABOUT AND WE JUST LIVE AT A SOCIALISTIC STATE THAT WORKS GREAT.
I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT WORK ANYWHERE YET.
THAT'S LIKE CURING HOMELESSNESS.
WHAT, WHAT DO YOU, HOW DO YOU GET TO THAT POINT? I, SO NOW I LOOK AT WHAT'S THE STRUCTURE WE HAVE, RIGHT? AT LEAST AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET TO WHAT MAKES SENSE.
AND AS A RESIDENT, I REPRESENT SOME OF THE RESIDENTS OUT THERE AND IT'S GONNA FALL ON ME TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION BASED ON ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE AND THE BEST I COULD DO, HEARING THEIR INPUT.
I, I, I'M HESITANT TO PUT A WHOLE BUNCH OF NEW GROUPS TOGETHER AND GIVE INPUT BECAUSE IT'S GOOD TO DO THAT.
BUT YOU, YOU CAN GET ANALYSIS PARALYSIS.
IT TAKES FOREVER TO DO THIS THING.
I GUESS I WOULD ASK, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DMO STRUCTURE, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE INFORMATION YOU GAVE US IN THE TABLES, I SEE THAT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, DMO IS WITH A BUDGET FROM A HALF MILLION TO ONE AND A HALF MILLION IS ONE CATEGORY.
THEN I SEE ONE AND A HALF MILLION TO 300 MILLION.
THIS IS IN THE FIRST CHART AND THEN THEN IT GOES TO 3 MILLION TO 500 MILLION.
I ASSUME THAT SHOULD BE 300 MILLION TO 500 MILLION.
AND I NOTICED UP ABOVE IN THE LANGUAGE IT SAYS THREE, IT GOES 500 K TO ONE AND A HALF MILLION, ONE AND A HALF MILLION TO 300 MILLION, AND THEN 300 MILLION TO 5 MILLION.
SO I WOULD ASK THAT YOU PROOFREAD YOUR STUFF SO THAT THE NUMBERS ALL SEEM TO MAKE SENSE AND WHAT WE GET, SO WE ANALYZE IT, WE CAN LOOK AT IT.
I'M ASSUMING THAT THIS IS A BUDGET AMOUNT BASED ON WHAT THE CHART SAYS.
AND IT'S BASED UPON ALL THIS DATA IS ON BEST PRACTICES IN THE INDUSTRY OR ELSE IT'S ON, IT'S A SUMMARY OF LIKE PEOPLE DOING WORST PRACTICES AT MAJORITY DON'T KNOW WHICH IT IS.
BUT, BUT I'M GONNA GO WITH ITS BEST PRACTICES BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING.
SO IF YOU'RE IN A BUDGET OF 1.6, UH, 7 0 2 11 ROUGHLY FROM THE CITY YOU FALL IN THE SECOND CATEGORY, WHICH IS THE ONE AND A HALF MILLION TO 300 MILLION, RIGHT? UM, OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE HAS 1% CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
WELL, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IS THE RIGHT SOLUTION.
THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT ORGANIZATION.
ALTHOUGH IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS THE BUSINESSES THAT THEN IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA FURTHER DOWN, IT SAYS 93%, UH, IN THAT CATEGORY GO TO A PRIVATE PUBLIC SECTOR, NON-PROFIT, WHATEVER.
SO THAT IS AN ORGANIZATION LIKE THE CHAMBER HAS SET UP FOR THE TOURISM BUREAU.
[02:55:01]
THIS CONFLICT COMING IN? AND THEN WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, COMMERCE AND THE TOURISM BUREAU, I GO DOWN AND I SAY, WELL, AM I, AM I DOING BUSINESS WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE? SHOULD I PUT AN RFP OUT AND, AND, AND REALLY EXPAND THIS SEARCH? AND, AND YET I LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, ONE OUT OF 10 DO AN RFP IN THE CITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE AND THESE ORGANIZATIONS BASED UPON THE NICHOLS TOURISM GROUP'S INFORMATION, THE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY, NO RFP, THAT WOULD BE THE CITY OF SEDONA.SEVEN OUT OF 10 CITIES OPERATE THAT WAY.
AND TWO ARE NO CONTRACT, THE PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE BECAUSE THEY PROBABLY COME FROM A FUNDING DISTRICT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO IT'S NOT APPLICABLE REALLY.
SO IN GENERAL, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE, WE'VE GOT THE, WE DON'T NEED TO PUT OUT AN RFP NECESSARILY, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE A PRETTY GOOD FEEL FOR WHAT WE'RE GETTING IS WHAT WE'RE ORGANIZING, ASKING FOR CONTRACTS ONE YEAR, 58%, FIVE YEARS, 42%.
NOBODY ELSE HAS SHORTER CONTRACTS.
SO IN OUR CONTRACT, I THINK OURS, OUR CONTRACT, RIGHT? WELL, YEAH, THAT'S OKAY.
WE CAN CANCEL WITH ANY FOR ANY REASON.
PRETTY SHORT NOTICE IT, IT BECOMES KIND OF IMMATERIAL THEN IT MAKES EVERYBODY FEEL GOOD THAT MAYBE WE'LL STAY TOGETHER LONGER.
SO THEN I LOOK AT THE, THE, THE RATE OF WHAT'S BEING PAID.
ARE WE PAYING THE RIGHT AMOUNT? ARE WE GETTING WHAT WE SHOULD BE GETTING FOR THE MONEY? AND IF I TAKE OUT THE, THE VISITOR CENTER FOR HALF A MILLION DOLLARS OF COST IN THE 1.672, YOU KNOW, OH 2, 2 11, I'M DOWN TO ABOUT 1,000,001 OR WHATEVER.
IF YOU JUST CHARGE YOUR 7 38 OR WHATEVER THE NUMBER IS, 132 BUCKS A MONTH TO DO ADVERTISING EACH, YOU COULD TELL US THROUGH A POUND SAND BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED ALL OUR MONEY.
YOU, YOU COULD DO IT BY YOURSELF.
SO I'M NOT SURE THAT THE BUSINESS IS GETTING A BIG BENEFIT FROM 132 BUCKS PER, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT WAY OF MONEY THAT COMES IN, IT'S THE SYNERGY YOU GET OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNIST SCALE WORKING WITH YOU.
THAT, AND OUTSOURCING IS A WAY TO GO, IN MY OPINION.
SO I THINK WE'RE IN THAT RIGHT ORGANIZATION BECAUSE WE TRY AND DO THAT IN-HOUSE, IT'S GONNA COST US SIGNIFICANTLY MORE.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT SALARIES AND BENEFITS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO NOW IT COMES DOWN TO, WELL, WHAT'S THE PERCEPTION? THE PERCEPTION IS, AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE TWO BOARDS.
I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE ON DIFFERENT BOARDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO YOU COULD HAVE THE SAME IDENTICAL BOARD COVER BOTH IF YOU WANTED TO JUST, WELL, WE DON'T REALLY NEED TWO BOARDS, BUT WE CAN HAVE ONE FOR EACH IF WE WANT.
NOW IT COMES DOWN TO WHAT'S THE PROPER SEPARATION.
AND THIS IS WHERE I HAVE AN ISSUE IN THAT, A QUESTION AS WELL IS AT THE VISITOR CENTER, THOSE FLYERS AND ADVERTISING MATERIAL, ARE THOSE ONLY FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE MEMBERS? WE OFFER A PROGRAM FOR NON-MEMBERS ALSO FOR A CHARGE.
SO THEY, IT EFFECT BECOME MEMBERS BY PAYING FOR THE CHARGES, KIND OF WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE.
I MEAN, THEY MAY NOT BE MEMBERS TECHNICALLY, BUT, SO MY, MY CONCERN IS WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A TOURISM? WHAT'S THE OF A TOURISM BUREAU IF I DID THAT, IF, IF I DIDN'T, DO I HAVE TO BECOME A MEMBER? BECAUSE IT, IT SAYS MOST OF THESE PEOPLE IN THE LARGER OPERATIONS DON'T HAVE DUES PAYING MEMBERS.
YOU KNOW, UH, 40% DON'T HAVE MEMBERS OF PARTNERSHIPS.
AND THERE'S A PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM LIKE THE CITY OF 33%.
SO ALMOST THREE QUARTERS OF THE ORGANIZATIONS DON'T REALLY RELY ON THE MEMBERSHIP.
I'M JUST WONDERING, AND I'M IGNORANT OF HOW THE TOURISM BUREAUS AROUND ARE WORKING ON HOW THEY GET FUNDED AND IF THEY PAY MEMBER DUES OR DO THEY GET THE MONEY FOR THOSE BUSINESSES, THOSE CITIES, STRUCTURES OF TOURISM BUREAUS THAT ARE NOT ATTACHED TO A CHAMBER.
DOES EVERYBODY GET TO BE REPRESENTED THAT PAYS TAXES? BECAUSE IT COMES DOWN TO THE POINT OF, IF I'M NOT A MEMBER OF THE CHAMBER AND YET I DO PAY SALES TAX OR BED TAX, WHY AM I NOT ALLOWED AT THE VISITOR CENTER THAT'S FUNDED BY THE CITY'S MONEY TO PUT MY MATERIALS THERE? WHY ISN'T THE CITY SAYING, AS A TOURISM BUREAU, I EMBRACE EVERYBODY AND THIS MAY BE THE RIGHT SOLUTION YOU WANT OR THAT MAY BE THE RIGHT PLACE TO GO, BUT I SHOULD HAVE EVERYBODY THAT'S OUT THERE SEPARATE FROM THE CHAMBER WHO THEY PAY MEMBERSHIP, THEY GET OTHER BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP, BUT IT SHOULDN'T BLEED OVER INTO THE TOURISM SIDE.
THAT'S WHERE I NEED THAT SEPARATION.
AND WHAT I'D RECOMMEND IS MAYBE INSTEAD OF HAVING TWO CEOS AND, AND COUNCIL WILLIAMSON POINTED TO THIS FACT THAT IF WE SEPARATE 'EM, NOW YOU'VE GOT TWO COMPLETE ENTITIES, YOU'VE DOUBLED THE COST.
IT BECOMES A, IT'S NOT AS EFFICIENT AS IT COULD BE COST-WISE IF YOU COULD CREATE A FIREWALL THAT SEEMS TO WORK VERSUS JUST A TENTATIVE, HERE'S KIND OF HOW WE ALLOCATE THIS AND THAT.
AND MAYBE WHAT THE CHAMBER NEEDS TO DO IS SAY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CONTRACT WITH A SEPARATE TOURISM BUREAU, WHICH IS A SEPARATE PIECE, BUT WE'RE GONNA LET THE CEO AND THE OTHER PERSON PAY GET PAID THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY UNDER A CONTRACTUAL BASIS THAT SAYS WE'RE GONNA GET THAT SUPPORT AND THAT INPUT FROM THOSE PEOPLE WHEN WE NEED THEM.
BUT IT'S, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO HODGEPODGE THESE PERCENTAGES ACROSS BACK AND FORTH.
[03:00:01]
I THINK THE MONEY NEEDS TO BE FOCUSED ON TOURISM AND SAY, HERE'S WHERE IT GOES.AND IF WE COULD FIGURE OUT A WAY TO SPLIT THAT IN SOME KIND OF A STRUCTURE WHERE WE PAY FOR THAT VERSUS, WELL, WE'RE GONNA JUST PAY FOR A LUMP SUM AND THIS IS HOW WE'RE GONNA SEPARATE IT OUT, MIGHT MAKE IT MORE UNDERSTANDABLE FOR PEOPLE.
AND FROM AN ACCOUNTABILITY STANDPOINT, THAT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION TO YOU TO LET THE PUBLIC KNOW, YEAH, THIS IS REALLY A SEPARATE ENTITY.
THERE'S NOT THAT CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
IF WE NEED THAT, WE GO GET THAT SUPPORT AND WE PAY FOR THAT SUPPORT AS WE NEED IT.
UM, SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION.
AND THE DIRECTION YOU'RE GONNA GET IS PROBABLY AT LEAST SEVEN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
CAUSE WE PROBABLY WILL EACH CONTRADICT OURSELVES AT SOME POINT AS WELL.
SO LET'S ACKNOWLEDGE THAT RIGHT, RIGHT OFF THE BAT THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA GET CLEAR DIRECTION TONIGHT, BUT IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO START THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, THIS WAS A LOT OF INFO IN THIS PACKET AND WE GET PACKETS ALL THE TIME WITH LOTS OF INFO, BUT THEY'RE USUALLY FACTUAL INFO AND IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE CONTRACT OR THIS IS THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE.
DO YOU WANNA WORDSMITH? AND IT'S SOMETHING MORE CONCRETE.
THIS WAS SO SUBJECTIVE BECAUSE A LOT OF IT, IT REACHED OUT TO, UH, AND THE FOUR, UH, RESPONDENTS TO THE SURVEY, WHICH I APPRECIATED THE SURVEY.
AND THE SURVEY QUESTIONS WERE GREAT, BUT THE RESPONDENTS EACH THINK THEY HAVE THE RIGHT MODEL FOR THEM.
SO THEY'RE PUTTING THAT INFORMATION FORWARD IN DEFENSE OF THAT.
SO IT DIDN'T PROVIDE TO ME A LOT OF WHAT I NEED, BECAUSE PART OF WHY WE'RE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION IS WE QUESTION IF WE HAVE THE RIGHT MODEL.
SO HEARING SOMEBODY ELSE DEFEND THE MODEL DOESN'T HELP ME IN, IN THIS.
I MEAN, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THE INFORMATION, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING.
UM, THERE ARE ALSO PROBABLY HUNDREDS OF MODELS.
I MEAN, WE'VE CAPTURED SOME OF THEM HERE, BUT THERE WERE PROBABLY OTHERS THAT WE HAVEN'T CAPTURED TO GO TO.
THE, ONE OF THE POINTS THAT WAS RAISED EARLIER ABOUT, UH, A TWO BOARD SYSTEM FOR CLARITY, TO ME, THAT THAT DOESN'T CLARITY IS, IS MY GOAL WITH THIS.
AND, AND TO ME THAT DOESN'T PROVIDE SOME OF THE CLARITY BECAUSE IT'S ANOTHER LEVEL.
AND THERE'S SOME, AGAIN, SOME, SOME CONFUSION OF THAT.
SO I, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING AT THIS POINT THAT I'M FAVORING.
UM, OF COURSE, WHEN WE SPEAK ABOUT IT FURTHER ON, THERE MIGHT BE A MODEL OUT THERE THAT DOES SHOW SOMETHING THAT WOULD WORK, BUT I'M NOT SEEING THAT YET.
SO I'M LEANING VERY MUCH AWAY FROM THAT.
I STILL SEE THAT AS, AS CUMBERSOME.
TO ME, THE ROLE OF THE CHAMBER, OR A CHAMBER'S ROLE RATHER, IS TO REPRESENT THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER.
THE CITY'S ROLE IS TO REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF THE RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES, MERCHANTS, CULTURAL INTERESTS, NONPROFITS WITHIN THE CITY AND, AND THE VISITORS WITHIN THE CITY.
NOT, IT'S NOT A MEMBER ORGANIZATION.
WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT'S GOING ON WITHIN THAT AREA.
YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A RESIDENT, AS A BUSINESS, AS A VISITOR.
UM, THAT'S WHERE I THINK WE NEED THE MORE OF THE CLARITY WE NEED.
THE CITY NEEDS SOME SERVICES THAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO CONDUCT EFFICIENTLY.
YOU HAVE EXPERTISE IN CERTAIN AREAS.
I THINK VICE MAYOR TOUCHED ON THAT, AND I'M NOT DISAGREEING WITH THAT STATEMENT.
SOME OF THE TASKING DOES GO WELL, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE GREAT WORK ON, ON THE SHUTTLE AND GETTING WORD OUT WITH THAT.
IT'S A ROLE THAT WE'RE ASKING, YOU KNOW, FOR THE CHAMBER TO FULFILL.
TO ME, IN MANY WAYS, THIS COMES DOWN TO, AND I MAY BE OVERSIMPLIFYING IT IN THIS CASE, BUT, AND THIS MAY BE OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THIS DOCUMENT, BUT IT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN THINKING NOW FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.
THERE'S A PROCUREMENT ISSUE HERE IN MY MIND.
IT'S, TO ME, I THINK THE CITY NEEDS TO DO A BETTER JOB OF SAYING, WE NEED SERVICE A, SERVICE B, SERVICE C, WE NEED FOR SOMEBODY TO SAY, YES, I CAN PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES FOR THESE DOLLARS.
IT MIGHT BE FLAGSTAFF'S CHAMBER OR DMO.
IT MIGHT BE A THIRD PARTY OUT OF PHOENIX.
IT MIGHT BE SOMEBODY ELSE SOMEWHERE.
THERE SHOULD BE, IN MY MIND, A BIDDING PROCESS THAT IS OPEN TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A FAIR AND ABOVE BOARD PROCUREMENT POLICY FOR THE SERVICES THAT, THAT WE DO NEED.
TO ME, IT'S THE SAME, WHETHER IT'S A PAVING OF A ROAD, THE INSTALLATION OF PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT, OR EVEN LIKE THE IT SERVICES, LIKE BROADCASTING
[03:05:01]
THIS MEETING RIGHT NOW, WE PROCURE THOSE SERVICES.THE SERVICES THAT WE PROCURE IN DESTINATION, UH, VISITOR MANAGEMENT SHOULD, IN MY MIND BE THE SAME WAY.
SO I WOULD LIKE A LINE ITEM SYSTEM, I THINK, AND AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT BRINGS US DOWN TO CLEARER PROCUREMENT POLICIES THAT ARE IN SYNC WITH THE WAY THAT WE CONDUCT OUR PROCUREMENT POLICIES IN EVERY OTHER AREA OF CITY BUSINESS.
UM, I DO AGREE WITH COUNSELOR AND LAMPKIN, UH, COMPLETELY ON, UH, THE VISITOR'S BUREAU BECAUSE TO ME, IF THAT IS A SERVICE THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR PROCUREMENT FOR MANAGEMENT ON, AND ANYBODY BUSINESS A WHO MIGHT WANNA DO IT BETTER, SOMEBODY WE'VE NEVER HEARD OF THE CHAMBER OR A NEIGHBOR SAY, HERE'S THE BID TO MANAGE THE VISITOR BUREAU.
I THINK PART OF WHAT'S FALLEN DOWN, IT'S OUR BAD.
YOU KNOW, I I, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR MY COLLEAGUES, BUT I URGE US TO ALL OWN IT, THAT WE'VE BEEN VERY UNCLEAR IN THE PAST ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT, THAT WE WANT OR HOW IT SHOULD HAPPEN.
SO AGAIN, THAT GOES BACK TO THE VALUE OF THIS CONVERSATION.
BUT FOR THE VISITOR'S BUREAU, IF IT'S BEING RUN FOR THE CITY, I DO COMPLETELY AGREE WITH TOM THAT IT NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS OPEN TO ALL THE BUSINESSES IN THE CITY TO BE DISPLAYING THEIR INFORMATION EQUALLY TO, UM, HAVE THE SAME SHOT AT THAT APPLE FOR THEIR BITE OF IT.
UM, IT SHOULDN'T BE, THAT SHOULDN'T BE MEMBER BASED IF IT'S BEING CITY MANAGED OR CITY SERVICE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT GIVES YOU ALL OF THE DIRECTION THAT YOU NEED.
AND I, AND I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THOSE THOUGHTS.
AGAIN, FOR ME, PROCUREMENT, AND IT NEEDS TO BE CLEAR AND IT NEEDS TO BE CONSISTENT, AND THERE NEEDS TO BE NOT A MIX OF THE CHAMBER MEMBERS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE TO SOMETHING THAT THE CITY IS FUNDING AND TRYING TO PROVIDE.
THAT HAS TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR IN TERMS OF WHO THEN PROVIDES IT, WHETHER IT'S THE CHAMBER OR BUSINESS A OR WHOEVER.
I DON'T, YOUR BOARD IS YOUR BOARD, YOU'RE AN ORGANIZATION.
THE SAME IS, I DON'T KNOW WHO'S ON TIFFANY CONSTRUCTIONS, YOU KNOW, MAKING THAT WE PAY THEM FOR THE SERVICE HAND OVER THE MONEY FOR THAT SERVICE TO OUR STANDARDS.
THERE IS A CLEAR CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP THAT IS ONE OF THE STANDARDS THAT I'VE BEEN KICKING AROUND AND THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON THE TABLE FOR OUR FUTURE DISCUSSIONS.
WHEN YOU SAY VISITORS BUREAU, DO YOU MEAN THE VISITOR? I MEAN THE VISITOR CENTER.
SO I KNOW I, I STUMBLE OVER WORDS FREQUENTLY.
HOLLY, CAN I, OH, CAN I ASK A QUICK QUESTION? SURE.
BUT I'M GLAD YOU'D ASKED THAT, MAYOR, BECAUSE I, UNDER, I WAS THINKING, UM, COUNSELOR ELLA, THAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO THE TOURISM BUREAU AND SOME OF WHAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED, I THINK WITH SOME, DIRECTLY WITH YOU, SOME OF YOU AND, AND OUR, AND OUR BOARD, THIS WHOLE AND THE INDUSTRY, THERE ARE, THERE ARE STRUCTURES MM-HMM.
AND, AND THE DMO OPERATES WITHOUT ONE, WITHOUT THAT MEMBERSHIP KIND OF COMMITMENT.
UM, SO WOULD YOU SAY THEN, IS, IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE GETTING AT? NO, IT WASN'T.
AND BROUGHT IT OUT THAT I WAS REFERRING TO THE VISITOR'S BUREAU, BECAUSE TO ME THAT IS A SERVICE THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO HAVE CONDUCTED.
BEFORE HOLLY GOES ON, CAN I JUST TAG ONTO SOMETHING THAT, UH, COUNCIL SAID? OKAY.
I THINK IT'S, WHAT WAS IT THE LAST YEAR THAT WE HAD THE SAME DISCUSSION ABOUT THE VISITOR'S CENTER AND IT BEING, UH, TAX BASED FROM THE CITY.
AND I WORKED THE SAME THING UP THEN.
AND I TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID TODAY.
AND I SAID IT A YEAR AGO OR WHENEVER IT WAS, WE'RE PAYING FOR THAT SERVICE.
IT, AND I, I, IT SHOULD BE OPEN TO ALL BUSINESSES, HOWEVER, THAT WORKED.
AND I WAS TOLD SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
I BELIEVE IT WAS THE LAST CEO HAD A DIFFERENT ANSWER FOR ME.
AND, UM, THAT ALL THE WALL SPACES USED FOR THE RACK CARDS, ALL, ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS WAS TOLD.
IT'S STILL OUR, YEAH, WE'RE STILL PAYING FOR THE SERVICE AND EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY WHETHER HOWEVER YOU MANAGE.
I DON'T WANNA MICROMANAGE IT, BUT I JUST WANNA REPEAT THAT FROM LAST YEAR.
UH, I, I AGREE WITH A LOT OF WHAT HAS BEEN SAID BY MY FELLOW COUNSELORS,
[03:10:01]
PARTICULARLY, UH, COUNSELORS, LAMPKIN AND ELLA.AND, AND I THINK THAT MICHELLE, FRANKLY, SOME OF MY CONCERNS COME FROM SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU SAY TO US WHEN WE HAVE OUR MEETINGS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, AT AT THE VISITOR CENTERS, IT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS, BUT THERE'S OTHERS AS WELL.
WE BELIEVE THAT THE DMO EXISTS THROUGH A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF SEDONA.
YOU TELL US WE'RE NOT YOUR CLIENT BECAUSE YOUR MEMBERS ARE YOUR CLIENT.
AND IT'S THAT, THAT INHERENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST THAT I CAN ABIDE BY.
YOU TAKE OUR MONEY TO OPERATE A VISITOR CENTER AND THEN CHARGE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT YOUR MEMBERS TO, TO BE ABLE TO USE IT.
THE BUSINESSES IN OUR CITY NEED TO BE ABLE TO USE THAT, PROVIDE THEIR INFORMATION, AND HAVE THE, THE VISITOR CENTER VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF GIVE EQUAL ACCESS TO THOSE BUSINESSES AND THEY DO TO CHAMBER MEMBERS.
AND IT'S, IT'S WITHIN THAT CONTEXT THAT IT TROUBLES ME AND THAT I FEEL THAT THERE HAS TO BE SOME SEPARATION OR SOME WAY.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S CLEANER IF IT'S A, IF IT'S A SEPARATE ENTITIES, I UNDERSTAND THAT IT COSTS MORE MONEY.
IT MIGHT BE WORTH PAYING MORE MONEY FOR THAT CLARITY.
BUT, UH, IT, YOU CAN'T BE ENRICHING YOUR MEMBERS, SOME OF WHOM ARE NOT EVEN WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS WITH CITY DOLLARS.
THEY DON'T PAY BED TAX, AND YET THEY'RE GETTING THE BENEFIT BECAUSE THEY'RE MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER OF PUBLIC FUNDING.
AND, AND THAT IS, TO ME, JUST AS I SAID, IT'S AN INTOLERABLE SITUATION.
SO HOW YOU FIGURE THAT OUT, IS IT UP TO YOU? BUT I CAN'T SUPPORT A, I I CAN'T SUPPORT AN INSTANCE WHERE WE'RE NOT RECOGNIZING OUR OWN BUSINESSES WITH, YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO ARE PAYING SALES TAX AND MED TAX WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT MEMBERS OF, OF A CHAMBER.
AND SO HOW, WHATEVER THAT STRUCTURE LOOKS LIKE, IT'S UP TO YOU.
BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THAT FOR PUBLIC FUNDS.
WE ARE YOUR CLIENT AND THE BUSINESSES IN THIS COMMUNITY, WHETHER THEY'RE MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER OR NOT, COME WITH THAT FUNDING.
ARE YOU FINISHED, HOLLY? I'M FINISHED.
I THINK WHAT YOU NEED IS ANOTHER OPINION.
UM, SO I'LL START BY SAYING ALL OF THE ABOVE.
UM, BUT I'M NOT GONNA BE HERE IN JANUARY TO HELP FIGURE THIS OUT FOR YOU.
SO I FEEL A LITTLE CONFLICTED IN THROWING IN TOO MUCH, UM, OF MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION ON THIS.
SO I THINK WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS, UM, IS START BY TALKING ABOUT THE PAST AS OPPOSED TO THE FUTURE, CUZ I WAS AROUND FOR THAT.
SO, UH, WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH BASICALLY THESE SAME ISSUES FOR FIVE, FOR THE FIVE AND A HALF YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN SERVING.
AND I'VE HAD SEPARATE CONVERSATIONS, PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, YOUR PREDECESSOR, UM, PREDECESSORS.
UM, AND THIS, CERTAINLY THIS IDEA OF TWO SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS HAS, HAS COME UP.
UM, IT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THOUGHT I THOUGHT OF ORIGINALLY,
UM, BUT IT'S, UH, IT HAS ITS OWN SET OF PROBLEMS. AND OVER THE TIME THAT WE'VE DEALT WITH THIS AND MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS OVER THE YEARS FROM, UH, FROM, FROM YOU GUYS, UH, ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND INPUT FROM US AS TO WHAT WE'D LIKE TO HAVE YOU DO, UM, IT'S JUST LED ME TO BELIEVE THAT IT'S GOING TO BE MESSY NO MATTER WHAT WE DO.
SO I'VE APPROACHED THIS LATELY MORE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF, OKAY, IT'S, IT'S NOT WORKING REALLY WELL RIGHT NOW, UM, BUT RATHER THAN, UH, JUMPING TO TRY AND CHANGE SOMETHING TO MAKE IT WORK BETTER, UM, WELL
[03:15:01]
ACTUALLY, YEAH, THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU MIGHT DO OTHERWISE.AND THE, THE IDEA OF, UH, UH, PUTTING OUT A, A BID FOR, FOR SERVICES, FOR MARKETING SERVICES, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, CAME UP THE FIRST YEAR I WAS ON, AND IT WAS PROBABLY THERE BEFORE.
UM, I, I THINK WE OWE JOHN MARTINEZ FOR BRINGING IT UP MORE OFTEN THAN ANYBODY ELSE, UM,
UM, BUT YOU WILL PROBABLY REMEMBER THAT I WAS, UH, A STAUNCH NO ON THAT IDEA, UH, BECAUSE I FELT LIKE THE VALUE THAT THE CHAMBER PROVIDES IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING THIS AREA.
UH, YOU, YOU, YOU LIVE HERE, YOU WORK HERE, UM, YOU REPRESENT BUSINESSES WHO ARE DEPENDENT ON THE RED ROCKS AND ALL OF THAT.
AND SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO PROTECT IT JUST LIKE WE DO.
AND, UM, YOU CAN GO OUT TO HIRE SOMEBODY ELSE FROM THE OUTSIDE AND YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM ALL OF THAT.
YOU HAVE TO EXPRESS IT IN A WAY THAT THEY CAN TURN IT INTO MARKETING THAT GIVES THE MESSAGE THAT WE WANT.
AND HONESTLY, I DON'T THINK WE'RE VERY GOOD AT SAYING WHAT THAT MESSAGE OUGHT TO BE.
UH, WE ARE MUCH BETTER WHEN YOU HAVE GONE OFF AND YOU'VE COME BACK AND SAY, HERE'S WHAT WE THINK IS A GOOD MESSAGE BASED ON THE VERY GENERAL STUFF THAT YOU'VE TOLD US, OR INCLUDING THE BUDGET THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US.
UM, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT? AND MY RECOLLECTION IS, MOST OF THE TIME WE'VE BEEN REALLY HAPPY WITH IT.
WE, THAT HASN'T STOPPED US FROM WANTING TO NITPICK EVERY LITTLE THING BECAUSE EVERYBODY THINKS THEY CAN MARK IT BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE.
UH, BUT YOU'VE BEEN INCREDIBLY PATIENT WITH US WHENEVER THAT'S HAPPENED AND LISTENED TO US AND, UM, FOUND, FOUND WAYS TO NAVIGATE THROUGH IT.
SO THAT HAS REINFORCED MY FEELING THAT WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT PEOPLE WORKING ON OUR MESSAGE THAT DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
THAT YOU ARE A MEMBERSHIP BASED ORGANIZATION FOR ALL THE REASONS THAT HAVE COME UP HERE, UM, INCLUDING STATEMENTS AS STRONG AS WHAT YOU JUST HEARD FROM COUNSELOR P YOU KNOW, TO THE POINT OF I CAN'T ABIDE BY THAT.
RIGHT? I'VE GOTTEN TO THAT POINT AND COME BACK FROM IT, UH, ON AT LEAST ONE OR TWO OCCASIONS BECAUSE I CAN'T COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER.
SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US? UM, I THINK, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO SEGUE JUST A LITTLE BIT TO THE SIDE.
I DIDN'T MAKE THIS POINT EARLIER IN THE OTHER PART, BUT I THINK IT'S GERMANIA TOO.
I WANNA BE SURE THAT, I KNOW YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND THIS, BUT I WANNA BE SURE THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS THAT WE DO A LOT FOR OUR BUSINESSES.
UH, AND IT'S WAYS IN WHICH MAY NOT BE, UM, AS, UH, VISIBLE, UH, AS, AS HOW MUCH WE GIVE TO YOU, UH, TO, TO DO THE JOB THAT YOU, UH, ARE ASKED TO DO.
UH, THAT'S VERY QUANTIFIABLE AND SO ON.
BUT WE, WE, UM, REVISED TWO CFAS RECENTLY AND ELIMINATED AS EVERYTHING WE COULD IN TERMS OF WORDING THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYBODY TO BUILD MORE HOTELS.
NOW, THAT'S ONE WAY OF LOOKING AT THAT IS THAT'S PROTECTING OUR HOTEL BUSINESSES.
IT'S ELIMINATING THE, UH, POTENTIAL MORE COMPETITION FOR THEM, UH, AND HELPING THEM TO FILL UP THEIR ROOMS IN, IN A VERY, UH, DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY.
THERE ARE OTHER EXAMPLES THAT WE CAN COME UP WITH OF, OF THINGS THAT WE DO FOR THAT.
SO I WANT IT TO BE CLEAR THAT, UM, WE ARE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO WORK ON THIS BALANCE.
YOU'VE HEARD THIS WORD BALANCE BEFORE.
WE'VE ALWAYS TRIED TO STRIVE FOR THAT.
BUT WHAT I'VE REALLY APPRECIATED, UH, AGAIN, IS THAT, UM, THE PEOPLE WE HAVE WORKED WITH AT THE CHAMBER, WHETHER IT'S THE CHAMBER OR THE TOURISM BUREAU, OR IT'S SOMEBODY REPRESENTING BOTH, IS THAT, UM, WE ARE, WE DO BASICALLY UNDERSTAND THE SAME VALUES.
AND SO IF THERE'S DIFFICULTIES IN HOW WE ORGANIZE OURSELVES OR WHATEVER, UH, TO, TO MAKE THAT WORK BETTER, UM, THAT HAS TO BE LOOKED AT.
BUT JUST AS WE PICK AWAY AT, UM, FONTS OR SOMETHING, THINGS THAT WOULD COME UP IN, IN YOUR MARKETING AND YOU, UH, YOU LIVE WITH US FOR THAT.
UM, I, I, I DON'T THINK I, I I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING THAT.
I THINK WE SHOULD BE TRUSTING YOU TO DO THAT.
AND JUST AS WE, UH, TRUST THE CONTRACTORS, WE, WE HAVE TO PAVE OUR ROADS WELL, AND WE HAVE PEOPLE, WE HAVE PEOPLE
[03:20:01]
ON STAFF THAT CAN LOOK OVER THAT AND MAKE SURE THEY DO IT BECAUSE THEY HAVE EXPERTISE IN THAT AREA.UH, WE DON'T HAVE EXPERTISE IN YOUR AREA, RIGHT? SO FOR US TO GO OUT AND GET IT SOMEWHERE ELSE ACTUALLY, ACTUALLY REQUIRES THAT WE HIRE SOMEONE IN HOUSE WHO KNOWS IT, UH, TO MANAGE THAT PROCESS.
AND I, I'M NOT EXCITED ABOUT DOING THAT.
UM, SO I WOULD, I WANT, UM, I WANT IT TO WORK AS WELL AS POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT I THINK IT IS REALLY WRONG FOR US, UH, TO BE SUGGESTING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES FOR YOU.
IF WE'RE NOT EXPERTS ON MARKETING.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE ANY MORE EXPERTS ON ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
NOW YOU'VE GOT A COUPLE OF OF PEOPLE HERE WHO DO UNDERSTAND AND HAVE LOOKED AT ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND YOU CAN TALK WITH THEM AND, AND, UH, UH, AND GET ADVICE FROM THEM.
BUT, UM, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT FOR MY, FOR MY COLLEAGUES HERE, UM, I, I, I, I DON'T WANT TO ADVISE YOU ON ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT'S OUR JOB TO DO.
I THINK IF IT COMES DOWN TO THE FACT THAT THE EASIEST WAY OUT, UH, THE LESS LEAST MESSY WAY TO DO IT IS TO, UM, TO DO AN RFP PROCESS AND THINK THROUGH WHAT THAT'S REALLY GOING TO INVOLVE, UM, THEN MAYBE WE NEED TO DO THAT.
AND, UH, AND, AND YOU WOULD BID ON IT OR YOU WOULD NOT BID ON IT BASED ON WHETHER YOU FELT YOU COULD DO THE KINDS OF THINGS WE WANT TO DO, WHICH IS TO BE ABLE TO PUT THE BRAKES ON AND PUT THE GAS ON ON WHEN WE WANT, UH, I SHOULD SAY ACCELERATOR.
I DON'T WANNA SAY GAS ANYMORE THAN I AB ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO.
UM, BUT WE, WE CLEARLY NEED TO DO THAT.
AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOUR BUSINESSES AREN'T NECESSARILY GONNA WANNA DO.
THEY'RE GONNA GO FULL, FULL STEAM AHEAD.
UM, SO, UM, I'M GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES.
UM, I PREDICTED THAT
AND THAT'S WHAT I HOPE WE CAN KEEP NO MATTER WHAT WE COME UP WITH.
AND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THREE SMARTER PEOPLE THAN ME WORKING ON IT IN JANUARY.
I THINK THEY'VE GOT SOME GREAT IDEAS AND THEY'LL HAVE SOME DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND MAYBE THEY'LL NEED SOME TRAINING AND SOME OF THE PAST.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE PAST A LITTLE BIT AND, AND, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THAT CONTINUES.
UM, I'LL BETTER, I GUESS I BETTER JUST STOP.
WELL, I, UH, I DO AGREE WITH JT ON, ON SOME THINGS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I AGREE ON IS I DON'T THINK IT'S OUR BUSINESS TO TELL YOU HOW TO RUN YOUR ORGANIZATION OR ANY, OR ANY BUSINESS TO RUN THEIR BUSINESS.
I MEAN, WE'RE NOT EXPERTS ON THAT.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ANY MODEL FOLLOW AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE, A FEE FOR SERVICES, BE A FEE FOR SERVICES MODEL SO THAT IT'S RELATIVELY DIS DEFINED AS CLEARLY AS POSSIBLE.
THIS IS THE SERVICE WE WANT YOU TO PROVIDE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE DOING THAT TO SOME EXTENT RIGHT NOW.
WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THAT CONTRACT AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND TO, TO TO GREAT AN EXTENT PROBABLY.
BUT, BUT I THINK IF WE, UH, YEAH, LIKE I SAY, FEE FOR SERVICES AND WE DON'T THINK WE CAN TELL ANY OTHER COMPANY WE CONTRACT WITH FOR SERVICES HOW TO RUN THEIR COMPANY.
I DON'T THINK WE NORMALLY DO THAT.
UH, AND IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME HERE.
I CERTAINLY, IF I WAS, IF I OWNED A BUSINESS IN SEDONA THAT WANTED TO ADVERTISE RELATED TO THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, LET'S SAY I, I WOULDN'T PARTICULARLY WANT SOMEBODY TELLING ME I COULDN'T ADVERTISE.
UM, AND IT'S BECAUSE I'M, WE'RE BEING, BECAUSE THE ORGANIZATION I BELONG TO IS BEING FUNDED BY TAX MONEY.
WELL, IT'S TAX MONEY, BUT NONE OF US PAY CITIZENS OF SEDONA DON'T PAY BED TAX.
SO REALLY, IS IT OUR, OUR MONEY? SO I I, I DO THINK THAT ONE THING THAT OUGHT TO BE ON, ON THE TABLE IS THAT WHEN WE ESTABLISHED THE HALF CENT BED TAX, AND I WAS IN THE ROOM WHEN IT WAS DONE IN THE AUDIENCE, NOT ON THE DYES, UH, IT, IT WAS A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING AT THAT TIME THAT IF THAT THE LODGING INDUSTRY IN THE CHAMBER WOULD
[03:25:01]
NOT, UH, LOBBY AGAINST ADOPTING THAT TAX AS LONG AS IT COULD BE USED FOR DESTINATION MARKETING.BUT NOW WE'RE COMING ALONG AND SAYING, NOPE, CAN'T USE IT FOR DESTINATION MARKETING.
WE CAN'T, YOU CAN'T USE IT FOR THAT.
SO I THINK THAT'S ALSO UNREASONABLE IF SOMEBODY, LIKE I SAY, IF SOMEBODY SAID, NO, YOU CAN'T ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS, I JUST WOULDN'T WANT SOMEBODY TELLING ME THAT.
AND I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY BUSINESS TELLING YOU HOW TO OPERATE, AS JT SAID, YOUR CHAMBER.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I STAND.
I I WON'T BE ON COUNCIL WHEN YOU'RE HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS, BUT I DO THINK THEY NEED TO BE HAD.
IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO KEEP OUR PROMISE THAT WE MADE TO YOU WHEN WE INSTITUTED THAT HALF CENT TAX, WELL THEN WE SHOULD REMOVE THE HALF CENT TAX.
AND SO, UM, UH, I, I THINK THAT DISCUSSION SHOULD BE HAD AT SOME POINT.
CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGED DRAMATICALLY, AND MAYBE WE NEED TO START FROM SCRATCH NOW, MAYBE YOU WANT TO KEEP IT IN PLACE AND SAY, OKAY, LET'S JUST BARGAIN OVER HOW WE SPEND IT.
BUT EVERY TIME THE COUNCIL CHANGES, YOU COULD HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AGAIN.
AND SO I SEE A FEE FOR SERVICES MODEL AS, UH, THE BEST WAY TO, TO TRY TO KEEP IT SO THAT IT'S, SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS EXACTLY WHAT'S BEING DONE AND WHO'S GONNA DO IT WITHOUT MICROMANAGING EVERYBODY ELSE'S ORGANIZATION OR BUSINESS.
UH, I GUESS THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
JESSICA, DID YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? JUST, I DON'T NECESSARILY DISAGREE WITH YOU, EXCEPT THIS IS ALREADY INCREDIBLY MESSY.
OH, I DIDN'T MEAN IT WOULD BE.
I'M JUST, WE HAVE AN ORGANIZATION THAT WE SPEND, WE PAY 90% OF AND THEN TO SAY, OH, BUT THEY'RE JUST LIKE ALL OTHER BUSINESSES AND WE CAN'T TELL THEM WHAT TO DO.
UM, I, I THINK THERE'S A BASIC CONTRADICTION THERE.
UM, THEY'RE NOT A REGULAR BUSINESS.
THEY, THEY ARE NOT OUT THERE AS THEMSELVES WITH THEIR OWN ORGANIZATION SAYING, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE DOING THIS FROM, WE FUND THEM.
I UNDERSTAND, BUT WE CONTRACT WITH OTHER BUSINESSES THAT BY POINT MAYOR, IS THAT THEY'RE NOT LIKE OTHER BUSINESSES BECAUSE WE FUND THEM AND ALSO BECAUSE WE ARE BE, I HAVE NEVER WANTED AN RFP FOR THE EXACT SAME REASONS THAT I THINK JT SAID.
I I JUST THINK IT'S ALREADY SO MESSY.
BUT I THINK THAT THE LACK OF A SEPARATION BETWEEN THE CHAMBER AND DESTINATION MARKETING MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO HAVE ANYTHING BUT AN INCREASINGLY MESSY RELATIONSHIP.
UM, I THINK HOLLY RAISED THE GOOD POINT OF YOU SAY YOU'RE RESPONSIBILITY IS TO YOUR CHAMBER MEMBERS.
I THINK THAT PUTS YOU IN AN INCREDIBLE POSITION BECAUSE WE ARE THE ONE FUNDING YOU 90% OF YOUR ORGANIZATION, YET YOU ARE, YOU ARE REPORTING TO PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T PAID THAT.
THEY, THEY DON'T, THEY'RE NOT HIRING YOU.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S SORT OF AN UN, I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S AN UNTENABLE SITUATION.
UM, AND I THINK THAT BECAUSE OF THE STRANGE RELATIONSHIP THAT THE CITY HAS DEVELOPED WITH THE CHAMBER OVER TIME, THAT WHAT WE DO WITH OTHER BUSINESSES ISN'T NECESSARILY A GOOD PREDICTOR OF WHAT WE SHOULD DO WITH EACH OTHER.
I AM EXTREMELY PLEASED THAT YOU AND YOUR BOARD AND EVERYBODY INVOLVED IS, IS GIVING THIS A REAL SERIOUS THOUGHT.
UM, I KNOW YOU ASKED EARLIER WHAT WAS THE EXACT PROBLEM I THINK PEOPLE TOLD YOU.
UM, I'M TELLING YOU THAT THE REAL PROBLEM FOR ME IS YOU REPORT, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO A BOARD THAT DOESN'T PAY YOU.
WE PAY YOU AND WE, YOU HAVE A SPLIT RESPONSIBILITY.
[03:30:01]
SO THAT'S HOW THIS WHOLE THING CAME ABOUT.UM, AND THERE MAY NOT BE A GOOD WAY TO SOLVE IT.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT YOU COULD COME UP WITH IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, IN JANUARY.
AND THEN THE CITY WILL HAVE, THE COUNCIL WILL HAVE THE REALLY HARD CHOICE OF SAYING, OKAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA FUND YOU ANYMORE.
UM, AND WE'LL PUT THIS WHOLE THING OUT TO RFP.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST KICK IT BACK TO US AND, AND YOU KNOW, IT'LL GO ON ANOTHER FOUR YEARS BECAUSE THERE IS NO GOOD SOLUTION.
BUT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT YOU CAN COME UP WITH.
AND THAT'S MY, I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT MY BASIC PROBLEM WAS, THAT THERE IS NO CLEAR, NO CLEAR ALLEGIANCE TO US AS THE PROVIDER OF THE MONEY.
IT'S A SPLIT ALLEGIANCE AS IT IS NOW.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU DO AS GOOD AS YOU CAN WITH TRYING TO MANAGE THAT.
AND IT MAY BE THAT THIS MESSINESS IS THE BEST WE CAN DO AND WE SHOULD STICK WITH IT.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING IN JANUARY WHAT YOU ALL HAVE COME UP WITH BRILLIANT SOLUTION TO A MISS
WELL, PART OF MY REASON FOR SAYING RESEND THE TAX IS THAT THEN THEY, WE, WE WOULDN'T BE GIVING THAT MONEY.
AND I, AND SO THEN, THEN IT WOULDN'T BE A QUESTION OF THAT WOULD JUST SIMPLY BE FEE FOR SERVICES
IT WOULD SIMPLY BE FEE FOR SERVICES, BUT THEY DON'T EXIST WITHOUT US HIRING THEM TO DO THOSE SERVICES.
I'M NOT, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A DEBATE ABOUT THAT SHOULD ARGUE AT THE, IT'S YOUR, IT'S UP TO YOU TO DECIDE IN THE FUTURE.
IAND, I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE DOING THE WRONG THING TO COLLECT THAT MONEY WHEN WE MADE A PROMISE.
I'M NOT DISAGREEING WITH YOU, MAYOR.
I'M CERTAINLY WILLING TO DISCUSS, UH, ABOLISHING THAT ABOLISH REID, THAT TAX AND YOU GUYS COULD USE THE MONEY THAT THE BUSINESSES SAVE TO DO YOUR MARKETING.
BUT, BUT I DON'T THINK THE BUSINESSES SAVE ANY MONEY.
THEY'RE COLLECTING TAX, THEY'RE COLLECTING THE BENEFIT FROM NO, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THEY DON'T GET A BENEFIT AND THEY'RE NOT DIRECTLY HARMED EITHER.
SO ANYWAY, FORGET I SAID THAT REALLY INCREDIBLY STUPID THING.
IF WE COULD JUST ERASE THE LAST TWO MINUTE AND A HALF OF TAPE, THAT'S FINE.
SO I STICK WITH MY THING OF, I DON'T, I MEAN, I'M NOT AVERSE MAYOR TO TALKING ABOUT GIVING ABOLISHING THAT TAX.
I THINK IT'S A CONVERSATION WE SHOULD HAVE IF WE'RE NOT GONNA DO DESTINATION MARKETING.
I AGREE WITH THE MAYOR THAT WE OUGHT TO KEEP OUR PROMISES TO THE BUSINESSES THAT WERE INVOLVED IN, WHATEVER THOSE CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS WERE OR, OR SPOKEN AGREEMENTS WHERE I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF THEY WERE CONTRACTUAL AT THE TIME OTHER THAN, UH, WE'D COLLECT THE MONEY AND IT WOULD BE USED FOR DESTINATION MANAGEMENT VERSUS MARKETING.
I KNOW, HOWEVER YOU WANT TO SAY IT.
UH, BUT, BUT WE DO, I DO BELIEVE THAT WRITING AN RFP WOULD BE A PROBLEM.
UH, WE CAN, WE HAVE HAVE ENOUGH TROUBLE SAYING, OKAY, THE ROAD'S A MILE LONG AND IT'S 10 FEET WIDE, LET ALONE, OH BY THE WAY, I WANT YOU TO DO THIS LITTLE DEAL WITH THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND I WANT YOU TO DO THIS.
AND WE TRY AND COME UP WITH ALL THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS WE CAN, WE CAN PUT THOSE IN AS A FEE FOR SERVICES.
BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT THE SYNERGY YOU GET, UM, BY BUNDLING SAVES US A LOT OF MONEY.
THEN IT WOULD BE IF WE HAD TO PAY FOR EVERYONE SEPARATELY ON A LINE ITEM BY LINE ITEM BASIS.
ALTHOUGH THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH MARKING OUT WHAT THAT COST IS.
ONCE THE CONTRACT'S AWARD, I THINK WHEN WE, WE SHOULD GIVE THE BUSINESS SOME LEEWAY ON HERE'S YOUR TOTAL SOLUTION FOR THAT.
IF YOU WANNA GO OUT WITH AN RFP AND ALL THESE THINGS, THE PROBLEM WE'RE GONNA HAVE IS A LOT OF CHANGE ORDERS.
BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE MAKE UP OUR MINDS, THIS IS THE WAY WE, OH NO, WE WANT TO CHANGE IT.
THAT DOES MAKE IT A LOT MESSIER.
AND UH, UH, SO IT HAS TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO AND GIVE AND TAKE THAT.
THAT'S WHY I TRUST THE CITY MANAGER TO MEET AND, AND COMMUNICATE THOSE THINGS WHEN SHE INTERPRETS THROUGH THAT FUNNEL WHERE ALL OF OUR SEVEN OPINIONS GO IN AND IT COMES OUT WITH NOT DIARRHEA, BUT SHE'S ABLE TO COALESCE IT INTO SOMETHING THAT'S OF VALUE TO THE CHAMBER AND THE CITY.
UH, AND I DO UNDERSTAND THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE CHAMBER AND THAT THOSE MEMBERS ARE LOOKING TO INCREASE BUSINESS AND EVERY YEAR THERE'S INFLATION, AT THE VERY LEAST, YOU GOTTA GROW A LITTLE BIT AND,
[03:35:01]
AND WITH THE COST, TRYING JUST REMAIN PROFITABLE IS DIFFICULT AND HIRE PEOPLE AND ALL THOSE OTHER COMPLEXITIES, BUT IT SHOULD BE KEPT AS MUCH SEPARATE AS YOU CAN.UH, BECAUSE WHEN IT GETS BLURRY THAT PEOPLE GET NERVOUS ABOUT THAT, IT, IT JUST DOESN'T LOOK GOOD.
SO, UH, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH ALL THAT.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND TOURISM BUREAU.
I, I DO WANT TO GO ON THE RECORD AS SAYING I'M AGAINST AN RFP.
I, I THINK THE CHAMBER'S THE BEST ORGANIZATION TO HANDLE WHATEVER IT IS WE YOU AGREE ON.
AND, AND NO OUTSIDE AGENCY COULD DO IT AS WELL.
AND IT'S, IT'S KIND OF USELESS TO THINK WE, FLAGSTAFF IS GONNA COME IN AND MANAGE OUR VISITORS CENTER BETTER THAN IT IS.
MAY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE COST IN THE, IN THE TABLES, SEVEN, SEVEN AND A HALF PERCENT FEE IS BEING CHARGED FOR MOST OF THESE ENTITIES IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY COLLECT FOR BED TAXES, FOR SMALL BUDGET, IT'S CUZ IT HAS TO BE HIGHER BUDGET TO GET THE MONEY FOR SMALL BUDGETS GOES TO 7% FOR THE CATEGORY THEY'RE IN.
AND THEN 4%, IF WE WERE GIVEN THEM AND, AND 43% ON AVERAGE GOES TO THE DESTINATION ORGANIZATION.
SO WE SHOULD BE PAYING THEM MORE LIKE THREE TO 0.7 TO 4.3 MILLION.
AND WE'RE GETTING A GREAT DEAL FOR 1.6.
ACTUALLY 1.1 IF YOU TAKE THE VISITOR CENTER OUT.
SO, UH, I THINK WE ARE BEING FISCALLY AWARE OF WHAT SOME OF THOSE COSTS WOULD BE AND WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING SO THAT WE CAN JUSTIFY NOT GOING FOR AN FP BUT I'LL LEAVE IT THERE.
AND I JUST WANNA ALSO SAY THAT I DON'T, UH, I DO AGREE WITH HOLLY THAT, UH, IT DOES NEED TO BE OPEN TO ALL BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE WE ARE THE CITY OF SEDONA AND IT SHOULD AT LEAST BE OPEN TO ALL OUR BUSINESSES.
SO, AND THAT SHOULD BE A FACTOR IN FIGURING OUT YOU'VE GOT SOME MECHANISM IN PLACE NOW.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT, BUT YOU'VE GOT SOME WAY YOU'RE HANDLING THAT NOW.
SO IT'S, NO, IT'S VERY MESSY AND IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MESSY.
SO I'LL PUT ON THE RECORD JUST PE ON YEAH, I I THINK KATHY WAS RIGHT.
YOU HAVE SEVEN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
NO, YOU HAVE 12 DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
I THINK
I ALSO WANNA GO ON THE RECORD AS AGREEING WITH THE MAYOR THAT IT SHOULD BE, IT SHOULD BE OPEN TO ALL RESIDENTS.
AND I, I KNOW OVER HISTORICALLY, YOU RAN IT AND THEN WE PAID AND THE DETAILS GOT LOST AND NOW THEY'RE CLEAR.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? WE'RE QUITE A BIT OVER TIME RIGHT NOW, SO IF I CAN JUST MAKE THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE INFORMATION.
UH, REALLY, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE FRANK CONVERSATION THERE.
UM, THERE ARE SOME REALLY EXCELLENT POINTS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP AND I THINK THAT WE CAN ADDRESS, UH, THIS IN A VERY CONSTRUCTIVE WAY.
AND I THINK I, I JUST BECAUSE I HAVE SOME HISTORY WITH YOU AND SOME HISTORY WITH THE CHAMBER, I CAN TELL YOU THAT INTENTION, THE INTENTION, AND I KNOW J T'S GONNA REMEMBER THIS, THE INTENTION BEHIND THE WHERE WE WERE WAS THAT A PARTNERSHIP AND THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY MAYBE SOME OF THE, MAYBE THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF GRAY AREA BECAUSE WE WERE SO CLOSELY TIED IN WORKING TOGETHER.
UM, I THINK WE'RE MOVING FORWARD INTO A MORE OF THAT FEE FOR SERVICE, YOU KNOW, VENDOR CLIENT RELATIONSHIP AND THAT WILL BE MORE CLEAR.
UM, SO I, I'M, I'M NOT SAYING ONE'S BETTER THAN THE OTHER, BUT I JUST WANTED TO STATE THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PAST WAS WHAT IT WAS BECAUSE THERE WAS A, A TRUE PARTNERSHIP THAT WAS REGULARLY WORKED AT CREATING, UM, AND YOU KNOW, WITH THAT CAME A CONTRACT THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE LOOSE SO THAT WE HAD OPERATION WAYS TO OPERATE WITHIN IT, TO COME UP WITH OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEARS TOGETHER AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO IT'S JUST INTERESTING TO SEE THE EVOLUTION, YOU KNOW, IT IS
YEAH, JT NOT, NOT BAD, GOOD OR INDIFFERENT, JUST, JUST DIFFERENT, UH, ON THAT POINT.
I, I JUST WANNA SAY I'M ALSO A LITTLE, A LITTLE, I'M A LOT DISCOURAGED TO HEAR THAT THE, UH, SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN REVISION, YOU KNOW, IS GONNA BE DELAYED.
ALTHOUGH I UNDERSTAND WHY WE HAVE A COMMUNITY PLAN, BUT THAT IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW THE CHAMBER AND THE COMMUNITY WORKED IN THIS, IN THIS CITY OF STAFF AND WHATEVER WORKED TOGETHER TO, UM, TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT WE ALL AGREED WITH.
AND UNLESS YOU HAVE THAT GOAL THAT YOU'RE ALL AIMING FOR AND YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT IS, I MEAN, I USED TO THINK IT WAS A, UH, A CARRYING CAPACITY, RIGHT? WHAT'S THE NUMBER? IS IT, IS IT FOUR AND A HALF MILLION? IS IT WHATEVER? UM, AND I REALIZED THAT'S NOT RIGHT EITHER.
[03:40:01]
YOU CAN'T DO THAT EITHER.UM, BUT THOSE VALUES ARE IMPORTANT AND YOU, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE FEE FOR SERVICES.
UH, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU SAY, HEY, PUT TOGETHER A PROGRAM FOR US TO, UH, UH, TO ROLL OUT OUR, OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM, EVERYBODY'S GONNA AGREE THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT.
UM, BUT PUT TOGETHER A PROGRAM, UH, TO IDENTIFY WHAT OUR, OUR BRAND IS, UH, OR HOW WE'RE GOING TO, HOW MUCH WE WANT TO COMPETE AND HOW MUCH WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WHAT LEVEL OF TOURISTS WE WANT AND SO FORTH.
NOW YOU GET MORE COMPLICATED AND MORE COMPLICATED.
SO TO DO AN RFP, YOU WOULD HAVE TO, I, I WILL REPEAT.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN IN-HOUSE PERSON WHO'S YOUR MARKETING EXPERT, UM, TO, TO DO THAT.
YOU CAN'T, WE'LL BE CRAZY, YOU KNOW, THIS, ANY COUNCIL WILL BE CRAZY SITTING DOWN AND TRYING TO DEFINE WHAT GOES INTO AN RFP.
SO I DON'T THINK COUNCIL GENERALLY DRAFTS RFP STAFF USUALLY DOES, AND THEY DO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THAT AND IT'LL COME TO COUNCIL FOR REVIEWER FOR DIRECTION.
BUT I DON'T THINK THAT KIND OF LEVEL OF MICROMANAGEMENT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD DO.
OH, WELL WE HAVE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE A MARKETING DIRECTOR, UH, UM, COUNCIL THOMPSON, TO YOUR POINT.
I THINK THAT WHILE WE DO HAVE STAFF MEMBERS WITH VARIOUS EXPERTISE IN DIFFERENT AREAS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE CITY HAS RELIED ON BASED ON THE PARTNERSHIP AND THE RELATIONSHIP IS THAT THE CHAMBER, THE DMO, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AS AN ENTITY COMES TO THE CITY EVERY YEAR WITH A RECOMMENDED PROGRAM OF WORK.
THEY UNDERSTAND THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, THEY UNDERSTAND THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY.
THEY UNDERSTAND AS A DMO HOW TO DO MANAGEMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, EXECUTE MANAGEMENT TACTICS THAT CAN, CAN DEAL WITH, WITH TOURISM AS SORT OF THE UNIQUE ANIMAL THAT IT IS.
UM, SO I THINK EVEN IN A FEE FOR SERVICE MODEL, AND THIS IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT, I'M SURE IN THE COMING MONTHS, THAT THAT MEANS THAT WE DEFINE WHAT THE SERVICES ARE THAT WE WANT.
AND SO THAT HISTORICALLY HAS BEEN A TEAM EFFORT BETWEEN, WITH, WITH A DIALOGUE GOING BACK AND FORTH.
AND THEN WE ULTIMATELY GET TO AN AGREED UPON SCOPE OF WORK LIKE WE DO EVERY YEAR ANYWAY.
AND THEN THEY CAN GO BACK AND QUANTIFY THAT AND BRING IT BACK AS A BUDGET PROPOSAL.
BUT SO SOME OF THOSE OTHER THINGS, UM, TO EVEN KNOW WHAT TO PUT IN AN RFP FROM YEAR TO YEAR, BECAUSE THE, THE STRATEGIES, THE TACTICS, THE ACTIVITIES, THE PROGRAMS, THE PROJECTS CHANGE AND, AND THEY'RE OFTEN UNIQUE TO THAT PARTICULAR TIME IN THE CIRCUMSTANCE.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS TO, TO THINK ABOUT, UM, BEFORE WE LAND ON ANY PARTICULAR PATH FORWARD.
DISCUSSION REGARDING FUTURE MEETING AND AGENDA ITEMS. ANYBODY? LET'S, LET'S SCHEDULE ONE ABOUT THE CHAMBER.
I SAID LET'S SCHEDULE ONE ABOUT THE CHAMBER.
WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE'RE ADJOURNED.