[00:00:01]
START WITH FIRST, READY, OR DON'T WANNA WAIT.[1. CALL TO ORDER, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, ROLL CALL]
OKAY.IT'S, UH, JUST ABOUT 3:00 PM ON FEBRUARY 7TH, AND WE WILL CALL THE, UH, CITY OF SEDONA TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD MEETING TO ORDER.
AND I THINK THE FIRST THING WE'VE GOT IS THAT ALTHEA IS LEADING US.
BUT WE'LL DO THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO GET STARTED.
HAVE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION, NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
UH, FIRST UP ON THE AGENDA IS THE, UH, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS.
SO DOES ANYBODY, DO YOU WANNA DO ROLL CALL? OH, YEAH, I'M SORRY.
OH, IT DOESN'T SAY THAT HERE, BUT YEAH.
[2. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF]
OKAY.NOW THE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS BY ANY BOARD MEMBERS OR STAFF.
ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING? KEEGAN, HAVE YOU GOT ANYTHING? I ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING.
UH, JUST SO YOU'RE ALL AWARE, THE NEXT SIT ON A LODGING COUNCIL MEETING IS ON FEBRUARY 13TH, STARTING AT 8:00 AM AT THE SEDONA PUBLIC LIBRARY.
UM, JUST FOR FUN, THE XY, Z MIXERS TONIGHT AT HAV, TINA STARTING AT FIVE.
IT'S A, A GOOD COMMUNITY BE TO BE PART OF, AND THE VISITOR CENTER IS ON A COUNCIL AGENDA TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 26TH.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS CAN BE THERE FOR THAT.
LAUREN, IS THAT MINE? TOURISM MANAGER.
UM, AND I CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH A TOURISM MANAGER UPDATE.
UH, WE HAVE HAD OVER 40 APPLICATIONS AND, UM, I'VE GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE I CAN PICK, UM, PROBABLY ABOUT 10 TO BRING IN FOR ZOOM INTERVIEWS.
AND THEN FROM THERE, UM, DECIDE ON PROBABLY FOUR TO BRING IN FOR, IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS.
SO THAT SHOULD, IF ALL GOES TO PLAN, I CAN SCHEDULE THOSE ZOOM INTERVIEWS NEXT WEEK.
ONE, UH, SO I MADE A BONEHEADED MISTAKE HERE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, UM, IN VIOLATION OF THE COMMISSIONER'S HANDBOOK.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE ALL REMEMBER WHAT THE COMMISSIONER'S HANDBOOK IS.
BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE, UH, CITY GUIDELINES THAT GOVERNS ALL BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IT SAYS IN THERE THAT WE HAVE TO DO IS IF WE'RE GOING TO EXPRESS A PERSONAL OPINION, UM, IN PUBLIC, THAT WE NEED TO INCLUDE A DISCLAIMER, MAKING SURE THAT IT CAN'T BE MISTAKENLY, UM, READ AS BEING FROM EITHER, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER THE BOARD IS OR, OR THAT INDIVIDUAL AS A BOARD MEMBER OR REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CITY.
SO IF YOU HAVEN'T LOOKED THROUGH THAT, WHICH I'VE JUST GONE BACK THROUGH, UM, DO SO SO YOU DON'T MAKE THE SAME STUPID MISTAKE THAT I MADE HERE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
UM, AND THEN IF WE NEED TO, WE'LL JUST RESEND THAT OUT TO THE ENTIRE BOARD IF YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE IT.
I LOOK BACK, I KNOW IT WAS SENT, I THINK, UH, UM, THE CITY CLERK HAD SENT IT TO US RIGHT WHEN WE FIRST STARTED ALL THIS.
AND THEN THE SECOND THING I, I SEE CHERYL OUT HERE, AND, AND, UH, I WOULD SAY IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO A LODGING COUNCIL, I GOT TO GO THIS PAST MONTH.
UM, ONE, IT'S JUST A GREAT WAY TO MEET FOLKS IN, IN THAT SIDE OF THE TOURIST BUSINESS.
AND LAST MONTH THEY DID THIS, UM, PROGRAM, HAD SOMEBODY COME IN AND, AND DISCUSS HUMAN TRAFFICKING, WHICH AMAZING TO ME, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
I, I KNOW WE ARE IN LOTS OF PLACES, BUT HERE IN THE VERDE VALLEY AND EVEN IN SEDONA.
SO I JUST THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT COMMUNITY SERVICE.
SO IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO ONE OF THOSE, GO TO ONE OF THOSE.
ANY OTHER CURRENT EVENTS OR ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? OKAY.
[3. CONSENT ITEMS]
CONSENT ITEMS. THE, UH, THE ONLY CONSENT ITEM IS THE MINUTES FROM OUR MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, THE 3RD OF JANUARY.[00:05:01]
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY CONCERNS, QUESTIONS, CHANGES TO THE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH? OKAY, I'LL TAKE THAT AS A NO.DO WE HAVE WE HAVE VOTE FIRST, DON'T WE? WHAT? WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT FIRST OR WE ALL APPROVE 'EM? I DON'T.
I THINK WE'RE GOOD IF, IF THERE'S A CONSENSUS.
YEAH, I THINK WITHOUT OBJECTION.
[4. PUBLIC FORUM]
SO NEXT UP IS THE PUBLIC FORUM.AND SO WE'VE GOT MARK BROOK, MARK.
HI, MY NAME'S MARK BROOK AND I LIVE IN UPTOWN SEDONA.
UH, I SENT MEMBERS OF THE BOARD A LINK TO AN ARTICLE I POSTED ON SEDONA BIZ RECENTLY, AND I'M SURE THAT YOU'VE ALL READ IT AND TOOK COPIOUS NOTES.
HOWEVER, IF THAT'S NOT THE CASE, I WANTED TO RECAP SOME OF THE ELEMENTS OF THAT PLAN AND ELEMENTS THAT HOPEFULLY YOU'LL UNDERTAKE.
FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS WHAT I THINK IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND DEGRADATION OF OUR LOCAL TRAILS.
AND I BELIEVE THAT'S REALLY, AND WE ALL KNOW EXCESSIVE PEAK VISITATION, UH, CONTROLLING PEAK VISITATION AND TRAFFIC CONGESTION, UH, CAN BE REDUCED.
AND HOPEFULLY THE, UH, REDUCTION TO OUR, UH, DEGRADATION OF OUR RED ROCK TRAILS TO ACCOMPLISHES THE STEPS I NOTED WERE FIRST OF ALL CONTROLLING, UH, PARKING ALONG DRY CREEK ROAD, LONG CANYON, UH, ROAD, AND, UH, POINT PASS.
I KNOW THAT, UH, THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL ARE VERY AWARE OF THIS.
IT'S OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, BUT IT AFFECTS US AND WE NEED TO WORK COOPERATIVELY WITH YAVAPAI COUNTY AND THE FOREST SERVICE.
SECOND, I THINK THE FOREST SERVICE NEEDS INSTITUTE A, UH, RESERVATION SYSTEM DURING PEAK TIMES, UH, FOR THEIR PARKING FACILITY BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT LIMITS, UH, UH, USAGE OF OUR TRAILS.
THIRD, AND I KNOW THAT THE CITY STAFF HAS WORKED ON THIS, IS TRYING TO MOVE THE CATHEDRAL ROCK TRAIL HEAD OFF OF, UH, BACK OF BEYOND ROAD AND ONTO FOREST SERVICE LAND.
THE CITY EVEN OFFERED TO PAY FOR SOME OF THAT, UH, COST OF DOING THAT, BUT THE FOREST SERVICE DECLINED, UH, THAT ASSISTANCE.
I THINK THEY NEED TO BE, UH, UH, LOBBY TO TRY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN SECOND OR FOURTH.
I THINK THAT LIMITING PUBLIC PARKING IN, UH, IN THROUGHOUT SEDONA, ALONG WITH THE PARKING GUIDANCE SYSTEM, IS REALLY ESSENTIAL TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, IT WILL HELP WITH VARIABLE PARKING RATES SO THAT THE PARKING RATES PAY FOR THE SYSTEM.
WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE AND LEVERAGE, UH, TRANSIT SO THAT, UH, PARKING CAN BE PICKED UP IN TRADITIONAL LODGING.
IT MAKES IT MORE ADVANTAGEOUS TO STAY IN TRADITIONAL LODGING AND HAVE THAT GO TO BOTH TRAILHEAD AND UP CANYON DURING
AND FINALLY, I THINK BUILDING OUT THE, UH, UH, THE MULTI-USE PASS THROUGHOUT SONSONA IS VERY IMPORTANT.
THE CITY'S FOCUSED ON THAT WE NEED TO MOVE AS AGGRESSIVELY AS WE CAN.
I THINK THAT, UH, WITH THESE CHANGES, UH, WE NEED TO WORK WITH YA, PI COUNTY, COCONINO COUNTY FOREST SERVICE, AND OTHERS, UH, FUNDING AND ENFORCING ENFORCEMENT ARE NEEDED FOR ALL THESE ITEMS TO WORK.
AND PLEASE CONSIDER THESE ELEMENTS AS PART OF YOUR, UH, RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL ADVERTISING ALONE AND NOT GET TO OUR GOALS OF MANAGING EXCESSIVE TOURISM DURING TIMES.
HAVE ANYBODY ELSE THAT WANTS TO ADDRESS THE BOARD THIS EVENING, THIS AFTERNOON? NO.
[5.a. Research reveals – Coraggio and DVA]
BUSINESS.AND ITEM FIVE A RESEARCH REVEALS WITH GIO AND DVA.
IS THAT WHAT WE'RE UP FOR THERE, KEEGAN? YES.
WE HAVE GIO AND DVA HERE ON TEAMS. THEY'RE GOING TO BE PRESENTING THEIR RESEARCH REVEAL.
IF I CAN STOP SHARING MY SCREEN AND THERE WE GO.
TAKE IT AWAY, COLLEEN AND MARY.
ALRIGHT, CAN EVERYONE SEE THE, THE REPORT AND EVERYTHING? LOOKS LIKE I CAN SEE IT UP THERE.
SO I'M COLLEEN FLOYD, I'M WITH PROJECT GROUP.
SO OUR GROUP, UM, IF YOU DON'T RECALL, IS WORKING WITH, UH, THE CITY OF SEDONA ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO AS PART OF THAT EFFORT, UM, OUR ROLE IN THE RESEARCH, SO MARY WILL GET INTO A LOT OF THE QUANTITATIVE DATA.
UM, OUR ROLE WAS VERY FOCUSED ON REALLY SOLID STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY WAS INVOLVED, THAT WE HEARD THE VOICES OF THE TAB OF THE COUNCIL, OF THE LODGING COUNCIL RESIDENTS IN PARTICULAR, AND THEN, UM, OF REALLY GOOD SELECTION OF PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN SEDONA.
SO, UM, OUR FINDINGS ARE PROBABLY NOTHING NEW TO YOU,
IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA COME AS A
[00:10:01]
SURPRISE.UM, BUT I DID WANNA GO OVER A LITTLE BIT OF HOW WE APPROACHED THIS.
SO WE FIRST DID A DATA REVIEW OF THE DATA THAT THE CITY PROVIDED.
SO OCCUPANCY RATES, UM, A DR, SHORT TERM RENTAL, OCCUPANCY RATES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE, THE CREDIT CARDS FUNDING DATA, AND ALSO THE MOBILE LOCATION DATA.
UM, THIS PRESENTATION IS REALLY MEANT TO BE A DEEP DIVE INTO THAT, AS YOU KNOW, YOUR EXPERT IS, UH, THE CITY, BUT WE DID REALLY RELY ON THEIR EXPERTISE AND ALSO THEIR DATA TO GIVE US A REALLY GOOD FOUNDATION FROM WHICH TO THEN APPROACH THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WORK.
SO THEN I'LL GO OVER WHICH STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES WE, UH, WENT THROUGH AND THE MAJOR THEMES FROM THAT RESEARCH.
RIGHT? SO LOOKING OVER, WE FOUND SOME, LOOKING OVER THE DATA.
SO WE CERTAINLY NOTICED THAT HOTEL OCCUPANCY WAS LARGELY THE SAME BETWEEN 22 AND 23 OF THE LOWER THAN 21.
SO THERE WERE CERTAINLY SOME, SOME CHANGES IN DEMAND, AND A LOT OF IT LINED UP WITH WHAT WE WERE HEARING IN THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RATES MAY HAVE NOT BEEN KEEPING UP WITH INFLATION OR COST OF OPERATION.
UM, THERE WERE SOME DEFINITE CHANGES IN SHORT TERM RENTAL OCCUPANCY, UM, IN THE SECOND HALF OF 2022 AND 2023 HAD LOWER OCCUPANCY RATES FOR THE SHORT TERM RENTALS.
UM, AND THEN WE CERTAINLY, THIS WAS VERY PRELIMINARY DATA, BUT WE DEFINITELY SAW A CLEAR DIFFERENCE IN THE VISITOR PROFILE WHEN WE WORKED AT, LOOKED AT MOBILE LOCATION DATA, SO JUST WHERE THOSE PEOPLE WERE COMING FROM, UM, AND HOW LONG THEY WERE STAYING.
SO WE'LL GET TO A COUPLE OF THE VISUALS HERE SO YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS JUST AN OCCUPANCY TREND.
I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL VERY WELL FAMILIAR WITH THESE.
SO I WILL PROBABLY GO THROUGH THEM PRETTY QUICKLY BECAUSE I THINK THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PIECES ARE REALLY THE HIGHLIGHT.
UM, BUT WE DID WANNA LOOK AT WHAT'S BEEN, WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON WITH A DR, WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON WITH REVPAR IN THE HOTELS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, SHORT TERM RENTAL OCCUPANCY RATES, UM, A DR AND REVPAR, AND I BELIEVE YOU HAVE THIS AVAILABLE.
SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, STILL SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO SEE THESE TINY CHARTS ON A, ON A SCREEN LIKE THIS.
SO, UM, WE DID LOOK AT THE MOBILE LOCATION DATA, AND I REALIZE THIS IS A LITTLE TRICKY TO SEE, BUT COMPARING THE SAME DATES, YOU KNOW, APPLES TO APPLES THE SAME PERIOD OF MONTHS THAT WE HAVE, AUGUST TO NOVEMBER OF 22 VERSUS 23, YOU KNOW, JUST THAT INITIAL LOOK, YOU COULD SEE THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN THE PERCENTAGE OF, OR INCREASE IN THE PERCENTAGE OF VISITORS FROM PHOENIX.
SO THAT ABSOLUTELY ALIGNS WITH WHAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN SAYING IS THAT THE, THE PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL VISITATION MORE WAS COMING FROM THE PHOENIX AREA, UM, AND ABOUT THE SAME FROM LOS ANGELES.
AND SO WHERE YOU SAW LOSSES WERE FROM THOSE LONG HAUL MARKETS.
AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE THAT, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS PART OF THE CHART HERE WHERE I GIVE YOU THE DISTANCE TRAVELED, IT'S CLEARLY MUCH CLOSER IN, IN 2023.
WE ALSO NOTICED A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENCE IN HOW MANY VISITORS VISITED TOP POIS.
AND SO AREAS KNOWN FOR CROWDING LIKE UPTOWN, UM, AND SELECT POCKET SAW BIGGER SHARES OF VISITORS.
SO AGAIN, REALLY JUST KIND OF CONFIRMING WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS AND FEELS, UM, WHEN THEY'RE WALKING AROUND SEDONA, LIVING IN SEDONA.
UM, YOU SHOW PERCENTAGES, ARE THERE ABSOLUTE NUMBERS TO THESE? AND, UM, BECAUSE IF WE'RE GONNA SET EVENTUAL GOALS, UH, FOR VISITA VISITORS, UH, KNOWING AN ACTUAL COUNT OF VISITORS WOULD BE AS IMPORTANT AS ANYTHING ELSE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHO CARES IF THEY COME FROM ONE CITY OR ANOTHER IF THE ABSOLUTE NUMBER IS HIGHER OR LOWER.
SO WE, AND THAT IS DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE WITH.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION THAT IS DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE WITH MOBILE LOCATION DATA.
MY LATEST UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE TECHNOLOGY WORKS IS THAT IT IS BASED ON APPS, ON PHONES, AND SO THE DATA PROVIDER, THERE CAN BE A LOT OF MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN AND OUT OF THE DATA SET.
AND SO, UM, HARD NUMBERS ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO USE RELIABLY.
UM, WHICH IS WHY WE USE PERCENTAGES TYPICALLY, UM, BECAUSE IT'S A LITTLE MORE, UM, A LITTLE MORE STABLE.
DO THEY HAVE, UM, A SENSE OF THE PERCENTAGE OF PHONES THAT HAVE THE APPS THAT THEY'RE TRACKING? BECAUSE IF THEY KNOW THAT, THEN YOU CAN EXTRAPOLATE AND YEAH, GRANTED, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW, WILL, WILL BE VARY BASED ON HOW GRANULAR YOU GET, BUT IT STILL WOULD GIVE US A SENSE OF COUNTS ELSE.
WHAT, WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS WITH THAT? UM, SO I'M NOT AWARE THAT THAT IS RELIABLE YET.
UM, SO THE LAST TIME I CHECKED, THERE'S, THERE'S SO MUCH VARIABILITY DATE, MONTH TO MONTH, DAY TO DAY.
UM, BUT I'M SURE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE CAN ALWAYS CHECK WITH NEAR THE DATA PROVIDER AND GET AN IDEA.
[00:15:01]
I DO KNOW THAT INDUSTRY, INDUSTRY WIDE, IT'S NOT TYPICAL TO TRY TO DO VOLUME ESTIMATES FROM VISITOR DATA OR FROM MOBILE LOCATION DATA.AND, AND TECHNICALLY ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WOULD BE WHETHER SOMEBODY HAS LOCATION SERVICES ON ALL OF THE TIME IN THEIR APP.
AND IF THEY DON'T, THEY'RE NOT COUNTED.
SO PERCENTAGES ARE, ARE MUCH MORE REASONABLE.
IT WOULD UNDER COUNT SIGNIFICANTLY HOW MANY VISITORS THERE WERE, AND IT CAN BE AS LOW AS 5% OF ALL THE CELL PHONES.
THAT'S WHY I ALWAYS SAY IT'S AN EXTRAPOLATION.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE SAMPLE SIZE THERE UP IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER, 35,000 OVER A TIME PERIOD FROM AUGUST 1ST.
NOVEMBER 30TH, WHICH IS A PRETTY LONG TIME.
AND THE SAMPLE SIZE, IT'S STILL, IT'S STILL GOOD ENOUGH TO LOOK FOR TRENDS CERTAINLY, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT 250,000, IT'S, IT'S 35,000.
SO, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S CAVEATS IN EVERY PIECE OF DATA THAT WE HAVE.
I'M LOOKING, IN GENERAL, I TEND TO THINK THAT THIS DATA SET IS REALLY GOOD FOR TELLING YOU WHICH WAY THE WIND IS BLOWING AS OPPOSED TO WHAT THE TEMPERATURE IS JUST TO KINDA, OKAY.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S GREAT FOR DIRECTIONAL ANALYSIS.
I READ IT ON, UM, SO THESE ARE, IT IS THE SAME DATA I SHOWED YOU IN THAT SIDE BY SIDE, BUT WHAT I REALLY WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WAS THIS VISITATION MAP.
SO WE HAVE THE HEAT MAP FROM 2022 TO THE LEFT AND THEN 2023, AND YOU CAN REALLY SEE HOW THE NUMBER OF VISITORS, THE LIGHT SORT OF DIMS FROM, UH, THE EAST COAST AND FROM THE, FROM THE PLANES.
SO THERE'S DEFINITELY A CHANGE IN WHO'S COMING, UM, DURING THESE TIMEFRAMES.
UH, DID I MISS IT? WHERE DO YOU MENTION VISITORS THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE US? UM, IT, LAUREN, YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG ON THIS ONE.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE, UM, LOOK, I DON'T BELIEVE THIS INCLUDES INTERNATIONAL DATA.
IS THAT CORRECT? UM, THE SET THAT YOU HAVE ON THE SCREEN DOES NOT, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM, INTERNATIONAL DATA.
I HAVE A, A PIECE OF DATA THAT I'M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS EVENING BECAUSE SOMEONE ASKED ABOUT IT LAST, LAST MONTH.
UM, AND THEN JUST THE LAST DATA PIECE WE WANTED TO LOOK AT, BECAUSE YOU SAID THE TRAILS IS SO, UM, SO CLEARLY A CHALLENGE IN SEDONA AND THE SURROUNDING FOREST SERVICE AREA.
UM, WE JUST WANTED TO LOOK AT THE TRENDS OF, YOU KNOW, HOW IS USE OF THE FOREST SERVICE LAND GOING? AND IT'S A LITTLE TRICKY TO FIND DATA.
IT LOOKS LIKE THE LAST TIME THAT THERE WAS AN OFFICIAL VISITOR COUNT OF, UM, VISITORS TO THE RED ROCK RANGER DISTRICT WAS 2015.
EVEN THEN THEY SAID THAT VISITOR LEVELS HAD TRIPLED IN THE DEC DECADE PRIOR TO THAT, WHICH IS PRETTY FAST.
AND THEN LOOKING AT THIS CHART ON THE LEFT, THIS IS VISITATION, ESTIMATED VISITATION PROVIDED BY THE FOREST SERVICE FOR THE WHOLE FOREST SERVICE SYSTEM.
SO VISITS TO NATIONAL FOREST AT LARGE, THEY REALLY SPIKED DURING THE PANDEMIC, BUT THEN WHEN THEY LANDED BACK TO A A NORMAL, THE NEW NORMAL WAS STILL MUCH HIGHER THAN IT WAS PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC AND ALSO INCREASING AT A MUCH FASTER RATE.
SO IT WAS JUST VERY CLEAR TO US THAT USE OF FOREST SERVICE LAND SYSTEM-WIDE, UM, HAS REALLY ACCELERATED.
AND AGAIN, IT VALIDATES EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OUT ON THE TRAILS.
AND I, AND I WOULD IMAGINE SEDONAS SPECIFIC VISITATION, UH, LIKE LINE TRAJECTORY IS PROBABLY MUCH STEEP.
LAUREN, WHY DID THEY FORCE SERVICE STOP GIVING COUNTS? BECAUSE THEY HAVE COUNTERS ON THE TRAIL.
I DON'T KNOW WHY THEIR LAST OFFICIAL COUNT WAS IN 2015, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, THEY DO HAVE COUNT COUNTERS OUT ON THE TRAIL ON THE MAJOR TRAILS.
THINGS LIKE CATHEDRAL DEVILS BOYNTON, THEY HAVE COUNTER FAY, THEY HAVE COUNTERS OUT THERE FOR THAT.
I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION ABOUT THE DATA.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO BACK FURTHER? WE'VE GOT TWO YEARS TO COMPARE AGAINST RECOGNIZING THAT 2020 WAS A BLIP YEAR AND YOU HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT.
GOING BACK FURTHER THAN THAT PRE PANDEMIC, I THINK WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE TRENDS WERE 2019, 2018.
I DON'T THINK I HAVE THAT DATA.
UM, I HAVE LODGING DATA, UM, BUT I DON'T HAVE VISITOR BEHAVIOR DATA.
THE LODGING DATA WOULD BE INTERESTING GOING FURTHER BACK, BUT THE VISITOR USE DATA, UH, IF IT WERE POSSIBLE TO GET THAT WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING.
DOES THE FOREST SERVICE SHARE THAT INFORMATION ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE ON THE TRAILS DIRECTLY WITH THE CITY? OR DID THEY
[00:20:01]
STOP SHARING THAT INFORMATION? BECAUSE I KNOW THERE WAS AN ARTICLE INVOLVED IN THE PARKING GARAGE NUMBERS FROM 2020.I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT YEAR, BUT THERE WERE NUMBERS AS FAR AS THE COUNTS.
UM, THEY SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH US, UM, WILLINGLY, BUT LIKE, SO WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT IS A WHOLE SYSTEM.
SO WE DON'T HAVE WHOLE SYSTEM NUMBERS, BUT I COULD TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE COUNTERS ON, LIKE I SAID, DEVIL'S BRIDGE, FA, CANYON CATHEDRAL, BROKEN ARROW, I THINK.
BUT A WHOLE SYSTEM IS WHAT WE DON'T HAVE.
AND REALLY THIS WAS, THIS WAS A REALLY GOOD LEVEL SET FOR US JUST TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE KNEW ABOUT SEDONA GOING IN ALSO WHAT THE, WHAT THE DATA WAS KIND OF POINTING US IN WHICH DIRECTION.
UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, WE, WE UNDERTOOK A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.
SO WE, UM, HELD 19 INTERVIEWS WITH STAKEHOLDERS REPRESENTING THE ARTS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, TRANSPORTATION, RECREATION, AND OTHER BUSINESSES.
AND WE ALSO HELD THREE IN-PERSON LISTENING SESSIONS, ONE HERE AT THE TAP, UM, THE SEDONA LOGIC COUNCIL, AND ONE WITH SEDONA RESIDENTS.
I JUST WANTED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THANK THE PEOPLE THAT PARTICIPATED IN THIS.
THE COUNCIL WAS VERY INVOLVED.
THE, THE TAB WAS VERY ENGAGED.
WE REALLY APPRECIATED THE LODGING COUNCIL AND, UM, AND EVERYONE WHO WAS INVOLVED IN OUR INTERVIEWS, THEY WERE VERY, UM, THEY GAVE SUCH AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF INFORMATION FOR US, UM, FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
AND I ABSOLUTELY WANTED TO CALL IT THE RESIDENTS WHO, UM, ATTENDED THE RESIDENT LISTENING SESSION.
I THINK THEY WERE VERY, THEY WERE VERY, VERY THOUGHTFUL IN THEIR RESPONSES.
UM, AND IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE, UM, INCREDIBLE ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE IT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO HEAR FROM THEM SPECIFICALLY.
SO OUT OF ALL OF THAT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, THE THEMES THAT REALLY ROSE TO THE SURFACE FOR US IS FIRST PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT.
AND THE TRANSCENDENT NATURE OF SEDONA IS ABSOLUTELY PARAMOUNT.
THAT CAME UP EVERY TIME IT WAS CONSISTENT AND UNANIMOUS.
UH, THE SECOND ONE, AGAIN, NO SURPRISES, PROBABLY TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS WILL CONTINUE TO BE A LONG-TERM PRIORITY.
UM, THE THIRD ONE IS A CLEAR, CONSISTENT, AND REPRESENTATIVE BRAND WILL BE CRITICAL IN SHAPING SEDONAS REPUTATION AND ATTRACTING VISITORS WHO WILL CARE FOR THE DESTINATION.
TOURISM IS A KEY ECONOMIC DRIVER IN SEDONA AND STAKEHOLDERS DESIRE OF BALANCE BETWEEN ECONOMIC VITALITY AND THE SEDONA WAY OF LIFE.
UM, THE CITY MAY BE IN A BETTER POSITION TO REALLY HOLISTICALLY MANAGE THE DESTINATION AND WILL NEED TO DEMONSTRATE COORDINATION WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AND EXTERNAL AGENCIES.
AND CONSISTENT AND COORDINATED COMMUNICATION IS NEEDED FOR THREE SPECIFIC AUDIENCES, TARGET VISITOR SEGMENTS, ALL VISITORS AND RESIDENTS.
GETTING INTO A LITTLE BIT OF THE DETAILS.
SO YOU'LL NOTICE WE'LL HAVE QUOTES TO THE RIGHT FROM, UM, SOME OF THE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS AND THINGS THAT CAME UP IN LISTENING SESSIONS.
UM, BUT AGAIN, IT, I WON'T READ ALL OF THESE SLIDES TO YOU BECAUSE IT, YOU WOULD BE CROSSEY BY THE END, BUT, UM, IT LITERALLY, IT WAS JUST SO CLEAR THAT THE ENVIRONMENT'S PARAMOUNT IN PROTECTING WHAT MAKES SEDONA SEDONA IS SO IMPORTANT.
UM, YOU KNOW, SEDONA HAS SOME OF THE BEST HIKING AND ITS ESTABLISHED TRAIL SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRY.
SO IN, IN A WAY THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE ACCESS BETTER THAN A LOT OF OTHER PLACES.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY SAID THAT THE RECREATION BRAND IN SEDONA IS SLOWER.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SOMEONE COMPARED IT TO MOAB AND HOW SEDONA THEY WANT, YOU WANT TO COMMUNE WITH NATURE, WHEREAS, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE LIKE MOAB WANTS TO CONQUER IT.
SO THERE'S A VERY CLEAR DISTINCTION THEY WERE MAKING THERE.
THERE'S A HIGH VALUE ON VOLUNTEERISM.
VOLUNTEERISM IF THAT, UM, CAN BLOSSOM.
AND THEN STAKEHOLDERS REALLY DO ATTRIBUTE MOST OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND CROWDING AND POOR VISITOR BEHAVIOR TO THE VOLUME OF DAY VISITORS, UH, PARTICULARLY FROM PHOENIX.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO SEE IN THE DATA IF THAT IS THE CASE OR IS NOT THE CASE.
BUT THAT IS ABSOLUTELY THE, THE IMPRESSION, UM, NO SURPRISE EQUAL TO THE CONCERN THAT TRAILS ARE SUBJECT TO OVERUSE.
AND I THINK RECOGNIZING THAT HOW THAT HAPPENED AND HOW IT OCCURRED DURING COVID WAS TRAUMATIC.
UM, THE LEVEL OF VISITATION AND DISRESPECT SEEMED WAS A, A COLLECTIVE TRAUMA THAT WAS EXPERIENCED BY SEDONA RESIDENTS.
UH, ANOTHER THING THAT CAME UP IS THERE'S KIND OF A MISMATCH BETWEEN SORT OF THE OPERATING PHILOSOPHY OF THE FOREST SERVICE AND THE REALITIES OF MANAGING FOREST SERVICE NEAR SEDONA.
UM, UH, SO I THINK THERE'S, AND THERE'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THERE'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ON THE PART OF THE FOREST SERVICE THAT, YOU
[00:25:01]
KNOW, THEY, THEY REALLY TEND TO MANAGE FOR WIDE OPEN SPACES AND LOW POPULATIONS, AND THAT THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY FIT OR, UM, LAND THAT ARE AROUND SUCH A HEAVILY VISITED CITY.SOMEONE ELSE DESCRIBED IT AS, UM, IT'S LIKE LIVING NEAR A NATIONAL PARK, BUT WITHOUT THE LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT THAT A NATIONAL PARK WOULD GET.
COLLEEN, AS, UH, YOU'VE REPRESENTED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UH, YOU KNOW, LOCATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY IN, IN YOUR MARKETING PROGRAMS, UM, IS, DO YOU THINK, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OF HOW WE COULD SHOW THE FOREST SERVICE THAT OUR TRAILS ARE BEING OVERUSED AND THAT IT'S AN ISSUE? I MEAN, HOW MIGHT WE PROVE THAT TO THEM? I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REAL KEY IS FORMING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS, UM, WHICH, WHICH CAN BE TRICKY.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF MOVEMENT AMONG THE BOROUGH SERVICE AND THEIR RANKS, BUT, UM, CONSISTENTLY COORDINATING, COOPERATING, UM, IN A REALLY INTENTIONAL WAY.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE RECOMMEND RECOMMENDED, UM, PATHS.
SO, UM, YOU'LL NOTICE IN THIS REPORT, THERE ARE LOTS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FAR MORE THAN THIS THE CITY CAN UNDERTAKE IN, IN ITS SPAN OF THE PLAN.
BUT WE WANTED TO SAY THAT THERE'S, THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT AVENUES FOR MAKING PROGRESS AGAINST THE GOALS THAT THEY'LL WRITE.
SO, BUT ONE OF THEM IS, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO CREATE A FORMALIZED COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE FOREST SERVICE DISTRICT TO SET THESE CLEAR PRIORITIES AND GOALS AND MAYBE THESE, UM, THESE FACT FINDING EFFORTS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TO GET AN UPDATED COUNT OR, YOU KNOW, SOLID DATA THAT YOU, THAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THAT ARGUMENT.
AND CAN I WEIGH IN ANOTHER ONE? CAN I WEIGH IN COLLEEN? UM, JUST SO THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.
SO THE CITY DOES HAVE A REALLY, REALLY GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FOREST SERVICE.
IN FACT, WE MET LAST WEEK WITH THEM, UM, TO TALK ABOUT GOALS FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
AND SO WE DO THAT WITH THEM REGULARLY SO THAT WE CAN ALL BE ON THE SAME PAGE.
'CAUSE WE LIKE TO THROW A LOT OF THINGS AT THEM.
UM, AND, AND THEY DON'T MOVE AS QUICKLY AS WE DO, WHICH EVEN WE'RE CRITICIZED FOR MOVING SLOWLY, RIGHT? SO, UM, THE, I THINK THEY KNOW, THEY KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH OUR TRAILS.
THEY KNOW OF WHERE THERE'S OVERUSE AND, AND YOU KNOW, WHERE THAT WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE IS STILL PRESERVED.
IT'S WHY THEY WERE SO WILLING TO MOVE AS QUICKLY AS THEY DID TO IMPLEMENT THOSE SEDONA SHUTTLES TO THOSE AREAS, UM, THAT WAS AMAZINGLY FAST IN THEIR, IN THEIR REALM.
UM, SO, SO JUST KEEP THE FAITH THAT WE DO HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP.
WE CONTINUE TO MEET WITH THEM.
WE ACTUALLY MEET WITH THEM MONTHLY, BUT LAST WEEK WE MET WITH THEM ABOUT ANNUAL GOALS.
SO JUST KNOW THAT THAT'S, THAT'S IN THE WORKS.
AND I, I'D LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING THERE.
I'VE, UH, I'M AN EX PRESIDENT OF FRIENDS OF THE FOREST AND HAVE WORKED WITH THE FOREST SERVICE CLOSELY.
THEY KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE, THEY'RE FULLY AWARE OF IT, BUT THEIR INTERNAL PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES ARE SUCH, AND THEIR PRIORITIES ARE SUCH THAT IT HAMSTRINGS THEM OFTEN FROM TAKING ACTION THAT THEY WOULD OTHERWISE LIKE TO DO, LIKE WITH THE OHV SITUATION OUT WEST AND NORTH OF SEDONA.
SO KNOW THAT THE FOREST SERVICE IS PAINFULLY AWARE OF THE OVERUSE THAT HAPPENS OUT THERE.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARIFICATION OF EXACTLY WHAT LIMITATIONS ARE PLACED ON THE FOREST SERVICE BECAUSE OF IT BEING A FEDERAL AGENCY AND BECAUSE OF HOW LONG THINGS TAKE IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SORT OF THINGS WOULD BE POSSIBLE IN TERMS OF, OR WHAT SORT OF COLLABORATIONS CAN WORK VERSUS THOSE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD JUST SET ASIDE AND, AND TRY TO FOCUS EFFORTS ELSEWHERE? DO WE WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT IN POTENTIAL FUTURE MEETING AGENDA ITEMS? YEAH, MAYBE JUST AS AN AGENDA ITEM.
YEAH, YEAH, BECAUSE I, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
SO WE DON'T, YEAH, I CAN, I CAN SPEAK IN MY OWN EXPERIENCE, BUT IT WOULD BE BEST TO HAVE THEM HERE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE NEPA PROCESS ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT THEIR PUBLIC PROCESS CONSISTS OF.
UM, WE CAN KIND OF CREATE OUR, OUR PUBLIC PROCESS AND BUY IN A LOT OF TIMES WITH CERTAIN PROJECTS, WHEREAS THEY ARE, UM, IT IS VERY STRICT ON WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO.
AND I DO WANNA ADD THAT, OH, EXCUSE ME.
APOLOGIZE IF I CUT SOMEONE OFF.
UM, I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE TOO THAT THE CITY IS ALREADY DOING MANY OF THE THINGS THAT SURFACED IN OUR, IN OUR FINDINGS.
SO, UM, OFTENTIMES IT'S TO CONTINUE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING OR, AND TAKE ON NEW THINGS OR, UM, MAYBE WRAP THINGS UP.
SO I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT THE CITY IS ALREADY DOING QUITE A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT
[00:30:01]
CAME OUT OF OUR RECOMMENDATION BEFORE WE EVEN TOLD THEM THAT WAS GONNA BE A RECOMMENDATION.UH, THE NEXT ONE IS TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS WILL CONTINUE TO BE A LONG-TERM PRIORITY.
UM, THIS WAS SO, SO, SO UNIVERSAL.
IN FACT, IN THE RESIDENTS, UH, LISTENING SESSION, YOU KNOW, I ASKED ABOUT CHALLENGES AND AT ONE POINT I WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE CAN, TRAFFIC IS DEFINITELY ONE.
LET'S HEAR, LET'S HEAR ABOUT OTHERS TOO, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED AND IT HAS TO BE WORKED ON AND IT IS BEING WORKED ON.
UM, SO STAKEHOLDERS TEND TO BE PRETTY REALISTIC.
I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND AT LARGE, UM, THAT IT IS A LONG TERM INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, PROCESS AND IT, IT WILL TAKE TIME.
UM, EXPANDING RIDERSHIP AND GROWING THE CITY'S TRANSIT SYSTEM IS KEY.
UM, THERE WERE SEVERAL STAKEHOLDERS HIGHLIGHTED AS EXAMPLES OF PLACES THAT HAVE DONE RIGHT, ESPECIALLY WITH HEAVY USED TRAILHEAD SUCH AS ASPEN, GLENWOOD SPRINGS, AND TELLURIDE.
UM, AND THERE'S REALLY THAT DESIRE FOR A TRAINING SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS VISITORS TO PARK ONCE.
SO KNOWING HOW THAT THEY CAN DRIVE THEIR CAR THERE, BUT THEN LEAVE IT AND GET AROUND SOME OTHER WAY.
SO AGAIN, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE REALLY WORK TOWARD UTILIZING TECH SOLUTIONS, UM, FOR PARKING MANAGEMENT AND INCREASING AWARENESS OF EXISTING SHUTTLE AND TRANSIT OPTIONS, PARTICULARLY ON PLACES LIKE GOOGLE MAPS, WHERE TOURISTS TEND TO, UH, FREQUENTLY USE THOSE PLATFORMS. UM, CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER WITH OHB RENTAL COMPANIES ON EDUCATION FOR RESPONSIBLE USE, AND WAYS THAT OPERATORS CAN MINIMIZE NOISE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, AND ALSO POTENTIALLY EXPLORE PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE MANUFACTURERS.
SO YOU'RE NOT JUST WORKING WITH TOUR OPERATORS, BUT ALSO WITH, UH, POTENTIALLY WITH THE MANUFACTURERS THEMSELVES.
SO YOU CAN ADDRESS THAT GROUP THAT BRINGS THEIR OWN, UM, OUT, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH HOTELS AND SHORT-TERM RENTAL OWNERS TO EDUCATE THEIR GUESTS ON THE AVAILABILITY OF TRANSIT OPTIONS.
CONTINUE TO COORDINATE AND PLAY A KEY ROLE IN TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLANNING, AND CONNECT WITH SIMILAR DESTINATIONS TO DISCUSS THEIR TRANSPORTATION MODELS AND LEARN CURRENT BEST PRACTICES.
AND YOU'LL SEE ANOTHER, A THEME WITHIN THE THEMES IS, UM, HAVING TOURISM HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE IN A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS, TOURISM IS JUST ONE OF THOSE UNIQUE INDUSTRIES WHERE IT TOUCHES JUST ABOUT EVERY PART OF DAILY LIFE AND INDUSTRY.
AND SO HAVING TOURISM AT THE TABLE TO PROVIDE THAT PERSPECTIVE IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, IT WAS, IT CAME UP QUITE A BIT THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR A CLEAR, CONSISTENT AND REPRESENTATIVE BRAND, WHICH I KNOW MARY IS HARD AT WORK ON.
UM, SO THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT IS CLEARLY NEEDED WANTED BY STAKEHOLDERS, THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A CLEAR MESSAGE OF WHAT SEDONA IS, WHAT VISITORS THEY'RE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, AND HOW TO BEHAVE.
AND SO IT, AND ESSENTIALLY AN, AN ETHOS AND SO, OR OTHER FOR VISITORS TO FOLLOW, BUT ALSO FOR OTHER BUSINESSES TO FOLLOW.
UM, THERE WAS A REAL DESIRE TO REFOCUS ON ARTS AND CULTURE THAT SEDONA HAS BECOME SO WELL KNOWN FOR ITS OUTDOOR RECREATION THAT MAYBE ARTS AND CULTURE HAS GOTTEN LOST A LITTLE BIT, UM, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THOSE VISITORS TEND TO SPEND MORE AND GO TO FESTIVALS AND SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES.
UH, STAKEHOLDERS REALLY DESCRIBE SEDONAS ETHOS AS SPIRITUAL ENVI IN VALUING THE ENVIRONMENT, ARTS, CULTURE, PEACE AND RESPECT.
AND THEY REALLY WANT THOSE VALUES MIRRORED IN THE VISITORS THAT COME.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, IN, IN ADDITION TO PROMOTING ARTS AND CULTURE, THEY WANT A BRAND THAT PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE OUTDOOR RECREATION.
SO A NATURAL RECOMMENDATION IS KEEP DOING WHAT THEY'RE DOING AS FAR AS FINALIZE THE SEDONA BRAND, DBA AND ESTABLISH A COMMUNICATION PLAN TO BRING IT TO STAKEHOLDERS AND RESIDENCE.
SO THE STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION PLAN WILL BE, UM, IS, WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
SO RESIDENTS KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEIR HOME IS BEING REPRESENTED, UH, TO ESTABLISH A WAY TO CONSISTENTLY UPDATE AND COMMUNICATE THE TOURISM PROGRAM INITIATIVES AND KEY MESSAGING.
SO THERE'S AN EASY WAY FOR ANYONE TO FIND OUT, WELL, WHAT, WHAT ADS ARE BEING SHOWN? WHO'S BEING TARGETED? WHAT'S THE MESSAGE? UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE STRATEGY BEHIND IT? UM, THERE'S A, A HIGH LEVEL OF, UM, STAKEHOLDERS TEND TO BE PRETTY WELL VERSED IN MARKETING.
AND SO IT, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, UNLIKE A LOT OF PLACES YOU CAN, THERE'S A LOT OF ABILITY TO GET INTO THE WEEDS OF MARKETING TACTICS.
UH, THE OTHER ONE IS ACTIVATING THE CITY COUNCIL AND TAB AND CHAMPIONING THE BRAND OF THE CITY LED TOURISM PROGRAMS APPROACH.
IN OUR EXPERIENCE, UM, IT MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE WHEN ELECTED OFFICIALS AND GROUPS LIKE THIS BOARD ARE CHAMPIONS FOR THE WORK OF THE CITY, UM, OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO KNOWING, UNDERSTANDING WHAT WORK IS BEING DONE AND, AND HOW TO,
[00:35:01]
UM, REALLY COMMUNICATE THAT OUT, WHETHER IT'S BACK TO RESIDENTS TO, YOU KNOW, STATE LEVEL ELECTED OFFICIALS OR, OR, OR ANY OTHER GROUPS.SO TOURISM IS A KEY ECONOMIC DRIVER IN SEDONA, AND STAKEHOLDERS REALLY DESIRE A BALANCE.
DEFINING THAT BALANCE IN AN ACHIEVABLE VERSION OF THAT BALANCE, UH, WILL BE REALLY KEY.
BUT MINIMIZING THE SWINGS IN SEASONALITY WILL HELP.
I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP VERY REGULARLY WAS THIS DESIRE FOR A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND ALSO TO MAKE SEDONA A LITTLE BIT MORE APPROACHABLE FOR FAMILIES AND DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UM, RESIDENTS.
AND SO THE MINIMIZING THE SWINGS BETWEEN HIGH SEASON AND LOW SEASON CAN HAVE POSITIVE IMPACTS ON WORKFORCE.
THE STABILITY FOR WORKFORCE, IT'S MORE STABLE FOR BUSINESSES TO KEEP THEIR, UM, OPERATING HOURS CONSISTENT, CAN LEAD TO LESS TURNOVER.
AND, UM, AND WITH LESS LOSS OF INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE.
ONE THING THAT SOMETIMES I'VE SEEN IN, UH, DESTINATIONS IS, YOU KNOW, IF YOUR FRONT DESK STAFF KNOWS HOW TO REFER PEOPLE TO LESS USED TRAILS, OR IS WILLING TO HELP THEM FILL UP A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S AMAZING HOW POWERFUL THOSE PERSONAL CONNECTIONS CAN BE IN MODIFYING VISITOR BEHAVIOR.
UH, RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS REALLY FEEL LIKE THE SMALL TOWN QUALITY OF SEDONA IS AMAZING, BUT THEY, THERE IS A DESIRE FOR A GREATER SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
WHERE DO WE GATHER? UM, THERE'S, THEY'VE SAID THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF LACK OF A CITY CENTER AND GATHERING PLACES FOR LOCALS TO CONNECT.
UM, A CONCERN ABOUT SHRINKING SCHOOLS AS WELL AS THE DETRIMENTAL IMPACT OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS ON THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, AND SHORT-TERM RENTALS DEFINITELY CAME UP AS A, AS A CHALLENGE, JUST THE SHEER VOLUME AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE LACK OF, UM, THE LIMITATIONS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO TO, TO REGULATE THEM.
AND OF COURSE, THIS IS HAPPENING IN MANY PLACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT COST OF HOUSING IS A CHALLENGE.
UM, AND WE DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN THE RESIDENT LISTING SESSION, UM, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT GROUP WHO REALLY FELT THAT FEWER VISITORS IS THE MOST DESIRABLE OUTCOME.
AND FOR THIS GROUP, THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF VISITATION JUST OUTWEIGH THE BENEFITS.
UH, SO RECOMMENDATIONS ACTIVELY COMMUNICATE TO RESIDENTS THAT THEIR CONCERNS ARE HEARD AND THEY'RE VALID AND POINT TO SPECIFIC ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN BY THE CITY TO REMEDIATE THOSE CONCERNS.
SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS AND METRICS TO ESTABLISH A NARRATIVE OF ACTION AND RESULTS.
THAT CAME UP A LOT AS LIKE, WHAT ARE THE METRICS? WHAT ARE WE HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE RESIDENTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE AN IMPACT, SUCH AS CONTACTING THEIR LEGISLATORS ABOUT SHORT TERM RENTAL REGULATIONS.
SO WHEN THEY, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN DO, UM, ACTIVATE THEM, CONTINUE TO MARKET, SHOULDER, AND OFF SEASON TRAVEL TO MINIMIZE THE SEASONAL SHOCK EXPERIENCED BY THE COMMUNITY, AND IMPROVE CONSISTENCY FOR BUSINESSES.
UTILIZE PEAK SEASON MARKETING TO EDUCATE, DRIVE MARKETS ON RESPONSIBLE VISITATION AND DESTINATION MANAGEMENT MESSAGING.
AND BECAUSE TOURISM DRIVES LOCAL ECONOMY, UH, THE TOURISM PROGRAM SHOULD BE REGULARLY CONSULTED AND INVOLVED IN BROAD CITY INITIATIVES AND PLANNING, AND THEN BEGIN TO CLARIFY AN ACHIEVABLE DESTIN DEFINITION OF A BALANCED TOURISM ECONOMY.
WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE? UM, CAN I, CAN I SAY BEFORE WE GO ON POSITION TO HOLISTICALLY MANAGE THE DESTINATION? HELLO? COORDINATION.
CAN I MAKE A COMMENT BEFORE WE GO ON? MM-HMM.
UH, SO I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED THAT, UM, THERE'S A FEELING THROUGH ALL OF THIS TO ME THAT WE'VE GOT THIS TOUR, THIS IDEA ABOUT TOURISM, AND THEN NOW JUST ON THIS PAGE, WE'VE GOT A SENSE THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS MAYBE AREN'T SUPER HAPPY.
BUT I DON'T REALLY SEE IN THE WHOLE REPORT, AND PARTICULARLY I'M REMINDED ON THAT PAGE OF WAYS THAT THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS FROM TOURISM, NOT SO MUCH THE WAYS THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN VOICE ITS CONCERNS ABOUT TOURISM, BUT VERY CLEAR WAYS THAT THE TOUR THAT TOURISM SUPPORTS THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
AND SO I'M WONDERING WHAT, WHERE, WHERE DOES THAT COME UP IN, IN THIS REPORT AND HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT INTEGRATING THESE TWO STILL SOMEWHAT SEPARATE, LIKE SLICES OF A WHOLE REALITY HERE? YES.
SO THE FOCUS OF THESE INTERACTIONS WE'RE VERY MUCH ABOUT LISTENING.
UM, AND THAT WAS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY FEEL.
THERE IS A LOT OF DATA OUT THERE ABOUT HOW TOURISM BENEFITS RESIDENTS.
UM, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY CLEAR.
[00:40:01]
NO, THERE WOULD NOT BE A WHOLE FOODS, THERE WOULD NOT BE NEARLY THE VISITOR AMENITIES IN SEDONA, UH, WITHOUT TOURISM.UM, BUT THAT WAS JUST THE FOCUS OF THIS WAS TO LISTEN TO THEIR PERSPECTIVE.
THAT, I HOPE THAT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.
SO I'M, I'M, YEAH, I GUESS I'M WONDERING HOW OF HOW OFTEN THOSE CONNECTIONS CAME UP, YOU KNOW, THAT COMES UP WITH THE SHUTTLE.
WHY DOESN'T THE SHUTTLE SERVE THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS MUCH AS IT SERVES TOURISTS? UM, WHY ISN'T THE COMMUNITY POOL OPEN? SO I'M WONDERING WHERE THOSE CONNECTIONS GET MADE IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS
UM, SO OFTENTIMES IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT ARE WITH MADE WITH RESIDENTS IN MIND ARE REALLY GOOD FOR VISITORS TOO.
AND SO, TO YOUR POINT ABOUT TRANSIT, UM, YES, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, WHAT AMENITIES RESIDENTS ARE REALLY LOOKING FOR.
UM, AND I THINK ONE THING THAT POINTED TO THAT DESIRE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE CITY CENTER.
I THINK THE, A CULTURAL CENTER CAME UP, UM, SIMPLY WHAT THEY WANT IN THEIR CITY.
AND THEN HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, OKAY, WELL THAT'S, YOU KNOW, MAKES THOSE THINGS HAPPEN.
BUT IT IS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO REALLY COMMUNICATE THOSE CONNECTIONS.
UM, AND ALSO TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF THEY'VE HAD A, A HARD FEW YEARS, AND, UM, I THINK THERE ARE, THERE IS, THERE DOES SEEM TO BE A GROUP THAT THAT IS A REALLY GOOD ARGUMENT FOR.
AND COLLEEN, MAY I, WA MAY I WEIGH IN? YEAH.
UM, SO WHEN I READ THE REPORT, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN I READ THE RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEY, MM-HMM.
I THINK THE, THE OVERALL, AN OVERALL THEME IS SO MUCH COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY AND THAT RESIDENTS NEED THEIR OWN COMMUNICATION TO MEET WHAT THEY WANNA HEAR AND THEY NEED TO HEAR.
AND EVEN WHEN WE START THINKING ABOUT BRANDING, NOT SO MUCH RESIDENTS ACCEPTING THE BRAND THAT NOW THEY'RE HEARING WE'RE USING, BUT THIS IS THE BRAND THAT RESIDENTS OR HAVE, HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN CREATING, RIGHT? IT'S OUR BRAND.
AND WHILE THE CONSULTANTS ARE HELPING ME, HELPING US DEVELOP THE BRAND, WE ALL HAVE TO FEEL NOT JUST US HERE, BUT ALL OF US HAVE TO FEEL LIKE THIS IS EXACTLY WHO ARE, AND IT GIVES US GOOSEBUMPS TO SAY IT RIGHT.
SO JUST KEEPING IN MIND THE WAYS THAT WE CREATE PARTICIPATORY STRUCTURES AND, UH, UM, AND, AND STRUCTURES THAT ARE THE EFFECTS ARE VERY CLEAR TO THE COMMUNITY, I THINK IS GOING TO GO A REALLY LONG WAY AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
DID YOU HEAR THAT MARY? WE'RE GOING FOR GOOSEBUMPS WITH THE BRAND
UM, JUST ONE LAST POINT ABOUT THE CITY BEING IN A BETTER POSITION.
JUST THE, THE ABILITY TO COORDINATE INTERNALLY WITH OTHER, UM, INTERNAL AGENCIES EFFECTIVELY, BECAUSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW TOURISM IMPACTS EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE, UM, THAT THE CITY RUNNING THE PROGRAM THAT MAY BE, UM, BENEFICIAL TO HAVE THAT KIND OF INSIDE INSIDER'S ABILITY TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH TRANSPORTATION AND SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS.
THE OTHER, THE OTHER PIECE THAT CAME UP IS, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING HOW THE RELATIONSHIPS ARE WITH OTHER ENTITIES.
SO WORKING WITH THE CHAMBER ON HOW TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, UM, TO DEFINE AND DOCUMENT SPECIFIC ROLES PLAYED BY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AND ENSURE THAT EVERYONE IS CLEAR THAT GOALS ARE ALIGNED, UM, AND THAT EFFORTS ARE NOT DUPLICATED.
SO, UM, MANY OF THE THINGS THAT GO INTO MANAGING A DESTINATION INVOLVE PARTNERS.
UM, AND SO HAVING EVERYONE VERY CLEAR ON, WE ARE DOING THIS, THEY'RE DOING THAT, AND WE'RE ALL LINING UP BEHIND THE SAME GOAL, IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND ALSO TO LEVERAGE INITIATIVES THAT ARE ALREADY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY PLAN THAT ARE ALIGNED WITH TOURISM PROGRAM GOALS.
UM, THERE'S A COMMUNITY PLAN IN PLACE, OR I THINK BEING DRAFTED NOW AND THOSE THINGS SHOULD BE HARMONIOUS AND WORKING TOGETHER.
UM, AND THEN CONSISTENT AND COORDINATED COMMUNICATION IS NEEDED FOR THREE VERY SPECIFIC AUDIENCES.
AND THEY ALL NEED DIFFERENT MESSAGES AND THEY ALL NEED, UM, SOME OF THE SAME MESSAGES.
SO TARGET VISITOR SEGMENTS, ALL VISITORS AND RESIDENTS.
AND WHAT WE MEAN ARE THE, THE TARGET VISITORS ARE THE PEOPLE THAT WE REALLY WANT TO VISIT.
SEDONA, PEOPLE WHO ARE NATURALLY INCLINED TO CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, WHO APPRECIATE ARTS AND CULTURE, WHO SPENT
[00:45:01]
MORE, UM, THERE'S ALL VISITORS.UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THAT SEDONA IS, HAS A WORLD RENOWNED REPUTATION.
PEOPLE, UM, KNOW WHAT, WHERE SEDONA IS AND THEY KNOW HOW APPEALING SEDONA IS.
UM, AND SO THERE WILL BE PEOPLE WHO COME WHO HAVE NOT BEEN MARKETED TO DIRECTLY.
UM, SO WHAT DO WE, HOW DO WE WANNA TALK TO THOSE VISITORS WHO ARE COMING REGARDLESS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF HOW TO TREAT, UM, DESTINATION WELL? AND THEN FINALLY, RESIDENTS, TINA, TO THE, TO THE POINT MADE EARLIER, UM, THEY NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE CITY'S DOING FOR THEM AND ALSO WHAT THE VALUE IS, UM, OF TOURISM.
SO THOSE, THERE'S QUITE A BIT TO KEEP COMMUNICATING WITH RESIDENTS ABOUT.
UM, STAKEHOLDERS ALSO REALLY EXPRESS THE DESIRE FOR DATA AND MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES.
UM, AND MANY ARE VERY VERSED IN MARKETING TACTICS.
SO IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATION, WE REALLY THINK ABOUT, WANNA THINK ABOUT CLEARLY AND REALISTICALLY COMMUNICATING EXPECTED TIMELINES, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE LONGER TERM PROJECTS LIKE TRANSPORTATION AND, AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, ENSURING THAT STRATEGY HAS A GOOD MIX OF QUICK WINS AS WELL AS LONG-TERM PLANS.
THOSE QUICK WINS ARE THINGS THAT REALLY GIVE PEOPLE ENERGY AND THAT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE GOT GOALS THAT ARE ACHIEVABLE NOW AND THEN THE ONES THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WORK ON CONSISTENTLY FOR YEARS TO COME.
UM, AGAIN, WE TALKED ABOUT ACTIVATING CITY COUNCIL AND TAB MEMBERS AS COMMUNITY ADVOCATES, UM, AROUND A REALLY FOCUSED MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY AND, AND PREPARE FOR TOUGH QUESTIONS.
'CAUSE THERE ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE TOUGH QUESTIONS.
HOW DO YOU ANSWER THAT WHEN YOU'RE OUT IN THE WORLD? UM, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THE NATIONAL STATE, SEDONA BEING LIKE A, A NATIONAL PARK IN TERMS OF VISITATION, BUT UM, WITHOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT, UM, I THINK THIS MAY BE A USEFUL FRAMING TO HELP OTHER AGENCIES SORT OF UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION.
UM, 'CAUSE I THINK EVERYONE KNOWS, OH, WELL, YOU KNOW, YELLOWSTONE HAS WAY MORE VISITORS.
BUT THEY ALSO HAVE WAY MORE RESOURCES TO MANAGE THIS.
UM, CLEARLY DEFINE HOW BOLSON INITIATIVES WILL BE MEASURED AND COMMUNICATE PROGRESS TO THE FULL SEDONA TOURISM COMMUNITY.
THERE'S A REAL HUNGER FOR, UM, DATA AND BEING UPDATED AND HOW THEY CAN, UM, LEVERAGE ALL THAT INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE AND THEN ESTABLISH A HIGHLY, UM, HIGHLY VISUAL AND APPROACHABLE WAY TO COMMUNICATE HOW THE CITY IS CONDUCTING BARGAINING EFFORTS.
SO WE TOUCHED ON THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO REALLY CHECK IN REGULARLY.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S A LOT OF CROSSOVER BETWEEN THEMES BECAUSE THEY ALL FEED EACH OTHER.
UH, IS IT, SO IN THE APPENDIX TO THE HANDOUT YOU WERE GIVEN, WE ALSO WANTED TO CREATE, UM, JUST A RESOURCE FOR THE CITY TO KIND OF LOOK AT SOME OTHER EXAMPLES OF DESTINATION MANAGEMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, TACTICS AND BEST PRACTICES THAT ARE OUT THERE, UM, THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE LEVERAGED IN SEDONA AND WERE MADE, MADE TO FIT SEDONA.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAD A GOOD SOLID, UM, HEAD START ON WHERE TO FIND YOUR PEERS,
ARE THERE, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? YES, THERE IS.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DETAILING ALL THE WORK YOU'VE DONE AND THE OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY AND ALL THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF IT.
UM, IN LOOKING AT THIS, IT MAKES ME WONDER IS THERE ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT YOU THINK YOU NEED TO REQUIRE TO REALLY HONE DOWN THESE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO SPECIFIC ITEMS? 'CAUSE THESE ARE RATHER HIGH LEVEL, WHICH IS FABULOUS.
UH, WE'VE SEEN MANY OF THEM IN THE PAST, SO IT'S LIKE, WE'RE PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH THIS.
SO, UH, DO YOU NEED ANY MORE INFORMATION FROM US OR OTHER PEOPLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY TO REALLY HONE THIS DOWN TO SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT YOU CAN SAY, HEY, DO THIS A, B, C, D, HERE ARE THE KPIS THAT YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THIS AS YOU GO FORWARD, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? SO REALLY THE NEXT STEP IS REALLY REVOLVES AROUND THE PLANNING TEAM.
UM, SO WHAT, WHAT STEPS ARE THE MOST URGENT AND ACHIEVABLE THAT COMES THROUGH THE, THE WORK THAT WE DO IN THE PLANNING SESSIONS? UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE ABLE TO HELP, YOU KNOW, GUIDE THEM THROUGH A PROCESS WHERE THEY, THEY UNDERSTAND LIKE, THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DIRECTLY DO.
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO PARTNER WITH PEOPLE ON, AND THIS IS WHERE WE'LL NEED TO ADVOCATE.
UM, AND SO IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL DATA, IT, IT DOES COME UP WHERE WE KNOW WE WANT SOMETHING AS A, A MEASURABLE OBJECTIVE AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE THAT DATA COMES FROM.
WE JUST HAD THAT DISCUSSION ACTUALLY.
UM, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY A, A CONSIDERATION.
UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE, THERE ARE GONNA BE THINGS LIKE
[00:50:02]
OVERALL VISITOR VOLUME OR YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE BIG NUMBERS THAT ARE NO SMALL FEAT TO MEASURE.UM, AND SO THIS NEXT PHASE IS REALLY GETTING THE, HELPING THE TEAM HONE IN ON WHAT ARE THOSE KEY METRICS AND WHAT ARE THOSE DATA SOURCES WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND IT.
SO YOU HAVE A GOOD FEELING, IF I UNDERSTOOD YOUR ANSWER, THAT THERE ARE SOME DATA GAPS THAT YOU RECOGNIZE AND YOU NEED, LIKE THE EXAMPLE YOU GAVE WAS THE TOTAL VISITOR COUNT, AND OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THE DATA UNDERNEATH IT, WHERE THEY COME FROM, HOW MUCH THEY SPEND AND WHERE THEY SPEND AND ALL THAT.
SO WHAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DO YOU NEED TO REALLY HONE DOWN TO THAT NEXT LEVEL YOU THINK? OTHER THAN THAT EXAMPLE, I THINK IF I HAD MY DREAM DATA SET FOR ANY DESTINATION, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S STRUGGLING WITH MANAGEMENT ISSUES IS HOW TO MEASURE BEHAVIORS.
AND THOSE ARE CHALLENGES THAT ARE FACING THE WHOLE INDUSTRY.
UM, AND I THINK THERE ARE SOME CREATIVE WAYS TO GET AT IT.
I THINK IT'S DIFFICULT TO MA TO MEASURE DIRECTLY.
SO, UM, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A DATA SOURCE THAT I HAD, IF I COULD, I WOULD TAP INTO IT.
NOT NECESSARILY THAT EXISTS AT THE MOMENT.
IT WOULD, IT'S MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE PEOPLE ARE TAGGING THIS IN, UM, WHILE THEY'RE ON HIKES OR, WELL, I THINK THERE ARE WAYS, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE CREATIVE.
SO I THINK, UM, MEASURING CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR IS SORT OF THIS, UM, YEAH.
THAT'S, THAT'S A HARD MAGIC WAND FOR ANYTHING.
I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO THAT FOR HOW MANY YEARS AND WE'VE NOT COME UP WITH AN ANSWER.
SO IF YOU COME UP WITH ONE, IT'LL BE, I'M SURE WE'RE BE VERY APPRECIATIVE.
UM, IS THERE ANY OTHER MAGIC WAND THINGS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THAT, THAT COULD REALLY HELP YOU GUYS IN YOUR ANALYSIS AT THIS STAGE? MM-HMM.
I DON'T THINK THERE ARE ANY MAGIC WANDS.
I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REALITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING IS THAT IT'S, THERE HAS TO BE A MIX OF AMBITION AND REALITY, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT THE PLAN IS AMBITIOUS AND WANTS TO MOVE THINGS FORWARD.
AND ALSO ACKNOWLEDGES, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE GET OBSTACLES OUT OF OUR WAY? MM-HMM.
IT'S A LITTLE, EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE I HEAR A BLIP AND I'M WORRIED I'M TALKING OVER SOMEONE.
UM, I DID HAVE SOMETHING WHEN YOU'RE READY FOR ME TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT HOW MUCH EFFORT OR, UM, UM, DETAILED ANALYSIS HAS GONE INTO SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS IN TERMS OF MAYBE, UM, TAGGING OR LOCATIONS OR JUST IN GENERAL, WHAT SORT OF EFFORT HAS BEEN LOOKED INTO? UM, HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS MARKETING US ON ITS OWN WITHOUT ANY CONTROL FROM US.
YOU WANT ME TO TAKE THAT COLLEEN? WE HAVE NOT DONE AN IN DEPTH ANALYSIS ON THAT, BUT UM, WE ARE ALL TERRIFIED
'CAUSE WE CAN SEE IT HAPPENING AND WE TRY AND, AND PUT OUR OWN MESSAGE OUT.
WE TRY AND WORK WITH INFLUENCERS.
UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, EVERYONE IS THEIR OWN INFLUENCER.
I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, YES, I'M IN SEDONA, SO MAYBE THAT'S WHY THE ALGORITHMS ARE SENDING ME CERTAIN THINGS.
BUT I DO GET THESE ARTICLES OR POSTS OR THINGS LIKE THAT AND I'M LIKE, OH, OKAY, THAT'S NEW.
AND I JUST FEEL LIKE IT'D BE REALLY INTERESTING TO KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT IS OUT THERE AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN OUR EFFORTS IN TERMS OF MARKETING AND, AND ADVERTISING AND BRANDING AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS, JUST TO SEE KIND OF WHAT WE'RE GOING AGAINST POTENTIALLY.
AND, AND JUST A FOLLOW UP, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
UM, THERE'S A GAP I THINK, IN TERMS OF EXTERNAL VIEWPOINTS OF WHAT WE ARE, WHO WE ARE, AND YES, SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYS A LOT OF THAT.
THERE'S A INSTAGRAM POST AND DEVIL'S BRIDGE THAT'S A VERSION OF WHO WE ARE, BUT WE'RE CERTAINLY MORE THAN THAT IN A TOTAL.
SO HOW, HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THAT PART OF THE ASSESSMENT OF HOW THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO SPEND THE MONEY TO COME HERE, HOW DO THEY VIEW US AND WHY DO THEY WANT TO DO THAT? THE MOTIVATIONAL PIECE YOU TALKED ABOUT, HOW DOES THAT WORK? BECAUSE WE DID A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE IN THE ROOM INSIDE SEDONA, BUT THAT'S, WE'RE NOT SPENDING THE MONEY HERE EXCEPT FOR MAYBE MARKETING.
THE PEOPLE ARE GONNA ACTUALLY COME HERE.
HOW DO THEY VIEW US AND WHAT'S THE MOTIVATION FOR THEM TO CHOOSE US VERSUS OTHER PLACES? AND CAN WE GET A SENSE FOR THAT? MAYBE LAUREN HAS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING, BUT I, WELL, UM, I THINK WE'RE GONNA GET A REALLY GOOD SENSE OF THAT WITH THE AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION SURVEY THAT WE DID.
UM, WE GOT THOSE RESULTS ON FRIDAY AND MARY AND I FEVERISHLY WORKED, UM, THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND TO TRY AND GET IT TO A POINT WHERE WE COULD, UM, BOIL DOWN SOME OF THOSE THINGS FOR YOU TONIGHT.
UM, BUT WHEN YOU SEE THE ENTIRETY OF THE SURVEY AND THE ANSWERS, IT'S REALLY FASCINATING TO
[00:55:01]
SEE HOW PEOPLE RATE US AGAINST, UM, PLACES THAT WE VIEW AS OUR, UM, COMPETITIVE SET AS WE CALL IT.AND THEN WHAT MOTIVATES THEM TO COME HERE.
UM, WE DO HAVE AT LEAST A SENSE OF THAT INFORMATION.
I'M ASSUMING THAT'S GONNA GET ROLLED INTO THE NEXT REVISION.
AND I'VE, I'VE GOT A SUGGESTION ON SOME OF THE METRICS THAT THERE ARE PROXIES THAT WE CAN USE, LIKE THE NUMBER OF, UH, REPORTS OF GRAFFITI THAT FRIENDS OF THE FOREST DEALS WITH TELLS US WHERE IT'S GOING, HOW MUCH, WHAT IS HAPPENING OVER TIME, WHEN IS IT HAPPENING.
AND THE SECOND ONE WOULD BE THE NUMBER OF ROAD ROCK PASSES SOLD WOULD BE A PROXY THAT COULD TELL US INTERESTING INFORMATION.
RATHER THAN THAT ANY OTHER, WELL, IF THERE AREN'T ANY MORE QUESTIONS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND, UH, IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, YOU CAN, UH, LAUREN KNOWS HOW TO FIND ME.
SO ANY OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT? MARY HAS TO STILL GO.
I'M GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN NOW 'CAUSE I HAVE A REPORT TOO.
UM, SO HELLO CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
SORT OF REALLY, REALLY TINY ON MY SCREEN.
UM, YOU MET ME BACK IN DECEMBER WHEN I WAS THERE WITH, UM, COLLEEN, AND IF YOU'LL RECALL, COLLEEN IS OVER ON THE STRATEGIC PLANNING SIDE AND I AM OVER ON THE BRANDING AND MARKETING PLANNING SIDE.
SO, UM, COLLEEN IS DEALING WITH SOME OF THE BIGGER PICTURE WORK AND WE ARE DEALING WITH, YOU KNOW, MORE OF KIND OF THE, THE QUANTITATIVE, UM, RESEARCH AND NUMBERS AND, UM, AND HOW ALL THOSE THINGS INCLUDING COLLEEN'S WORK ROLLS INTO WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THE BRAND AND THE PLAN.
SO, UM, WHAT I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU TODAY AS QUICKLY AS I CAN, YOU, YOU DO HAVE A COPY OF THIS REPORT THAT WAS SENT OUT AHEAD OF YOU OR AHEAD OF TIME, I BELIEVE.
UM, WHAT I'M GONNA DO TODAY IS SHARE WITH YOU, UM, A RECAP OF THE OTHER KIND OF RESEARCH ELEMENTS.
EVERYTHING WE WERE DOING INITIALLY, UM, WAS ALL ROLLED UP TO FEED INTO THIS PROCESS.
UM, WE ALL KNEW THAT, UM, THAT UTILIZING DATA WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE DOING.
THAT THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF ANECDOTAL INFO AND WE ACTUALLY STILL ROLLED IN ANECDOTAL INFO, BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD, UM, QUANTITATIVE DATA AS WELL THAT HELPED TO INFORM WHERE WE WERE GOING ULTIMATELY WITH THE BRAND FOR SEDONA AND ALSO THE PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
UM, SO I'M GONNA SHARE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THAT WITH YOU.
UM, IF I SHARE ALL THE DETAIL, WE COULD BE HERE ALL NIGHT, WHICH WON'T.
UM, BUT I'M HOPING THAT WHAT THIS GROUP WILL DO IS, IS TAKE A LISTEN AND, UM, AND LET ME KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU GUYS MAY BE PARTICULARLY MIGHT FIND SURPRISING, UM, OR INTERESTING.
AND, UM, AND WHETHER THAT AFFECTS ANYTHING THAT YOU FEEL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
AND THEN WHEN WE DO SHARE, WHEN I GET TO THE END HERE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR TAKEAWAYS, OUR SUGGESTED TAKEAWAYS, IF THAT ALIGNS WITH YOUR THINKING AS WELL.
SO THAT'S THE KIND OF FEEDBACK WE'RE LOOKING FOR AND HOPEFULLY, UM, THAT WOULD MAKE, MAKE SENSE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO WE DID LOTS OF THINGS WHICH YOU MOSTLY KNOW ABOUT.
UM, WE HAD A RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEY THAT ACTUALLY WENT OUT TO EVERYBODY WHO LIVED WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF SEDONA.
I'M SURE THAT MOST OF YOU RECEIVED THAT.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO HAD AN OPEN LINK SURVEY THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT HAVE ACTUALLY RECEIVED A POSTCARD.
WE HAVE 631 RESPONSES TO THE POSTCARD MAILING AND ANOTHER 200, A LITTLE OVER 200 FROM THE OPENLINK.
SO, YOU KNOW, 800 AND SOMETHING TOTAL RESPONSES IS REALLY SOLID.
UM, A SOLID RATE OF RETURN GIVES US REALLY GOOD DATA.
UM, I WILL POINT OUT WHEN WE GET THERE, OH, GO.
OH, I THOUGHT I HEARD SOMETHING NOW I'M DOING WHAT COLLEEN'S DOING, HUH.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT FROM RESIDENTS, AS COLLEEN NOTED, THERE WAS THE COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSION, WHICH WE ALSO TOOK SOME NOTES AT BECAUSE THERE WAS A FEW THINGS THAT IMPACTED WHERE WE'RE GOING AS WELL FROM THAT.
UM, THOUGHT THAT WAS SUPER USEFUL.
UM, WE DID INTERVIEW EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER AND THE MAYOR.
UM, WE DID GO TO THAT SAME LODGING
[01:00:01]
COUNCIL LISTENING SESSION THAT, UM, COLLEEN DIRECTED AND OF COURSE THE CONVERSATION WITH YOU GUYS BACK IN DECEMBER.IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, WE DID A VISITOR INTERCEPT SURVEY, UM, THAT HAPPENED OVER THE MONTHS OF DECEMBER AND JANUARY, WHERE WE ACTUALLY HAD PEOPLE OUT WITH LITTLE IPADS INTERVIEWING PEOPLE WHO WERE VISITING SEDONA DURING THOSE MONTHS.
UM, YOU MIGHT RECALL THAT AT THAT TIME THAT WAS WHEN ALL THAT ROAD CONSTRUCTION WAS HAPPENING IN UPTOWN.
I THINK IT WAS STILL HAPPENING IN UPTOWN.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, TRAFFIC CROWDS WAS A LITTLE CRAZY AT THAT POINT.
UM, BUT IT WAS ALSO WINTER TIME.
SO ACTUALLY IT WAS A GOOD TIME TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE WERE THINKING WHILE THEY WERE THERE IN TOWN.
UM, WE HAD AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHELLE CONWAY, ECK FROM THE CHAMBER TO GET THE CHAMBER'S PERSPECTIVE.
UM, WE TOOK A LOOK AT DATA AND ACTUALLY SOME ADDITIONAL DATA THEN WHAT, UM, COLLEEN REFERENCED.
UM, WE HAVE ANOTHER DATA SOURCE BESIDES SYMPHONY AND NEAR IT'S, UM, DATA FIVE THAT ALLOWED US TO TAKE A LOOK AT A FOUR YEAR WINDOW OF VISITATION.
STILL NOT, SORRY, STILL NOT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, UM, BUT FOUR YEARS WORTH, AND THEN ONE YEAR OF SPEND DATA.
SO, UM, THAT ALSO HELPED US TO JUST UNDERSTAND SOME ORIGINATION MARKETS.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE HAD A FAIRLY LARGE AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION SURVEY THAT WAS SENT OUT TO 10 DIFFERENT MARKETS.
UM, THESE MARKETS WERE IDENTIFIED AS BEING THE TOP 10, IF YOU WILL, VISITOR ORIGINATION IN SPEND MARKETS HISTORICALLY, UM, TO SEDONA.
UM, AND WE ASK ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDING, UM, OR BROAD AWARENESS, AND THEN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT IS THAT SEDONA IS AND DOES AND THEIR INTEREST IN COMING OR NOT COMING.
UM, WE ALSO COMPARED WHAT WE LEARNED AGAINST COMPETITIVE MARKETS.
UH, WE IDENTIFIED SIX DIFFERENT COMPETITIVE MARK MARKETS.
UM, JACKSON, WYOMING, MO, MOAB, UTAH, PARK CITY, SANTA FE, ST.
UM, BASED ON THE SORT OF SIZE, SCALE OFFERINGS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, CULTURAL EXPERIENCES, UM, GENERAL, GENERALLY WESTERN TOWNS THAT WERE SIMILAR IN A LOT OF WAYS TO SEDONA.
UM, THE RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEY IS INTERESTING, AND, AND I NOTE THIS BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE BETWEEN THE SURVEY AND THE LISTENING SESSION.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE, AS YOU MIGHT NOT BE SURPRISED AT PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING AN ANONYMOUS SURVEY WILL BE A LITTLE MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN PEOPLE WHO ARE SITTING IN A ROOM TOGETHER WITH A BUNCH OF THEIR PEERS.
SO THE, THE COMMENTS FROM THE RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEY WERE, WERE STRONG.
UM, WHAT WE FOUND, AND I, AND I WANNA NOTE THAT WE DID A LITTLE COMPARISON BECAUSE PEOPLE MIGHT WONDER WHO FILLS OUT SURVEYS, RIGHT? UM, WE DID A LITTLE COMPARISON TO CENSUS DATA, AND THOSE RESPONDENTS TO OUR SURVEY WERE A LITTLE BIT OLDER, UM, THAN CENSUS DATA A A LITTLE BIT HIGHER INCOME.
AND SO THERE IS, THERE, THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF A BIAS, IF YOU WILL, WITHIN THAT RESIDENT CENTER SURVEY.
AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, THE PEOPLE WHO RESPONDED TO IT, THE PEOPLE PROBABLY FEEL STRONGER ABOUT THESE KINDS OF THINGS.
UM, WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT 56% OF RESPONDENTS OPPOSED PROMOTING VISITATION TO THE AREA AT ALL.
UM, 73% FELT TOWN IS OVERCROWDED.
PROBABLY NOT VERY, UH, VERY SURPRISING.
UM, HOWEVER, WHEN WE PARSED OUT PEOPLE WHO WERE UNDER THE AGE OF 65, AND WHEN WE LOOKED AT PEOPLE WHO WERE EMPLOYED VERSUS RETIRED, UM, THOSE NUMBERS SOFTENED UP QUITE A BIT.
UM, THE, THE, UM, THE FOLKS WHO WERE YOUNGER AND EMPLOYED WERE DEFINITELY, UH, VIEWED TOURISM MORE POSITIVELY, UM, OR MORE IN SUPPORT OF IT.
AND THEN IF YOU ADD ON ANOTHER LAYER, AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, UM, THERE ARE PRETTY GOOD PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE EMPLOYED OR OTHERWISE DEPEND ON INCOME FROM TOURISM.
OF COURSE, THOSE GUYS WENT THE OTHER WAY, VERY SUPPORTIVE OF TOURISM.
UM, WHAT WAS INTERESTING IS THAT THE WHOLE SURVEY WAS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF TOURISM EVEN IN SHOULDER SEASONS.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE SENSE WE GOT WAS THAT PEOPLE LIKED ACTUALLY HAVING THAT BREAK.
REMEMBER, THESE ARE RESIDENTS, NOT BUSINESSES.
YOU MIGHT IMAGINE BUSINESSES FEEL THE OPPOSITE.
UM, BUT THOSE WHO, UM, WORK IN TOURISM WAY MORE SUPPORTIVE OF SHOULDER SEASON MARKETING.
THE BIGGEST ISSUES WE ALREADY KNOW, CROWDING CONGESTION, UM, TRANSPORTATION.
UM, PEOPLE, TWO THIRDS OF PEOPLE SAID THEY FREQUENTLY ARE ALWAYS HAVE TROUBLE GETTING AROUND SEDONA.
UH, NOBODY LIKES VACATION RENTALS.
80% SAY THEY NEGATIVELY IMPACT NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, HAVING SAID THAT, ABOUT
[01:05:01]
HALF OF THE FOLKS, UM, OF ALL PEOPLE IN THE SURVEY WERE VERY FAMILIAR WITH TOURISM BUSINESSES, AND 73% AGREE THAT VISITORS ARE BENEFICIAL TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY.UM, 57% SAY THAT THE DOLLARS, UM, PAID BY VISITORS ARE BENEFICIAL TO THE CITY AND ULTIMATELY PROVIDE IMPORTANT AMENITIES.
HALF BELIEVE THAT SHOPPING AND DONNING OPTIONS IN SEDONA ARE BETTER THANKS TO VISITORS.
UH, ONLY 12% OF OUR, UM, OF OUR SURVEY RESPONDENTS FELT THAT THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN SEDONA IS IMPROVING.
INTERESTING, IRONIC, 80% OF RESPONDENTS SAID THAT THEY WERE VISITORS BEFORE THEY MOVED TO SEDONA
SO SOBERING, MAYBE NOT SURPRISING.
UM, INTERESTINGLY THEN GOING NEXT TO THE COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSION, UM, THERE WERE SOME, THERE WERE SOME REALLY GOOD, I THOUGHT, REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK THAT CAME OUT OF THAT SESSION.
AND I KNOW A FEW OF YOU AT LEAST WERE THERE, SO YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER THIS.
UM, BUT ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IS SOMETHING THAT THEY WANT TO SEE.
OBVIOUSLY, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, WE KNOW THAT BALANCING THAT SEASONAL VISIT VISITATION CYCLE, UM, WHICH IS IMPORTANT.
WE ALL KNOW THAT, UM, ADDRESSING HOUSING FOR WORKFORCE, UM, INVOLVING RESIDENTS AND, UM, COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION CAME UP OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
MANAGING TRAIL HEADS WAS A, WAS A BIG ITEM.
COLLABORATION ACROSS JURISDICTIONS AS, UM, COLLEEN MENTIONED A FEW TIMES, AND THEN STRONG AND CONSISTENT MESSAGING FROM WHATEVER EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE.
UM, THEY FELT LIKE THERE WERE SOME REAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRONG, CONSISTENT RESPONSIBLE MARKETING MESSAGES.
THE BETTER COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT OF SHORT TERM RENTALS, BIG ONE, UM, CONSIDERING A TRAILHEAD RESERVATION SYSTEM, UM, CAME UP, WHICH IS INTERESTING WHEN IT COMES FROM RESIDENTS, UM, OBVIOUSLY PROMOTING SHOVELS AND RIDE SHARES, AND AGAIN, INVOLVING RESIDENTS IN EVERYTHING WE DO.
SO I I ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT THAT RESIDENT LISTENING SESSION, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE THERE, WAS, WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY POSITIVE.
AND IT WAS NICE TO HEAR COUNCIL MEMBER INTERVIEWS WERE FAIRLY CONSISTENT.
UM, I JUST PULLED OUT A FEW THINGS THAT I THINK THAT WE HEARD PRETTY CONSISTENTLY ACROSS EVERY COUNCIL FROM EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND, UM, THE NUMBER ONE IS THAT WE LIVE IN A REALLY SPECIAL PLACE AND PEOPLE WANNA VISIT IT.
UM, WE NEED TO FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN THE RESIDENT QUALITY OF LIFE AND BUSINESS PROSPERITY.
WE NEED MORE COMMUNICATION WITH RESIDENTS.
SOUND FAMILIAR? UM, DATA IS VERY KEY IN DRIVING FUTURE DECISIONS AND STRATEGIES.
UM, TRAFFIC IS OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE.
WE NEED MORE EDUCATION FOR ALL VISITORS, AND WE NEED TO TARGET VISITORS WHO WILL RESPECT RESIDENTS AND SURROUNDINGS.
UM, ARTS CULTURE AND FAMILY FOCUSED AMENITIES ARE LESS EMPHASIZED THAN THEY COULD BE.
AND WE NEED BETTER COORDINATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND ALL AND THE OTHER, UM, ENTITIES OUT THERE.
THIS IS GOOD, BY THE WAY, WHEN YOU HEAR LOTS OF CONSISTENCY THAT US UM, YOU ALL, I DON'T THINK I NEED TO GIVE YOU A SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU ALL SAID BACK IN DECEMBER, BUT THERE WERE A FEW THINGS THAT STUCK OUT.
UM, ATTRACTING VISITORS WHO WE WANT, WHO RESPECT LAND AND SPEND MONEY AND DISCOURAGE THOSE.
WE DON'T PROMOTE SUMMER AND WINTER.
WE INTRODUCED THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN LOST OR GOTTEN BUR BURIED.
WELLNESS, ARTS CULTURE, FIND THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE RESIDENT AND BUSINESS NEEDS.
TRY AND REDUCE RESIDENT UNHAPPINESS.
WE NEED BETTER DECISIONS AND DATA.
UM, AND THEN I, I WROTE THIS, THIS I, THIS, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO SPECIFICALLY SAID THIS, BUT I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD COMMENT.
UM, THE FOUR ELEMENTS NEEDED IN A BALANCED VISITOR ECONOMY, QUALITY OF LIFE FOR RESIDENTS, PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT, POSITIVE VISITOR EXPERIENCE, AND BUSINESS PROSPERITY.
UH, WE NEED A UNIFYING BRAND FOR THE DESTINATION THAT RESONATES WITH EVERYBODY.
AND I, I, I HELD ONTO THIS, WHILE SEDONA IS A QUIRKY, SPECIAL AND UNIQUE PLACE, THE LODGING COUNCIL, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, WAS A LITTLE MORE BUSINESS ORIENTED, AS WAS THE CHAMBER.
UM, THIS IS THEY, BUT, BUT HAVING SAID THAT, SUSTAINABILITY, MESSAGING AND MANAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT.
UM, THEY WANTED, THE LODGING COUNCIL WANTED TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNEW.
WE DID WELCOME THAT DESPITE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT BE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, THEY OBVIOUSLY WANTED PEOPLE TO UTILIZE TRADITIONAL LODGING, I GUESS, FROM THAT GROUP, UM, THAT THEY FELT LIKE IT WAS STILL IMPORTANT TO MARKET TO PEOPLE STRATEGICALLY INSIDE THE STATE, UM, THAT WE'RE A REGIONAL ECONOMY.
AND THEY'D LIKE TO SEE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE ENTITIES.
UM, THEY THINK THAT DAY TRIPPERS DO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE
[01:10:01]
IN THE ECONOMY, AND THEY'D LIKE TO SEE A FRESH APPROACH TO MARKETING.SEDONA DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'VE DONE BEFORE.
UM, THE CHAMBER VERY SIMILAR TO THAT.
THEY DEFINITELY WANT TO SEE THE COMMUNITY RALLY AND SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE.
AND, UM, THEY, UM, THEY OBVIOUSLY ARE VERY INTERESTED.
THEIR PRIORITY IS THE LIVELIHOOD OF RESIDENTS, WORKERS, BUSINESSES, AND ECONOMICAL, UM, OUTLOOK.
UM, THEY LIKE THE FACT THAT THE CITY IS ABLE TO MANAGE THE LARGER TOURISM WORK, WHICH GIVES THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS COMMUNITY, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THEIR NEEDS.
THEY LIKE THE FACT THAT THE CITY LEADS WOULD LEAD THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM EFFORT.
SO ALL THOSE THINGS MIGHT ALL SEEM PRETTY LOGICAL TO YOU.
I THINK THAT YOU MIGHT FIND THE VISITOR, UM, SURVEY ELEMENTS PRETTY INTERESTING.
UM, THE VISITOR INTERCEPT SURVEY, REMEMBER THIS WAS FOLKS BEING, UM, INTERVIEWED WHILE THEY'RE HERE IN SEDONA.
SO THESE ARE YOUR CURRENT VISITORS IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY, TYPICALLY IN OFF SEASON TIMEFRAME WHEN TRAFFIC SUCKED, EXTRA BAD.
UM, AND HERE'S THE DEAL, THEY LOVE EVERYTHING.
THEY, UM, NET PROMOTER SCORE OF 90 OUT OF A HUNDRED.
THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THE QUESTION IS, WOULD YOU RECOMMEND SEDONA TO SOMEBODY ELSE? YES.
UM, THEIR SATISFACTION RATING WAS 4.8 OUT OF FIVE.
THEY, UM, RATED EVERYTHING HIGHLY TRAILS, SMALL TOWN CHARM, FRIENDLINESS, CUSTOMER SERVICE.
GETTING AROUND TOWN WAS THE LOWEST RANKED ATTRIBUTE, BUT IT WAS STILL 4.5 OUT OF FIVE.
SO COME FROM LA I KNOW THAT I, I REMEMBER THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THE LODGE AND COUNCIL, WITH THE CHAMBER, WITH YOU GUYS, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT THEY FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE VERY WORRIED ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE WERE THINKING AND THEY'RE HAVING A BAD EXPERIENCE WHEN THEY'RE IN TOWN AND THEY AREN'T, THEY'RE HAPPY.
UM, 80% OF VISITORS WERE ACTUALLY FROM OUTTA STATE DURING THAT TIMEFRAME.
HALF OF THOSE WERE FROM CANADA.
SO, UM, MOST PEOPLE WE TALKED TO WERE ON THEIR FIRST TRIP TO SEDONA.
HOWEVER, OF THOSE REPEAT VISITORS, THEY COME ALL THE TIME.
UM, THEY AVERAGE ON THE AVERAGE, THEY WERE ON THEIR SEVENTH TRIP TO SEDONA.
UM, ON AVERAGE THEY WERE STAYING MORE THAN FOUR NIGHTS WHILE THEY WERE THERE.
UM, THEIR TOP ACTIVITIES WAS THE SCENERY, HIKING, DINING, SHOPPING, UM, SPENDING WAS REALLY LARGE, REALLY HIGH.
UM, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THESE KINDS OF SURVEYS AND, UM, HAVING A HUNDRED DOLLARS A DAY JUST ON DINING, $50 ON SHOPPING, $40 PER PERSON PER DAY ON ACTIVITIES LIKE, UM, TOURS, UM, GUIDED ACTIVITIES, AVERAGE LODGING 275 WITH, UM, MORE THAN HALF, NEARLY HALF, SORRY, SPENDING MORE THAN $300 A NIGHT.
SO THEY'RE HIGH SPENDING STAYING A LONG TIME, NOT NECESSARILY FROM ARIZONA.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A POINT I'M MAKING HERE.
THE WINTER TOURISTS ARE GOOD ONES,
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU'LL, YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE MORE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AS ANYBODY WANNA SAY ANYTHING AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE THIS, I COULD GO BACK IN THE SLIDES, BUT CAN YOU REMIND US HOW MANY PEOPLE THIS REPRESENTED? HOW MANY VISITOR SURVEYS YOU COLLECTED? OH, YEAH.
YEAH, MARY, WE WERE AIMING FOR 400.
MARY, I HAVE ONE FURTHER QUESTION FOR YOU.
IS THERE THE INTENT OR THE THOUGHT TO REPRODUCE THIS VISITOR INTERCEPT SURVEY AGAIN IN PEAK SEASON? YEAH, YEAH.
I ACTUALLY HAVE A PROPOSAL TO DO IT AGAIN IN APRIL.
WERE THESE SURVEYS WRITTEN BY YOU? THE, IT WAS US IN COMBINATION WITH THE, UM, WITH CITY STAFF AND THE SURVEY COMPANY.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF SORT OF CONSISTENT QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL ASK PEOPLE.
SO MAYBE SOMETHING AND, YOU KNOW, JUST TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION, ESPECIALLY WITH THE RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEY, IS, I DIDN'T PERSONALLY TAKE IT.
I LIVE OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS, BUT JUST LOOKING AT THE ANSWERS HERE, I CAN GUESS WHAT THE QUESTIONS WERE.
AND THIS WOULD'VE BEEN A VERY GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE THE RESIDENTS WITH QUESTIONS.
AND SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT IS IN HERE, SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, DO YOU THINK THIS IS CERTAIN THINGS ARE BENEFICIAL, IT'S BENEFITING YOU.
I CAN SEE THAT THAT WAS IN HERE.
UM, BUT A QUESTION THAT WASN'T ASKED, FOR EXAMPLE, IS HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS AFFECTING TRAFFIC? UM, BECAUSE TOURISM
[01:15:01]
ISN'T THE ONLY THING.OBVIOUSLY IT'S THE NUMBER ONE THING, BUT IT'S NOT THE ONLY THING THAT AFFECTS TRAFFIC.
AND THERE ARE SOME OTHER MAYBE ASPECTS THAT COULD BE ADDED INTO THE QUESTIONS, UM, AS AN EDUCATION SOURCE, BECAUSE I FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, ASKING RESIDENTS TO COME TO CERTAIN MEETINGS AND THINGS AREN'T NECESSARILY GONNA HAPPEN.
WHEREAS YOU HAVE, LIKE YOU SAID, AN ANONYMOUS SURVEY, EVERYBODY'S GONNA ANSWER IT HONESTLY, OR AT LEAST READ IT.
WELL, AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE, UM, WE, IT'S PUTTING THOSE QUESTIONS TOGETHER IS A, IS AN ART, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, UM, THE WAY THOSE QUESTIONS WERE ASKED, I THINK, DID YOU SAY YOU SAW THE SURVEY, RIGHT? I DID NOT SEE THE SURVEY.
I'M JUST JUDGING BY THE WAY THAT THE ANSWERS ARE WRITTEN, WHAT THE QUESTIONS WERE.
YEAH, WHAT WAS INTERESTING IS WHAT WE WOULD SAY IS WE WAS LIKE, HOW MUCH DO YOU AGREE WITH THE STATEMENT? YOU KNOW, UH, MY COMMUNITY BENEFITS FROM THE INCOME THAT TOURISM BRINGS OR THAT, YOU KNOW, SO IT WAS, IT WAS THAT SORT RATHER THAN, DO YOU THINK IT WAS MORE OF SCALE AND, UM, WHICH IS, WHICH IS A WAY TO BASICALLY, YOU SNEAK IN A LITTLE EDUCATION BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, IT DOES, BUT IT HELPS US TO UNDERSTAND.
I MEAN, THE FACT IS THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE.
THE BROADER, THE BROADER TAKEAWAY FROM THAT SURVEY, FROM THOSE KINDS OF QUESTIONS WAS, THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ANSWERED AND SAID, YES, I GET THAT THERE'S A BENEFIT, BUT THE BENEFIT DOESN'T OUTWEIGH THE NEGATIVES FOR ME.
AND, UM, AND TO BE HONEST, WHEN YOU HAVE FOLKS WHO ARE RETIRED, SO THEY AREN'T WORKING, THEY AREN'T RELYING ON INCOME, AND THEY ALSO MIGHT HAVE A HIGHER INCOME, THAT MEANS THAT THE FACT THAT THEY DON'T PAY TAX ON FOOD DOESN'T REALLY MATTER TO THEM.
SO WE'RE STILL GONNA HAVE THAT.
I DID WANNA NOTE THE TRANSPORTATION.
WE WERE A LITTLE, WE WEREN'T, WE WEREN'T SUPER AGGRESSIVE ON THAT, ONLY BECAUSE A, WE KNEW PEOPLE WOULD BE NEGATIVE ABOUT IT.
BUT ALSO THERE NOT TOO LONG BEFORE, THERE WAS A BROADER COMMUNITY PLANNING SURVEY THAT TALKED A LOT ABOUT, UM, TRANSPORTATION, TRAFFIC, UM, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
AND SO WE WERE TRYING NOT TO, TO DUPLICATE TOO MUCH OF THAT PARTICULAR SURVEY QUESTION ON THAT RESIDENT SURVEY.
PART OF THE THING WE TRY, WE ACTUALLY DO TRY TO KIND OF SNEAK IN A LITTLE BIT OF EDUCATION IN A SOFT WAY, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT MIGHT AS WELL ON THAT RESIDENT SURVEY, YOU SAID THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, RETIREES.
IS THAT GONNA BE WEIGHTED AGAINST THE CURRENT POPULATION OF WHAT SEDONA REALLY IS? YEAH.
THAT'S WHY WE INCLUDED THE CENSUS COMPARISON.
THIS ISN'T WHAT I PULLED OUT, WE'RE HIGHLIGHTS.
WE HAVE A WHOLE, A WHOLE ANALYZED, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, REPORT FROM THAT SURVEY THAT DOES, THAT'S WHY I ALSO INCLUDED, WHEN YOU LOOK AT PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE NOT RETIRED YOUNGER, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, WORK IN THE INDUSTRY, THERE IS, UM, WE DIDN'T DO A FULL WEIGHTED ANALYSIS BECAUSE THE FACT IS THOSE NUMBERS WERE STILL SO HIGH, IT WASN'T GONNA CHANGE THAT MUCH IF WE, IF WE PULL DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THAT OLDER OR RETIRED AUDIENCE.
SO IT WAS MORE USEFUL FOR US TO ACTUALLY PULL APART THE POPULATIONS.
YOU, UM, YOU EXPRESSED SURPRISE AT THE AMOUNT OF SPENDING OF OUR VISITORS.
UM, DO YOU HAVE HARD, UH, COMPARISON DATA TO OTHER LOCATIONS BECAUSE THAT THE, THE AMOUNT OF THE RELATIVITY, I THINK COULD BE BENEFICIAL TO, UH, MESSAGING TO RESIDENTS? YEAH, YEAH, I DO.
UM, I DO, I ACTUALLY HAVE PRETTY RECENT DATA FROM, UM, FROM MONTANA
IT'D BE EASY TO PROBABLY NARROW IT DOWN, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING, IT WAS LIKE 128 TOTAL DOLLARS, UM, PER PERSON FOR ALL SPENDING AND, UM, NOT IN LODGING.
AND THEN I THINK 1 39 A NIGHT LODGING.
SO THAT LAST, UM, THE LAST PIECE OF THE LAST RESEARCH PIECE OF WORK, THE LAST SURVEY WAS THAT AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION SURVEY.
REMEMBER, THIS WAS IN 10 MARKETS.
WE HAD 200 RESPONDENTS PER MARKET.
SO WE HAD ABOUT 2000 TOTAL RESPONDENTS.
WE SPECIFICALLY SOUGHT OUT PEOPLE WHO DO TRAVEL, UM, WHO ARE OR INTERESTED IN TRAVEL OR TAKEN A TRIP, I THINK IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS.
WHAT WE FOUND, UM, AND THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WE DO THIS A LOT FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN I SEE, WHEN I SAY THINGS
[01:20:01]
LIKE EXTREMELY HIGH, UM, THAT'S COMPARED TO OTHER DESTINATIONS WHERE WE DO THIS KIND OF WORK, SEDONA HAS EXTREMELY HIGH UNAIDED AWARENESS.AND WHEN I SAY UNAIDED, THAT MEANS WE START OFF THE SURVEY BY ASKING, YOU KNOW, WHERE IN ARIZONA WOULD YOU WANT TO VISIT? AND IF SOMEBODY SAYS SEDONA, WITHOUT US EVER HAVING SAID THE WORD SEDONA, THAT'S UNAIDED AWARENESS.
LATER ON AS WE GO DOWN THE SURVEY, WE'LL ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT SEDONA, BUT RIGHT UP FRONT, WE'LL JUST SAY BROADLY, YOU KNOW, WHERE WOULD YOU WANT TO GO FOR TO VISIT IN ARIZONA? UM, SEDONA WAS, UH, HAD 67, SORRY, IT WAS VERY HIGH OVERALL, 67%, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE IN PHOENIX, DUH.
UM, 60% OF VENETIANS THAT WE SURVEYED, WHICH DOESN'T MEAN 60% OF THE 4 MILLION PEOPLE OR WHATEVER THAT LIVE IN PHOENIX.
UM, INTEND TO VISIT SEDONA IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.
UH, LAST VEGAS WAS ACTUALLY THE NEXT HIGHEST OF 26.5%, AGAIN IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, UH, WITH LOS LOS ANGELES.
AFTER THAT, EVERY MARKET SURVEY HAS HIGH INTENT TO VISIT SEDONA AT SOME POINT.
UM, THE HIGHEST, THE MOST DESIRABLE MONTH FOR INTENDED VISITATION, NOT GONNA SURPRISE YOU, IS APRIL, UM, AT 29.5%.
DECEMBER WAS THE LOWEST AT 7.7%.
UM, SEDONA WAS THE THIRD HIGHEST RATED ARIZONA DESTINATION WHERE PEOPLE THAT PEOPLE WANTED TO VISIT.
28% OF PEOPLE SAID SEDONA, SPECIFICALLY, UM, THAT WAS BEHIND THE GRAND CANYON IN PHOENIX, SOMEWHAT SIGNIFICANTLY, BUT SIGNIFICANTLY AHEAD OF TUCSON, FLAGSTAFF IN SCOTTSDALE, WHICH WERE THE NEXT THREE AFTER THAT.
SO IT'S JUST INTERESTING WHERE YOU LAND.
UM, WE ALSO, AS YOU, AS I NOTED EARLIER, WE TESTED SEDONA AWARENESS, INTEREST PERCEPTION AGAINST THOSE COMPETITIVE MARKETS THAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
UM, SEDONA WAS, UM, DEFINITELY THE MOST FAMILIAR, THE MOST PREVIOUSLY VISITED AND THE MOST INTEREST IN VISITING IN THE FUTURE AGAINST ALL OF THEM.
SANTA FE BASICALLY COMING IN SECOND PLACE IN MOST OF THOSE CATEGORIES.
QUICK QUESTION, UM, ON ON THE PIECE WHERE YOU SAY SEDONA WAS THE THIRD HIGHEST RATING, WHAT WAS THE POPULATION? EXCUSE ME, WHAT WERE, WHAT WERE THE PEOPLE ASKED? WAS THAT FROM ALL THOSE REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITIES OR IS IT PARTICULAR DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES? NOPE.
THAT WAS JUST, THAT WAS A STRAIGHT WHERE WOULD YOU WANNA VISIT IN ARIZONA? SO THOSE ARE ARIZONA RESIDENTS SAYING THAT, OR OUTSIDE ARIZONA? ALL, ALL, ALL OF OUR MARKETS.
SO THAT'D BE VEGAS, LA, PHOENIX WAS, PHOENIX WAS JUST ONE OF THE 10 MARKETS, RIGHT? SO ALL THE, THE LIST YOU HAVE.
MARY, CAN YOU REMIND THEM OF WHAT THOSE MARKETS WERE? YOU SAID IT IN THE BEGINNING, BUT I JUST WANTED, WANT EVERYBODY TO HEAR 'EM AGAIN.
CHICAGO, DALLAS, LAS VEGAS, LOS ANGELES, MINNEAPOLIS, NEW YORK, PHOENIX, SAN DIEGO, SAN FRANCISCO, AND SEATTLE.
AND WE CAME UP WITH THOSE BASED ON OUR LOOK BACK WINDOW OF WHO VISITS HERE AND WHO SPENDS MONEY HERE.
IT WAS THE TOP, TOP 10 RANKED COMMUNITIES OTHER THAN TUCSON.
WE PULLED TUCSON OUT SO THAT WE COULD HAVE ONE MORE OUT OF STATE MARKET AND WE CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HAVE PHOENIX IN THERE? OH, WELL, YEAH.
IT'S BY FAR THE MOST
AND IF YOU TOOK PHOENIX OUT OF THAT DATA SET, WOULD IT BE THE SAME ANSWER? THE THIRD HIGHEST? YES.
AND I CAN, I CAN DO THAT, PAUL.
SO IN FACT, IN FACT, I WOULD SAY IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO GET ANY PARTICULAR DETAIL ON, JUST LET ME KNOW.
IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO GET THAT STUFF.
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, WE KIND OF DEBATED THIS, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH SORT OF BACKLASH ON PHOENIX, BUT IT'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOUR NUMBER ONE MARKET, IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE FLYING BLIND.
SO IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO US TO INCLUDE PHOENIX.
RIGHT? BUT IT COULD BE A DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC FROM A TRAVEL PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT? CARS VERSUS PLANES.
ALTHOUGH IT IS, IT WAS, THEY, THEY LINED UP PRETTY WELL.
BUT, BUT HAVING SAID THAT, I THINK THAT IT WOULDN'T BE VERY HARD FOR ME TO PULL, LIKE LITERALLY JUST TAKE PHOENIX OUT, LOOK AT EVERYBODY ELSE, UM, AS AN AGGREGATE.
BUT I, I THINK WE'RE GONNA COME UP WITH PRETTY SIMILAR OTHER THAN OTHER THAN, FOR EXAMPLE, THE 67% OUT OF PHOENIX, AS YOU SEE, RIGHT? 67% OF PEOPLE IN
[01:25:01]
PHOENIX THINK THAT THEY'RE GONNA, UM, OR HAVE HIGHER AWARENESS AND 60% INTEND TO VISIT IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.OBVIOUSLY THAT DROPS SIGNIFICANTLY, BUT THAT'S PROXIMITY, RIGHT? MM-HMM,
BUT IN TERMS OF THE, UM, THE DEMOGRAPHICS, THOSE OTHER THINGS, I MEAN EVEN, YOU KNOW, THAT WORK THAT WE, YOU KNOW, PHOENIX WAS A SMALLER PERCENTAGE OUT OF OUR VISITOR, UM, INTERCEPT SURVEY, BUT YOU KNOW, STILL I THINK FELL IN LINE.
WE SAW WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THE VISITORS THERE IN TERMS OF SPEND AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO I GUESS MY POINT IS, IS THAT I'M GONNA AGREE WITH THE LAUNCHING AND BUSINESS COMMUNITY, AND THAT IS PHOENIX IS A VALUABLE IT IS, IT, THEY THEY CAN BE A VALUABLE AUDIENCE.
IT'S JUST WHEN YOU DO LOOK AT DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS, YOU MIGHT GET DIFFERENT PROGRAMS FOR THE DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING THE QUESTION OF IF YOU TAKE THAT OUT, IS IT A SEPARATE WAY OF APPROACHING THEM FROM A TOURISM PERSPECTIVE VERSUS THESE OTHER OUTTA STATE MARKETS? THAT'S WAS THE INTENTION OF LOOKING AT THAT.
AND WELL, AND YOU, YOU KNOW, NOT TO, I MEAN, YOU ACTUALLY HAVE THE REPORT, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA SAY, BUT, UM, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA PROPOSE THAT WE NEVER DO, UM, MARKETING LIKE COME VISIT SEDONA, UM, TO PHOENIX EVER.
BUT WE ARE GONNA PROPOSE DOING EDUCATIONAL, UM, COMM OR MESSAGING TO PHOENIX, ACTUALLY IN STATE IN GENERAL ALL THE TIME.
SO WE'RE STILL, WE'RE STILL ADDRESSING IT JUST BECAUSE OF THE NUMBERS.
SO WOULD THERE BE POTENTIAL TO MARKET TO PHOENIX MORE SO THAT WE COULD GET THEM TO STAY OVERNIGHT RATHER THAN DRIVING UP HERE FOR THE DAY WITH THEIR OWN OHV AND NOT EATING IN OUR RESTAURANTS AND NOT SPENDING MONEY IN OUR COMMUNITY? BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES WITH PHOENIX, BUT ALSO, UM, ONE OF OUR BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES.
HEY, JUST TO PILE ON, I THINK, UH, I THINK IT WAS DURING THE LAUNCHING COUNCIL MEETING RECENTLY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE RE REMINDED THAT, UH, DOWN NEAR IN PHOENIX, WHICH DOES DOESN'T INCLUDE PHOENIX, OF COURSE, IT'S SCOTTSDALE AND PARADISE VALLEY AND GLENDALE, AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE WEALTHIEST ZIP CODES IN THE COUNTRY.
AND SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT LEVELING THE TOURISM MARKET HERE IN, IN TOWN FOR FILLING IN THOSE EASY TO GET TO FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, BUT MAYBE NOT THE BUSY TIMES OF THE YEAR.
THAT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, UH, MAYBE AN OPPORTUNITY DOWN THERE.
I KNOW WHEN WE LIVED IN SCOTTSDALE, I MEAN, THERE WAS A LOT OF FOLKS THAT CAME UP HERE FOR MORE THAN JUST THE DAY TRIP.
I MEAN, AND, AND I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF THE TARGET VISITORS DOWN THERE AS FAR AS THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND THE, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH MONEY THEY'RE WILLING TO SPEND AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THIS MIGHT BE AN EASY GETAWAY FOR THEM DURING THE OFF SEASON.
JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
SUMMER IS KEY, RIGHT? SUMMER'S A PRIME TIME.
'CAUSE IT'S FREAKING OUT THERE.
I I LIVE IN SCOTTSDALE HALF TIME.
UM, BUT WE'RE DEALING WITH SHEER NUMBERS, RIGHT? THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY, I THINK OUR BIGGEST ISSUE WITH THE PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA IS JUST THE NUMBERS ARE SO BIG, RIGHT? AND, UM, THAT ARE COMING KIND OF ALL THE TIME.
I THINK THERE'S REAL OPPORTUNITY IN THE SUMMER PARTICULARLY.
BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GETTING INTO STRATEGY OR A LITTLE BIT AND WHICH I GUESS I'M STILL GONNA GET INTO I GUESS IN A SECOND.
BUT WE GET THROUGH A COUPLE OF THESE OTHER THINGS AND WE CAN COME BACK TO THAT.
SO WHEN YOU SAY PHOENIX AND ALL OF THIS, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PHOENIX METRO AREA? YES.
AND SO WOULD THERE BE A CONSIDERATION TO PARCEL OUT SOME OF THOSE AREAS, NOT JUST FOR THE EDUCATIONAL OF THE WHOLE PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA, BUT I'M THINKING MAYBE YOU MIGHT BE THINKING OF THAT, LIKE, PARCELING OUT LET'S, UM, CONSIDER STILL DOING SOME LEVEL OF POTENTIAL MARKETING WITHIN CERTAIN AREAS AND NOT THE FULL AREA, JUST THINKING WE TOTALLY CAN.
ALTHOUGH I, I'M GOING, I MEAN, WE'RE ACTUALLY RECOMMENDING THAT WE'RE GONNA DO PROBABLY NO, YOU KNOW, COME VISIT PROBABLY TO ANY MARKET.
I THINK THAT EVERYTHING WE'RE GONNA DO IS ACTUALLY GONNA HAVE TO DO WITH A STEWARD, A STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE, WHICH WE'LL GET TO AGAIN IN A SECOND HERE.
BUT I THINK THAT THERE'S, THERE'S SOME BIGGER, THERE'S SOME BIGGER THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO AS A MARKET TO, TO SUPPORT RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS AND HAVE EDUCATION BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE LOSING, WE'RE LOSING A GRIP ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF HOW PEOPLE TREAT THE, UM, THE ENVIRONMENT, THE TRAILS, THAT SORT OF THING.
AND I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT CAN STILL, IT CAN STILL ACTUALLY ACT AS MARKETING, BUT IN A REALLY POSITIVE WAY.
[01:30:01]
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT, I PROMISE IN JUST A COUPLE SLIDES.I WANTED TO KNOW THAT THE OTHER THING THAT CAME OUT OF THAT AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION SURVEY IS CERTAIN TRAVELER PROFILES ROSE TO THE TOP.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, THERE'S, UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SORT OF PRESET, IF YOU WILL, PROFILES OF TRAVELERS WHO TRAVEL FOR CERTAIN THINGS, FIND CERTAIN THINGS IMPORTANT, AND THEY WILL TYPICALLY ALIGN WITH A DIFFERENT DESTINATION BASED ON, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SAY THEY WANNA TRAVEL AND GET THIS KIND OF THING, AND THEY THINK THEY CAN GET THIS KIND OF THING FROM THE DESTINATION.
IN THIS CASE, FOR SEDONA, SPECIFICALLY, THOSE TRAVELER PROFILES, UM, WERE SUSTAINABILITY, PRIORITIZERS LEAVE NO TRACE ADHERENCE AND HIGH VALUE TRAVELERS.
THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE MARKETING TERMS, UM, THAT, UH, DESTINATION ANALYSTS OR FUTURE PARTNERS HAS PUT TOGETHER.
THAT'S THE FOLKS WHO, UM, WHO DID THE SURVEY FOR US.
THEY HAVE REALLY EXTENSIVE PERSONAS THAT GO, I DON'T KNOW, THERE'S 50 OF 'EM OR WHATEVER.
UM, BUT IT'S HELPFUL TO US IN TERMS OF TARGETING THE KINDS OF PERSONALITIES OR PERSONAS THAT MAKE SENSE FOR THE KINDS OF VISITORS THAT WE WANT.
AND IT SO HAPPENS THAT THESE PARTICULAR, UH, PERSONAS LINED UP REALLY NICELY WITH THOSE FOLKS WHO MOST SEEM INTERESTED IN COMING TO SEDONA.
SO SUSTAINABILITY, YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, THEY, THEY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO GO TO PLACES THAT VALUE SUSTAINABILITY LEAD NO TRACE, OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW WHAT THAT IS.
UH, WE WANT PEOPLE WHO, UM, WHO ADHERE TO THOSE KINDS OF VALUES.
AND THEN THE HIGH VALUE TRAVELER, THOSE ARE FOLKS WHO, UM, BUDGET $5,000 OR MORE, UM, FOR A VACATION.
IN THIS CASE, OUR HIGH VALUE TRAVELERS, UM, WERE AT $10,000 OR MORE.
SO, UM, THAT'S REALLY GOOD FOR US.
THAT GIVES US REAL OPPORTUNITY TO GET THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO ALSO, UM, WILL SPEND TO SEDONA OR PAY ATTENTION TO OUR MESSAGING.
UM, WE DID ASK THE TOP REASONS THAT PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO VISIT SEDONA MOST.
UM, TALKED ABOUT BEING SURROUNDED BY NATURAL SCENIC BEAUTY THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN ACTUALLY DOING OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES.
UM, REST AND RELAXATION WAS NUMBER TWO, OUTDOORS AND EXPERIENCE NATURE WAS NUMBER THREE, AND SEEK ADVENTURE WAS NUMBER FOUR.
UM, PLANNING TIMEFRAME WAS ACTUALLY, THE AVERAGE PLANNING TIMEFRAME WAS ALMOST FIVE MONTHS, 4.9 MONTHS, WHICH IS A REALLY LONG TIME.
HOWEVER, UM, OF THOSE WHO MOST LIKELY ARE MOST LIKELY TO VISIT IN THE NEXT YEAR, 27% SAID THEY WOULD PLAN THEIR TRIP TWO TO FOUR WEEKS OUT.
THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR US, RIGHT, IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING OUR SORT OF, UM, PLANNING HORIZON WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO FOLKS ABOUT COMING, PARTICULARLY AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR, IE WINTER AND SUMMER, UM, AVERAGE NUMBER OF NIGHTS PEOPLE SAID THEY WOULD STAY WAS 3.4, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD.
UM, MOST WOULD COME WITH ONE OTHER PERSON, UM, WITH THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHER OR WITH FRIENDS.
BUT OF THOSE WHO SAID THEY WERE MOST LIKELY TO COME IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, 45% SAID THEY BRING CHILDREN, WHICH IS INTERESTING.
SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT WHOLE FAMILY ELEMENT OF SEDONA A BIT.
UM, 12% SAID THEY WOULD ONLY STAY IN A VACATION RENTAL.
THIS IS A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER, BUT PLEASE NOTE THAT WHEN WE ASKED THE QUESTION, WE GAVE PEOPLE A LOT OF OPTIONS.
UM, SO EVERYBODY ELSE SAID THEY WOULD STAY IN A HOTEL OF SOME SORT, BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF HOTEL PEOPLE WHO SAID THEY WOULD ALSO STAY, CONSIDER A VACATION RENTAL.
SO I, I PUT THAT NUMBER IN JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, JUST TO UNDERSTAND KIND OF THAT GROUP, THAT NUMBER, THE NUMBER WE'RE DEALING WITH THAT ONLY WANTS A SHORT-TERM RENTAL.
UM, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER 80 SOMETHING PERCENT, YOU KNOW, WOULDN'T CONSIDER A SHORT-TERM RENTAL.
UM, 83% SAID THEY WOULD GO TO RESTAURANTS.
THAT WAS THE NUMBER ONE ACTIVITY THAT PEOPLE SAID MAYBE 'CAUSE EVERYBODY NEEDS TO EAT.
UM, BUT RED ROCKS SEEING RED ROCKS CAME IN SECOND AT 63%.
UM, THIS IS AN INTERESTING ONE THAT LINES UP WITH WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE VISITOR INTERCEPT SURVEY.
AND THAT WAS WHEN WE ASKED PEOPLE WITH, OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO SAID THEY WERE NOT INTERESTED IN VISITING SEDONA, WE ASKED WHY.
AND, UM, THE NUMBER, THE TOP REASONS WERE NOT ENOUGH TIME.
THEY DIDN'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT SEDONA, OR IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE FOR THEM.
UM, THE TRAFFIC AND CROWDS WERE AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE LIST OF REASONS WHY THEY DID NOT VISIT SEDONA, UM, TRAFFIC CROWDS, THAT SORT OF THING IS ABSOLUTELY NOT ON PEOPLE'S RADARS OUTSIDE OF SEDONA.
AND THIS WAS, UM, THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT FED INTO
[01:35:01]
OUR TOP MARKETS FOR WHERE WE WANTED SURVEY.WE DID NOTE, UM, THAT WE HAVE, UM, THE TOP 10 YEAR ROUND OVER THE LAST AVERAGE OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
UM, VISITATION MARKETS, UM, PHOENIX, NUMBER ONE AT 28%, UM, WITH LA BEING SECOND AT EIGHT, AND THEN IT DROPS FROM THERE.
UM, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, TUCSON, SAN DIEGO.
I HAVE, UM, DALLAS AND MINNEAPOLIS NOTED IN THERE BECAUSE THEY ALSO, UM, WERE IN THE SUMMER AND WINTER MIX, BUT REALLY DIDN'T APPEAR MUCH MANY OTHER PLACES.
UM, THE SPEND MARKETS, UM, PHOENIX IS ACTUALLY ONLY AT 16% IN TERMS OF SPEND.
THUS WHAT SOMEBODY JUST SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'VE GOT DAY TROOPERS OR WHATEVER, THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT MATCHING UP WITH THEIR NUMBERS.
UM, LA PRETTY THOUGH, PRETTY SIMILAR.
UM, AT 8%, SEATTLE COMES IN THIRD AT THREE, THEN CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK, SO ON.
UM, WE DID NOTE THE TOP WINTER MARKETS PHOENIX AT 28%.
TOP SUMMER MARKETS PHOENIX AT 33.7.
SO VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT, UM, WHAT COLLEEN DID.
WHAT ARE THOSE OVERARCHING THEMES THAT WE HEARD EVERYWHERE? UM, SO THAT'S RESIDENTS, STAKEHOLDERS, UM, AND VISITORS.
SEDONA IS A, AN INCREDIBLY SPECIAL PLACE, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT SCENIC BEAUTY, OUTDOOR RECREATION, DINING, SHOPPING, ARTS CULTURE, WELLNESS, UM, THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT.
UM, IT'S WHY PEOPLE MOVED HERE AND IT'S WHY PEOPLE STILL VISIT HERE.
UH, RESIDENTS, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAKEHOLDERS ALL AGREE THAT WALL TOURISM PROVIDES A GREAT ECONOMIC BENEFIT.
OVER TOURISM IS A REAL THREAT, PARTICULARLY CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR.
EVERYBODY WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADDITIONAL EDUCATION, BETTER COMMUNICATION AND CONCERTED EFFORTS TO TARGET AND TIME VISITATION.
UM, CURRENT AND POTENTIAL VISITORS HAVE A HIGH AWARENESS AND EXTREMELY POSITIVE PERCEPTION.
UM, WHEN THEY DO VISIT, THEY OFTEN STAY MORE THAN A DAY AND SPEND HIGHLY ON LODGING, RESTAURANTS AND SHOPPING.
I WANT TO NOTE THAT, UM, WE SAY OFTEN MORE THAN A DAY, WE DO HAVE A VERY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF DAY TRIPPERS, DAY TRIPPERS WHO ARE DIFFICULT TO TARGET AND DIFFICULT TO, TO TURN AWAY.
BUT, UM, OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE STAYING, THEY TYPICALLY STAY MORE THAN A NIGHT.
UM, THERE'S NO INDICATION THAT NEGATIVE RESIDENT SENTIMENT CROWDED TRAILS OR TRAFFIC ARE IMPACTING PEOPLE'S POSITIVE VIEW OF SEDONA OR THEIR INTENT TO VISIT.
IT'S GONNA TAKE MORE THAN JUST A NEW MARKETING APPROACH TO MAKE VISIBLE CHANGES.
UM, BUT THERE'S AN ENERGY BEHIND DOING THE WORK NECESSARY TO KEEP RESIDENT QUALITY OF LIFE AS A TOP PRIORITY WHILE ALSO SUPPORTING BUSINESSES AND WELCOMING VISITORS.
WITH THAT SAID, OUR THINKING IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH TAKING ALL THOSE THINGS INTO ACCOUNT, HOW'S THAT GONNA IMPACT THE BRAND? WHAT WE, AND WE HAVEN'T WRITTEN THE BRAND, I'M NOT PRESENTING THE BRAND RIGHT NOW, UM, BUT THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE ARE KEEPING IN MIND FOR THE BRAND IS SOMETHING LIKE EMPHASIZING THE IDEA OF SEDONA BEING YOURS TO PROTECT.
UM, THAT IS A CONCEPT THAT WOULD APPLY TO RESIDENTS, STAKEHOLDERS, AND VISITORS.
THAT SUSTAINABILITY UNDERSCORES EVERYTHING WE DO.
PROTECTING THE FRAGILE ENVIRONMENT TO ENSURING ECONOMIC BENEFIT AND MAKING THAT EVEN AND ACRO ACROSS THE LONG TERM AND ACROSS THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR, THAT RESIDENT QUALITY OF LIFE IS KEY ELEMENT IN EVERYTHING WE DO.
AND FOCUSING ON HOW UNIQUE AND SPECIAL THIS PLACE TRULY IS.
THE SURROUNDINGS, THE ART, THE CULTURE, THE ENERGY, THE DINING, THE SHOPS, EVERYTHING IS WORTHY OF OUR LOVE PROTECTION AND SHARING WITH VISITORS AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
MARY, UM, HOW DO YOU DEFINE, UH, WHAT A BRAND IS? IT'S THE, IT'S THE UNDERPINNING OF EVERYTHING WE DO.
IT'S A, THERE, IT'S A WRITTEN THING.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY STANDS BY.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS SHARED AND UNDERSTOOD THAT DRIVES EVERYTHING, ALL THE MESSAGING, THE VISUALS, EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE, THAT WE PUT OUT THERE TO BOTH OUR RESIDENTS, OUR STAKEHOLDERS, AND OUR VISITORS.
OKAY? 'CAUSE FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IT'S A PROMISE OF A RELEVANT BENEFIT THAT'S DIFFERENTIATED FROM COMPETITIVE BRANDS.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I SAW YOURS TO PROTECT, UM, THAT'S THE ANTITHESIS OF A BENEFIT.
[01:40:01]
IT'S LIKE, IT'S AN OBLIGATION.SO WHY SHOULD I GO THERE? UM, YOU KNOW, UNLESS YOU CAN TWIST THAT INTO A BENEFIT IN SOME WAY, BUT I'M LOOKING FOR THE BRAND STATEMENT TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME RELEVANT BENEFIT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM, YOU KNOW, THE PARK CITY AND ALL THE OTHER PLACES THAT WE WERE COMPETING AGAINST.
WELL, AND, AND THIS IS, I GUESS THIS IS THE QUESTION, RIGHT? WHAT WE'RE HEARING IS THAT WE, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
WE ARE NOT TELLING PEOPLE, SEDONA ISS BEAUTIFUL COME VISIT.
WHAT WE ARE SAYING IS SED SEDONA IS SPECIAL TO CARE OF IT.
AND WE ARE ASKING EVERYBODY TO TAKE ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY, INCLUDING OUR VISITORS.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS A VISITOR WHO WANTS TO TAKE THAT ON, WHO, WHO, WHO GETS IT, WHO UNDERSTANDS IT.
THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE.
AND THIS IS NOT BRAND STATEMENT, BY THE WAY.
IT'S JUST THE UNDERPINNING OF WHERE WE'RE GONNA GO WITH THAT.
BUT THE BRAND IS NOT A SALES PITCH.
THE BRAND IS, THIS IS WHO WE ARE, THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT.
THIS IS OUR, OUR LIFEBLOOD, BUT IT'S GOTTA GIVE US GOOSEBUMPS.
I THINK MAYBE SOMETHING MORE, MORE OF LIKE A MINDSET OF LIKE, EMBRACE IT THAN PROTECT IT, THEN IT'S NOT SO MUCH OF AN ORDER OR AN OBLIGATION, IT'S MORE OF A, OR A NEGATIVE.
IT'S A POSITIVE WAY TO PROTECT YOU.
A POSITIVE STATEMENT LIKE TREASURE SACRED SEDONA WITH US OR SOMETHING, RIGHT? SOMETHING THAT'S POSITIVE THAT INVITES THEM YET IS UPLIFTING.
THIS IS NOT THE BRAND
OKAY? BUT THIS IS NOT, THIS IS NOT, THIS IS NOT THE THING TO WORDSMITH, OKAY? THE CONCEPT, THE DIRECTION IS WHAT WE'RE PRESENTING AT THIS POINT.
AND YEAH, IT IS, IT IS DIFFERENT THAN, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT, AND IT COULD END UP BEING AN EMBRACE INSTEAD OF PROTECT.
I MEAN, BUT THE, THE UNDER THE UNDERLYING IDEA IS WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PLACE IS, IS VALUABLE ENOUGH THAT IT IS WORTHY OF YOUR, OF YOUR CARE.
MARY, I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, OR I GUESS CONCERNS WITH THE OVERALL, SOME COMMENTS THAT YOU MADE THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE DESTINATION MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION.
AND YOU DID MENTION AT ONE POINT IN TIME THAT WE'RE NEVER GOING TO ACTIVELY MARKET TO PHOENIX.
WE ARE NEVER GOING TO ACTIVELY SAY, COME HERE.
AND I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW THAT ALIGNS WITH THE MESSAGE OF SUPPORTING OUR BUSINESSES AND WELCOMING VISITORS ALONG WITH THE RESIDENT SATISFACTION.
YEAH, WHEN I, AND, AND I GUESS THAT'S THE THING, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY, WE'RE SUGGESTING THAT WE NOT HAVE A, A SALES PITCH UP THERE.
THAT INSTEAD WE HAVE A, A MORE EDUCATIONAL, UM, PROTECTION KIND OF A PITCH, IF YOU WILL, OUT THERE THAT WE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE IN PHOENIX, YOU KNOW, LITERALLY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WE KNOW THERE'S A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA COME HERE.
YOU KNOW, THAT THE FOLKS WHO ARE GONNA COME AND SPEND FOUR NIGHTS OR WHATEVER, THEY'RE STILL, THEY'RE GONNA DO THAT.
AND WE LOVE THEM, AND THAT'S WHO WE WANT.
IT'S THOSE OTHER, IT'S LIKE THE OTHER 75% OF PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING AND ONLY STAYING FOR THE DAY.
YOU KNOW, THEY NEED, THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE MESSAGING THAT NEEDS TO GO OUT THERE.
AND THAT'S THE STUFF THAT I THINK ALSO WILL ILLUSTRATE TO EVERYBODY, PARTICULARLY RESIDENTS, THAT WE ARE TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY.
YOU ARE NOT JUST LISTENING, AND THEN WE'RE JUST GONNA GO AND JUST DO WHAT WE ALWAYS WOULD DO.
YOU KNOW? AND, AND HERE'S THE THING THAT, THAT NOT HAVING A SALESY MESSAGE DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE NOT STILL SELLING IT.
WE'RE NOT STILL RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT SEDONA.
WE'RE JUST RAISING AWARENESS OF SEDONA IN A CERTAIN PARTICULAR WAY.
YOU KNOW, THIS, THAT, THIS PLACE IS REALLY SPECIAL.
I WOULD LIKE TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT SHE SAID AS WELL.
UM, I THINK FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE, PHOENIX IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.
AND I, I HAVE SPOKEN WITH MANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND I KNOW THE MAJORITY IS VERY ANTI-PROM PROMOTING TO PHOENIX, AND FOR GOOD REASON.
[01:45:01]
TO MY EARLIER STATEMENT, I DO FEEL SINCE IT IS SUCH A HUGE PAIN POINT, IT'S TWOFOLD.SO AS YOU MENTIONED, EDUCATION, THE MARKETING ALSO HAS TO BE THERE FOR THAT EDUCATION.
PHOENIX IS OUR WINTER AND SUMMER BUSINESS.
PHOENIX IS A DRIVE MARKET THAT CAN COME UP HERE, BUY ART, DRIVE HOME, TAKE IT WITH THEM, THEY ARE ABLE TO SPEND MONEY, YOUR NUMBERS, YOUR PERCENTAGES, YOU KNOW, OF SPEND TO WHO'S ACTUALLY STAYING HERE.
AND SO I REALLY, REALLY THINK THAT THAT SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED AGAIN, TWOFOLD, BECAUSE IT IS, IT IS A MARKET THAT HAS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE.
THEY ARE A HUGE PAIN POINT FOR US.
THEY ARE THE, THE EVIL DAY TRIPPERS, YOU KNOW, SO TO SPEAK AS WELL.
AND SO THAT EDUCATION IS, IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT IN THAT REGARD.
BUT IF WE CAN TURN THEM INTO MULTI NIGHT STAYS, IF, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY, THEY FILL IN OUR SLOW SEASON.
WE ARE PROPOSING THAT WE HAVE YEAR ROUND MESSAGING IN PHOENIX.
OKAY? WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING THOUGH, IS THAT MESSAGING BE UNDERPINNED FIRST AND FOREMOST BY SORT OF EDUCATION SUSTAINABILITY THEMES.
THE WAY I THINK ABOUT IT IS A MANAGEMENT MESSAGE IS STILL MARKETING, RIGHT? SO THAT, THAT'S HOW I'M THINKING OF IT.
WELL, THERE, THERE ARE A HOST OF ADS ON TV WHERE A COMPANY IS TELLING THE VIEWER WHO THEY ARE.
AND THAT IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR SEDONA.
AND THAT AWARENESS IS GONNA DRAW PEOPLE WITHOUT SAYING, COME AND VISIT US.
I'M, I'M REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
I'LL GIVE YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE IF IT'S AT ALL HELPFUL.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, WHITEFISH MONTANA IS ONE OF OUR CLIENTS, AND OUR CAMPAIGN FOR THEM, OUR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, THEIR HEADLINE IS FOR THE LOVE OF THE WILD.
IT'S, UM, AND EVERYTHING WE TALK ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL PLACE THAT'S WORTH PROTECTING.
THIS IS A REALLY AMAZING PLACE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HOLDING ONTO FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
THIS IS A, YOU KNOW, SO THE, BUT IT'S ALWAYS, THERE'S ALWAYS AN ELEMENT OF, YOU KNOW, OF SUSTAINABILITY, OF, UM, STEWARDSHIP, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING.
IT, IT'S STILL, IT'S STILL MARKETING AND IT'S RAISING AWARENESS IN A POSITIVE WAY.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S I THINK THE KIND OF DIRECTION THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING FOR SEDONA.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN, IN FACT, WE'RE RECOMMENDING PROBABLY MORE EXPOSURE IN PHOENIX THAN SEDONA TYPICALLY HAS, BECAUSE WE THINK WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP PHOENIX UNDERSTAND WHAT SEDONA IS.
I'VE GOT, UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER POINTS THAT I INCLUDED IN HERE UNDER MARKETING PLAN AND, UM, THE KEY SUMMER AND WINTER VISITATION FLIGHT MARKETS, UM, WOULD STILL BE TARGETED.
SAME THING EVEN IN FLIGHT MARKETS, THAT SUSTAINABILITY, STEWARDSHIP FOCUSED MESSAGING.
UM, OBVIOUSLY IN THIS CASE THOUGH, AROUND SUMMER AND WINTER, BOOKING WINDOWS, EVERY, ALL DRIVE MARKETS AND WITHIN THE VERDE VALLEY, UM, TARGETED WITH SUSTAINABILITY FOCUSED MESSAGING YEAR ROUND.
SO THE OTHER THING WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE ENSURING THAT WE HAVE MESSAGING THAT'S RUNNING INSIDE OF THE WHOLE VERDE VALLEY, SO THAT WE'RE HITTING PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENT VISITORS AS WELL AS RESIDENTS.
SO EVERYBODY SEES WHAT IT IS THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE, AND IT'S, IT'S VISIBLE.
IT'S NOT HIDDEN, IT'S NOT SECRET.
UM, WHEN WE DO REACH OUT TO EXTERNAL MARKETS, WE'RE DEFINITELY TARGETING PROFILES THAT FIT, THAT SUSTAINABILITY PRIORITIZED OR LEAVE NO TRACE ADHERENCE AND HIGH VALUE TRAVELERS.
WE ARE SUGGESTING MORE DAY TRIPPERS IN THE FORM OF BUS TOURS.
UM, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED TO, UM, LODGING, OR NOT, SORRY, CHAMBER ON THIS.
UM, BUS TOURS ARE A NICE WAY TO BRING PEOPLE IN WITHOUT THEIR CARS, AND ALL THEY DO IS SHOP.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SUGGESTING.
AND, UM, THAT DOES HIT ON INTERNATIONAL AS WELL.
UM, WE ARE SUGGESTING THAT IN ADDITION TO TRADITIONAL AND DIGITAL, UM, THAT WE HAVE IN MARKET MORE VISIBLE EDUCATION TO VISITORS, WHICH RESIDENTS WOULD ALSO SEE BY THINGS LIKE ROAD TRAIL, SIGNAGE, POSTERS, UM, TRAIL STEWARD, UM, COPY POINT OR TALKING POINTS, THAT SORT OF THING.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF MARK'S STILL THERE.
UM, TRAIL MANAGEMENT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE THINK IS, YOU KNOW, BECOMES A SORT OF A PLANNING ELEMENT, UM, WHERE WE WILL AGGRESSIVELY MARKET SHUTTLES, RIDE SHARING, CYCLING, WALKING, UM, AND WHERE APPROPRIATE,
[01:50:01]
I WE WOULD, WE, IF THERE, IF WE ARE SUCCESSFUL AND ABLE TO IN BEING ABLE TO CLOSE DOWN SOME ROADSIDE PARKING AROUND TRAILHEADS, THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS WE WOULD TALK ABOUT TOO, RIGHT? MORE EDUCATION AND IF A, A TRAILHEAD RESERVATION SYSTEM IS POSSIBLE WITH THE FOREST FOREST SERVICE ON, YOU KNOW, THE MOST HEAVILY USED SYSTEMS, THAT'S ANOTHER, UM, THAT'S ANOTHER MESSAGING POINT.AND, UM, WE THINK THAT, UM, AS WE APPROACH SPRING AND FALL, BUSY SEASONS AN ORGANIC SOCIAL CAMPAIGN THAT ACTUALLY SPECIFICALLY SUGGEST TO PEOPLE THAT SEDONA ISN'T THE PLACE TO GO IN THE SPRING AND THE FALL.
THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A BETTER, MORE ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE IF THEY COME IN THE SUMMER AND WINTER.
SO THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE'VE TAKEN OUT OF ALL OF THIS WORK, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE THINK WILL RESULT IN ACTIONABLE, VISIBLE, REAL CHANGE THAT, UM, IDEALLY WILL BE APPRECIATED BY RESIDENTS, BUT ALSO WILL WORK TO BRING THE RIGHT PEOPLE AT THE RIGHT TIME.
TO SEDONA, I JUST WANNA SAY, UM, OR ASK ONE THING ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY FOCUSED MESSAGING AND HOW, UM, CIRCLE BACK TO KIND OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT THE VERY FIRST DAY, IS THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH EVERYBODY HERE HAVING READ OR LOOKED THROUGH THE SUSTAINABILITY PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SUSTAINABILITY FOCUSED MESSAGING IS GOING TO ACTIVELY INCORPORATE WHAT WE SEE AS POTENTIAL CHANGES ONCE WE REALLY DELVE INTO THAT SUSTAINABILITY PLAN.
UM, MY PLAN WAS TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE STRATEGIC PLAN ONCE WE GET A DRAFT OF THAT OKAY.
AND SEE HOW IT DOVETAILS WITH THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN.
AND THEN FIGURE OUT FROM THERE, DO WE NEED TO DO A WHOLESALE REWRITE? DO WE NEED TO DO AN EDIT? DOES IT, CAN IT STAY THE WAY IT IS? MM-HMM.
WE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT IT IN, IN BRIEF THAT FIRST DAY OF, OF HAVING A, A COPY OF THE SUSTAINABILITY PLAN IN HAND.
EITHER, EITHER THE ONE, EITHER YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE GETTING A PRINTED COPY OR THOSE THAT ARE WILLING TO LOOK AT ONLINE AND JUST, UM, MAYBE SETTING ASIDE A SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME TO EXTRAPOLATE WHAT THIS GROUP FEELS ARE SOME OF THOSE BIGGEST, UM, THINGS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE OR WE FEEL WOULD BE MOST BENEFICIAL TO BE INCLUDED IN THOSE, IN THAT MESSAGING.
JUST SO WE HAVE A BACK AND FORTH ABOUT THAT BEFORE WE DELVE MORE DEEPLY INTO THE POTENTIAL RE COMPLETE REDOING OR ALTERING OF THE PLAN.
CAN WE SEE THE STRATEGIC PLAN FIRST? SURE.
UM, AND THEN I THINK SOMEONE ASKED THE CHAMBER IF THEY HAD HARD COPY AND THE ANSWER WAS NO.
THEY GOT, THEY GOT TAKEN PRETTY QUICKLY, I GUESS.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO BE HONEST, THAT PLAN, IT'S VAST.
THERE'S SO MUCH INFORMATION IN THERE AND IT IS AMAZING, BUT IT'S JUST A LOT.
THAT'S WHY I'D LIKE TO HAVE EVERYBODY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO JUST BE LIKE X, X OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT,
I JUST DON'T WANT IT TO GET, UM, MUDDIED.
YOU CAN PRINT A COPY, YOU CAN GET A PDF OF IT OFF THE WEB AND PRINT YOUR OWN COPY EXTRAORDINARILY EASILY.
SO THEY'RE, IT'S AN EASY THING FOR YOU TO DO.
OR IF SOMEBODY WANTS ME TO PRINT THEM ONE, LET ME KNOW AND I WILL PRINT IT AND HAVE IT FOR YOU.
I'LL TRY AND DO FRONT AND BACK SO THAT WE CAN AT LEAST HALF THE PAPER.
YOU DON'T NEED, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S, YEAH.
I DON'T WANNA SEND YOU DOWN A DIRECTION AND THEN, AND THEN YOU HAVE, YOU TAKE A RIGHT HAND TURN, YOU KNOW? SO I'M TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR TIME IS WELL SPENT TOO.
AND FROM MY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE, GOING OFF, THE EXISTING PLAN AS IT STANDS WOULD WASTE A FAIR AMOUNT OF OUR TIME.
'CAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY ASPECTS OF IT THAT IN THE LONG RUN ARE PROBABLY GONNA BE REMOVED FROM A NEXT ITERATION OF IT.
BUT THAT'S WHY I THINK LOOKING THROUGH IT AND JUST SAY, OR, YOU KNOW, HIGHLIGHTING A DEFINITE YES, IMPORTANT TO ME AND MY COMPONENT OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'M BRINGING TO THIS GROUP, UM, VERSUS AN X AND, AND JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE STREAMLINED FROM THE BEGINNING BEFORE WE EVEN DELVE IN IF WE DELVE IN.
I JUST WANTED TO CIRCLE BACK TO THE LAST COMMENT THAT MARY MADE ABOUT THE DISCOURAGING MESSAGE DURING, BEFORE THE PEAK BUSY SEASONS.
I JUST WANNA REALLY CAUTION US AGAINST THAT.
[01:55:01]
OF NO MARKETING HAPPENING FOR THIS TOWN FOR QUITE A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.AND TO TELL PEOPLE DON'T COME NOW, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE FUN.
I JUST, I DON'T KNOW IF I AGREE WITH THAT ANGLE OF APPROACH.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE BUSES, UH, IN UPTOWN WE HAVE THE BUS PARKING LOT RIGHT BEHIND THREE OF OUR BUSINESSES.
AND SO WE HAVE A DAILY INTERACTION WITH THESE BUS PEOPLE AND HOW MUCH TIME THEY HAVE.
FOR THE MOST PART, THEY ARE ON AN EXTREMELY TIGHT TIMELINE.
THEY HAVE MAYBE AN HOUR THEY GO GRAB SOMETHING, THEY GRAB A, A POPCORN OR AN ICE CREAM CONE, AND THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO SHOP.
SO I THINK TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE RELATIONSHIPS WITH SOME OF THE HOTELS WHERE WE COULD GET MORE BUSES THAT STAY OVERNIGHT SO THEY HAVE MORE TIME TO ENJOY SEDONA AND ENJOY SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES, GO ON A JEEP TOUR, DO SOME SHOPPING, AND DINING AND REALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMY WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, AND THEN THE ONES THAT ARE JUST HERE FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, IF WE COULD TRY TO DEVELOP A LONGER ITINERARY FOR THEM SO THEY'RE NOT JUST IN AND OUT IN AN HOUR.
YEAH, WE TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT.
AND THAT'S PART OF OUR RELATIONSHIP BUILDING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING WITH THE TRAVEL TRADE INDUSTRY.
SO WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE ABOUT THAT.
WE WANNA, WE WANNA, WE WANNA USE THEM FOR THE BENEFIT THAT THEY PROVIDE AND ALSO LEVERAGE THE FACT THAT THEY'RE ALREADY HERE AND THAT THEY COULD, THEY COULD BE HERE LONGER.
WE'LL BE BACK IN A MONTH WITH A DRAFT BRAND, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, RESULTS FROM THE WINTER CAMPAIGN AND ALSO CONCEPTS FOR A SUMMER CAMPAIGN.
SO, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE YOU ALL DONE.
[5.b. Overview of FY24 and FY25 budget]
DO WE NEED, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT ARE COMING FOR THIS? NO MORE.SO WHAT'S NEXT HERE? IS THIS, UH, FIVE B, THE 24 AND 25 BUDGET.
SO HOW DO WE WANNA HANDLE THE TIMEFRAME? IT'S FIVE AND YEAH, I WANNA RESPECT EVERYBODY'S TIME.
DO YOU WANT ME TO GIVE A QUICK VERSION? DO WE WANNA JUST STAY LONGER? HOW DO, I MEAN, WE STILL HAVE THREE AGENDA ITEMS LEFT.
HOW MUCH LONGER DO YOU NEED FOR YOURS, YOU THINK? UM, I COULD PROBABLY, DEPENDING ON THE QUESTIONS, UM, I COULD PROBABLY GET THROUGH MINE IN BETWEEN FIVE AND 10 MINUTES, AND I BET HEATHER IS ABOUT THE SAME.
I SAY KEEP GOING EVERYBODY OKAY? YEAH, YOU GUYS ARE OKAY, BUT I CAN'T STAY TOO LONG.
I HAD CROWN WORK DONE THIS MORNING, SO I FEEL LIKE I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE.
ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE GONNA PUSH, RIGHT? YEAH.
SORRY, I GOT NOTES ON MY SIDE.
SO, UM, YOU ALL ASKED FOR A, UM, UPDATE ON THE BUDGET.
SO I PUT TOGETHER, UM, HOPEFULLY A, AN, UH, EASILY DIGESTIBLE, UM, PRESENTATION HERE.
SO I WANNA START OFF BY SAYING THAT, UH, THIS WAS AN UNUSUAL, UM, YEAR FOR US WITH THE BUDGET BECAUSE, UH, UNLIKE WHAT WE NORMALLY HAVE, WHERE WE GET TO THINK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE BUILD A BUDGET, WHAT DO WE WANT IN IT? UM, INSTEAD BECAUSE OF THE, THE TIMELINE OF THINGS AND, UM, CREATING A PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY IN MAY
[02:00:01]
WITH A BUDGET THAT HAS PRETTY MUCH ALREADY BEEN APPROVED BY THAT POINT, UM, WE TOOK WHAT WE WERE GOING TO ALLOCATE FOR THE CHAMBER THE YEAR PRIOR AND ALLOCATED THAT TO THIS NEW TOURISM PROGRAM.SO THAT, AS YOU ALL KNOW, DID NOT INCLUDE DESTINATION MARKETING.
SO I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW CAN I TRY AND SHOEHORN IN SOME DESTINATION MARKETING MONEY.
UM, AND IT'S BEEN, UM, KIND OF A MOVING TARGET.
SO I DON'T HAVE EXACT FIGURES, AND THAT IS WHY, UM, IN GENERAL, IT'S ABOUT A $1.6 MILLION BUDGET.
I AM AIMING FOR $200,000 IN DESTINATION MARKETING.
BUT, UM, THAT'S ALSO TO SAY THAT, UM, THAT'S GOING ON OF A LOT OF, UH, GOING ON A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS.
THAT MEANS THAT I HAVE YOUR BUY-IN ON A SUMMER CAMPAIGN, UM, THAT YOU LIKE, THAT, UM, THAT YOU RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL, THAT COUNCIL SEES THE POSITIVE RESULTS OF THE WINTER CAMPAIGN AND THAT THEY WANT A SUMMER CAMPAIGN.
UM, SO JUST UNDERSTANDING THAT, UH, THAT THIS CAN ALL CHANGE.
UH, YOU ALL KNOW THAT THERE'S $50,000 ON A CURRENT WINNER CAMPAIGN RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S MY PROVING GROUND RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THEN I'M HOPING FOR 150 TO BE SPENT ON THAT SUMMER MARKETING CAMPAIGN.
SO, UM, OTHER MARKETING, 'CAUSE IT'S NOT JUST THAT, UM, WHAT I'M CALLING DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGNING, UM, IS $140,000.
THAT'S, UM, 35,000 IN OUR ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM FUNDS.
UH, IF YOU REMEMBER, THERE IS A $50,000 MATCH, UM, THAT WE CAN SIGN UP FOR AS, UM, THE DMO.
UM, WE SIGNED UP FOR $48,000 AND ABOUT 35,000 OF THAT.
I, UM, UH, QUANTIFY AS ACTUAL MARKETING.
UM, YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT BELOW, UM, THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS, BUT, UH, SO $35,000 FOR A OT.
THOSE ARE THINGS LIKE, UM, UH, THE SPEARFISH CAMPAIGN THAT WE WENT OVER LAST TIME.
UM, SOME OF THE SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE.
UM, THERE'S, UH, CANADIAN MARKETING, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UH, THERE'S $90,000 IN TRANSIT MARKETING SERVICES.
THIS INCLUDES THE SERVICES AND IT INCLUDES ALSO ALSO ACTUAL MARKETING AND MARKETING MATERIALS.
UM, SO IT'S KIND OF ALL WRAPPED INTO ONE, UM, $19,000 FOR THINGS LIKE A TI THE SACS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, YOU GUYS ALREADY HEARD ABOUT A TI LAST MONTH, BUT, UM, HEATHER'S GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT THE SACS OPPORTUNITY AND THEN SEDONA.
NOW, UM, WE RUN, UM, LET'S SEE, LOVE IT LIKE A LOCAL ROUNDABOUTS AND, UM, A TRANSIT VIDEO ON SEDONA NOW, WHICH PLAYS IN SOME OF THE HOTEL ROOMS. UM, OTHER A OT CO-OP FUNDS.
I PULLED THAT OUT OF MARKETING BECAUSE THOSE, UM, THOSE FUNDS WERE ACTUALLY, UH, THINGS LIKE, WE USED THAT TOWARDS CREATING THE WEBSITE, PAYING THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
AND REMEMBER THAT THOSE A OT FUNDS, UM, WELL OUR CONTRIBUTION WAS 50, THEIRS WAS 52, SO IT'S ACTUALLY REPRESENTATIVE OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
UM, IN TOTAL, UM, STAFFING CONSULTANT SALARIES AND BENEFITS IS $433,000 THIS YEAR.
BUT I'LL SAY THAT WE HAD A SIGNIFICANT, UM, SAVINGS IN THIS BECAUSE WE STILL HAVEN'T HIRED THE TOURISM MANAGER.
UM, AND, UM, JAMES WAS OUR, HAS BEEN OUR ONLY DEDICATED HIRE IN THE DEPARTMENT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HIRE ANOTHER COORDINATOR BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, AND THAT TOURISM MANAGER WILL BE IN PLACE SOON.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, BECOMING, UM, MEMBERS OF, OF PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, UM, VISITOR CENTER WAS $424,000.
SO A BIG CHUNK OF THAT BUDGET, UM, DATA WAS 190,000.
SO THAT INCLUDES OUR SYMPHONY, THAT INCLUDES $87,000 FOR, UM, UH, WORKING WITH KIMLEY HORNED TO DIAL DOWN INTO THAT NUMBER OF, UM, EXACTLY HOW MANY VISITORS HAVE BEEN COMING HERE THE LAST FEW YEARS, WHICH IS STILL COMING.
SO DON'T WORRY YOU DIDN'T MISS IT.
UM, AND THEN 13,000 FOR OUR SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH DATA.
UM, THAT'S OUR HOTEL AND LODGING DATA THAT WE GET.
UM, $74,000 FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, 38,000 FOR TOURISM PROGRAM SOFTWARE.
UM, THAT'S THINGS LIKE, UH, OUR DATABASE MANAGEMENT TOOL WHERE WE KEEP ALL THE BUSINESSES.
UM, AND THEN IT PULLS ONTO OUR WEBSITE, UM, SO THAT WHEN THE PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL AGENT OR PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL INDUSTRY REACHES OUT TO US FOR A LEAD, THAT'S HOW WE GENERATE THOSE AS WE GO INTO THAT DATABASE.
BUT WE WON'T BE SPENDING ALL OF THAT THIS YEAR.
[02:05:01]
UM, AND LIKE I SAID, THERE'S GONNA BE SAVINGS IN SALARY.UH, THAT SALARY AND BENEFITS AND THE DVA THAT'S GONNA KEEP US IN BUDGET IF YOU ADD ALL THESE THINGS UP.
IT DOES NOT EQUAL 1.6 MILLION.
IT'S BEEN THE, UH, UM, THE GAME THAT I'VE BEEN PLAYING ALL YEAR.
SO, UH, BUT THE SAVINGS ARE GOING TO COME FROM THOSE TWO AREAS.
I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE.
SEE IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THEN.
SO HERE'S OUR UPCOMING BUDGET.
AND UPCOMING, UH, IS IMPORTANT.
THIS IS JUST WHAT I'M, UM, SUBMITTING AND WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS, UM, IN THE BUDGETING PROCESS.
LAUREN, COULD YOU, UM, ZOOM IN TO MAKE IT ANY BIGGER? YEAH, SORRY.
UM, SO I PUT IN FOR $350,000, UM, UH, IS WHAT I'M BUDGETING FOR DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
UM, SO THAT'S AN INCREASE FROM WHAT WE DID THIS YEAR.
UM, I WAS TRYING TO BE ON TRACK WITH THE CHAMBER.
THE CHAMBER OF THE LAST YEAR THAT THEY WERE APPROVED FOR DESTINATION MARKETING.
UM, THREE YEARS IN A ROW ACTUALLY WAS RIGHT AROUND THAT $500,000 MARK THAT INCLUDED CREATIVE.
AND OFTENTIMES CREATIVE CAN BE $150,000 OF A $500,000 ASK.
SO, UM, I AM TRYING TO BRING A LITTLE BIT OF THAT IN-HOUSE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GRAPHIC DESIGNER ON STAFF.
UM, WE DID THAT WINTER CAM, UH, WINTER MARKETING CAMPAIGN ALL IN-HOUSE EXCEPT THE PHOTOGRAPHY.
UM, BUT ALL THE AD CREATION WE ACTUALLY DID ON OUR OWN.
UM, SO OF COURSE IF YOU GET INTO DRONE FOOTAGE AND VIDEO AND ALL OF THAT, IT BECOMES, UM, MUCH MORE TECHNICAL.
AND SO I WOULD RELY ON OUTSIDE, UM, OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS FOR THAT.
BUT JUST TRYING TO DO AS MUCH AS I CAN IN HOUSE.
UH, 'CAUSE I THOUGHT WE DID A GOOD JOB WITH THAT.
SO THAT WAS MY GOAL, WAS TO ASK FOR 350, UM, KNOWING THAT THAT WOULD BE ON PAR WITH WHAT THE CHAMBER WAS LAST DOING.
UM, THEN IN THE OTHER MARKETING CATEGORY, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE $200,000.
SO AGAIN, 35, UH, THOUSAND DOLLARS ASK FROM O-A-O-T-I JUST FIGURED IT WOULD BE SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR, BUT I DON'T KNOW, UM, THAT ISN'T GUARANTEED MONEY EITHER.
UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I, I CARVE OUT 50,000 TO MAKE SURE THAT I LEVERAGE THAT MATCH.
BUT AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'LL OFFER THAT OR EVEN WHAT THE, THE THINGS THAT WE CAN PICK FROM OUR, SO GOING ON SOME ASSUMPTIONS THERE.
UM, A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN TRANSIT MARKETING FEES.
UM, SO I DID BUMP THAT UP A LITTLE BIT.
UM, THAT'S TO ACCOUNT FOR, UM, THE ADDITIONAL MARKETING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING AROUND THE MICRO TRANSIT, THE CURB TO CURB SERVICE THAT WE'RE OFFERING.
UM, THAT'S GONNA BE LAUNCHING JUNE-ISH.
WE KEEP PUSHING IT BACK, BUT JUNE IS WHAT WE'RE GOING FOR NOW.
UM, THEN $20,000 IN VIDEO PLACEMENT.
SO THAT NUMBER WENT UP AS WELL BECAUSE I WANTED TO DO A MORE, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE LIKE A, I THINK IT'S A MAYBE A 2025 SECOND CLIP ON TRANSIT.
UM, AND I'D LIKE THAT TO BE, UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA MAKE A LONG FORM AND THEN THREE SHORT FORM, UM, FOR THAT MICRO TRANSIT JUST TO GET IT OUT ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHANNELS.
UM, BUT THAT INCLUDES THE OTHER, UM, THE CONTINUATION OF THE LEAVE NO TRACE VIDEO, WHICH WAS REDONE IN THE LAST MONTH.
UM, AND THE ROUNDABOUT VIDEO OF COURSE, 'CAUSE WE ALL NEED THAT.
AND, UM, AND LIKE I SAID, THE TRANSIT TRANSIT VIDEOS $20,000 IN MISCELLANEOUS MARKETING.
THAT'S TO ACCOUNT FOR THE THINGS LIKE THE SACS OPPORTUNITIES AND THINGS THAT I CAN'T PREDICT RIGHT NOW.
BUT, YOU KNOW, HEATHER BRINGS AN OPPORTUNITY AND SAYS, HEY, THIS IS A, A REALLY GREAT WAY TO LEVERAGE, UM, OTHER DESTINATIONS.
WE CAN TELL IF PEOPLE ACTUALLY COME INTO SEDONA FROM THIS, WHY NOT? AND IT'S THE, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE WITH SACKS, IT'S IN THE WINTER AND IT'S A HIGH DOLLAR VISITOR.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT WE WANT.
SO, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY IN THERE FOR THAT.
AND THEN I PUT IN $25,000 IN THE VISITORS GUIDE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT I KNOW THAT WE NEED TO DEVELOP.
I'M NOT, OUR PLAN, AT LEAST RIGHT NOW, IS NOT TO DO, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PAPER COPIES AND MAIL THEM OFF, BUT TO HAVE DIGITAL FORM, UM, AND THEN HAVE SOME PAPER COPIES.
SO THAT'S WHY IT'S ONLY 25,000.
UM, THAT'S FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GUIDE AND FOR ANY PRINTING THAT WE HAVE WITH THAT TRAVEL, TRADE AND MEDIA.
SO WE DID NOT HAVE ANY OF THIS IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
UM, AND AS A TOURISM BUREAU, WE NEED TO ACT LIKE A TOURISM BUREAU.
SO PART OF THAT IS, UM, HOSTING FUNDS OF $50,000.
SO A LOT OF TIMES, LET'S TAKE A, LET'S TAKE MEDIA, RIGHT? UM, TRAVEL AND
[02:10:01]
LEISURE REACHES OUT.THEY SAY, I'M COMING FOR THREE DAYS.
UM, I WANNA DO THESE ACTIVITIES.
UM, WE SEND THE LEADS OUT TO EVERYBODY AND MAYBE WE GET FOUR OUT OF THE FIVE ACTIVITIES.
WE GET, UM, OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO BITE ON AND SAY, I'LL OFFER THAT.
UM, SOMETIMES THEY EVEN SAY, I'LL OFFER IT AT HALF PRICE.
C, CAN YOU PAY THE OTHER HALF? THESE ARE THE FUNDS FOR THAT.
UM, OR MAYBE, YOU KNOW, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WE GET IN THAT FIFTH ONE WE SAY, ALRIGHT, THE CITY, LET ME GO TO THAT BUSINESS OWNER AND SAY, HOW MUCH WOULD YOUR RATE BE IF WE CAME TO YOU? AND OFTENTIMES THEY'LL GIVE YOU A GOOD RATE ON WHATEVER THE ACTIVITY OR THE SERVICE OR, OR THE LODGING OR, OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE, THE RESTAURANT, ET CETERA.
SO, UM, THIS INDUSTRY HEAVILY RELIES ON NOT ONLY, UM, PROVIDING SOMETHING MEMORABLE TO, LET'S SAY, THE MEDIA THAT VISIT, BUT ALSO THOSE TRAVEL, TRADE, THOSE FAM TOURS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH.
UM, WHEN, WHEN WE'VE GOT FOLKS GOING TO, TO THE CONFERENCES, YOU KNOW, YOU WANT SOMETHING THAT THAT PERSON CAN TAKE BACK TO THEIR DESTINATION THAT REMINDS THEM OF SEDONA AND THEN REMINDS THEM OF HOW TO SELL THIS, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, IN, IN WHATEVER PHASE OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY THAT THEY'RE IN.
UM, AND THEN LAST IS 30,000 FOR TRAVEL.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'RE USED TO AT THE CITY.
UM, WE USUALLY HAVE, WE HAVE TRAVEL AND TRAINING BUDGETS, BUT THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE THIS.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE, UM, TRADE SHOWS ARE, ARE A, A KEY FOUNDATION BLOCK OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY.
AND IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO REPRESENT OURSELVES, UM, AT THOSE, IT'S JUST NOT A GOOD IDEA.
RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT HEATHER DOING THAT AND, UM, SHE'S BEEN GREAT BECAUSE SHE REPRESENTS SEVERAL DESTINATIONS.
SO WE'VE ALL BEEN GOING IN TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT BE WHATEVER, LET'S SAY $10,000 TO GO.
WELL, IF FOUR CITIES COME IN AND SAY WE'LL ALL PAY $2,500 OF THAT, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN LEVERAGE THAT TOGETHER.
BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD MONEY IN THERE.
AND WHEN THE NEW TOURISM MANAGER COMES ON, I BET THEY'RE GONNA WANNA GO AND GET THEMSELVES, UM, FAMILIAR WITH THIS INDUSTRY TOO, AND BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
SO THAT'S THAT MEMBERSHIP FEES OF 10,000.
IT'S MORE THAN, THAN THIS YEAR, JUST 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN TRYING TO HOLD OFF ON, ON BECOMING MEMBERS OF THINGS THAT, UM, I WANNA, I ONLY WANNA BECOME THE MEMBER WHEN I BECOMES IMPORTANT NOT TO JUST, YOU KNOW, CHECK THE BOX.
SO I WAS CHEAP IN THAT WAY THIS YEAR.
UM, UH, A OT MATCHING FUNDS, 15 GRAND JUST TO GET US UP TO THAT 50 THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
UM, STAFF SALARIES AND CONSULTANTS AND BENEFITS, THAT'S GONNA BUMP UP THAT TO $602,000.
UM, THAT'S FOR FOUR COORDINATORS, ONE MANAGER AND CONSULTANT THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
VISITOR CENTER, THIS IS A GIANT QUESTION MARK.
UM, LIKE KEEGAN SAID, IT IS GOING TO BE GOING TO COUNCIL.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'LL END UP BEING.
UM, NONE OF US HAVE THAT CRYSTAL BALL, BUT UH, THERE IS A PLACEHOLDER AND IT COULD BE MORE, COULD BE LESS.
WE'LL SEE, WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS ON THAT NIGHT.
IT WENT DOWN, UM, FROM THIS YEAR BECAUSE I DIDN'T PLAN ON THE $87,000 TO GET THE EXACT VISITATION NUMBER AGAIN.
TOURISM PROGRAM SOFTWARE, $80,000.
UM, IT WENT UP BECAUSE, UM, A LOT OF THE TYPES OF SOFTWARE THAT WE WERE USING, ESPECIALLY FOR THE WEBSITE AND WHATNOT, UM, THOSE WERE KIND OF ENTRY PRICING.
AND THEN ONCE YOU GET INTO, OH, WELL IT'D BE REALLY COOL IF WE HAD THIS BOOK DIRECT TOOL, WHICH IS A WAY, UM, IN WHICH YOU CAN, YOU STILL DON'T HAVE INSIGHTS INTO IF THEY ACTUALLY BOOKED THE HOTEL.
BUT YOU CAN, YOU CAN AT LEAST GET INSIGHTS ON THE, THE BOOKING WINDOW AND, UM, AND WHAT HOTELS ARE BEING LOOKED AT THE MOST.
UH, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THAT COSTS, I FORGET WHAT IT WAS, BUT $5,000 OR WHATEVER.
SO THOSE TYPES OF ADD-ONS HAVE BEEN ADDED IN HERE.
UM, DBAI PUT IN 154,000, THAT IS THEIR CONTRACT.
UM, THE PRICE THAT WE HAD MINUS THE RESEARCH PORTION, WHICH WAS A BIG PORTION OF THEIR CONTRACT.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL SPEND THAT ALL NEXT YEAR.
IF IT'LL GO INTO YEAR THREE, WE'LL SEE.
UM, AND THEN CREATIVE 85,000, UM, KIND OF LIKE I TALKED UP THERE BEFORE.
UH, THAT IS, UH, APPROXIMATELY $2 MILLION.
SO ABOUT A $400,000 INCREASE FROM THIS YEAR, WHICH IS WHY MY DECISION PACKAGES, UM, TO CITY COUNCIL.
UH, I HAVE TWO, UM, DECISION PACKAGES.
DECISION PACKAGES ARE WHAT WE WRITE AS STAFF MEMBERS.
UM, WHEN WE WANT TO INCREASE OUR BUDGET.
UM, WE WRITE DECISION PACKAGES ABOUT, UM, HERE'S HOW MUCH MONEY I NEED AND HERE'S WHY.
UM, THAT GETS PUT IN FRONT OF THE BUDGET WORK GROUP.
[02:15:01]
UM, THE CITY MANAGER AND CITY COUNCIL, UM, AND ALL THREE OF THEM, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL MAKES THE ULTIMATE DECISION.BUT, UM, THE BUDGET WORK GROUP AND THE CITY MANAGER MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON IF THEY THINK THAT SHOULD BE FUNDED OR NOT.
SO I ASKED FOR, UH, ADDITIONAL DESTINATION MARKETING FUNDS AND I ASKED FOR TWO EXTRA COORDINATORS.
WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE? I KNOW IT'S A LOT.
WELL, UH, JUST AN OBSERVATION.
THE 2 MILLION IS STILL SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN WHAT WE SPENT, UM, OTHER THAN LAST YEAR.
I JUST WANNA COMMENT THAT IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'VE PUT MANY, MANY FACTORS INTO CONSIDERATION, AND THIS IS A VERY THOROUGH AND WELL ANALYZED.
I FEEL LIKE THE BUDGET'S IN GOOD HANDS.
I, I'VE SPENT MANY HOURS GOING OVER IT AND RE-GOING OVER IT, SO I APPRECIATE THAT.
I'M GONNA GO THE OTHER DIRECTION.
UM, IF I LOOK AT THE DVA AND THE NUMBER ONE AWARENESS PERCEPTION SURVEY IS SEDONA HAS EXTREMELY HIGH UNAIDED AWARENESS ACROSS UNAIDED MEANS UNADVERTISED, UN MARKETED.
HOW DO YOU, 'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T GOT YET FALLS RESULTS.
WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ROAS FOR THAT IS.
THEREFORE, WE REALLY CAN'T PREDICT IF WE PUT ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, WHAT SHOULD WE GET BACK IN TERMS OF INCREASED REVENUE OR TOURISTS OR WHATEVER THE KPIS WE WANT.
SO I'M, I'M SITTING HERE GOING LIKE, I'M STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND, I ASSUME YOU HAVE TO PUT A STAKE IN THE GROUND AND MOVE FORWARD.
BUT ANY, 'CAUSE REMEMBER A FEW YEARS AGO WE DID A MARKETING PAUSE MM-HMM.
SO I'M TRYING TO, THERE'S A DISSONANCE HERE.
I'M TRYING TO SORT THROUGH HERE.
CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND YOUR PERSPECTIVES ON, ON THAT DISSONANCE BETWEEN UNAIDED MARKETING, WHICH YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING, VERSUS US GETTING SOME MARKETING EFFORT TARGETED DEMOGRAPHICALLY, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, TO GET US SOME ADDITIONAL YEAH, I THINK, I THINK OUR THOUGHTS AS A PROGRAM IS THAT DID WE GET THE TYPE OF VISITOR THAT WE WANT, OR ARE WE STILL, UM, THINKING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN 2020 AND 2021 AND HOW WE COULD DO IT DIFFERENTLY.
AND IF WE HAD A MANAGEMENT MESSAGE THAT WAS STRONG, WHAT WOULD THAT HAVE DONE? WOULD WE HAVE, WOULD WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CHANGE VISITOR BEHAVIOR? SO WHEN COLLEEN SAID, YEAH, IF I HAD A MAGIC WAND, I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE THAT I'M RIGHT THERE WITH HER.
I WOULD LOVE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS OF MEASURING VISITOR BEHAVIOR, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL TALKING ABOUT.
THE CITY IS ACTIVELY PUMPING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT EACH ONE OF THOSE SLOWLY KIND OF CHIPS AWAY AT THIS TRAFFIC ISSUE.
BUT IF YOU TAKE THAT OUT OF THE EQUATION IN TERMS OF VISITOR BEHAVIOR OF TRYING TO GET THE PERSON THAT WE WANT HERE, THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IN, IN MARKETING.
UM, WE, AND WE TALKED ABOUT EVEN THIS MORNING OF, OF, OF MARKETING IN, IN WINTER AND FALL AND SUMMER AND SPRING.
AND, AND IS THE GOAL TO, TO KEEP SPRING AND FALL AT THE SAME LEVEL AND BRING UP WINTER AND SUMMER? OR ARE THE RESIDENTS JUST GONNA LOSE THEIR MIND WITH THAT, RIGHT.
OR IS THE GOAL TO BRING A PERSON WHO SPENDS MORE MONEY SO THAT THE BUSINESSES CONTINUE TO DO BETTER SO THAT IT DOESN'T STRESS OUR INFRASTRUCTURE? WE'RE SORTING ALL OF THAT OUT.
I DON'T HAVE ALL OF THOSE ANSWERS RIGHT NOW, BUT THESE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UM, AT THE STRATEGIC PLANNING LEVEL.
AND, UM, AND THE CONVERSATIONS THAT I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU TOO.
SO, YEAH, I MEAN, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ROAZ FOR THE FALL CAMPAIGNS TO SEE IF WE CAN START TO, TO GET A SENSE OF THE TENSE.
BECAUSE SINCE TODAY, BECAUSE CERTAINLY BEFORE AND AFTER COVID, IT SEEMS TO BE A DIFFERENT VISITOR.
THE DEMOGRAPHICS FEEL DIFFERENT.
WE'VE ALL FELT THAT AND TALKED ABOUT THAT.
SO I'M CURIOUS WHEN YOU FINALLY GET THAT INFORMATION, HOW THAT GIVES US THE INDICATOR FOR JUST WHAT DIRECTION A, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, AND B, HOW FAR DO WE WANT TO GO WITH WHAT EXPECTED RESULTS.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE THAT PERSONALLY.
AND EVEN IF I LOOK AT THE, THE CREDIT CARD SPEND, I CAN SEE THAT BETWEEN EVEN 2022 AND 2023, WE HAD MORE TRANSACTIONS, BUT THEY WERE FOR LESS MONEY.
AND SO IS, IS THAT A TARGET OF TRYING TO INCREASE? IS THAT, IS THAT INDICATIVE OF DAY TRIPPERS VERSUS LONGER? WHO KNOWS, RIGHT? UNTIL YOU LOOK AT THAT INFORMATION AND DIVE IN UNDERNEATH AND THEN SAY, WELL, ARE THEY MORE FROM PHOENIX OR ARE THEY MORE FROM SAN FRANCISCO? A AGAIN, THAT'S THE DATA WE'RE GONNA GET AS WE ROLL THIS.
SO YEAH, WE'RE ALL FASCINATED TO SEE HOW YOU CAN TEASE
[02:20:01]
IT OUT, KINDA GIVE US THE OPTIMUM.'CAUSE THERE'S NO REAL SILVER BULLET HERE, I WOULD GATHER.
AND NO, UM, YOU SAID YOUR COMMENT WAS NEGATIVE, BUT I DIDN'T HEAR THAT.
SO, UM, HELP ME UNDERSTAND YOUR, WELL, THE UNAIDED PART, LIKE WHY DO, WHY SHOULD YOU SPEND ANY MONEY? RIGHT.
AND I THINK THE PROOF IS IN THE ROAS YEAH.
AND LOOKING AT WHAT YOU HAVE AND, AND THE TARGETS.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THE STARTING POINT FOR ME IS ZERO, RIGHT? 'CAUSE I, I LIKE TO BUILT IT UP FROM THERE.
I'M ZERO BASED BUDGETING SORT OF MENTALITY.
AND IT'S SILLY IN SOME LEVELS.
BUT IT HELPED US THROUGH A COVID CRISIS.
BUT, BUT I STARTED ZERO MM-HMM.
THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY NEGATIVE.
I'LL SAY FROM, FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, WHICH I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND.
UNAIDED MARKETING IS UNEDUCATED MARKETING.
AND AS MUCH FROM A HOTEL'S PERSPECTIVE AS WE LOVE 2021 AND 2022, I'M NOT GONNA LIE, THE MONEY WAS GREAT, THE BUDGETS WERE GREAT, MY BOSSES WERE HAPPY.
AND EVEN FROM A HOTEL PERSPECTIVE, THE GUESTS THAT CAME, THE VISITORS WERE AWFUL.
THOSE AREN'T THE TYPE OF PEOPLE THAT WE WANTED HERE.
AND THAT WAS ALL UNAIDED VISITATION BECAUSE WE HAD HALTED THE DESTINATION MARKETING.
SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS, IS YOU KNOW, PUT A BUDGET TOGETHER THAT CAN BRING IN, LIKE YOU SAID, THAT THAT THAT HIGHER SPENDING VISITOR MORE ROOM NIGHTS, UM, SOMEBODY THAT BENEFITS OUR LAND, BUT ALSO OUR BUSINESSES AND YOU KNOW, OUR STAFF'S MENTAL HEALTH ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
TO BE DELIBERATE ABOUT, I MEAN NOW WE ALL, WE KNOW NOW WE, WE WE'RE OUT THERE, BUT NOW WHAT, WHAT DO WE WANT THAT TO LOOK LIKE? YEAH.
SO HOW DO WE MANAGE WHAT IT IS AND HOW DO WE ENVISION, HOW DO WE MANAGE, HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT IT DELIBERATELY? MM-HMM.
UM, THREE 50 IS NOT AN APPLES APP TO APPLES COMPARISON TO 500.
UM, THEIR 500 NUMBER INCLUDED CREATIVE.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CONTRACTS, AND I LOOKED AT THEIR CONTRACTS OF WHAT THEY WERE BRINGING IN, SOMETIMES THEIR CREATIVE WAS UP TO $150,000 OF A $500,000 ASK.
SO I WAS TRYING TO SAY, I THINK I CAN DO IT FOR CHEAPER IF WE DID SOME THINGS IN HOUSE.
UM, BUT THE WILD CARD WITH THAT, AND YOU KNOW THIS FROM PINK, IS WHEN YOU BRING IN VIDEOGRAPHERS, IT GETS REALLY EXPENSIVE REALLY QUICK.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST HAVE TO MEASURE EXPECTATIONS WITH REALITY AND, AND FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT MIDDLE GROUND IS.
AND AND THE CREATIVE THAT'S 85,000 THERE IS OUTSIDE CITY.
IT'S NOT YOUR INTERNAL CREATIVE, YOU'RE RIGHT.
IT'S EXTERNAL THAT DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR STAFF TIME, THAT IS EXTERNAL CREATIVE.
NOW THE ONLY OTHER QUESTION, AGAIN, WE WON'T KNOW THIS, BUT THE VISITOR CENTER, DOES THAT STAY IN YOUR BUDGET IF IT DOESN'T GET PAID? OR DOES THAT GO AWAY TOO? IF IT, IF THEY DECIDE NOT TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT, THEN YEAH, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD COME OUT OF MY BUDGET.
AND THEN MY ASK FOR MY DECISION PACKAGES WOULD BE NONE.
THEN I WOULDN'T NEED TO ASK ANY MONEY FOR MY DECISION PACKAGES, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THOUGH, IF, UM,
DO WE CONTINUE WITH THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW? IS IT WORTH THE INVESTMENT THAT WE HAVE? IS THE, UM, AMOUNT THAT THE CHAMBER'S COMING TO THE TABLE WITH? CORRECT.
AND UM, AND I THINK, UH, EVEN, EVEN IF WE BUY OURSELVES A YEAR WITH THIS, WITH ANOTHER AGREEMENT WITH, UM, WITH THE CHAMBER, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ADDRESS IT AT SOME POINT.
SO MY THOUGHT WAS TO BRING THIS BACK TO THE GROUP IN THE FALL, UM, TO TALK, START TALKING ABOUT IT EARLY ON, ON WHAT WE WANNA COME UP WITH AS A GROUP ON WHAT TO DO WITH THE VISITOR CENTER.
'CAUSE WHEN'S THE DECISION ON THAT? WHAT'D YOU SAY? MARCH 26TH.
[02:25:03]
TENTATIVELY IT'S ALWAYS TENTATIVE.I THINK, HEATHER, THIS IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE AND THEN I'M GONNA COME BACK IN AND REALLY PUT THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN WITH DATA.
BUT
I THINK MINE, UM, REALLY WILL BE FIVE TO 10 MINUTES
[5.c. LA sales mission update]
OKAY.SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF UPDATE ON JUST SOME THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST TIME WE SAW EACH OTHER.
AND WE ATTENDED THAT WITH THE, A ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM.
AND BECAUSE I REPRESENT THE OTHER DESTINATIONS, I WAS ABLE TO TALK EQUALLY ABOUT SEDONA, ALONG WITH WILLIAMS COTTONWOOD AND PRESCOTT.
AND ALSO IN ATTENDANCE WAS FLAGSTAFF, GILBERT AND EXPERIENCE SCOTTSDALE.
IT WAS JANUARY 23RD THROUGH THE 25TH, AND WE HAD THREE DIFFERENT EVENTS OVER THE COURSE OF THOSE THREE DAYS.
I ARRIVED ON TUESDAY MORNING, WENT RIGHT TO WORK, AND MET WITH NINE OPERATOR ATTENDEES.
AND THEN THE NEXT DAY WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF FREE TIME SO THAT WE CAN ENJOY LA AND ALL IT HAS TO OFFER.
AND HAD A WONDERFUL LUNCH RECEPTION AND THEN AN EVENING RECEPTION.
AND THEN I WAS OUT THE DOOR THE NEXT DAY TO COME HOME.
BUT SOME OF THE COMPANIES THAT WE MET WITH NEW WORLD TRAVEL SEA TOUR, HOLIDAY, HOTEL BEDS, J-T-B-U-S-A, ALL OF THESE ARE COMPANIES THAT I KNOW DANIELLE KNOWS, AND ANYONE WHO'S BEEN IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AND MEETS WITH TOUR OPERATORS, RECEPTIVE OPERATORS, THESE ARE ALL THE ONES WE WANNA MEET.
AND I'VE ALREADY DONE THE FOLLOW UP WITH THEM AND MADE SURE THAT THEY HAVE OUR INFORMATION, MY CONTACT DETAILS, IN CASE THEY'VE FORGOTTEN AND LOST MY BUSINESS CARD.
IN THE COURSE OF TWO WEEKS, THEY'VE ALREADY STARTED REACHING OUT AND ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT NEW PROPERTIES, DIFFERENT ONES THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ON THEIR ITINERARIES AND, UM, ATTRACTIONS AS WELL.
THINGS TO DO, KEEP 'EM BUSY AND KEEP PEOPLE IN SEDONA LONGER THAN JUST A DAY TRIP.
SO WE LAUNCHED THAT, UH, I SHOULDN'T SAY WE SACS LAUNCHED IT ON JANUARY 29TH ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ON THEIR WEBSITE.
AND IF YOU WILL RECALL, THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF BECAUSE THE, A ARIZONA OFFS OF TOURISM PAID FOR IT ALL, $50,000 FOR A ONE MONTH CAMPAIGN.
AND ALL WE HAD TO DO WAS HOLD HANDS WITH THE SOCIAL INFLUENCER AND ARRANGE EVERY MINUTE DETAIL.
AND WHEN I TELL YOU THAT IT WAS MINUTE I WAS ON A TOUR WITH PINK JEEP HOLDING HER PURSE AND HER WATER BOTTLE
AND WORKING WITH INFLUENCERS IS NOT MY FAVORITE.
BUT THIS WOMAN WAS ABSOLUTELY LOVELY.
I WAS REALLY WORRIED BECAUSE WHEN I STARTED GETTING HER REQUESTS AND PREFERENCES, I MEAN, ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM HAD TO BUY HER FIRST CLASS TRANSPORTATION, GET HER A CAR, NOT SHUTTLE A CAR SERVICE FROM PHOENIX TO SEDONA.
AND I MEAN, IT WAS NEXT LEVEL.
AND I WAS, YOU KNOW, I WAS, I WAS SCOUTING HER ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
I WAS FOLLOWING EVERYTHING SHE DID BECAUSE SHE HAD JUST GONE TO THE GOLDEN GLOBES.
AND I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOD, WHAT'S SHE GONNA BE LIKE? BUT THEN I PULL UP IN A PINK JEEP AND WE GET TO LE BEARS AND SHE'S LATE.
THIS IS GONNA BE THE WAY IT IS.
BUT THEN SHE SHOWED UP AND SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.
SO THAT JUST, THAT MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
NOW IT HAS LAUNCHED ON THE SACS WEBSITE, AND I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT, I MEAN, THIS REAL ESTATE, WE'RE TALKING REAL ESTATE ON SACS WEBSITE.
SO THE LANDING PAGE, THE TOP OF IT IS SEDONA.
[02:30:01]
THEY'VE FEATURED, OF COURSE, WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO WEAR WHEN YOU'RE HERE IN THAT PINK ONESIE.I MEAN, WE ALL WEAR THAT, RIGHT?
BUT APPARENTLY WHEN YOU ARE IN THIS HOUSEHOLD INCOME, THIS IS WHAT YOU WEAR.
AND YOU WEAR YOUR GUCCI RUNNERS OUT ON A PINK TOUR AND YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU DO THESE THINGS.
SO YOU DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, YOU JUST LET IT, YOU JUST LET, LET THE PROMOTION HAPPEN.
YOU KNOW, YOU JUST GO WITH IT.
UM, THE SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT LIVES THERE.
YOU CAN GO ON THE SAX, UH, INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT.
IT'S THERE, THEIR TIKTOK ACCOUNT.
UM, MORE IMPORTANTLY, I FOCUS ON THE WEBSITE PIECE BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE ALL OF THAT DRILLED IN METRICS FOR IT.
AND WHAT'S BEAUTIFUL IS THERE'S A TRIP PLANNING PORTION ON THE SACS WEBSITE, AND IT GOES DIRECTLY TO THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM'S LUXURY TRAVEL SITE THAT IS MADE STRICTLY FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM CREATED IT JUST FOR THAT.
IT'S NOT THEIR REGULAR VISIT ARIZONA WEBSITE, BUT IT IS WHERE YOU GO WHEN YOU ON A LUXURY HIGH-END TRAVEL EXPERIENCE.
WE DID TIP YOUR GUIDES THOUGH.
THAT'S WHAT WE PAID IN THIS CAMPAIGN.
AMERICAN TOURS INTERNATIONAL, A TI, YOU'VE HEARD US TALKING ABOUT IT.
YOU HEARD LAUREN TALK ABOUT IT IN THE BUDGET.
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE REALLY WISE INVESTMENTS.
ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM COVERED THE REMAINING $40,000.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE OTHER DESTINATIONS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THAT.
AND THE REASON WE PARTICIPATED IN IT IS BECAUSE A TI HAS A REPORT THAT THEY GIVE US SHOWING EXACTLY HOW MUCH THEY BOOK IN THE PROPERTIES IN OUR CITY SO THAT WE CAN COMPARE.
SO THEY GAVE US, YOU KNOW, THE, THE METRICS FROM THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR SHOWING US WHAT WAS DONE WITH NO MARKETING, NO PROMOTION.
SO WHEN WE HAVE THIS CAMPAIGN AND IT'S WRAPPED UP AND FINISHED IN THE SUMMER, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PULL THAT REPORT AND SAY, COMPARE THE DIFFERENCES OF WHAT HAPPENED.
ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT IT IS WE DID A, UM, A TRAINING WITH AGENTS AND OPERATORS.
IT WASN'T GLAMOROUS, BUT WHAT WE DID WAS WE MET ALL OF THEM IN THE COMFORT OF THEIR OWN HOME.
SO WE PUT TOGETHER A FULL PRESENTATION.
IT'S A ONE HOUR ZOOM, THEY WERE ALL INVITED TO ATTEND.
WE HAD OVER 100 AGENTS AND OPERATORS WHO ATTENDED THIS ZOOM SESSION LAST WEEK.
AND WE EACH GOT OUR TIME TO PRESENT OUR DESTINATION AND TALK ABOUT WHAT IT IS, WHY THEY SHOULD COME AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND AFTER THE PRESENTATION, ALL OF THE QUESTIONS WERE ABOUT SEDONA AND WE FOCUSED ON RESPONSIBLE VISITATION, THE NEW SHUTTLE TO THE TRAIL HEADS AND WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT SEDONA NOW VERSUS HOW IT USED TO BE.
AND EVERYONE WANTED TO KNOW, WHAT CAN WE TALK ABOUT? HOW CAN WE PUT PEOPLE ON THESE, ON THIS SHUTTLE? WHAT'S DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF VISITATION AND WHO ARE THE HIGHER END PROPERTIES? AND THEN WE REALLY, REALLY STRESSED ART.
WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THAT A BIG FOCUS.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH ART THERE IS AVAILABLE IN SEDONA? HOW MANY TALENTED ARTISTS THERE ARE IN SEDONA THAT YOU CAN SHOW UP TO A GALLERY, YOU CAN SEE SOMEONE IN RESIDENCE.
AND THEY ALL ASKED ABOUT THAT TOO.
SO IT WAS WONDERFUL FEEDBACK AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE RESULTS ON THAT IN THE FUTURE.
I JUST WANTED TO SHARE, WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING BACK HERE IS ARRANGING OUR APPOINTMENTS FOR GO WEST SUMMIT, WHICH IS IN LAKE TAHOE, FEBRUARY 26TH THROUGH THE 29TH.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE 37 APPOINTMENTS BOOKED, AND I'M TRYING TO FILL UP OUR EVERY SINGLE AVAILABLE SLOT BECAUSE I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT, IT'S ENTITY HANDLING IT AND TO WORK WITH US.
IPW UH, PART OF THE A OT CO-OP AS WELL, THAT IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM.
WE WILL BE IN THE ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM BOOTH AND THEY INVITE FIVE PARTNERS AROUND THE STATE TO PARTICIPATE.
AND THAT IS MAY 3RD THROUGH THE SEVENTH IN LOS ANGELES.
ANY QUESTIONS? DO YOU SLEEP
I DON'T, I SERIOUSLY, I DON'T IS A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF INCREDIBLE WORK.
SO YOU CAN ASK MY HUSBAND ALL TELL DO ANY, DO ANY OF THESE, UM, ANY OF THESE CONNECTIONS HAVE YOU FOCUSED ON THE SUMMER WINTER TIME PUSH.
OH, YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT I SAY FRANCIS? I SAY, DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S 12 MONTHS IN THE YEAR AND YOU DON'T ALL HAVE TO COME AT THE SAME TIME SPRING AND FALL.
YOU CAN COME IN THE OTHER MONTHS.
[02:35:01]
IT.THEY LAUGH, THEY THINK IT'S SO FUNNY.
AND THEN I SAY, NO, REALLY, I'M SERIOUS
AND THEN THAT THEY COME UP TO ME AND THEY GO, OKAY, REALLY? WHEN SHOULD WE COME? AND THEN THAT'S WHEN WE BREAK IT DOWN AND I TELL 'EM HOW AMAZING IT IS IN THE WINTERTIME.
AND IT'S A BUCKET LIST EXPERIENCE.
SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE WHITE ON THE RED AND, OH YEAH.
[5.d. Industry trends and research]
SO DATA, WHICH YOU HAD, WHICH A BIT FROM COLLEEN, BUT LET'S, UM, LET'S JUST ALL GET ON THE SAME PAGE HERE.UM, OKAY, THIS IS FROM NOVEMBER.
YOU ALREADY HAD THIS, BUT UM, JUST SO THAT WE CAN DO A BACK-TO-BACK COMPARISON, I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE NICE.
UM, I LIKE TO LOOK AT THE YEAR TO DATE CHANGE VERSUS PREVIOUS YEAR.
UM, JUST SO I CAN TRACK, I MEAN, IT'S INTERESTING MONTHLY, RIGHT? BUT IT'S ALSO, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE TREND.
UM, REMEMBER THAT IN NOVEMBER YEAR TO DATE, WE WERE UP ON OCCUPANCY, DOWN ON A DR DOWN ON REVPAR, UM, 1.4% DOWN ON REVENUE.
OKAY? SO DECEMBER, SO NOW WE'VE, UH, THIS IS A FULL YEAR.
UM, WE'RE UP ON OCCUPANCY, STILL DOWN ON A DR AND REVPAR AND OUR REVENUE, WE'VE SH UH, TIGHTENED THAT GAP A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'RE STILL 0.3% DOWN ON REVENUE.
SO, UM, THAT'S OUR, OUR HOTELIERS.
UM, THE STORY THAT THEY'RE, THAT THEY'RE FEELING, UH, THIS IS WITH THE SHORT TERM RENTAL INDUSTRY, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE AGGREGATE, UM, YOU NOW, YOU'RE REALLY GONNA SEE THAT, UM, 10% DOWN IN OCCUPANCY AND 10% DOWN IN REVPAR.
AND THAT IS, UM, A LOT BECAUSE OF THESE BIG DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN 2022 AND 2023.
UM, WE ARE SEEING THAT IN OUR, UM, UH, IN OUR OWN CITY, SHORT-TERM RENTAL DATA AS WELL.
UH, WE FINALLY SAW THE PLATEAU, KIND OF THE LEVELING OFF OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS, WHEREAS IT LOOKED LIKE THIS FOR A VERY LONG TIME YEARS.
SO THE, THE THOUGHT AT LEAST FROM THE CITY PERSPECTIVE IS HAVE WE FINALLY HIT, UM, THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND, YOU KNOW, BALANCING POINT.
UM, THIS IS DOMESTIC VISITORS.
SO THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE STAYING OVERNIGHT.
THIS WAS DECEMBER 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST THIS MONTH.
UM, THE THING THAT PROBABLY JUMPS OUT TO ME THE MOST, IT'S NOT SURPRISING YOU HEARD THIS FROM COLLEEN, SO WE DON'T NEED TO STICK ON THIS, IS THE COMPARISON OF THE, UM, UH, THE ENTIRE YEAR, IN WHICH CASE WE SEE THESE DESTINATIONS, WE SEE MIN MINNEAPOLIS SNEAK IN THERE, UM, AND WE ALSO SEE WHAT WAS THE OTHER DIFFERENCE? CHICAGO'S IN THERE, IN BOTH SAN DIEGO.
SAN DIEGO JUMPS UP INTO OUR TOP FIVE.
UM, SOMEONE ASKED LAST TIME FOR INTERNATIONAL VISITORS.
I JUST PULLED THIS QUICKLY TODAY.
I, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE, THE TOP DESTINATIONS THAT WE HAVE, MEXICO, CANADA, JAPAN, WHICH IS INTERESTING.
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DID A LOT OF WORK WITH THE JAPAN MARKET.
AND SO YOU CAN TELL STILL, UM, FUTURE BOOKING PACE IS GOOD.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BUSY, BUSY SPRING.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY'RE ALL UP, UM, ALMOST EVERY WEEK.
WHAT'S THAT SPIKE IN MAY? YEAH.
THERE'S SOMETHING, THERE'S GOTTA BE SOMETHING, RIGHT? 'CAUSE IT'S NOT AN EVENT THAT WE HAVE.
UM, I, I CHECKED OUR EVENTS CALENDAR, BUT THERE'S GOT TO BE, BECAUSE EASTER'S BACK MM-HMM.
COULD IT, RIGHT? IS IT THAT POPULAR OF A HOLIDAY MEMORIAL TO HAVE 119% INCREASE? I DON'T KNOW.
[02:40:01]
TO GET MARRIED SEX FIFTH WEDDING.WELL, AND THAT'S THE THING, RIGHT? IS IT'S COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
IF IT WAS A SUPER DOWN WEEK AND THEN THEN WRITE LIKE WE HAVE A YOGA FESTIVAL OR SOMETHING, UM, IT'S NOT COMPARATIVE TO EACH WEEK THAT THAT ISN'T NECESSARILY THE BUSIEST WEEK OUT OF THE ENTIRE BOOKING PERIOD.
IT'S JUST COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, HOW MUCH WE'RE UP OR DOWN YOGA FESTIVAL IS MARCH 14TH THROUGH 17TH.
SPREADING THINGS OUT AND FIGURING OUT A WAY TO DO THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, AND A LOT OF, I THINK THE DECISION MAKING AROUND A FESTIVAL GOES INTO WEATHER TOO, OF COURSE, RIGHT? YEAH.
WHICH IS GREAT FOR A FILM FEST.
THEY'RE LIKE, WELL IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER, YOU KNOW? YES.
BUT SOME THINGS LIKE IF WE HAD MORE, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO LIKE SPAC OR PLACES WHERE IT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE EASY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GET INTO SOME OF THESE PLACES, THEY MIGHT.
OR IF WE HAD A CULTURAL SPACE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT COULD MAKE THOSE THINGS MORE ABLE TO SPREAD OBVIOUSLY LONG-TERM GOALS, BUT YEP.
SO I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT, NOT TO LOOK AT THE EXACT NUMBERS, BUT TO LOOK AT THE TREND LINES.
UM, I AM REACHING OUT TO, UM, THEY USE TRANSUNION SYMPHONY USES TRANSUNION TO PULL THIS DATA IN.
UM, AND WE ARE UP ON SALES AND BED TAX.
I DON'T HAVE DECEMBER DATA, BUT I HAVE YEAR TO DATE.
UM, NO, I SHOULD BE, YEAH, I HAVE FISCAL YEAR TO DATE, UM, INFORMATION AND WE ARE NOT 23% UP ON SALES AND BED TECHS.
SO JUST REMEMBER THAT THESE ARE, UM, EXTRAPOLATIONS.
I LOOK, ARE WE UP, ARE WE DOWN? BUT I DON'T HANG ON TO THE $90 MILLION.
UM, THAT IS BECAUSE THIS DATA DOES NOT INCLUDE AMERICAN EXPRESS USERS.
UM, AND AGAIN, IT'S AN EXTRAPOLATION, NOT AN EXACT AMOUNT.
SO QUESTION, QUESTION, DO YOU HAVE, UH, ZIP CODE DATA THAT MATCHES THIS TO KNOW THE LOCATION OF THE USER OF THE HOUSEHOLD? LEMME SEE.
I HAVE VISITOR DATA, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ATTACHED TO THEIR CREDIT CARD SPENDING.
YEAH, I MEAN, AGAIN, THE THING I WAS KIND OF PUMPING AROUND MY HEAD IS AS THE SPIN GOES DOWN, IS IT BECAUSE THERE'S MORE DAY TRIPPERS? IF SO, CAN YOU DETECT THAT BY THE ZIP CODES THEY COME FROM THAT? THAT'S KIND OF WHERE MY HEAD WAS GOING ON THAT.
BUT WHETHER THAT MAKES ANY AT ALL SENSE WITH THE DATA YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT, I DON'T KNOW.
LIKE I CAN LOOK AT THE HIGHEST SPENDING MARKETS ANOTHER WAY OF I GUESS, GETTING THERE AND THEN LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
I'LL HAVE TO PUT SOME THOUGHT ON THAT.
DIDN'T MEAN TO PUT YOU IN FREEZER.
THERE'S JUST A MILLION WAYS YOU CAN SLICE AND DICE DATA AND, YOU KNOW, SO YEAH.
UM, AND I'M TRYING REALLY HARD
I PRIORITIZED MARY AND COLLEEN'S PRESENTATIONS 'CAUSE I KNEW THAT, UM, THAT DEFINITELY NEEDED TO BE IN YOUR HANDS.
BUT I'M WORKING ON, UM, GETTING IT TO YOU SOONER.
SO JUST GIVE ME SOME GRACE ON THAT FOR A LITTLE BIT AND HOPEFULLY HIRING A TOUR TOURISM MANAGER HELPS WITH THAT TOO.
I WANNA TELL YOU, LAUREN, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
THE AMOUNT OF TIME AND EFFORT THAT I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE PUT INTO THIS IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.
AND KAREN AND KEEGAN, ALL OF YOU
I MEAN, THIS IS NOT AN EASY PROJECT AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF BACKLASH FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE AND WELL, WE GET, WELL, IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY, SO WE APPRECIATE YOU.
I WOULD SAY THIS IS, THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
[6. FUTURE MEETING DATES AND AGENDA ITEMS]
FUTURE MEETING AND, AND EVENTS, RIGHT? AND YOUR AGENDA ITEMS. YEAH.SO THERE IS A SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT, UM, IN, IN YOUR MEETING MINUTES.
AND ON THIS AGENDA IT DOES SAY THAT WE'LL BE PRESENTING THE TOURISM
[02:45:01]
STRATEGIC DRAFT.UH, BUT WE'RE GOING TO MOVE THAT TO APRIL MEETING.
WE'RE JUST NOT READY TO, TO GIVE THAT OVER YET.
WE STILL HAVE SOME MORE WORK TO DO ON IT.
AND THEN THERE WERE A COUPLE MENTIONS OF THINGS YOU WANTED TO SEE IN NEXT MEETINGS FOR SERVICE.
OH, WE TALKED ABOUT VISITOR CENTER, BUT THAT WILL COME LATER.
CAN I WEIGH IN ON THE FOREST SERVICE CONVERSATION? UM, SO THE DISTRICT RANGER IS LEAVING, UM, IF HER LAST DAY HASN'T ALREADY HAPPENED, IT'S COMING UP TWO WEEKS.
SHE HAS, SHE HAS THE DAYS COUNTED WHEN I TALK TO HER
UM, AND IN TERMS OF WHO WOULD, WHO WE'D WANT TO COME TALK, IT'S GOING TO BE THAT PERSON.
UM, THEY'RE ALWAYS SEEMINGLY ON A SKELETON CREW.
SO THE, I'M NOT TRYING TO PUNT THE CONVERSATION, BUT, UM, I WOULD WANT THAT NEW PERSON.
I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE AN INTERIM FOR A LITTLE BIT.
UH, AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA TRY AND HIRE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
BUT I WOULD WANT THAT NEW PERSON TO GET THEIR FEET UNDERNEATH THEM BEFORE, UM, BEFORE WE HAVE 'EM HERE AND OVERWHELM 'EM.
WELCOME, WELCOME DOWN YOU I'M THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO FOR MARCH WE HAVE WINTER CAMPAIGN RESULTS AND WE HAVE A, A PRESENTING A BRAND CONCEPT AND A MARKETING CAMPAIGN CONCEPT FOR THE SUMMER.
IS IT CONCEPT OR CONCEPTS THAT WE CAN CHOOSE FROM AND DEBATE UPON AND TALK ABOUT TWO EARLY TO KNOW THE MYSTERY CONTINUES.
I JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE IF YOU GIVE US ONE IT COULD BE A LOT MORE.
UM, YEAH, I KNOW THE INITIAL THINKING WAS TO GIVE A CONCEPT THAT YOU ALL SUPPORTED THAT THEN THE ACTUAL CAMPAIGN IS CREATED FROM.
BUT WE'RE ALSO BIFURCATED IN OUR CONSTITUENCY AS WELL AS WE SAID IT VERY EARLY ON.
SO THERE'S NOT GONNA BE JUST ONE UNIFIED PERSPECTIVE, I THINK IS WHAT MY EXPECTATION IS.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ALL OF US TO AGREE AND RAISE OUR HANDS, UM, I EXPECT THIS GROUP TO COME TO CONSENSUS ON THINGS LIKE A MARKETING CONCEPT, KNOWING THAT THAT WHAT WE ASK IS HARD.
THAT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO HEAR OTHER'S PERSPECTIVES AND GIVE A LITTLE INTAKE A LITTLE.
I I, I WOULD HOPE THAT WE WOULD HAVE CONSENSUS.
UM, YOU KNOW, A SPLIT VOTE IS OKAY, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE LOOKING FOR MAJORITY CONSENSUS ON, ON SOMETHING LIKE A, LIKE A SUMMER MARKETING CAMPAIGN.
WELL, IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU ALWAYS THROW OUT TWO OR THREE OPTIONS AND I THINK, UH, WHEN YOU GET INTO THE DETAILS ON THE BRANDING, SOME ARE GONNA BE MORE EMOTION.
UH, SOME MIGHT BE PRAGMATIC OR PRACTICAL.
UH, SOME MIGHT BE MORE SELF-IMAGE OR YOU'RE GONNA PLAY ON DIFFERENT EMOTIONAL VERSUS RATIONAL AND SO FORTH.
SO I THINK HAVING SOME OPTIONS MIGHT HELP GET TO A FINAL CONCLUSION FASTER THAN JUST HAVING ONE AND A BUNCH OF HYPOTHETICALS THAT WE ALL JUST THROW OUT DURING THE MEETING.
I'LL PASS THE FEEDBACK ON THE, THE PLAN WAS I, UM, FOR THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN, IT WILL BE A BRIDGE CAMPAIGN WHEN WE DO THE MATH.
I, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST MONTH OR UM, IF I TALKED TO SOMEBODY ELSE ABOUT THIS, BUT, UM, WHEN WE DO THE MATH ON WHEN THAT CREATIVE IS DUE, IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE, UM, TO DO IT WITH THE FULL BRAND AND THE FULL, UM, ALL OF THAT BEING COMPLETED AHEAD OF TIME.
SO THE THOUGHT WAS TO HAVE A BRAND CONCEPT AND THEN FROM THAT CREATE THE MARKETING BRIDGE CAMPAIGN, KNOWING THAT IT'S NOT GONNA BE THE FULL MONTY THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA COME IN THE WINTER, JUST BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TIME TO, TO DO IT.
IF IT, IN A PERFECT WORLD, I WOULD BACK THIS UP ALL THREE MONTHS AND, AND THEN WE COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, HAD THINGS FIRE EXACTLY HOW I WOULD'VE WANTED.
BUT, UM, I THINK THAT BRIDGE CAMPAIGN IS STILL GONNA BE CLOSE ENOUGH.
AND I THINK, UM, I THINK THE BUSINESS OWNERS DESERVE, DESERVE A BRIDGE CAMPAIGN RATHER THAN YEAH.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU WEREN'T SAYING THAT.
OKAY, SO YOU PRESENT THREE, YOU PUT THE STAKE IN THE GROUND FOR ONE AND YOU DEVELOP SUMMER BASED ON THAT.
UM, BUT I, I THINK, I THINK AT LEAST FOR MYSELF, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME OPTIONS AND THE PROS AND CONS TO EACH ONE IN TERMS OF THE LONG-TERM BRAND CONCEPT
[02:50:02]
OR AT LEAST VARIATIONS OR VARIATION.YEAH, VARIATIONS ON A THEME, I MEAN, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
TO BRING OUT A DISCUSSION AMONG US, I THINK MORE THAN ANYTHING.
AND I WOULD PERSONALLY AGREE YOU REALLY WANNA HAVE A SOLID BRAND CONCEPT AND PIECES OF THE PUZZLE BEFORE YOU REALLY GO, AS YOU SAID, CALL IT MONT, BUT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THERE.
MAYBE THOSE OPTIONS WILL GIVE YOU SOME FLEXIBILITY IN THOSE PRE SORT OF CAMPAIGNS BEFORE YOU CAN GO THE WHOLE DECISION PACKAGE WHERE YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO PUT THE STAKE IN THE GROUND.
SO TRYING TO GIVE YOU SOME FLEXIBILITY, I GUESS IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SAY HERE IN GIVING OPTIONS VERSUS A SINGULAR ALL IN WHICH MAY NOT BE THE BENEFIT.
MAY MAYBE THERE'S TIME, YOU KNOW, AT WHATEVER THAT APPROPRIATE POINT IS FOR, YOU KNOW, BRAINSTORMING A LITTLE BIT, IF THAT'S HELPFUL TO YOU GUYS THERE TO, TO ACTUALLY TRY TO BUILD THIS THING.
YOU KNOW, JUST FROM, BECAUSE ALL THIS DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE IN HERE ON THE, ESPECIALLY THE BUSINESS AND TOURISM SIDE AND MARKETING AND, AND NOT FOR ME PERSONALLY, BUT
I THINK THAT, I THINK THAT WILL BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION IN MARCH.
BECAUSE THE ASSETS ARE GOING TO BE DUE IN APRIL.
IF WE WANNA START MARKETING IN MAY TO GET PEOPLE HERE IN JUNE, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU BACK UP THAT CALENDAR IT'S RIGHT.
AND I THINK ONLY IF IT'S, IF IT'S HELPFUL IN THE TIMELINE, YOU KNOW, IF IT, IF IT DELAYS IT OR IF IT JUST BOGS IT DOWN FOR THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S FOR THE NEXT ONE FOR THE BIGGER, BROADER, BECAUSE REALLY AS MARCH IS WE'RE, WE'RE JUST HELPING GET THE STOP GAP YEAH.
UNTIL WE GET THE FULL THING SO THAT WE CAN GET SOMETHING OUT IN THE MARKETPLACE IN MAY SO THAT WE CAN HAVE STUFF FOR JUNE.
SO THERE'LL BE A LITTLE DISCUSSION GOING ON NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH IS ALL DISCUSSION PROBABLY.
JUST HASH OUT SOME OF THIS STUFF.
MAY I ASK A QUESTION? YOU KEEGAN, FROM A PROCEDURAL PERSPECTIVE, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO GET SOMETHING MIDWAY BETWEEN TO GET SOME DIALOGUE GOING TO KIND OF KICK STARTED IT OR WE JUST HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MARCH TO LOOK AT THE WHOLE THING? 'CAUSE I'M, AGAIN, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GIVE YOU MORE TIMELY INPUT SLASH DIRECTION DISCUSSION OR WHATEVER THAT HELPS YOU GET TO THE END GOAL MORE QUICKLY VERSUS DELAY AT ALL.
'CAUSE THAT OBVIOUSLY IS A BIG THING FOR ALL OF US.
UM, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A TIMELINE FROM MARY ON WHEN SHE'S GOING TO GET THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST SOMETHING FOR US AS STAFF TO EVEN REACT TO.
UM, BUT I IMAGINE THAT'LL BE MID-MARCH.
NO, WHAT MONTH IS IT? FEBRUARY? FEBRUARY MID.
THIS, THIS WAS A KIND OF LIKE TWO WEEKS AMOUNT.
COULD YOU COME UP WITH SOMETHING TO LOOK AT? I'M NOT EVEN BE IN THE COUNTRY, BUT I WILL LOOK AT THIS AND DIG IN TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, BECAUSE THIS IS AN IMPORTANT KIND OF LIKE PREAMBLE SO TO SPEAK, AND, AND TO SPEND THE TIME TO HELP YOU THAT WAY WOULD BE, I THINK, BENEFICIAL TO ME.
I DON'T LET EVERYBODY ELSE ON, ON THE BOARD, BUT GIVE US A SENSE FOR HOW WE CAN HELP YOU GET TO THERE MORE QUICKLY, WHICH I THINK WE'RE ALL IN, IN FAVOR OF.
I WISH I HAD MARY HERE SO THAT SHE'D GIVE ME A REALISTIC TIMELINE ON WHEN SHE THOUGHT SHE COULD GET US SOMETHING.
SO WE WANNA HELP YOU IS THE OTHER PIECE OF THAT.
I KNOW
UM, BUT I KNOW WE'RE KIND OF IN THE BEGINNING PHASES, BABY STEPS.
WE'RE ALL LEARNING WHAT THE BRAND MARKETING PLAN ALL OF THAT IS GONNA BE.
UM, BUT MAYBE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT OR DISCUSS IS HOW WE AS A GROUP UP HERE CAN BE EFFECTIVE WITH HELPING THE EDUCATION OF RESIDENTS AND HOW CAN, HOW CAN THE 11 OF US GO OUT INTO THE, THE COMMUNITY AND HELP SELL IT? SELL IT.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'RE SITTING HERE TALKING, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO SHARE THE INFORMATION.
YOU HAVE PERFECTLY TEED ME UP TO TELL YOU THAT, UM, THE
WHAT PARTS DO YOU ALL OWN AND HOW DO YOU ALL GET BUY-IN SO THAT WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER ON IT.
SO LAST THING, UH, ON THE AGENDA THAT IS KIND OF A STABLE ONE IS INDUSTRY TRENDS AND RESEARCH.
WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT EVERY TIME, BUT BASICALLY THAT'S THIS REPORT RIGHT HERE, LAUREN, OR ACTUALLY KAREN KIN WILL BE SENDING YOU THAT EVERY MONTH IN A REPORT.
IF YOU NEED US TO GO OVER NUMBERS OR IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ON NUMBERS, WE'LL KEEP THAT AGENDA ITEM THERE PERMANENTLY OR SEMI PERMANENTLY UNTIL WE ALL FEEL GOOD WITH THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING.
[02:55:01]
WHATEVER, WHATEVER THE RESEARCH IS SHOWING US THAT DATA IS SHOWING US.AND OVER TIME WE'LL REPLACE THOSE NUMBERS WITH KPIS.
WHICH IS, UM, WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION TODAY IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN MEETING OF WHAT OUR, OUR KPIS OVER THE NEXT 18 MONTHS.
AND HOW THIS PHASED IN IS REALLY UP TO THE WHOLE PICTURE.
SO WHAT DO WE WANNA DO ABOUT THE NEXT MEETING? DO WE WANT IT TO BE TWO TO FIVE OR DO WE WANT IT TO BE THREE TO SIX? WHAT'S, DO WE HAVE ANY CONSENSUS ON THAT WITH ALL OF YOUR SCHEDULES? ONE, ONE SUGGESTION I HAVE WITH THAT IS THAT IF WE'RE GETTING THE INFORMATION OUT BEFOREHAND, THAT IS OPPOSED TO GOING THROUGH EACH PORTION OF IT.
THE PRESENTER IDENTIFIES JUST THE SUBSET THAT'S MOST IMPORTANT.
WE'RE ALL GONNA READ THAT INFORMATION BEFOREHAND.
THEN DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT O AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC THEN AS OPEN MEETING? RIGHT.
'CAUSE IF YOU DON'T GO THROUGH IT HERE, THEN IT WOULDN'T BE OUT THERE.
I'M JUST, I MEAN JUST THE PROBLEM IS LAUREN WORKED ALL WEEKEND
SO IT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T WANNA SEND YOU THE INFORMATION WICKED EARLY.
'CAUSE WE DO AND WE TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE BENEFIT OF THAT.
AND I, I REALLY THINK THAT ONCE WE HIRE THAT TOURISM MANAGER, THE COMMUNICATIONS WILL CHANGE.
I'M NOT SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT GETTING IT EARLIER, BUT IF WE GET IT MM-HMM.
THEREFORE, DON'T GO THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE COULD HAVE SAVED HALF OF THE MEETING TODAY BY HAVING A QUICKER OVERVIEW OF THE INFORMATION THAT WAS GIVEN TO US BEFOREHAND.
IF WE ALL COMMIT TO DOING YEAH.
IF IT'S, IF IT'S THESE BIG, THE BIG POWERPOINT LIKE WHAT, WHAT COLLEEN AND MARY HAD.
I MEAN I THINK EVERYBODY HAD PROBABLY SEEN ALL THAT AND WE'RE ALL USED TO READING THOSE KINDS OF MATERIALS ANYWAY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE COULD HAVE JUST SKIMMED THE WAVE TOPS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I KNOW THEY WANTED TO, THEY WORKED HARD ON IT AND THEY WANTED TO COVER ALL OF THAT.
BUT THEY DID GO WAY DOWN INTO THE DETAILS.
BUT REST ASSURED WE DO DIG IN BEFORE WE COME HERE, SO RIGHT.
SO MAKE 'EM AS COMPLETE AS THEY WERE.
BUT THEN WHEN IT'S PRESENTED, LET'S SKIMM IT AND THEN WE CAN SPEAK UP IF WE'VE GOT ISSUES OR QUESTIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE ALL HAVE OUR NOTES AND STUFF THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE GONNA POP UP DURING THE CONVERSATION.
I, I TOTALLY DON'T DOUBT THAT YOU WOULD READ EVERY SINGLE DETAIL.
SO WE'LL TALK TO MARY, UH, THIS WEEK AND SEE WHAT KIND OF TIMEFRAME WE CAN ENSURE AND, AND TRY TO GET THAT OUT TO YOU IN, IN A MORE TIMELY MANNER SO WE CAN KEEP IT HIGH LEVEL.
DO WE WANNA ANTICIPATE ADDING A HALF AN HOUR RATHER THAN AN HOUR OF GOING FROM THREE TO FIVE 30 NEXT TIME? JUST SO WE CAN ALL ANTICIPATE? IT DOES SEEM THOUGH, WITH THE TOPICS THAT WE WILL BE DISCUSSING BRAND AND SUCH.
I WOULDN'T IMAGINE THAT IT'S GONNA GO LONGER IN TERMS OF FEEDBACK AND DISCUSSION.
SO I WOULD RATHER UM, KNOW THAT I'M GONNA BE HERE UNTIL SIX AS A MOM OF A 3-YEAR-OLD.
DEFINITELY JUST OUTTA SENSITIVITY TO YOU GUYS THOUGH.
IS IT BETTER IF WE START IT? AND OF COURSE WE GOTTA LOOK AT EVERYBODY HERE TOO, BUT AT TWO AND GO FROM TWO TO FOUR 30 OR TWO TO FIVE OR WHATEVER.
I DON'T THINK IT MATTERS TO US.
WE, WE WORK FROM SEVEN TO SIX, SO I JUST KNOW THIS IS, WE'RE, WE'RE AT THE END OF THE WORKDAY RIGHT NOW, THE PAST SIX.
DO WE WANNA DO MAYBE A FOOD? DO WE WANNA DO A VOTE? WHO WANTS TO, WHO WANTS THREE? I DON'T KNOW.
JUST TO MAKE IT EASY TO DECIDE.
WE HAVE A MOTION FOR A VOTE FOR TWO OR THREE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE DOING? YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING.
SO WE'VE GOT MOTIONS FOR I'M THAT WE TAKE A VOTE.
DO WE START AT TWO AND ALL IN FAVOR OF TWO INSTEAD OF THREE, BUT THAT'S STILL FOR THREE HOURS THEN? YEAH, FOR THREE HOURS.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE TWO TO TWO TO FIVE OR THREE TO SIX, CORRECT.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF WHICH OF WHICH?
IF YOU'RE FOR TWO TO FIVE, WE'LL VOTE ON THAT MOTION FIRST.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? TWO TO FIVE.
I CAN GO ALONG WITH IT EITHER WAY.
IS THAT OKAY? CAN YOU IT'S BE, IS IT UNANIMOUS? OKAY.
IF THAT, IF THAT WORKS FOR THE SCHEDULE FOR THE ROOM.
I, I'M ASSUMING WHAT'S THE DATE ON THAT ONE? WE CAN CHECK THAT, BUT
[03:00:01]
ASSUMING THAT IT DOES, WE'RE GOOD.THAT'S MARCH? NO, MARCH IN CASE.
IS THAT IT? ANYTHING ELSE FROM OVER THERE AT THE STAFF TABLE? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
ANYBODY ELSE GOT ANYTHING? NOPE.
HIT THAT HAMMER RIGHT? WELL DONE.
IT'S JUST BEEN STARING A LOT OF TISSUE