[00:00:02]
[1. CALL TO ORDER, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, ROLL CALL]
LET'S, UH, CALL THE ORDER, UH, STAND FOR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.PANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH SHE STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
[2. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF]
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM, UH, ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS FROM WHAT PAST MEETINGS? WE HAVEN'T BEEN TOGETHER SINCE DECEMBER, SO NOT THERE'S ANY UPDATES ACROSS HAPPY NEW YEAR.IT'S ALL THIS LOVELY NEW ARTWORK IN HERE.
ANYBODY GOT ANYTHING TO REPORT? ALRIGHT, STAFF.
UM, UPDATE ON THE 11TH TAB MEMBERS.
SO, UM, THE GROUP PEOPLE WHO DECIDED, THAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR, COMMITTEE, THERE'S THREE OF US THERE IT IS.
THE COMMITTEE, THERE WAS FOUR OF US, UM, IS RECOMMENDING LINDSEY HAMMERSMITH TO CITY COUNCIL ON, I BELIEVE FEBRUARY 25TH.
UM, IS THE DATE OF THAT COUNCIL MEETING.
UM, BUT CITY COUNCIL WILL ULTIMATELY MAKE THAT DECISION.
UM, SO AT THE NEXT MEETING THAT WE HAVE, I'LL HAVE A OFFICIAL UPDATE, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THAT.
CAN I ASK HOW MANY APPLICANTS DID WE HAVE? I THINK IT WAS 11 WE STARTED WITH, YEAH.
AND THEN WE NARROWED IT DOWN TO FOUR AND THEN, UH, WE TRIED TO, WHAT WE TRIED TO DO, AND IT'S ALL PART OF THE NOTES, BUT WE TRIED TO KEEP IT BALANCED BASED ON LIKE WHERE DAVID FIT INTO THE, UH, STRUCTURE OF WHAT WE'VE KIND OF BEEN HAVING HERE.
SO I THINK WE GOT A GOOD CANDIDATE THERE.
WHEN WE HAD APPLIED ALL OF OUR, UM, APPLICATIONS AND EVERYTHING WE'RE PART OF, YOU KNOW, THE CITY COUNCIL'S, YOU KNOW, UH, PACKET OR WHATEVER.
DO THE PEOPLE WHO APPLIED THIS TIME, IS THAT PUBLIC AS WELL? YEAH.
I WONDER WHAT THAT'LL LOOK LIKE.
I'LL LOOK INTO IT AND ANSWER YOU.
LIKE IF, IF ALL 11 WILL GO INCLUDING LINDSAY'S YOU MEAN? OR, UM, YEAH, I WOULD JUST BE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHO HAD, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WE ALL WERE, I GUESS MAYBE THE, THE FINAL FOUR MIGHT BE RIGHT.
I WOULD JUST BE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHO THOSE FINALISTS WERE AND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THEM.
LET ME LOOK INTO IT AND I'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON IT.
UM, AND THEN THE, UH, FISCAL YEAR 26 TOURISM PROGRAM BUDGET UPDATE.
SO JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INPUT ON VISITOR SERVICES.
UM, IT'S LOOKING LIKE, UH, WE'LL BE GOING TO COUNCIL ON MARCH 11TH.
MY PLAN IS TO TAKE BOTH THE VISITOR CENTER CONTRACT AND THE, UM, CONCEPT OF DIGITAL KIOSKS TO THEM IN THAT MARCH 11TH MEETING.
AND THEY CAN DECIDE, UH, HOW THEY WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
SO MORE INFORMATION COMING ON THAT, BUT JUST KIND OF MARK THAT DOWN AND YOUR BRAIN'S THERE.
AND THEN SIDE NOTE, I DID SEND YOU IN AN EMAIL THE, UM, FISCAL YEAR, WHAT YOU HAD ASKED FOR ALTHEA LAST YEAR'S AND THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
SO IF IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS.
AND THEN I WAS AT THE GO WEST SUMMIT IN PALM SPRINGS LAST MONTH.
UM, REALLY, REALLY POSITIVE EVENT.
SO A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN ABOUT, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN DOUBLE OF WHAT WE HAD AT NTA.
SO DEFINITELY A REALLY STRONG EVENT.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE, WE ARE SPONSORS OF THE TRAVEL CON EVENT IN TUCSON IN MARCH.
IT'S A KIND OF A CONTENT CREATOR MEDIA EVENT.
UM, THE PRIMARY PURPOSES WE'RE HOSTING A PRE FANM, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WITH FIVE OF THOSE FOLKS TO GET THEM IN TO GETTING NEW CONTENT ABOUT SEDONA OUT THERE.
AND THEN I WILL BE JOINING A COHORT OF ARIZONA TOURISM DESTINATIONS TO A ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM SALES AND MEDIA MISSION TO THE UK AND FRANCE.
UM, LEARNING MORE ABOUT THAT, I'M ACTUALLY REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE PART OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE FAMS WE'VE BEEN HOSTING, THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT I'LL BE MEETING WITH AGAIN WHEN I'M, WHEN I'M OVER THERE.
SO IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME I'LL BE SEEING A LOT OF THESE FOLKS.
UM, SO IT'S JUST REALLY NICE AND
[00:05:01]
I THINK A LOT OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, CONTINUED NETWORKING AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE WHAT AOTS BEEN DOING TO KIND OF PRIME THE PUMP, IF YOU WILL, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR LEADING UP TO THAT, IN THAT INVESTMENT THAT SEDONA AND MANY OTHER ARIZONA DESTINATIONS WILL BE MAKING.AND THEN THE BIGGEST EVENT ON THE CALENDAR THIS FISCAL YEAR IS IPW IN JUNE.
SO, UM, MORE TO COME ON THAT AS WE GET CLOSER TO THAT DATE, THAT'LL BE IN CHICAGO.
AND THEN FAMS ARE DEFINITELY INCREASING IN THEIR, UH, VOLUME.
WE HAD 11 FAMS OR SITE ASSESSMENTS LAST MONTH ALONE.
UM, SO REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THAT.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S GONNA BE WHAT EVERY MONTH IS, BUT I DO APPRECIATE THAT THEY WERE LANDING IN REALLY AN OFF PEAK TIME OF YEAR FOR US, RIGHT? IF THIS WAS APRIL, I WOULD BE LOOKING AT TRYING TO CHANGE THAT, BUT WE'RE DEFINITELY SEEING THE TIMES THAT WE WANT TO BE PARTNERING WITH B2B, BRINGING THEM HERE, SHOWING OFF THE DESTINATION DURING LOW SEASON.
THIS IS A GREAT KIND OF EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING AHEAD TO THE FUTURE, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL THAT ARE ON THE BOOKS BETWEEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER.
UM, SOME I'LL JUST CALL OUT WHILE WE'RE ON IT WOULD BE, UM, CALI FUN WAS A GO WEST PRE FAM.
UM, THEY HAD A PHENOMENAL TIME.
THEY'RE ONE OF THE MOST, MOST RED HOT LEADS THAT I, THAT I HAD FROM THE CONFERENCE.
SO LIKE, WE'RE, WE'RE READY TO GO.
SO JUST KIND OF CONNECTING THEM.
I WAS TALKING WITH MIKE OVER AT PINK G SPECIFICALLY FOR JOHN AS AN EXAMPLE.
UM, AND ALSO FOLKS THAT I MAY BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH WHEN I'M IN FRANCE, UM, IN MARCH.
AND THEN, UH, REALLY GREAT, WE KIND OF PARTNERED WITH THE NEW PRESS TEAM AT AMARA RESORT AND SPA ON A PRESS TRIP THEY WERE DOING, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF COLLABORATE WITH THEM AND WE GOT THEM CONNECTED WITH WILD TIME GROUP FOR A HOSTED DINNER THERE.
REALLY GOOD CONTENT COMING OUTTA THAT, THAT TRIP.
AND THEN WE DID, UM, AT THE AURORA ROBLE ACTUALLY, UM, ONE OF, ONE OF RANDY'S PROPERTIES IS WE DID SIX FRENCH TRAVEL AGENTS.
UM, AND MANY OF THOSE ARE FOLKS THAT AGAIN, I'LL BE ABLE TO SEE IN PARIS.
UM, A LOT OF THEM WERE REALLY, REALLY, WERE REALLY RED HOT LEADS AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE DO THESE FOR A REASON.
SO SOME OF THESE ARE TRAVEL FANS, WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, GET, GET OUR PRODUCT ON THE BOOKS IN DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL TOUR OPERATORS.
BUT, UM, THREE OF THESE, TWO OF THEM WERE FROM THE FAMS LAST MONTH.
SO MARIE ELBEL FROM AUSTIN TRAVELS MAGAZINE GOT AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON HER MAGAZINE, THEN SHE'S GONNA BE DOING A GOOD DAY AUSTIN SEGMENT ABOUT SEDONA FOR A LOCAL NEWS THAT'S KIND OF TIED TO THIS.
ALEX CASPAR SENT ME THIS WHILE I WAS SITTING HERE SETTING UP THE MEETING.
UM, SHE HAD A REALLY, REALLY PHENOMENAL TIME ABOUT KIND OF, SHE WAS LIKE, I REALLY WANT A GIRLS TRIP.
AND IT WAS RIGHT WHEN WE CAME OUT WITH KIND OF OUR REDEFINED GIRLS TRIP CREATIVE.
SO IT JUST REALLY, REALLY WELL ALIGNED.
I'LL ACTUALLY BE TALKING WITH HER TOMORROW ABOUT A POTENTIAL ASSOCIATED PRESS STORY THAT WOULD BE ALONG THE LINES OF SEDONA HAS A REDEFINED ITSELF.
NOW IT'S ASKING YOU TO COME HERE AND DO THE SAME, IS BASICALLY THE GENERAL, THE GENERAL PITCH THAT WE'RE EXPLORING.
SO A WAY TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE LEADERSHIP CHANGES AND THE WORK THAT THE CITY'S BEEN DOING TO REALLY BETTER MANAGE TOURISM.
UM, AND THEN CREE BAUER WAS A GENTLEMAN YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD ME MENTION FROM, UH, TRAVEL CLASSICS WEST PRE FAM.
UM, THIS WAS THE ONE WHERE WE HAD HIM GOLFING, BUT MEETING WITH PETE SANDERS FOR A VORTEX TOUR BETWEEN GOLF ROUNDS TO SEE IF SEDONAS MEDITATIVE PROPERTIES COULD IMPROVE YOUR GOLF GAME
AND IN THIS CASE, HIS SECOND ROUND WAS WORSE THAN HIS FIRST ROUND.
[3. CONSENT ITEMS]
UH, CONSENT ITEMS. WE HAVE MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 18TH.ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THEM OR ANY NO CONCERNS? NO.
ANY OPPOSED? APPROVED REGULAR BUSINESS
[4. PUBLIC FORUM]
PUBLIC FORM.ANY QUESTION? ANY CARDS? NO CARDS.
[5.a. Winter Destination Marketing Campaign Update]
REGULAR BUSINESS.THAT'S WHY I WENT RIGHT TO IT.
SO I WANTED TO GIVE YOU GUYS JUST A LITTLE, UM, MIDWAY THROUGH CAMPAIGN UPDATE ON OUR DESTINATION MARKETING CAMPAIGN.
UM, THESE RESULTS ARE ALWAYS DELAYED.
UM, AND SO THE, THE MOST RECENT RESULTS I HAVE ARE FROM THE LAST WEEK OF DECEMBER.
SO WHEN THE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED IN NOVEMBER THROUGH THE END OF DECEMBER.
UM, AS A REMINDER, UH, WE HAD, UH, FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF ADVERTISING.
UH, THIS IS, UM, META, UH, WITH WHAT I CALL ATTRACTION MESSAGING.
UM, THIS IS ALL THE MARKETS, UM, THAT WERE INCLUDED THAT YOU'LL SEE IN A FEW SLIDES.
UM, UH, AND THAT IS VIDEOS AND STILL IMAGES.
[00:10:01]
THEN THERE'S META IN MARKET EDUCATION.UM, THEY'LL GET A STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE.
UM, THAT'S A 25 MILE RADIUS AROUND SEDONA AND PHOENIX.
PHOENIX IS INCLUDED IN BOTH, UH, IN MARKET AND OUT OF MARKET MESSAGING.
UM, BUT IN THE STEWARDSHIP, THAT'S BOTH VIDEOS AND STILL IMAGES.
AND THEN, UM, AN ATTRIBUTION CAP BASED CAMPAIGN.
UM, THAT'S STILL IMAGES AND ROTATING BANNER ADS ON WEBSITES THAT, UM, OUR TARGET AUDIENCES VISIT.
OKAY, SO THIS IS THE, SO FAR, UM, THE RETURN ON AD SPEND IS 33 8 TO ONE, UM, 33.8 TO ONE.
SO THAT'S FOR EVERY DOLLAR SPENT, WE SAW $33 AND 80 CENTS BACK.
SO THAT ATTRIBUTION BREAKS DOWN INTO 860 VISITS.
THAT AVERAGE LENGTH STAY IS 1.8 DAYS.
THAT'S 624 ROOM NIGHTS, UM, WITH AN AVERAGE LENGTH STAY OF TWO DAYS.
SO IN TOTAL, THAT'S AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF $500,000 HOTEL.
THE BREAKDOWN IS HOTEL 208,000 AND THE DESTINATION IS 291,000.
SO, SO FAR THAT'S ON A REALLY GOOD TRACK.
UM, AND IS PACING WELL WITH OUR SUMMER CAMPAIGN.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE, THE TOP WE'RE, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE PATTERNS HERE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT PHOENIX, TUCSON, UM, DENVER, LA VEGAS AND SAN DIEGO, UM, CONTINUE TO BE TOP MARKETS FOR US.
THOSE ARE THE MARKETS THAT ARE CLOSEST TO US.
YOU CAN DRIVE HERE FROM THERE.
UM, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM, UH, YOU'VE GOT THE SEATTLE, NEW YORK AND MINNEAPOLIS.
UM, THAT IS NOT SURPRISING TO ME THAT THEIR ROI IS THE LOWEST BECAUSE THEY'RE THE FURTHEST AWAY.
IT'S GONNA TAKE THEM THE LONGEST TO PLAN A TRIP.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE SERVING AN AD TO THEM AT THE END OF NOVEMBER, THE CHANCE OF THEM SHOWING UP IN DECEMBER IS PROBABLY PRETTY LOW.
UM, SO YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE THAT UNTIL A LITTLE LATER.
HOWEVER, UM, I WANTED TO, UM, MAKE SURE AND STAY TRUE TO MY PROMISE TO CITY COUNCIL, WHICH WAS THAT IF THERE'S A MARKET THAT'S UNDERPERFORMING MIDWAY THROUGH THE CAMPAIGN, UM, I WOULD REALLOCATE THOSE DOLLARS TO OTHER MARKETS.
I TOOK THE, UM, 'CAUSE WE WERE DOING QUITE A BIT OF SPEND IN NEW YORK SPECIFICALLY.
SO I TOOK THE SPEND AWAY FROM NEW YORK, SEATTLE, AND MINNEAPOLIS AND DIVERTED IT TO THE MARKETS ABOVE.
UH, SO IT'LL BE INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE THAT ROI FROM SEATTLE, NEW YORK AND MINNEAPOLIS.
WE'LL PROBABLY KEEP SEEING IT THROUGH THE REST OF THE CAMPAIGN IF THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, EXPOSED TO AN AD IN DEC IN, UH, NOVEMBER OR DECEMBER AND THEN SHOW UP, UM, A LITTLE BIT LATER.
BUT, UM, JUST KNOW THAT I DID REALLOCATE SOME OF THOSE FUNDS TO OTHER MARKETS.
I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW ANY INITIAL FEEDBACK ON THAT.
UM, I'M A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TWO, TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO THINK ABOUT IT.
ONE IS THAT YOU NEED TO BE PATIENT WITH THESE MARKETS AND YOU NEED TO BUILD YOUR AWARENESS AND BUILD YOUR BRAND AND DON'T GET TOO UPSET IF YOU DON'T SEE THAT IMMEDIATE RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
AND THEN THE OTHER IS, OF COURSE, THESE ARE PUBLIC FUNDS, SO YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE SPENDING THEM WISELY, UM, AND BEING GOOD STEWARDS OF THOSE DOLLARS.
SO, UM, DO YOU ALL AGREE WITH, WITH HOW I DID THAT, HAVE ANY INITIAL THOUGHTS? UM, JUST WANNA GET YOUR TAKE ON IT.
DID, DID ALL OF THE MONEY FROM SEATTLE, NEW YORK, MINNEAPOLIS, ST.
BUT IT'S POSSIBLE WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME RESULTS FROM EARLIER, LATER THAT WOULD INDICATE, OH, LET'S PUT SOME BACK.
I EXPECT THOSE NUMBERS TO GO UP IN THE FINAL REPORT JUST BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE WILL HAVE SHOWED UP IN MARKET FROM THOSE DESTINATIONS.
IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN, OBVIOUSLY WE SEE FARTHER DISTANCE, LONGER PLANNING, LESS IMMEDIATE IMPACT? IS THERE A CORRELATION ABOUT LENGTH OF STAY OR SPEND WHEN THEY'RE HERE? SO IF I'M GONNA COME FROM PHOENIX, I MIGHT BE LESS INCLINED TO SPEND MORE.
BUT IF I'M GONNA COME FROM SEATTLE, YES, I'M GONNA MAKE IT A BIGGER TRIP.
BOTH OF THOSE, UM, SEATTLE ESPECIALLY, I WAS, THAT WAS THE ONE MARKET I WAS A LITTLE BIT ON THE FENCE OF BECAUSE THEIR SPEND IS QUITE HIGH WHEN THEY ARE HERE.
EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT HERE IN AS BIG OF NUMBERS AS WE MAY WANT.
UM, THEY ALSO FALL IN LINE WITH A LOT OF OUR, UM, UH, MARKETING PERSONAS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED.
UH, SO THAT WAS KIND OF ONE ESPECIALLY, UM, SEATTLE WAS THE ONE WHERE I WAS KIND OF ON THE FENCE, BUT OF COURSE THERE'S SAN FRANCISCO IN THERE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN AS A SIDE NOTE, I'LL SAY THAT
[00:15:01]
CHICAGO CONTINUED, UM, TO BE, IT'S INTERESTING DENVER'S KIND OF POKING IN THERE, BUT UM, IN OUR PREVIOUS CAMPAIGN, CHICAGO HAS BEEN THE TOP FLIGHT MARKET FOR US BOTH IN SUMMER AND WINTER.SO IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THAT CONTINUES TO PLAY OUT THAT WAY.
BUT WHAT ABOUT SANTA FE? SANTA FE, UM, LET'S SEE, IN OUR LAST WINTER CAMPAIGN WE INCLUDED SANTA FE AND UM, WE DID THAT, I BELIEVE USING, UM, ALBUQUERQUE AS, AS THE METHOD OF DOING THAT.
UH, BECAUSE I THINK THEY'RE SMALL.
UM, BUT INTERESTINGLY, LIKE SALT LAKE, UM, AT ONE POINT AS I WAS MONITORING THESE RESULTS SHOWED UP IN THERE AND WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY, UM, MARKETING TO THEM.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE, UH, I BELIEVE PEOPLE FROM SALT LAKE AND PARK CITY ARE COMING DOWN.
AND THAT WAS IN, IN OUR, UM, ORIGINAL, UM, WINTER MARKETING CAMPAIGN FROM LAST YEAR.
SO, UM, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A BAD IDEA.
IT HASN'T FALLEN OFF MY RADAR.
BUT WE DID NOT DO THAT IN THIS CAMPAIGN.
BUT TO ANSWER CHRIS, LORD, I THINK THAT IS, I THINK YOUR BALANCE YOU STRUCK IS CORRECT.
THAT MARKET LIKE SEATTLE TO PICK ON THAT GOT SOME EXPOSURE, BUT WE WEREN'T SEEING THE PRO AS SO WE'D MOVED IT.
BUT IF THOSE NUMBERS GO UP WHEN WE REALLOCATE THE NEXT, UH, CAMPAIGN, WE COULD THINK ABOUT IT.
YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M A BIG FAN OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO COME LONGER AND SPEND MORE.
NO, I THINK YOU SAID ON THE RESULTS, UM, ONE AND A HALF, UH, NIGHTS IS ON AVERAGE, LEMME PULL THAT BACK UP, 1.8.
UM, WHEREAS I THINK THE OVERALL RESULTS YOU SHOWED, UH, THE AVERAGE IS 2.5 NIGHTS.
SO IS THAT BECAUSE OF THE TIME OF YEAR DO YOU THINK? OR I DON'T KNOW.
AND I WAS, TELL ME ABOUT THE, UM, I WAS TRYING TO PULL UP THE DECEMBER RESULTS THAT YOU SHOWED.
I WAS TRYING TO PULL UP THE, UM, THE SUMMER RESULTS AS WELL.
I WANTED TO COMPARE THAT, WHICH I'LL CERTAINLY DO WHEN I GET THE FINAL RESULTS IN.
I'M SORRY I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME.
MAYBE I COULD PULL IT UP OVER HERE TOO.
BUT I WAS, I WAS THINKING THAT THAT WENT UP BY 0.1.
I BELIEVE IT'S JUST SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN OUR SUMMER CAMPAIGN, THE LENGTH OF STAY, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING.
UM, BUT WHAT WAS YOUR ORIGINAL QUESTION? BRING ME BACK.
WELL ON THE, UM, THE RESULTS YOU SHARED THIS MORNING, UM, ON, UH, DECEMBER NUMBERS.
THE RESEARCH REPORT THAT I SENT OUT.
YEAH, WE HAD, UH, AVERAGE OF 2.5 STAYS MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S THE SOURCE OF THE MEASUREMENT, UM, TO EMPHASIZE THE WAY THE WIND WAS BLOWING.
'CAUSE THAT'S NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER.
BOTH NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, BUT MOSTLY DECEMBER.
WHAT DO YOU THINK, ANDREW, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON WHY HYPOTHESIS? I MEAN, HYPOTHESIS WOULD BE, THIS IS COMING FROM DATA FI'S GEOLOCATION MODEL.
THE DECEMBER REPORT IS COMING FROM ZERO'S GEOLOCATION MODEL.
SO THOSE ARE TECHNICALLY TWO DIFFERENT METHOD, TWO DIFFERENT DATA SOURCES.
UM, BUT I DO THINK YOUR POINT AROUND TIME OF YEAR IS PROBABLY PRUDENT AS WELL.
AND AZE IS EVERYBODY, RIGHT? THIS IS JUST OUR CAMPAIGN.
BUT THAT, THAT, THAT'S WHAT TRIGGERED THE THOUGHT IN MY MIND.
WHY WOULD OURS BE LOWER? YEAH.
WHEN WE WANT OURS TO BE HIGHER.
I, I THINK IT'S A GREAT POINT.
I THINK IT'S JUST SOMETHING WE CAN CONTINUE TO LOOK AT AS WE GET MORE CAMPAIGN RESULTS.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS ONE THIRD OF THE TOTAL FLIGHT OF THE CAMPAIGN REPORTING.
'CAUSE IT'S JUST FOR THAT FIRST MONTH AND WE'RE GONNA DO THIS AT THE END OF FEBRUARY, THE HOLIDAYS WERE, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE ISSUE.
AND ALSO SOMETHING TO PLAY AROUND WITH IN FUTURE CAMPAIGNS IF WE DID A SPECIFIC CAMPAIGN TO STAYING LONGER, IF WE COULD GET THAT NUMBER UP, YOU KNOW.
SO ON, ON SCENIC SEDONA, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT ON THE PLAN TO HAVE, UH, HOW TO SPEND THREE OR, YOU KNOW, THREE DAYS HERE.
I MEAN MAYBE SOMETHING RELATED TO THAT WHEN THAT GETS PLACED ON THE SITE.
AND I THINK, I MEAN THAT'S ALSO WHY WE LOOK INTO WORKING WITH THE HO THE HOTEL PARTNERS AND OTHER BUSINESSES ON DEALS DURING OUR CAMPAIGNS AS WELL.
THERE'S WAYS TO KIND OF ENTICE THAT LONGER STAY AS WELL THROUGH THOSE.
AND I WAS THINKING INSTEAD OF IT BEING THREE PERFECT DAYS, MAYBE MAKE IT FOUR.
I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT HOW THESE, UM, MARKETING CAMPAIGNS ARE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, PLANTING THE SEED FOR SOMEBODY WHO MAY THEN COME THE FOLLOWING WINTER.
DO YOU EVER, YOU KNOW, GO BACK IN YES.
THE NEXT YEAR, YEAR RERUN THAT DOWN AND SEE THAT'S AN ATTRIBUTION QUESTION, RIGHT? WELL, AND WE CAN, WE CAN GET ATTRIBUTION
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FOR AS LONG AS WE LIKE.SO I COULD SEE IF SOMEBODY FROM LAST WINTER I COULD GET ATTRIBUTION ON THAT IF THEY'VE COME IN THIS WINTER.
I HAVEN'T DONE THAT, BUT I CAN DO IT.
I THINK IT WOULD BE, I THINK, I MEAN IF YOU HAVE TIME IT WAS, WAS MUCH, MAYBE THAT'S LOWER ON THE TOTEM POLE.
BUT I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES IT IS A PLANT, THE SEED MOMENT WHEN IT JUST POPS UP ON YOUR SCREEN IF IT'S NOT ALREADY ANY ON YOUR RADAR MM-HMM
AND THEN YOU PLAN THAT TRIP FOR THE FUTURE.
AND THAT'S, I MEAN, THAT IS HOW DESTINATION MARKETING WORKS, RIGHT? I MEAN IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT REALLY, BUT YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY SEEING LIKE OUT, IT'S NOT REALLY DONE TO CAUSE AN EFFECT.
BUT IT IS REALLY, I MEAN WE'RE THE TIP OF THE SPEAR SAYING SEDONA.
AND THE WHISPERING IT IN THEIR EAR AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY'VE ALREADY HAD THEIR WINTER TRIP PLANNED, BUT THEN THEY THINK OF US LATER, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
SO IF YOU SAY LIKE, YOU'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO RUN THIS THROUGH FEBRUARY, WELL THEN MAYBE NEXT FEBRUARY WE SEE IT AGAIN MM-HMM
FROM THIS YEAR AND YOU CAN LET US KNOW THE DATA IS GONNA GET MORE INTERESTING THE LONGER WE DO.
I LIKE TO GIVE THE ROAS AND THE ROI AT THE END OF THE CAMPAIGN FLIGHT, BUT IT WILL CONTINUE TO GO UP THE, THE LONGER I CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE RESULTS, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
AND, AND JUST AS A, AS A POINT, UH, WE HAVE A MINIMUM ROAS THAT YOU'RE SHOOTING FOR IN THESE CAMPAIGNS.
YOU KNOW, MY MINIMUM ROAS IS, IS THE WINTER CAMPAIGN FROM LAST YEAR.
'CAUSE THAT WAS JUST US SAYING, LET'S JUST GIVE THIS A SHOT AND IT WENT PRETTY WELL.
UM, I DIDN'T MAKE BACK MY, UM, WHAT I'M CALLING MY ROAS OF, UH, TAX DOLLARS AND RIGHT.
WHICH IS THE 13.5% OF THE HOTEL REVENUE AND YEAH.
AND THE SUMMER AND THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN DID, AND THAT WAS A BIG GOAL OF MINE WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TWO PARTS, RIGHT? I WANNA SUPPORT, I WANT OUR PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE BUSINESSES AND BRING DOLLARS TO THEM.
BUT I ALSO WANNA JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, FOR MY OWN FEATHER IN MY CAP THAT THE TAX DOLLARS THAT WE USE TO SPEND ON THIS, WE GOT RETURNED THOSE AS WELL.
AND THEN SOME, SO THE TWO MEASURES ENTERS, AGAIN, I'M JUST HYPOTHETICALLY HERE, 1.0 ON THE OAS TO THE TAX DOLLARS INCOME VERSUS THE SPEND.
AND THEN IF YOU GET HIGHER THAN THAT, WHICH YOU WILL FOR TOTAL, THAT'S CONSIDERED GRAVY.
OR IS THERE LIKE EVEN A TARGET ABOVE THAT? 'CAUSE I THINK MEMORY HAS IT WITH 7.6, IT'S, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND THAT AS WELL.
BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO GET A SENSE FOR, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU'RE AIMING AT AND WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE LIKE, THIS IS LIKE GREEN GOOD STUFF.
LIKE GOLD, SILVER, LIKE AMAZING.
AND, YOU KNOW, JUST TRYING TO GET A SENSE FOR, YOU KNOW, THE GRADIENTS HERE AND IT'S, AND I KNOW IT'S SOFT NUMBERS ARE NUMBERS.
IT'S SOFT JUST GETTING THE SENSE WHERE YOUR HEAD'S AT AND, AND WHEN YOU'RE TARGETING AND THEN IN THE FUTURE AS YOU'RE ADJUSTING IN SITU THESE PROGRAMS, HOW YOU'RE GONNA PROJECT FORWARD.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE I'M COMING FROM.
SO, UM, MY, MY GREEN GREEN, MY GOLD STAR TO MYSELF IS, SORRY, TOO MANY NUMBERS, RIGHT? IS UM, IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID.
MAKING SURE THAT MY RETURN ON AD SPEND FOR THE TAX DOLLARS SPENT WAS A ONE FOR ONE.
BUT I'LL SAY THAT THIS IS A STRATEGY CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING WITH DVA WHERE WE SAY, OKAY, WE WE'RE GETTING THREE TO ONE, WE'RE GETTING FOUR TO ONE ON THAT.
'CAUSE WE GOT 7.6 LAST SUMMER, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY.
SO WE WERE ALL PRETTY HAPPY ABOUT THAT IN AN 88% ATTRIBUTION, WHICH MADE ME REAL HAPPY BECAUSE THEN YOU KNEW IT WAS REAL.
SO I MEAN, HERE'S THE A HUNDRED PERCENT ATTRIBUTION, IF I UNDERSTAND THE WAY YOU DID THE NUMBERS, RIGHT? 'CAUSE YOU'RE ATTRIBUTING IT DIRECTLY TO CORRECT A BEHAVIOR.
IT'S ONE FOR ONE FROM A CLIENT, ONE FOR ONE, WHICH IS PERFECT DATA FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, NOT NECESSARILY THE TIME ASPECTS.
WHICH WE'RE GONNA SEE OVER TIME.
AND I THINK THAT THE THING I WOULD ADD TOO IS, I MEAN, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION TO ME.
LIKE IT DEPENDS ON THE MARKET TOO, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE THERE REACHING INTO OTHER MARKETS, SO WE CAN'T EXPECT IT TO BE AS STRONG AS PHOENIX.
SO I THINK WHAT, WHAT LAUREN WAS ALLUDING TO THAT I, YOU KNOW, THINK WE NEED TO DO WITH DVA IS SAY, YOU KNOW, REALLY LOOK AT THE MARKETS OVER THE LAST THREE CAMPAIGNS AND YOU KNOW, CHICAGO GREAT PERFORMING WELL, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE KEEP THAT GOING UP? SO I THINK IT'S KINDA DEFINING A GOAL FOR EACH MARKET BECAUSE IT'S A DIFFERENT STRATEGY.
WE SHOULD BE, IF WE'RE NOT REACHING INTO THE MARKETS THAT ARE PERFORMING AS WELL AS PHOENIX, WHO IS, IS SORT OF THE BIGGER QUESTION.
THAT'S REALLY THE ROLE FOR THE DMMO TO BE DOING THAT.
UM, BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT WITHIN REASON.
WHICH IS WHY I THINK WE MADE THE RIGHT CALL ABOUT AND REALLOCATING THE DOLLARS AT THE BOTTOM YEAH.
AND FULLY SUPPORTED WHAT YOU DID AND UNDERSTANDABLE AND VERY RATIONAL.
AND I MEAN, UM, HAVE YOU GOTTEN THE SECOND LEVEL OF, OF, BECAUSE YOU'VE MADE ONE GENERAL CAMPAIGN TO ALL THE MARKETS, IF I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY.
UM, IS THERE ANY DISTINCTION ON WHAT PARTS OF THOSE CAMPAIGNS MIGHT BE DIFFERENTLY HITTING, MAYBE FOR EXAMPLE, NEW YORK
[00:25:01]
VERSUS LAS VEGAS VERSUS SEATTLE WITH DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS, DIFFERENT CLIMATE, DIFFERENT WHATEVER STUFF? ARE WE, ARE WE TO THAT LEVEL OF SEEING WHAT PIECES ARE DOING? OR JUST IT'S TOO EARLY TO TELL? NOT YET.BUT THAT IS ABSOLUTELY IN OUR PURVIEW OF, OF, SO WE'RE NOT GONNA DO, WE'RE FINDING OUR STRATEGY AT, WE'RE GONNA DO SOME.
AND I WOULD SAY TOO, I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THESE FURTHER AWAY MARKETS ARE TAKING LONGER TO COME.
YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT I, I'D SAY I'VE BEEN DEFINITELY KEEPING ON THE TABLE IS DO WE STAGGER THE FLIGHT A LITTLE BIT? MM-HMM
'CAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO HAVE SIX OR NINE MONTHS FROM NOW PLAYING NOT SIX OR EIGHT WEEKS.
AND THAT WOULD NOT MAKE A CHANGE.
BUT WE WOULDN'T, WE WOULDN'T DO IT EARLIER FOR THE PHOENIX MARKET, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, THIS IS THE TOP PERFORMING CREATIVES.
UH, THIS WAS ON, UM, THAT, UM, WHAT WE'RE CALLING PROGRAMMATICS.
SO THE ADVERTISEMENTS THAT ARE PLACED, UM, UH, ON WEBSITES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, UH, THESE ARE THE TOP CREATIVES, WHICH IS INTERESTING.
THEY BOTH HAVE PEOPLE IN THEM.
UM, AND, UH, THE FAMILY, WHICH IS FASCINATING TO ME.
'CAUSE I DON'T ALWAYS THINK OF US AS A FAMILY DESTINATION.
I THINK OF US AS A, AS A, AS A COUPLE'S DESTINATION.
LITTLE KIDS CAN'T HIKE, THEY CAN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING.
MAYBE IT'S JUST THE AGE DEMOGRAPHIC, THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF THE PARENTS.
SO THESE ARE THE ONES THAT PEOPLE CLICKED ON, CORRECT.
DO YOU HAVE THE, THE OPPOSITE OF THE ONES THAT WERE CLICKED ON LEASED? I DON'T HAVE THAT, BUT I WILL LOOK INTO IT.
IT MIGHT BREAK MY HEART THOUGH.
PROBABLY THE PICTURES OF YOURS.
I, I RECEIVED THE NIGHT SKY ONE SOMEHOW AND I LOVED IT.
THE NIGHT SKY ONE PREDEFINING NIGHT OR SOMETHING.
AND, UM, SINCE WE'VE MET LAST, WE HAVE TWO, UH, THREE, WE HAVE THREE VIDEOS THAT WE DEVELOPED.
UM, WITH ALL THE FOOTAGE THAT WE TOOK, UM, IN NOVEMBER WHEN WE HAD THE PHOTOGRAPHER OUT, UM, THE STILLS WERE EASY TO PROCESS QUICKLY.
SO IT DID TAKE US A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT WE WANTED TO SHOW YOU THOSE THREE.
SO THREE VIDEOS AND A PLAYLIST.
ENDING EACH ONE OF 'EM WITH THE LANDSCAPE
MAKES YOU WANNA GO THERE, RIGHT? YEAH.
I WOULD DEFINITELY WANNA COME HERE FOR SURE.
IT IS A, AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE WATCHING THOSE AND YOU'RE LIKE, OH, I LOVE THIS PLACE AND I LIVE HERE.
YOU KNOW, I WAS THERE ON ALL THOSE SHOOTS AND I I'S STILL AMAZING.
RIGHT? YOU DO, YOU SPEND TOO MANY TIME IN THE WALLS.
SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN BEFORE WE MOVE? WHERE ARE THOSE SERVED UP, THOSE SHORT VIDEOS? WHERE DO PEOPLE END UP SEEING THEM OR ENCOUNTERING 'EM? THOSE ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
BOTH IN MARKET AND OUT OF MARKET.
SO THAT FIRST ONE WAS THE STEWARDSHIP ONE.
[00:30:01]
AND IN PHOENIX.AND THE IN MARKET IN SEDONA IS GONNA BE A 25 MILE RADIUS.
UM, AND THEN THE, UM, OTHER TWO VIDEOS ARE SERVED UP OUT OF MARKET AND IN PHOENIX.
PHOENIX IS INCLUDED BOTH IN MARKET AND OUT OF MARKET.
AND THEN I BROUGHT A TABLET TO GO WEST AND I WAS SITTING AT THE TABLE SHOWING THE VIDEOS TO PEOPLE, WHICH WAS REALLY NICE TO BE ABLE TO DO.
I FIND A LOT OF UTILITY WITH THEM JUST TO, YOU KNOW, SHARE IT WITH MEDIA, SHARE IT WITH TRAVEL AGENTS, UM, JUST TO GIVE THEM ADDITIONAL PROMOTIONAL TOOLS.
SO WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF UTILITY FROM THESE.
WHAT WAS SOME OF THE FEEDBACK YOU GOT IN THE MOMENT FROM LIKE, WHEN YOU SHOWED THEM RIGHT THERE? DID YOU GET SOME UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A COMBINATION OF FOLKS KNOW SEDONA MM-HMM
SO THEY'RE JUST LIKE, OH, THAT'S GREAT.
YOU KNOW, BUT THEN THERE'S, IT'S REALLY FOR THE FOLKS THAT I SIT DOWN, LIKE DO, LIKE, ESPECIALLY THE INTERNATIONAL OPERATORS, I'M LIKE, DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SEDONA? IT'S ALWAYS YOUR FIRST QUESTION.
THEN THAT CHANGES THE WHOLE CONVERSATION.
SO IT'S A LOT OF JUST AWARENESS BUILDING AND THEY'RE LIKE, THERE WAS ONE GENTLEMAN THAT I SHOWED AND I, AND I PITCHED HIM LIKE A TYPICAL DAY IN SEDONA ITINERARY.
IT'S POSSIBLE ALSO TO SHARE THEM, RIGHT? DOWNLOAD, SHARE.
SO COMMUNITY MEMBERS ACTUALLY MIGHT YEAH, PLEASE DO.
I MEAN I'VE INTERESTED, I'VE BEEN SENDING 'EM OUT.
I'M TRYING TO GET THOSE VIEWS UP ONE PERSON AT A TIME.
YEAH, I SAW THE EMAIL THIS MORNING.
AND I'VE BEEN SERVED THE SUSTAINABILITY MESSAGES IN MARKET, SO I'VE BEEN SEEING THEM ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA, WHICH WAS THE GOAL THAT BOTH, IT WAS FOR LOCALS AND FOR VISITORS.
IS SOCIAL OUR ONLY PLATFORM? IS THERE ANY EMAIL CAMPAIGNS? YES, WE DO.
UM, I CAN GET YOU THE STATS ON THOSE.
THE, THE ROB'S GOAL WAS TO DO ONE A MONTH.
UM, AND I KNOW WE'VE SENT OUT, OH, I WANTED TO SAY TWO.
NO, WE DID OUR FIRST ONE IN JANUARY, WHICH IS PART OF THE UPDATE I'M ABOUT TO GIVE.
WHERE, WHERE DO WE GET THE LIST? WHAT'S THE NATURE OF IT? UH, IT SIGNUPS ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, SO IT'S WEBSITE SIGNUPS AND THEN, YEAH.
AND THEN I'LL BE SENDING OUT OUR FIRST TOURISM INDUSTRY NEWSLETTER TOMORROW.
I'M A BIG SOCIALISM, GREAT CONNECTOR, BUT YOU LOSE A CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC.
AND THAT DEMOGRAPHIC TENDS TO BE OLDER WITH A LOT OF MONEY.
CAN YOU SHARE SOME NUMBERS ABOUT OUR LIST? HOW BIG IT IS AND WHAT THE CLICK THROUGH RATE WAS ON THAT EMAIL IN JANUARY? IN WHERE? IN THE CLICK RATE? OH, I CAN'T DO IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
JUST CURIOUS TO SEE THE, YEAH, TO RANDY'S POINT IS THE EFFECTIVENESS.
'CAUSE THERE'S OBVIOUSLY, I REMEMBER DIDN'T WE HAVE A 40% OPEN RATE? WE HAVE A HIGH CLICK, 3% OPEN RATE.
WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WAS THE CALL TO ACTION IN THAT THEN? I DUNNO.
UH, THE FIRST CALL TO ACTION WAS CLICKING ON THE CAMPAIGN VIDEO.
UM, AND THEN IT WAS THE LAUNCH OF OUR BOOK DIRECT FUNCTION ON SCENIC SEDONA, WHICH HELPS PEOPLE KIND OF GUIDE TOWARDS PURCHASING A HOTEL.
SO WHEN, AND I BELIEVE THERE WAS, SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS AND THE CLICKS, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY, ITCH EACH OF THOSE AND SEE WHO MAKES THE FIRST ONE AND THEN THE SECOND ONE.
YEAH, THERE'S A WHOLE HEAT MAP THAT, THAT ROB GOT THAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THAT.
IS THERE A SOURCE FOR A, A GENERIC, UH, HOW OFTEN IS SEDONA BROUGHT UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA SAY ON META VERSUS GOOGLE VERSUS, I MEAN, DO WE, DO WE HAVE SOME GENERIC NUMBERS? TOTAL IMPRESSIONS? YES.
I JUST DIDN'T PUT ALL OF THEM IN 'CAUSE I FELT LIKE IT WAS A LITTLE BIT PREMATURE.
I GAVE YOU THE ATTRIBUTION NUMBERS 'CAUSE THAT'S SURE.
I'M JUST THINKING, UM, THAT MIGHT BE INDICATIVE OF WHAT IS TO COME OR RIGHT.
OR MAYBE MORE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST.
HOW MANY PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IT PROBABLY UH, CORRELATES WITH SEASONALITY YES.
TO BE TRACKING FOR THIS AND EVERYTHING.
BUT I JUST BE KIND OF INTERESTING.
JUST A QUICK NOTE THAT ONCE WHEN YOU GO FROM SCENIC SEDONA INTO THE STAY AND THEN YOU PUT IN THE INFORMATION TO CLICK RATES, THE NEW LOGO IS NOT ON THAT PAGE.
ARE YOU LOOKING AT IT RIGHT NOW? CAN YOU JUST TURN YOUR COMPUTER? YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE 'CAUSE IT'S IN THE WHITE SKY, BUT IT'S THE HOLD BUTTON.
I THINK 'CAUSE IT'S IN THE WHITE SKY, WE DIDN'T NOTICE.
UM, THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR THIS ITEM.
[Items 5.b. & 5.c]
WHAT WE HAVE IS KIND OF THE MAIN EVENT TODAY.UM, GIVING YOU AN UPDATE ON THE SEDONA TOURISM PLAN 2024.
SO I KNOW YOU'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE, BUT IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HEAR IT AGAIN BEFORE WE JUMP INTO IT.
SO, UM, SEDONA TOURISM PLAN 20 24 20 25 WAS PUBLISHED IN EARLY SEPTEMBER.
WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH YOU DURING THE FIRST MEETINGS.
I WAS A PART OF WITH THE TAB, KINDA GETTING THIS THING READY FOR PRODUCTION.
[00:35:01]
UM, AND IT REALLY DOES SERVE AS A WORK PLAN THROUGH FY 26.UM, I'LL REFERENCE THIS AGAIN.
I MEAN, I, I REALLY THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, BY JANUARY 1ST, 2026, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE BASICALLY DONE WITH MANY OF THE ACTION STEPS AND IF WE'RE NOT DONE THEM, I'LL BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WHAT'S REMAINING AND HOW WE'RE GONNA GET THAT DONE BY THAT POINT IN TIME.
UM, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL WOULD NOT BE TO HAVE A NEW TOURISM PLAN ON JANUARY 1ST, 2026.
IT WOULD BE TO ALIGN THE LAUNCH OF FY 27, WHICH WOULD BE JULY 1ST, 2026, IS WHEN WE'D HAVE A NEW TOURISM PLAN IN PLACE.
SO, UM, THAT'S JUST HOW, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IT, YOU KNOW, FROM WHEN I STARTED, YOU KNOW, 18 MONTHS TO GET US TO THE BASELINE AND THEN SIX MONTHS TO GET A NEW PLAN IN PLACE.
AND I DO THINK THAT THE CURRENT THINKING WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SEDONA TOURISM PLAN 20 24, 20 25 IS A WORK PLAN FOR THE TOURISM PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE NEEDED AT THE TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LOVE TO EITHER COMBINE THAT OR SHIFT TOWARDS A PLAN FOR THE DESTINATION, UM, WHICH REALLY PROVIDES THAT ASPIRATIONAL NORTH STAR THAT'S NOT JUST FOR THE CITY'S TOURISM PROGRAM, BUT FOR THE BROADER INDUSTRY.
UM, I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN, I THINK THAT WAS THE INTENTION OF THAT TO SOME EXTENT.
I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT'VE BEEN TOO MUCH OF A WORK PLAN AT THAT POINT RATHER THAN AN ASPIRATIONAL PLAN.
BUT, UM, I'VE SEEN A LOT OF DESTINATIONS MORE RECENTLY KIND OF MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE CURRENTLY AT.
BUT UM, WE'RE STILL WAYS AWAY FROM HAVING TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
SO, UM, AND THEN REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT THE FOUR IMPERATIVES.
I'LL SAY IT AGAIN ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE PLAN REALLY SEEKS TO STRIKE THAT BALANCE ACROSS A THRIVING ECONOMY, RESIDENTIAL QUALITY OF LIFE AND PROTECTION OF THE NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT, AK TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE.
BUT THEN WE HAD THAT FOURTH IMPERATIVE, WHICH WAS STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION, WHICH IS REALLY INDICATIVE OF OUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT WE NEEDED TO FORMALIZE AN OPERATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR THE DMMO.
UM, AND THEN BY THE NUMBERS, I COUNTED 'EM UP SO NOW I CAN MEMORIZE THEM AND
BUT WE'VE GOT FOUR IMPERATIVES, 17 INITIATIVES, 60 ACTION STEPS, AND 46 KEY MEASURES.
SO, UM, THAT'S KIND OF THE BULK OF WHAT WE, OF WHAT WE SET OUT TO ACHIEVE IN THAT KIND OF 18 TO 24 MONTH TIME PERIOD.
AND THEN AGAIN, THE FOUR IMPERATIVES THAT WE LANDED ON WITH THE TAB WERE MANAGE AND STEWARD THE DESTINATION, OPTIMIZE ECONOMIC IMPACT, ENHANCE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH TOURISM, AND STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION FIR FIRST TO COMMENT? IMPRESSIVE.
UM, WHEN I WENT THROUGH THE LIST AND THE DETAILS AND THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT THE ENTIRE STAFF HAS PUT IN TO MAKE THIS A POLISHED DETAILING DOCUMENT, UM, I, I WAS REALLY, REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE AMOUNT OF WORK YOU GUYS PUT IN WHEN I FIRST SAY GOOD JOB ON THAT.
IT'S CERTAINLY WITHIN THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THAT YOU ALL HAVE HAD TO PUT THIS TOGETHER.
UM, 18 TO 24 MONTHS TO EXECUTE THIS.
UM, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? DO YOU THINK THIS ENCOMPASSES WHAT WE NEED TO DO OR IS THERE ANY, IS THERE MORE TO IT OR IS THIS LIKE IT? UM, I'D SAY, LET ME GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
'CAUSE THAT'S GONNA BE GONE THROUGH KIND OF STEP BY STEP.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE THINGS LIKE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT THAT YOU DON'T SEE IN THAT PLAN AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT FELT PREMATURE.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE PUT IN THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE.
SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, TRULY WHEN I LOOK AT THIS WAS SUFFICIENT TO GET US ABOVE WATER.
WHEN YOU SAY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MEAN THINGS LIKE DATA STRUCTURES AND OTHER THINGS? NO, LIKE, LIKE VISITOR EXPERIENCE.
REALLY KIND OF LIKE IN, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT BROADER THAN ENHANCING AND DIVERSIFYING VISITOR EXPERIENCE IS WHAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF SOPHISTICATED DMO ARE DOING NOWADAYS AND I'D LOVE TO DO THAT.
I'VE GOT A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH IT, BUT THAT'S JUST NOT WHERE WE WERE AT.
WE HAD TO GET OUR FUNDAMENTALS IN PLACE.
UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IS ONE THAT'S CALLED OUT IN THIS PLAN, UM, THAT'S PUT IN THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE AS WELL.
WE'RE JUST NOT READY TO MOVE INTO THAT STAGE.
BUT I DO THINK THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A STRONGER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PLACEHOLDER AT AT LEAST IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF IDEAS THAT I HAVE THAT YOU DON'T SEE IN THERE, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE I WOULDN'T BE DOING MY JOB IF I STARTED FOCUSING ON THOSE RIGHT NOW.
WELL THANK YOU FOR BEING OPEN ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO TODAY'S GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A PROGRESS REPORT ON ALL 60 ACTION STEPS.
SO, UM, BUCKLE UP
UM, JUST AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN 45 DAYS FOR MY FIRST DAY WE GOT THIS THING APPROVED AND WE'RE NOW SEVEN MONTHS IN AND A LOT OF WORK'S BEEN DONE.
THERE'S STILL A LOT TO DO, BUT WE HAVE TO KIND OF ALWAYS KIND OF PAUSE AND CELEBRATE.
AND THEN REALLY THE, THE SEED THAT I WILL PLANT RIGHT IS THAT WE'RE SORT OF JUST WENT THROUGH THIS VISITOR SERVICES EXERCISE SINCE AUGUST WE'RE COMING BACK.
THIS IS VERY INTENTIONAL BY US TO KIND OF BRING US BACK INTO, YOU KNOW, 30,000 FOOT VIEW.
UM, WE'D LOVE AND AS KIND OF PART OF THIS CONVERSATION TODAY IS LIKE, WHAT ARE THINGS IN THIS PLAN? AND I'VE GOT A FEW IDEAS THAT I'LL BE ABLE TO CALL OUT, BUT WHAT A GREAT WAY TO THINK ABOUT FUTURE
[00:40:01]
TAB AGENDA ITEMS. RIGHT? WHAT ARE THINGS THAT YOU WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT FRANKLY WE NEED YOUR INPUT ON? UM, WE'RE KIND OF SECRETLY DOING THIS AS A WAY TO KIND OF BUILD OUT OUR KIND OF AGENDA PLANNING FOR THE, FOR THE UPCOMING TAB MEETINGS.UM, AND YEAH, AND AGAIN, THIS IS THE, THE, THE NICE ONE PAGER, UM, THAT WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE KIND OF FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION.
IT'S NOT THAT DETAILED SPREADSHEET THAT I KNOW RICHARD APPRECIATED AND THAT CRAIG WANTS ME TO SEND HIM IN AN ACTUAL SPREADSHEET, NOT A PDF.
OH YEAH, THAT'S A LITTLE KNIT WHEN I TRIED TO PRINT IT OUT LANDSCAPE INSTEAD OF PORTRAIT.
SO I WAS THAT BECAUSE IT'S A PDF OR IT'S, IT'S A PDF AND ACTUALLY I PRINTED OUT IN TABLOID TODAY 'CAUSE I WAS LOOKING AT IT, SO MAYBE NEXT TIME I CAN PRINT YOU GUYS BIG ONES ON THE, ON THE OTHER CITY PRINTER.
BUT YEAH, I JUST THINK, YOU KNOW, JUST THE THING I WANNA CALL OUT HERE IS, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE ROBUST VISITOR SERVICES WITHIN SEDONAS, THAT KIND OF SECOND FROM THE BOTTOM AND MANAGING STEWARD THE DESTINATION.
THAT'S WHERE WE'VE REALLY BEEN ASKING FOR A LOT OF YOUR TIME.
THAT'S ONE OF OUR 17 INITIATIVES.
SO WE REALLY, LET'S KIND OF LIKE REALLY APPRECIATE THE GREAT WORK THERE MARCH 11TH.
LAUREN AND I ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO MOVE THAT FORWARD WITH CITY COUNCIL.
LET'S GET US BACK INTO THIS BROADER, BROADER THING TODAY.
SO, UM, GENERAL STRUCTURE IS WE'RE GONNA GO, EACH SLIDE WILL BE ITS OWN INITIATIVE AND THEN I'LL BE ABLE TO KIND OF GO THROUGH EACH OF THE ACTION STEPS.
AND WE HAVE A TRAFFIC LIGHT SYSTEM, WHICH MEANS GREEN IS, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN THAT TO THE POINT.
I MEAN SOME OF THESE THINGS ARE ONGOING, BUT WE, HEY, THIS THING HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT THAT WE'RE CALLING IT GREEN.
YELLOW MEANS THAT THINGS ARE IN MOTION, THEY'RE IN PROGRESS AND THERE'S DIFFERENT SHADES OF YELLOW, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE YOU DOWN THAT PATH
AND THEN, AND THEN RED IS ONE THAT I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST, WE JUST HAVEN'T STARTED YET, RIGHT? UM, SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE, THE, THE FORMAT FOR TODAY.
SO, UM, THE FIRST ONE BEING, YOU KNOW, INCREASE AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OF WAYS TO REDUCE VEHICLE CONGESTION WITH, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP AND HELP DISTRIBUTE A TRANSIT MARKETING TOOLKIT THAT BUILDS AWARENESS OF THE CITY'S TRANSIT OPTIONS THAT I SHARED WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS.
WE WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, DISTRIBUTE THE FIRST ROUND OF THE TOOLKIT TO HOTELS AND OTHER BUSINESSES WITHIN SEDONA.
UM, WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE A NEW ONE, BUT WE DO HAVE PLANS TO REDISTRIBUTE THIS AGAIN AND KIND OF LIKE RE REFILL THE TILL, IF YOU WILL, UM, THIS SPRING.
SO THAT ONE WE'RE KIND OF CALLING GREEN, UM, PUBLISHED CAR-FREE ITINERARIES THAT COMMUNICATE HOW TO EXPERIENCE SEDONA.
WE HAVE ONE PUBLISHED, WE SAID WE WOULD DO THREE.
THAT'S WHY THIS IS KIND OF YELLOW.
UM, I DO THINK THERE'S A REALLY NICE TIE IN WITH THIS.
UM, WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS ON OUR CUSTOM VERSION OF THE ALL TRAILS MAP THAT FILTERS OUT THINGS LIKE THE SUBWAY CAVE, THE BIRTHING CAVE, UM, BUT WE CAN KIND OF DO WHATEVER WE WANT WITH IT.
THIS, THIS HAS GOT A LOT OF GOOD TRACTION TO GO WEST WITH THE EUROPEAN AUDIENCES HIKING TRANSIT LOOPS, RIGHT? WHICH TO ME IS JUST ANOTHER FORMAT OF A CAR-FREE ITINERARY.
IT'S HOW CAN YOU INTERACT WITH OUR PUBLIC LANDS WITHOUT EVER GETTING IN YOUR OWN PASSENGER VEHICLE AND REALLY GUIDING PEOPLE BEYOND IT.
ONE QUICK ONE, UM, THAT WE CHATTED ABOUT WITH THE FOREST SERVICE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, PARK AND RIDE FOR CATHEDRAL ROCK TO CATHEDRAL ROCK, HAVE THAT SIGNATURE HIKE, BUT THEN POP DOWN UNDER 1 79 TO LITTLE HORSE AND THEN TAKE THAT SHUTTLE BACK TO THE SAME PARKING PARKING LOT.
NOW YOU'VE GOT A MORE AUGMENTED EXPERIENCE THAT TAKES LONGER, GETS YOU IN THE SOLITUDE AS WELL AS KIND OF THE SIGNATURE.
SO, YOU KNOW, TO ME THAT'S A, A, A CORNERSTONE OF A FUTURE CAR-FREE ITINERARY.
UM, AND THEN EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES TO AMPLIFY REAL TIME INFORMATION ABOUT CAPACITY OF PARKING LOTS.
UM, WE HAVE A NEW, UH, PARKING MANAGER THAT'S GETTING ONBOARDED RIGHT NOW, SO THIS IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING WE'LL BEGIN TO WORK WITH THEM ON.
BUT THEY'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING ONBOARDED, WHICH IS WHY THAT IS RED RIGHT NOW.
UM, PRIORITIZE MARKETING INVESTMENTS DURING OFF PEAK TIMES OF WEEK AND THE YEAR.
UM, THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE IS ALL GREEN.
A LOT OF THIS IS TIED TO THE CAMPAIGN THAT YOU JUST SAW THE VIDEOS FROM, BUT REALLY DEFINING ANNUAL PEAKS AND VALLEYS AND VISITATION TO UNDERSTAND NEED TIMES FOR DRIVING TO DEMAND FOR TOURISM.
UM, I ALWAYS USE THE JOKE WHEN I TALK TO PEOPLE, I'M READY TO GET THE DOUBLE CAMEL HUMP TATTOOED ON MY ARM.
SO I THINK WE'VE GOT A REALLY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF, UM, A HISTORICAL BACK LOOK AT, UM, NEED TIMES AND KIND OF PEAK TIMES AND THEN CONDUCT STRATEGIC MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
WE'VE DONE NOW TWO WINTER CAMPAIGNS.
ONE OF THEM'S IN, UM, CURRENTLY IN FLIGHT.
UM, KIND OF THE CONCEPT IS A LOT OF WHAT WE HEARD, UM, FROM THAT SIDE OF THE DAY WITH GETTING PEOPLE TO STAY LONGER, SPEND MORE MONEY, UM, PARTNER WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES TO OFFER DISCOUNTS.
WE'VE NOW DONE TWO ROUNDS OF INVITATIONS FOR THAT.
UH, SUMMER WE DID HAVE A, A HIGHER RESPONSE THAN WE DID IN WINTER.
IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING INTO, HOW DO WE MAKE THAT PROCESS BETTER? BUT WE HAVE BEEN DOING IT.
UM, AND THEN WE DO DO THE ATTRIBUTION REPORTING, UM, AS LAUREN JUST ALLUDED TO SOME OF THE INITIAL RETURNS THAT WE'VE HAD.
UM, ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL USE OF SEDONA THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
THIS IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, REALLY OUR, OUR EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING, UM, INITIATIVE.
SO HOST A FOCUS GROUP WITH LOCAL LEADERS TO VALIDATE PRIORITY BEHAVIORS.
I'VE BEEN DOING THEM KIND OF ON MY OWN.
UH, WE DO HAVE A DRAFT KIND OF MESSAGING MATRIX THAT IS WHY THAT'S YELLOW.
[00:45:01]
I'M STILL 100% CALLING IT DRAFT.BUT UM, CURRENTLY PARTNERING WITH CRAIG AND KEITH SEDONA.
WE'RE GONNA BE HOSTING A, ESSENTIALLY A WORK SESSION WITH ANYBODY THAT'S INVOLVED WITH EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING, LAND MANAGERS, NONPROFITS, UM, WITH THE GOAL OF GETTING US IN COMMUNICATION.
THERE'S ALSO AN ANGLE HERE TO HELP BUILD BETTER AWARENESS OF HEAT SAFETY IN THE SUMMERTIME.
SO WE'RE JUST KIND OF PLAYING A SUPPORT ROLE IN ASPECTS OF THIS.
BUT I'LL BE PRESENTING THE DRAFT MATRIX DURING THAT MEETING FOR WHAT I WOULD KIND OF CALL FINAL FOR NOW INPUT.
UM, BUT THAT GETS ME ON A GLIDE PATH TO ESSENTIALLY UPDATE OUR STEWARDSHIP PAGE ON SCENIC SEDONA.
UM, AND THEN START TO LOOK AT HOW DO WE BUILD OUT A STRONGER EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN THAT'S GONNA ROOTED IN AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE BEHAVIORS THAT WE WANT TO CHANGE AS A DESTINATION.
I'LL SAY I HAVE FLAGGED THIS ONE.
IF WE'RE A FUTURE TAP MEETING, ONCE WE, ONCE WE GET THAT MESSAGING, UM, IN A PLACE THAT I WOULD SAY I'M READY TO, I'M READY TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
UM, WE DID ALREADY COMPILE OUR LIST OF NONPROFIT ENTITIES THAT VISITORS CAN DONATE THEIR TIME, MONEY OR, OR, UM, YEAH, THEIR TIME OR MONEY TO.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT ONE'S GREEN.
UM, THE CONDUCTING THE EDUCATIONAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN, WE'VE BEEN DOING SOME, THAT'S WHY IT'S YELLOW.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT UNTIL WE GET THE MESSAGING MATRIX FINALIZED AND I SAY THAT THAT'S DONE, WE'RE NOT GONNA CALL THAT GREEN.
UM, AND THEN THESE TWO ARE SEQUENTIAL, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO HAVE THE TOP ONES DONE TO HAVE THE TOOLKIT.
AND THEN ONCE WE GET THROUGH THAT STAGE AND IT LOOKS AT KIND OF EXPANDING ON OR BOLSTERING OR AUGMENTING, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE PARKS AND REC VOLUNTEER RANGERS AND FINDING, IT'S A CONCEPT LIKE TRAILHEAD AMBASSADORS AND THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD WORK BEING DONE HERE WITH THAT.
BUT IT'S THAT LOOKING OF HOW DO WE ALIGN MESSAGING, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT SPHE AT TIMES, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T MAKE PROGRESS.
UM, PROVIDE ROBUST VISITOR SERVICES WITHIN SEDONA.
UM, THE FIRST ONE IS WHAT WE SPEND A LOT OF OUR TIME ON TOGETHER.
SO I JUST WANNA CELEBRATE THIS, UM, WITH EVERYBODY ON THE TAB.
SO DETERMINE THAT VISITOR SERVICES STRATEGY THAT INCLUDES ASSESSING THE CURRENT SEDONA VISITOR CENTER, EXPLORE NEW INVESTMENTS.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER TWO HERE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SEDONA VISITOR GUIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, JAMES AND I ARE ACTIVELY, UM, WORKING WITH, UH, JAMES HAS DONE A GREAT JOB WORKING WITH THE HOTELS ON DEVELOPING A HOTEL GRID THAT WE SEE AS KIND OF THE FOUNDATION OF A VISITOR GUIDE.
WE'RE CURRENTLY HAVE AN OUTREACH STRATEGY OF THE RESTAURANTS.
WE'RE CALLING IT LIKE A SEDONA RESTAURANT GUIDE CONCEPT, UM, TO MAKE SURE WE CAN GATHER, UM, THE INFORMATION.
OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS DIGITAL BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR WITH MAYBE A LIGHT PRINT RUN AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PUT THIS INTO A, A BIGGER PRODUCTION POTENTIALLY NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
SO WORK, WORK DONE BEHIND THE SCENES.
IT MIGHT BE A LIGHTER SHADE OF YELLOW THAN SOME OF THESE OTHERS, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS AND A LOT OF IT IS INFORMATION GATHERING FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THEN COMPILE A LIST OF LOCAL ENTITIES THAT MANAGE VOLUNTEERS.
UM, I WOULD NOT SAY OUR LIST IS COMPREHENSIVE, BUT WE HAVE ALREADY KIND OF STARTED A LIST AND DONE THAT, DONE THAT FACT FINDING, UM, PARTNER WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS TO ADVANCE PROJECTS THAT BETTER MANAGE VISITATION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE THING I WAS REALLY EXCITED ABOUT COMING TO THE CITY AND, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE CITY BE THE DMO IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE REALLY WELL POSITIONED TO PROP UP AND BOLSTER THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AND REALLY LOOK AT HOW DO WE MAKE INVESTMENTS IN TOURISM THAT ADVANCE LARGER COMMUNITY GOALS, WHETHER THAT BE THE COMMUNITY PLAN DIRECTLY OR ADJACENT TO IT.
UM, SO PARTNER WITH CITY OF SEDONA PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO ASSIST WITH SEDONA IN MOTION PROJECTS, EDUCATE VISITORS AND RESIDENTS ABOUT COMPLETED MILESTONES.
THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON KIND OF THE COMMUNICATION SIDE OF THE TOURISM PROGRAM DEPARTMENT, BUT, UM, A LOT OF GOOD WORK THERE.
I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, THAT ONE, YOU KNOW, ONGOING, IT'S NOT LIKE THAT EVER KIND OF ENDS UNTIL SIMMONS, BUT WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, OUR DUCKS IN A ROW ON THAT ONE, UM, PARTNER WITH CITY OF SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THEM.
I THINK WE'VE HAD SOME, SOME SUCCESS, BUT I THINK THAT THERE'S DEFINITELY OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO INCREASE, YOU KNOW, THE WAYS THAT WE'RE HELPING TO BOLSTER, BOLSTER THEIR PROGRAMS, UM, EDUCATE VISITORS ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT ARE IN PLACE THAT BENEFIT VISITOR EXPERIENCE.
UM, THIS IS WHERE THE VIDEOS THAT WE HAVE PLAYING IN THE HOTELS FOR SEDONA NOW THAT TALK ABOUT THE TRANSIT, SO THERE'S WORK BEING DONE.
UM, I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NOT TOUCHED THAT SECOND ONE AROUND DOG POO WASTE.
THAT'S KIND OF AN OPPORTUNITY AREA FOR US.
AND THEN TO ME, THIS TIES BACK TO THE EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN.
SO ONCE WE HAVE THE MESSAGING FINALIZED, LOOKING AT NEXT YEAR, WE ARE ACTIVELY EXPLORING DEVELOPING LIKE 15, 32ND VIDEOS ABOUT SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS THAT JUST BECOME ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE HERE.
AND THAT TO ME, PROBABLY WHEN THAT'S DONE, IF WE DO WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT, THAT TO ME IS KIND OF WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE MIGHT BE GREEN ON THIS ONE.
UM, AND THEN EX EXPLORE WHAT ROLE THE TOURISM DEPARTMENT CAN PLAY IN ADVANCE OR LARGE SET OF GOALS.
AGAIN, THIS ONE'S NEVER GONNA BE DONE
UM, BUT AGAIN, I THINK WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS WE'VE DEFINITELY BEEN ABLE TO MAP OUR TOURISM PLAN AND OUR ACTION STEPS TO WAYS THAT WE'RE ADOPTING THE COMMUNITY PLAN.
UM, THAT'S KIND OF THE BARE MINIMUM HERE.
UM, THAT'S WHY WE DEFINITELY FEEL LIKE IT'S
[00:50:01]
YELLOW.BUT, UM, AS WE, AS OUR PROGRAM MATURES, I CAN ONLY SEE US IDENTIFYING MORE WAYS TO ALIGN THESE WITH CITY GOALS AS WELL.
SO, UM, THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY SURVEY, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S THE OFFICIAL NAME OF IT.
UM, WASN'T THAT DONE A FEW MONTHS AGO? DO WE HAVE ANY RESULTS FROM THAT? YEP.
UM, HAS THERE BEEN A CHANGE IN RESIDENT PERSPECTIVE TOWARD TOURISM VERSUS PRIOR YEARS? I MEAN, IT WOULD BE, UM, LET ME LOOK UP THE EXACT ANSWER OF THAT, UM, WHILE YOU TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE AND I'LL COME BACK TO IT.
OH, AND THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT'S ACTUALLY A DIFFERENT ACTION STEP, SO WE'LL, SO WE'LL COME BACK TO THAT BECAUSE ONE WAS, ONE WAS, I THINK IT'S LIKE HERE REGULARLY INCLUDE RESIDENT SENTIMENT INTO CITY SURVEYS.
SO NOW WE'RE SHIFTING TO OPTIMIZE ECONOMIC IMPACT.
UM, AND THIS WOULD BE INTEGRATE THE NEW SEDONA TOURISM BRAND THROUGHOUT THE CITY'S TOURISM ACTIVITIES, MATERIALS AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT ON THE LOGO.
UM, THAT IS REALLY WHAT, WHAT THIS ONE WAS.
UM, SO WE HAVE THE BRANDING INITIATIVES BEEN COMPLETED.
UH, WE DO HAVE A STYLE GUIDE THAT'S BEEN, THAT'S BEEN MADE AVAILABLE.
UM, WE'VE NOW KIND OF AUDITED CURRENT BRAND EXECUTION, ALTHOUGH ATHEA FOUND ONE MORE
UM, I THINK YOU NEED TO UPDATE YOUR COOKIES.
UM, BUT YEAH, I MEAN BASICALLY WE, WE HAVE DONE THAT EXERCISE OF WHERE IS THE LOGO BEING DISPLAYED AND THEN HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE OLD LOGO ALERT IS WHAT I LIKE TO CALL IT, UM,
AND THEN, UM, ALSO INTEGRATING THE NEW BRAND AND RELATED GUIDELINES INTO ALL TOURISM ACTIVITIES.
YOU KNOW, I THINK REALLY FOR ME, I REALLY LOVE THE REFRESH THAT WE'VE DONE WITH OUR WEBSITE ON TO GET THE NEW IMAGES UP THERE.
AND TO ME THAT'S KIND OF, LUCKILY WE DIDN'T HAVE A ROBUST AMOUNT OF THINGS OUT THERE AS KIND OF A YOUNG ORGANIZATION.
SO THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, EASIER THAN I'VE SEEN OTHER DESTINATIONS HAVE TO MANAGE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE LIKE A BIG, YOU KNOW, GLASS LOGO ETCHING,
OH, CAN WE DO ANYTHING TO, UH, WITH THE CHAMBER'S WEBSITE TO HAVE THEM UPDATE THEIR LOGOS TO OURS OR YEAH, TO OUR LOGO? YEAH, TO THE NEW LOGO.
YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DEFINITELY TALK WITH THEM ABOUT.
WE'VE, I'VE HAD A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A CHANCE TO MEET, TO MEET WITH DAVID.
UM, REALLY EXCITED TO KIND OF SEE HIM, HIM DO WHAT HE'S EXECUTE HIS VISION FOR THE CHAMBER, SO BE WORTH IT.
DID WE EVER COME UP WITH AN ELEVATOR SPEECH FOR THE BRAND? IT'S IN THE STYLE GUIDE.
DO YOU WANT ME TO SEND IT? YEAH, I CAN, I CAN SEND THE STYLE GUIDE OUT TO EVERYBODY.
I THINK I SAW THE, THE REAL CONCISE VERSION.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BIG FOLLOW UP EMAIL TO YOU ALL
SO THEN BOLSTER DIGITAL MARKETING CONTENT TO INCREASE WEBSITE TRAFFIC AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WHEN WE GOT DOWN THE PATH OF SAYING, LET'S HAVE AN ANNUAL EDITORIAL CALENDAR.
UM, INTERNALLY WE MADE THE CALL TO SAY, LET'S ACTUALLY, THIS ONE, WE THINK WE ACTUALLY SHOULD HAVE GONE A LITTLE DEEPER WITH THE ACTION STEP AND JUST CALL IT A FULL ON CONTENT STRATEGY.
SO WE'VE KIND OF SHIFTED THIS INTERNALLY TO A BROADER CONTENT STRATEGY THAT'S STILL IN THE WORKS.
THAT SAID, THESE OTHER ONES WE'RE NOW ACTIVELY EXECUTING ON, UM, KEEGAN'S DOING A WONDERFUL JOB WITH PUBLISHING THE ORGANIC CONTENT ON OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS.
DV A'S BEEN DOING THE PAID CONTENT ON OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS.
KEEGAN AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH A ENTITY CALLED CASUAL ASTRONAUT BASED OUT OF, UM, THE PHOENIX AREA THROUGH OUR A OT RURAL CO-OP.
AND THEY'VE GIVEN US A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY DOCUMENT THAT'S BECOMING A GUIDING FORCE, AND ALSO AN EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL CONTENT CALENDAR THAT PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION FOR US TO BUILD ON, UM, IMPLEMENT REGULAR BLOG AND NEWSLETTER CONTENT.
AS WE JUST KIND MENTIONED AT THE LAST SECTION, UM, ROB'S BEEN PUBLISHING BLOGS.
WE SENT OUR FIRST CONSUMER NEWSLETTER OUT IN JANUARY.
WE'VE GOT OUR NEXT ONE, NEXT ONE COMING OUT THIS MONTH.
AND WE ALSO HAVE OUR FIRST TOURISM INDUSTRY NEWSLETTER FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY COMING OUT.
SO WE'RE REALLY KIND OF RAMPING THOSE ONLINE, UM, AND JUST EXPLORING HOW CAN WE KIND OF ELEVATE, ELEVATE THIS, BUT 100% TO A BASELINE.
UM, AND THEN OPTIMIZE WEBSITE AND DIGITAL MARKETING CHANNELS AS NEW IMAGES AND CAMPAIGN CREATIVE ARE DEVELOPED.
UM, I THINK THAT WAS ACTUALLY WHAT I MEANT WHEN I TALKED ABOUT THIS ONE, BUT KIND OF THEY'RE SIMILAR, UM, LEVERAGE EARNED MEDIA AND TRAVEL TRADE TO ENHANCE ED ON'S REPUTATION AS A LEADING NATIONAL DESTINATION.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I DID WAS, YOU KNOW, I CONNECTED WITH HEATHER HERMAN, SAT DOWN WITH HER AND SAID, HEY, GIVE ME WHAT YOU GOT.
YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL EARNED MEDIA MEDIA EVENTS LAST THREE, FIVE YEARS? IDENTIFY PRIORITY JOURNALISTS, PUBLICATIONS, COMPILE EXAMPLES OF EARNED MEDIA.
UM, WE'VE GOT A HIT LIST OF PUBLICATIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT SORT OF LIKE NEXT TO ME AS I SEE IN INTAKE COME IN.
THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, ASSOCIATED PRESS IS ONE THAT WE HAD ON OUR LIST.
SO WHEN ALEX CASPAR REACHED OUT TO SAY SHE WAS INTERESTED, I SAID, MSN COOL ASSOCIATED PRESS, VERY COOL.
LET'S DEFINITELY, LET'S DEFINITELY MAKE A, MAKE A BIG INVESTMENT IN THIS.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE LOGIC MODEL THAT I'VE BEEN CREATING INTERNALLY, UM, IS, YOU KNOW, WE GET REQUESTS AND WHY ARE WE RESPONDING TO THEM? HOW ARE WE RESPONDING TO 'EM? WHAT LEVEL OF INVESTMENT ARE WE PROVIDING FROM STAFF AND FINANCIAL
[00:55:01]
RESOURCES TO THESE DIFFERENT REQUESTS? AND THAT'S ALL BEEN SORT OF AN, AN OUTPUT OF KINDA THAT FIRST EXERCISE.UM, SAME THING WE DID WITH GROUP SALES AND TRAVEL TRADE PARTNERS, MEETING SALES EVENTS, JUST TO REALLY SAY, HEY, THERE'S A LOT OUT THERE IN THE TOURISM SPACE.
WHAT'S REALLY THE RIGHT SPACE FOR US TO BE IN? UM, THIS NEXT ONE I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, UH, CONDUCT OUTREACH WITH GROUP SALES MANAGERS AT LOCAL HOTELS.
UH, JAMES AND I WILL BE CONVENING, UM, GIVE OR TAKE 15 DIFFERENT SALES MANAGERS FROM GREATER SEDONA HOTEL PROPERTIES ON FEBRUARY 18TH.
UM, IN ORDER TO JUST SIT DOWN AND SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THEM ARE NEW TO THEIR ROLES, SO THEY HAVEN'T REALLY GOTTEN TO MEET EACH OTHER.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO PLAY A CONNECTOR ROLE, A CONVENER ROLE FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING? AND THEN REALLY, HOW DO YOU WANT US TO HELP TO SOME EXTENT WHEN IT COMES TO SPECIFICALLY MEETING PLANNING, UM, I'LL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT THAT A LOT OF THE INVESTMENTS WE MADE THIS YEAR WE'RE THROUGH A OT, WHICH WAS TRAVEL, TRADE, AND MEDIA.
UM, A OT IS NOT REALLY GONNA SERVE US UP MEETING PLANNING OPPORTUNITIES, I DON'T THINK.
'CAUSE IT'S NOT COMPLAIN YOU'RE MEETING IN ARIZONA, IT WOULD BE COMPLAIN YOU'RE MEETING IN SEDONA.
SO I DO SEE THAT AS AN AVENUE THAT WE NEED TO BE MOVING FORWARD A LITTLE BIT MORE ON OUR OWN.
AND WE WILL ALWAYS WANNA MAKE DECISIONS ROOTED IN FEEDBACK FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S KIND OF OUR, OUR NEXT STEP.
SO YELLOW, EXCITED TO SEE WHAT TRANSPIRES FROM THAT MEETING.
UM, AND THEN DEVELOP AN INGRID STRATEGY FOR CONDUCTING OUTREACH WITH EARNED MEDIAN TRAVEL TRADE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS, UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED, I'LL KINDA MENTION IT LATER, BUT WE JUST POSTED A JOB DESCRIPTION FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT I WOULD CALL INTERNALLY AS AN EARNED MEDIA AND TRAVEL TRADE COORDINATOR, WHAT WE'RE GONNA CALL EXTERNALLY AS A DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR.
UM, THAT ADDITIONAL CAPACITY WILL HELP US BE MORE PROACTIVE THAN REACTIVE.
AND UNTIL I CAN SAY THAT WE'RE BEING RE UH, PROACTIVE IN THIS SPACE, I'M GONNA KEEP THIS ONE YELLOW.
SO, UM, AND THEN WORK DIRECTLY WITH A A OT TO UNDERSTAND OPPORTUNITIES TO LEVERAGE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.
THEY'VE BEEN AN INCREDIBLE PARTNER IN THIS SPACE.
UM, AGAIN, A LOT OF THE FAM THAT ARE UP THERE, NOT ALL OF THEM.
UM, THERE'S A NICE, PROBABLY WOULD SAY, GIVE OR TAKE, 50% OF THE FAM THAT WE DO ARE IN SOME WAY, SHAPE OR FORM TIED TO A OT.
AND THEN ALSO GOING TO THE TRADE SHOWS WITH THEM IS JUST A NICE ADDED VALUE.
TALK ABOUT NO, NO, WE'LL COME TO IT FOR NEXT IMPERATIVE.
UM, BUILD UP AND ASSET INVENTORY AND OFFER LOCAL MARKETING CO-OPS.
SO, UM, AS PART OF MY BUSINESS MEETINGS WITH EVERYBODY AND JUST REGULAR INPUT, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'VE HAD CLOSE TO 40 ONE-ON-ONES SINCE, SINCE MY FIRST DAY AS WELL AS ATTENDING OTHER INDUSTRY GATHERINGS.
BUT I ALWAYS TRY TO KIND OF ASK, UM, OBVIOUSLY, UH, ASSET WISHLIST IS A LIVING CONCEPT, SO IT'S NEVER REALLY DONE.
BUT I DO THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH AS A FOUNDATION.
UM, WE'VE ALSO BEEN CONDUCTING THE, THE TWO CAMPAIGN SHOOTS, AND THEN I AM NEAR FINAL ON A CONTRACT WITH AN ARIZONA PHOTOGRAPHER, UM, TO DO THREE DAY AND A HALF SHOOTS BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF JUNE.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE NEXT, THE NEXT PUSH FOR US THAT'S COMING THROUGH THE A OT CO-OP AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN ORGANIZE ALL CREATIVE ASSETS WITHIN AN ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
WE HAVE A BANDAID APPROACH RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE USING OUR, OUR SHAREPOINT, BUT WE'RE ACTIVELY LOOKING AT STRUCTURING OUR CROWD RIFF LICENSE TO MAKE THAT MORE OF A PROFESSIONAL, UM, DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
SO, UH, YOU MIGHT SEE SOME OF THIS SHIFT, BUT, UM, UNTIL WE HAVE SOMETHING I FEEL IS IN A PLACE IT'S NOT GONNA BE GREEN, BUT WE'RE CLOSER THAN WE'VE EVER BEEN
AND THEN, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL COOPERATIVE MARKETING PROGRAMS BETWEEN THE CITY AND LOCAL BUSINESSES.
I ALWAYS KIND OF SAW THIS AS AN FY 26 STRATEGY.
WE NEEDED A LOT TO GET IN PLACE, BUT I AM GETTING A PROPOSAL FROM A CONSULTANT THAT'S GONNA HELP US DESIGN THESE SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THIS.
BUT OTHER THAN ME HAVING SOME INITIAL CALLS WITH A CONSULTANT, NOTHING'S HAPPENS.
THAT'S WHY THIS IS, THIS IS READ, UM, REGULARLY MEET, OH, SORRY.
BE A SUPPORTIVE PARTNER TO TOURISM RELATED BUSINESSES.
REGULARLY MEET WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES AND GATHER INPUT ON EMERGING BARRIERS OPPORTUNITIES.
AGAIN, I LOOK AT THIS AS THE, YOU KNOW, 40 OR SO, ONE-ON-ONES THAT I'VE HAD IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER MEETINGS THAT I'VE HAD.
UM, I'M STILL VERY INTERESTED IN MEETING WITH BUSINESSES THAT I HAVE NOT YET.
UM, THAT'S STILL DEFINITELY PART OF MY, MY ONGOING WORK PLAN.
UM, WAS ABLE TO MEET WITH WENDY AT OCK RECENTLY, WHICH IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ONE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, THEY ARE STILL HAPPENING, BUT MAYBE NOT AT THE RATE THAT THEY WERE WHEN I FIRST STARTED, WHICH MAKES SENSE.
UM, AND THEN INTEGRATE BOOK DIRECT ON SCENIC SEDONA THAT IS NOW LIVE.
THAT WAS ONE OF OUR KEY MEASURES.
UM, WE'RE STARTING TO GET SOME INITIAL REPORTING, REPORTING BACK FROM THAT.
AND THEN EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCE TOURISM RELATED WORKFORCE.
ALWAYS INTENDED TO BE AN FY 26 STRATEGY.
BUT, UM, WE ARE IN SOME EXPLORATORY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CHAMBER TO FIGURE OUT IF THAT'S A PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
UM, ENHANCED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH TOURISM, UM, ADVANCED PARTNERSHIPS WITH TOURISM RELATED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFITS.
UM, WE HAVE A LIST OF PRIORITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS TO, UM, EXPLORE PARTNERSHIPS WITH.
UM, WE DO HAVE, YOU KNOW, ACTIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH SEVERAL OF THE KEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS HERE IN, IN, IN THE VERDE VALLEY.
UM, REGULARLY MEET WITH ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE TOURISM VALUE CHAIN TO BUILD AWARENESS OF
[01:00:01]
THE CITY'S ROLE IN MANAGING TOURISM.I'D SAY WE'VE DONE SOME OF THIS, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY DO MORE OF IT.
SO I DO NOT FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN IT TO A GREEN STATE YET.
BUT, UM, IT'S NOT THAT IT, IT'S NOT THAT NOTHING'S BEEN HAPPENING.
AND THEN CONTINUING TO FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE SUNON LOGIC COUNCIL, SIT ON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO ENGAGE IN RESOURCE MAPPING.
UM, REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF, YOU KNOW, ALL THE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WITH CHERYL, WHO I KNOW IS RIGHT OVER THERE,
UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M NOW A STANDING PRESENTER FOR THE SEDDON LOING COUNCIL MEETING, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOW REQUIRED THAT I ATTEND EVEN THOUGH I REALLY WANT TO ATTEND THOSE.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, JUST REALLY EXCITED WITH ALL THE NEW ENERGY BEHIND DAVID KEY OVER AT THE CHAMBER, AND CONTINUING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS HE GETS HIS FEET ON THE GROUND AND HE CAN START TO MATERIALIZE EXACTLY WHAT THE VISION IS THAT WE CAN REALLY PARTNER.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'VE PERSONALLY BEEN WAITING FOR IS NEW, NEW LEADERSHIP THERE.
AND, UM, ALL THINGS LOOK REALLY BRIGHT.
UM, CONDUCT, SORRY, LAUNCH A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT BUILDS AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF TOURISM, VALUES OF THE CITY'S INVESTMENTS IN TOURISM AND THE CITY'S COMMITMENT TO QUALITY OF LIFE.
UM, WE DID DO OVERVIEW OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UM, HOW THEY'VE COMMUNICATED THE VALUE OF TOURISM.
UM, A LOT OF WORK HAS GONE INTO THIS SLIDE.
IT'S JUST WE'RE STUCK ON THIS SECOND ROW, WHICH IS YELLOW.
BUT, UM, LONG STORY SHORT, UH, WE ARE LOOKING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE FINDINGS FROM THE DEAN RUNNING ASSOCIATES ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT THAT WE COMMISSIONED BEFORE I GOT HERE.
UM, WE ARE, I JUST GOT A PROPOSAL BACK FROM THEM AFTER MANY, MANY CONVERSATIONS AROUND WHAT WOULD NEED TO CHANGE WITH THEIR METHODOLOGY TO MATCH IT TO THE REALITIES OF SEDONA.
UM, WE LOOK AT OUR KIMLEY-HORN VISITATION STUDY AS SORT OF THE NORTH STAR FOR UNDERSTANDING VISITATION.
UM, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THE NATIONAL APPROACH, WHICH IS 50 MILES OR MORE AWAY FROM THE DESTINATION.
SO DEAN RUNION DIDN'T ACCOUNT FOR CAMP VERDE, COTTONWOOD FLAGSTAFF.
SO THOSE AREN'T BEING INCLUDED IN OUR NUMBERS, FOR EXAMPLE, IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE ADDRESSING.
I'M HOPING TO GET THAT CONTRACT SIGNED.
SO THEN THESE, THESE ARE FOR SURE ALL SEQUENTIAL.
SO UNTIL WE GET THAT SECOND ROAD DONE, WE CANNOT MOVE FORWARD ON THE OTHER ROADS.
AND, UM, A A KEY FINDING IN THAT DEAN RUNYON REPORT IS BEING ABLE TO SAY, UM, THE STATISTIC ON, UH, HOW MUCH VISITORS PAY COMPARED TO LOCALS.
SO IN THE PAST WE'VE BEEN USING THE NUMBER 77%, UM, WITH THE DEAN RUNYON STUDY THAT WE'VE SEEN.
IT IS A DIFFERENT NUMBER AND WE ARE VALIDATING IT AND REVALIDATING IT BEFORE WE PUT IT OUT.
SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT ANDREW IS SAYING IS THAT WE'RE WORKING REALLY HARD IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE GONNA SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING FOR, I DON'T KNOW, 10 YEARS, I FEEL LIKE, UM, WE JUST NEED TO BE, UH, REALLY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THAT.
SO JUST KNOW THAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, BUT ONCE WE HAVE THOSE PIECES IN PLACE, UM, THEN IT'S, YOU KNOW, REALLY LAUNCHING, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS NOT THE PUBLIC CONSUMPTION NAME, BUT IT'S MY KIND OF, THE SPIRIT OF THE NAME IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY TOURISM CAMPAIGN, REALLY KIND OF ACKNOWLEDGING THAT TOURISM IS A DRIVER.
A LOT OF THE BENEFITS THAT WE HAVE HERE, WHETHER IT BE AMENITIES, ACCESS, QUALITY OF LIFE, KIND OF REALLY TYING THAT BACK.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE DONE A LOT WITH THE COMMUNITIES I WAS WORKING WITH IN COLORADO, BUT WE NEEDED THE NUMBER BEFORE WE COULD MOVE ON TO THAT NEXT, NEXT STAGE.
UM, BUT I, I REALLY THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, TO LAUREN'S POINT, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER WE END UP WITH AS FAR AS THE NUMBER, YOU KNOW, I REALLY WANT TO BE FRAMING IT AS THIS IS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT TO MAKE SEDONA WHAT IT IS BETWEEN THE RESIDENTS AND THE BUSINESSES.
THERE ARE A LOT OF TOURISM DEPENDENT COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BUSINESSES CLOSED DURING THE OFF SEASON.
IT'S BECAUSE OUR RESIDENTS ARE WONDERFUL AND THEY CONTRIBUTE A LOT TO THE VALUE OF THIS COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, PART OF THIS BROUGHT TO YOU BY TOURISM CAMPAIGN IS NOT DESIGNED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, ONE SIDE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHER SIDE.
IT'S REALLY TRYING TO STRIKE THAT BALANCE OF HOW ARE WE IN THIS TOGETHER? 'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S REALLY, THAT'S WHAT I SEE FROM 30,000 FEET.
'CAUSE WE'RE VERY DIFFERENT THAN OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T HAVE YEAR-ROUND BUSINESSES OPEN.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE ANGLE THAT WE ARE EXPLORING AND VALIDATING AND WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE DATA FOR MM-HMM
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, THIS IS ONE THAT WE WILL BE, WE EVEN CALLED OUT A MEETING WITH THE TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD FOR THIS ONE.
SO I DEFINITELY SEE THIS AS LIKE A, A MAJOR, A MAJOR AGENDA ITEM AT A FUTURE TIME.
ONCE WE HAVE THAT REPORT DONE, UM, AND WOULD LOVE EVERYBODY'S INPUT ON THAT, THEN, UM, AND THEN WE MOVE INTO EXECUTION OF A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN.
QUICK QUESTION ON, IN THE PAUL IAN REPORT, WHAT OTHER ITEMS ARE BEING, UH, INFORMATION ARE WE GONNA GIVE FROM THAT REPORT? OTHER THAN JUST THE, THE TOP LINE OR NUMBER? ANY OTHER THINGS LOOKING FOR, UM, I FORGET, I FORGET WHEN YOU SAID IT EARLIER.
SO BECAUSE WE DON'T, WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT REALLY TRYING TO RUN AN ENTIRE ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT.
AGAIN, WE ALREADY KIND OF KNOW THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TOURISM AND SEDONA, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND VISITOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SALES TAX AND BED TAX BASE.
SO THAT IS REALLY, THAT'S THE FOCUS.
THAT'S REALLY THE FOCUS THAT WE'RE AFTER IS UNDERSTANDING OF THE, AND WE WERE LOOKING AT 2022 WHERE THERE WAS GIVE OR TAKE 40 MILLION COLLECTED IN SALES AND BED TAX MM-HMM
[01:05:01]
YOU KNOW, BED TAX BEING, YOU KNOW, GIVE OR TAKE EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION THAT YEAR, WHICH YOU HAVE TO DOUBLE 'CAUSE THERE'S 3.5% SALES TAX TAKEN AS WELL.SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT A GUARANTEED 17 MILLION IF THAT 40 MILLION IS ATTRIBUTED TO HOTEL COLLECTIONS.
AND THEN WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON IS UNDERSTANDING THE SALES TAX SIDE OF IT MORE.
SO THE OTHER FORMS OF BUSINESSES AND THE OTHER YEAH.
EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCES STUFF.
AND THEN MAPPING THAT BACK TO THE CITY SALES TAX REPORTS, WHICH IS A FUN EXERCISE,
SO WE'LL HAVE SOME VISIBILITY INTO THAT FROM THAT REPORT.
WHICH I WILL TELL YOU IS A LOT MORE THAN THEY TYPICALLY GIVE PEOPLE.
SO
SO I'M GLAD WE'RE GETTING THAT CLARITY AT LEAST MORE CLEAR.
AND IN, IN THE PAST, I BELIEVE IT'S BEEN MORE OF A ESTIMATION BACK OF THE NAPKIN, WHICH IS YEAH.
BIG NUMBER AND WE ALL MADE ASSUMPTIONS, BUT NOW WE'RE GETTING SOME, WE'RE AT THE BOTTOM.
TO YOUR POINT, YOU KNOW, IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE THE RESULTS AND THE CONCLUSION WE CAN THEN MAKE FROM THAT, IF ANY.
IT, IT SEEMS THERE, THERE'S ALSO A QUALITATIVE COMPONENT TO THAT AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, WE WENT OUT TO LUNCH TODAY AND TALKED ABOUT, OH, THE, THE GREAT RESTAURANTS IN SEDONA AND SOMEBODY SAID IT'S BECAUSE OF TOURISM.
AND SO THAT SORT OF NOTION THAT WE, WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE A LOT OF, UH, AESTHETIC OPPORTUNITIES, I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO ALL RIGHT.
I DEFINITELY FEEL LIKE THIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, AND I I KNOW IT SAYS IT SOMEWHERE IN THE DEPTHS OF THIS, OF THIS PLAN IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE, THERE'S THE QUANTITATIVE, WHICH IS WHAT WE GET FROM AN ENTITY LIKE DEAN RUNION THAT SORT OF IS THE, IS LIKE THE FOUNDATIONAL ANCHOR.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT THE WHOLE STORY.
AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GREAT IS WE CAN KIND OF LOOK AT INVESTMENTS THE CITY MAKES WITH THE SALES AND BED TAX RETURNS AND KIND OF TIE THAT TO SERVICES THAT WE ALL BENEFIT FROM, IN ADDITION TO JUST THE ACCESS TO REVENUE THAT ALLOWS US TO HAVE SO MANY RESTAURANTS.
WHAT'S THE AMOUNT OF AMENITIES THAT ARE THERE COMPARED TO THE AMOUNT AMENITIES HERE THAT WOULD BE EYE-OPENING FOR PEOPLE? YEAH.
WE, WE ACTUALLY DID THAT EXERCISE IN SNOWMASS A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
SO, SO ON MY LIST OF THINGS IT'S A LITTLE HARDER, BUT YEAH.
WELL, I'LL DEFINITELY GO DOWN THE PATH.
IT WAS LIKE WE STARTED JUST MAKING SOME ASSUMPTIONS I DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO MAKE AT THE TIME, BUT YEAH.
IT'S, BUT IT COMES DOWN TO RED.
YOU CAN LOOK AT, HEY, YOU'RE A TOWN OF 10,000, WHAT'S YOUR PER CAPITA RESTAURANT? AND HOW MANY OF THOSE AREN'T CHAINS? RIGHT? I MEAN, THERE'S SUCH A STORY YOU COULD START TO TELL THROUGH THAT.
UM, CREATE A STATE OF SEDONA TOURISM TRANSPARENCY HUB ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE THAT TRACKS THE PROGRESS OF THIS PLAN.
UM, WE HAVE A WIRE FRAME IN PLACE.
I'LL KIND OF JUST TELL IT TO YOU.
IT'S, IT'S GOT KIND OF TWO STEMS. ONE IS GONNA BE, FRANKLY AN INTERACTIVE VERSION OF THIS SPREADSHEET, UM, THAT WE CAN JUST, THAT I CAN MANAGE ON A QUARTERLY BASIS AND UPLOAD SO THAT ANY RESIDENT IN SEDONA CAN SAY, HERE'S THEIR TOURISM PLAN, HERE'S THEIR PROGRESS TOWARDS ADOPTING THE PLAN.
SO I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT I WOULD DEFINE AS A TRANSPARENCY HUB, IS HOW WE'RE ALLOCATING THE RESOURCES TO ADVANCE OUR GOALS AND BE TRANSPARENT AROUND OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS ADOPTING THEM.
UM, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO GONNA BE ANOTHER STEM THAT'S TIED TO THE TOURISM RESEARCH AND WE'VE GOT THE RESEARCH IN PLACE.
WE JUST HAVEN'T QUITE PUT IT INTO MOTION TO GET THE EMBED CODES SET UP AND KIND OF PUSHED OUT, BUT WIRE FRAMES THERE.
UM, WE'RE JUST KIND OF SLOWLY GETTING CLOSER TO IT.
BUT, UM, WHAT I DO THINK IS GREEN IS THAT WE DO HAVE ALL THE DATA AVAILABLE TO US, WHETHER IT BE THE SPREADSHEET THAT I PUT TOGETHER FOR TODAY OR THE TOURISM RESEARCH THAT I'LL PRESENT LATER TODAY.
THOSE ARE ALL THE FUNDAMENTAL PIECES.
AND THEN IT'S RED 'CAUSE WE JUST HAVEN'T PUBLISHED YET, BUT THIS WILL LIVE ON THE CITY'S TOURISM PROGRAM WEBSITES PAGE FOR, FOR THAT WEBSITE.
IF THESE ITEMS ARE PRESENTED ON THERE, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT, UH, A CATEGORY OF THIS HAS BEEN COMPLETED SEPARATE FROM ALL THE REST OF 'EM SO PEOPLE CAN SEE YEAH, THIS IS COMPLETED.
AND THEN SOME OF 'EM LIKE INTEGRATE, UH, BOOK DIRECT INTO SCENIC SEDONA.COM.
IT'S BEEN COMPLETED, BUT THEN THERE'S AN ONGOING TASK OF MONITORING THE IMPACT OF THAT.
THAT WOULD REALLY HELP THE PUBLIC BASING UNDERSTAND PROGRESS.
WHICH IS THE POINT CRAIG'S MAKING BECAUSE THERE'S TWO WAYS TO THINK ABOUT GREEN.
IT'S GOING GREAT OR IT'S DONE.
AND, AND A LOT OF THESE ARE GONNA MORPH INTO A CONTINUING ONGOING TASK, ALTHOUGH THE INITIAL ONE WAS COMPLETED MM-HMM
YEAH, NO, IT'S ALMOST LIKE THE INITIAL ONE COULD BE A BASELINE.
AND AS THESE, SO LIKE, WOULD BE GREAT TO BE CARRYING DATA FORWARD, LIKE BEFORE THE DMO IS IN PLACE, THIS WAS OUR LENGTH OF DAY,
[01:10:01]
THIS WAS, THESE WERE SOME OF THESE KEY METRICS AND THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE NOW.I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY VALUABLE.
IT'S OVER TO YOU IN A SECOND, LAUREN.
BUT REGULARLY MONITOR COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS OF TIMELY TOURISM CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, HOST TOURISM TOWN HALLS, SOMETHING I'M INCREDIBLY COMMITTED TO.
I JUST THINK I HAVE TO HAVE MORE OF THESE THINGS, ESPECIALLY THAT COMMUNICATIONS PLAN FROM DEAN RUNIN TO ME IS LIKE, I WOULDN'T HOST A TOURISM TOWN HALL WITHOUT THAT AS A COMPONENT OF THE AGENDA.
SO, UM, WE'RE COMMITTED TO TWO DURING THE TIMEFRAME OF THE EXECUTION OF THIS PLAN.
SO RED, BUT I WISH IT WAS AT LEAST SOMEWHERE YELLOW, BUT IT WE'RE KIND OF HELD BACK BY THAT DEAN RUNIN DEAN RUN REPORT.
UM, AND THEN SPECIFICALLY TO BOB'S POINT, EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES TO INCLUDE QUESTIONS RELATED TO RESIDENT SENTIMENT ON TOURISM TOPICS AND CITY SURVEYS, WHICH IS GREEN BECAUSE WE DID THIS WITH THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY SURVEY, WHICH I'LL HAND IT OVER TO LAUREN.
UM, SO I JUST SENT YOU THIS IN AN EMAIL AS WELL.
SO, UM, WE ASKED THE SAME TWO CUSTOM QUESTIONS IN 2022, UM, AS WE DID IN 2024.
UM, THE FIRST ONE WAS, PLEASE RATE HOW WELL SEDONA IS DOING AS A PLACE INVESTED IN PROTECTING ITS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
I'D SAY THE BIGGEST CHANGE I CAN SEE BETWEEN 2022 AND 2024 IS THAT, UM, WE GAINED TWO POINTS IN, UH, IN ITS EXCELLENT, GOOD, FAIR RAPPORT.
WE GAINED TWO POINTS IN EXCELLENT.
WE GAINED FOUR POINTS IN GOOD.
WE LOST ONE POINT IN FAIR AND WE LOST DOING MATH ON THE FLY FIVE POINTS, UM, IN POOR.
SO IN GENERAL, WE ARE EVER SO SLIGHTLY.
UM,
THE SECOND QUESTION WAS, IN THE FUTURE, HOW MUCH OF A ROLE WOULD YOU LIKE, WOULD YOU LIKE, SORRY.
IN THE FUTURE, HOW MUCH OF A ROLE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE TOURISM HAVE IN SEDONAS ECONOMY? UM, COMPARED TO 2022, THIS YEAR'S, OR I GUESS LAST YEAR'S RESULTS WERE, UM, WE GAINED THREE MORE POINTS IN MORE OF A ROLE.
WE GAINED 10 MORE POINTS IN ABOUT THE SAME.
AND IN 20 22, 60 2% SAID LESS OF A ROLE.
AND IN 20 24, 40 9% SAID LESS OF A ROLE.
WE DIDN'T JUST GAIN THREE POINTS.
POSITIONING ALL ABOUT THE POSITION.
GIVEN ALL THE GRIPING WE HEAR FROM PEOPLE IN SEDONA, THAT SURPRISES ME.
THAT'S REALLY GOOD IN THE, IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME JUST TO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT A BUNCH OF DATA, BUT IT'S BEEN AN EFFECTIVE PROGRAM AND IT'S, WE HAVEN'T DONE IT.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, TO YOUR POINT, CRAIG, A LOT OF STUFF IS ONGOING.
UM, WE ARE MEETING WITH A GENTLEMAN FROM OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY THAT DOES KIND OF A, A NEWER MODEL OF RESIDENT SENTIMENT SURVEYING.
IT'S MORE THAN JUST A SURVEY, IT'S FOCUS GROUPS, IT'S OTHER THINGS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT MAKING THAT INVESTMENT NEXT YEAR.
BUT YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THIS IS BASELINE SPECIFICALLY, WE DID EXACTLY WHAT THIS SAID, BUT THE SPIRIT OF THIS IS YOU.
HOW DO WE KEEP A MONITOR ON RESIDENT SENTIMENT.
AND I BROUGHT IT UP BECAUSE HE'S DONE THIS IN A LOT OF HIGH USE DESTINATIONS IN THE WEST.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF PART OF IT.
ANYBODY CAN DO A RESIDENT SENTIMENT STUDY, BUT, UM, MY HOPE IS THAT HIS WORK KIND OF POINTS TO OTHER DESTINATIONS THAT LOOK AND FEEL MORE LIKE US, UM, ENHANCE THE CITY'S TOURISM RELATED DATA PORTFOLIO TO MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS AND MEASURE RESULTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY MY FIRST THREE MONTHS, OTHER THAN FIGURING OUT HOW TO WALK HERE WAS, UM, LOOKING THROUGH OUR RESEARCH PORTFOLIO.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHY THERE'S SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES TO KIND OF OUR RESEARCH.
BUT I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, ONCE I SAID THE RESEARCH REPORT'S READY FOR 2.0, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I THINK THIS IS GREEN, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS HAVING TO FIX INCORRECT DATA FEEDS, FIND WAYS TO ANSWER OTHER QUESTIONS.
SO ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ONE THAT'S CERTAINLY ONGOING, UM, GATHER INPUT FROM LOCAL TOURISM LEADERS TO UNDERSTAND TOURISM INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE METRICS AND TYPES OF REPORT CADENCES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT IS WE WILL NOW BE RELEASING OUR MONTHLY TOURISM RESEARCH REPORT IN OUR TOURISM MINISTRY NEWSLETTER.
SO YOU ALL GET IT AS TAB MEMBERS, BUT, UM, THAT FEELS LIKE THE RIGHT, THE RIGHT CADENCE.
UM, AND THEN INTEGRATE FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH INTO ALL ASPECTS OF TOURISM OPERATIONS AND EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS THAT CAN FORECAST THE NEED FOR INCREASED INVESTMENTS IN TOURISM MANAGEMENT OR MARKETING.
UM, THIS IS ONE THAT WILL NEVER BE DONE, BUT I DO THINK WE'LL GET IT TO A BASELINE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING THIS, UM, ONE PROJECT THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, UM, THAT WE ARE,
[01:15:01]
YOU KNOW, PROBABLY 10, 15, 20% DONE.UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM.
UM, WE'VE GOT TRAFFIC COUNTS FROM HOW LONG IT TAKES AND THE NUMBER OF CARS FROM DIFFERENT LINES ON EACH OF THE THREE ROADS INTO SEDONA.
UM, WITHIN THAT, WHAT WE'VE, WE'RE GONNA MEET WITH THEM I THINK NEXT WEEK FOR SORT OF OUR SECOND MEETING, BUT, UM, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE TIME IT TAKES TO GET FROM POINT A TO Y? AND THEN HOW MANY SATURDAYS WAS THAT ABOVE A THRESHOLD? I CALL IT THE PAIN CAVE.
UM, AND LOOKING AT, IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN VOLUME OF CARS DURING THOSE TRIGGERS, RIGHT? UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT HOW HAS THAT CHANGED IN THE LAST THREE TO FOUR YEARS TO GET US TO, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT SATURDAYS, UM, THAT MAY CHANGE, BUT WE'RE NOT TRYING TO JUST DUMP A BUNCH OF WORK ON PEOPLE JUST 'CAUSE LAUREN AND I HAVE SOME RESEARCH QUESTIONS, BUT WE WANNA KNOW.
BUT YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY WHAT WE WANNA GET TO IS, AND UNDERSTANDING TO COMMUNICATE, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S NOT ABOUT THE VOLUME, IT'S ABOUT THE IMPACT OF RESIDENTIAL QUALITY OF LIFE.
RIGHT? UM, AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THE SUCCESS OF THE SIM PROGRAMS ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHERE I WOULD CREDIT SOME OF THESE REDUCTIONS AND DRIVE TIMES REGARD AGNOSTIC TO VOLUME.
SO WE ARE AT THE PRECIPICE OF DOING THIS ANALYSIS, BUT TO ME WHAT THIS GETS TO IS THAT PREDICTIVE SIDE OF THINGS.
YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS JOKED THAT PART OF MY RESIDENT COMMUNICATION STRATEGY WILL BE ME WITH A GREEN SCREEN AND A SUIT ON GIVING A TOURISM FORECAST ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEKEND.
UM, BUT THIS IS THE DATA I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET IN ORDER TO DO THAT TO SAY, HEY, LAST YEAR, THESE 12 WEEKENDS WERE WHEN WE HAD WAIT TIMES OF MORE THAN BLAH, RIGHT? MM-HMM
WHAT WAS YOUR PHRASE WORD? THE THE PAIN CAVE.
GET YOUR GROCERIES ON WEDNESDAY, GET YOUR GROCERIES ON THURSDAY.
AND, AND TWO THINGS ON THIS, WHICH IS NO, I'M NOT GONNA REMEMBER THE FIRST ONE,
UH, THE SECOND ONE, UH, IS THAT THIS IS A, THIS IS A MOVING, MOVING TARGET BECAUSE EVERY, UM, TIME WE FINISH ANOTHER SIM PROJECT, THAT NUMBER'S GONNA GET A LITTLE BIT SHORTER, AND THEN MAYBE WE'RE ADDING MORE PEOPLE, RIGHT? AND SO THE MODEL IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
THE INPUTS INTO THE MODEL ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR SIM PROGRAM, WE HAD A FEW, UM, UM, PROJECTS THAT WE KNEW WERE GONNA BE REALLY, REALLY IMPACTFUL.
AND THE OTHERS WERE MORE LIKE, UM, IF YOU DO THIS PROJECT, YOU'LL REDUCE IT BY THREE MINUTES.
AND IF YOU DO THIS ONE, YOU'LL REDUCE IT BY TWO MINUTES.
AND IF YOU DO, AND IF YOU DO ALL OF THEM, YOU REDUCE IT BY 17 MINUTES.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE A LITTLE HERE, A LITTLE THERE.
UM, SO WITH EACH OF THESE PROJECTS THAT COME IN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE KIND OF SEEING THAT THAT WAIT TIME GO DOWN A LITTLE BIT AND A LITTLE BIT AND FOREST ROAD IS ABOUT TO OPEN, RIGHT? MM-HMM
UM, AND IT'S GONNA BE REALLY INTERESTING, UM, TO SEE THE EFFECTS FROM THAT.
WILL BE, I LIVE IN COOKS HILL.
BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE THAT.
AND I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE AK UNDERPASS.
AND IF WE'LL GET DATA ON WHEN IT'S CLOSED, WHEN THE STREET'S CLOSED, AND HOW THAT AFFECTS TRAFFIC.
UM, SO OUR PLAN HAS BEEN THAT WE WERE COMPILING A BUNCH OF DATA FOR ADOT, UM, AND ADOT WILL BE THE DECISION MAKER ON THAT.
BUT BASICALLY WE'RE GOING TO GIVE THEM A BUNCH OF DATA AND THEN THEY CAN DECIDE, OKAY, ARE WE GOING TO CLOSE IT PERMANENTLY? ARE WE, UH, THE, UM, STREET LEVEL CROSSING, WE'RE GONNA CLOSE THAT PERMANENTLY.
ARE WE GONNA DO, UM, A HAWK SYSTEM WHERE, UH, OR A Z CROSSING, RIGHT? WHERE WE PUT A LITTLE CENTER ISLAND WHERE WE HAVE PEOPLE CROSS ONE WAY THEY HANG OUT IN THE CENTER ISLAND.
IT'S, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE BEEN DOWN TO KI COMMONS, WHICH IS THE SAME CONCEPT, YOU HANG OUT IN THE CENTER ISLAND AND THEN YOU CROSS THE OTHER WAY, BUT YOU DON'T CLOSE THE STREET DOWN.
FOR ONE PERSON CROSSING ON BOTH WAYS.
UM, OR DOES IT JUST GET CLOSED DURING BUSY TIMES, YOU KNOW? SO WE'RE DOING LOTS OF TESTING ON THAT AND, UM, I TOO AM WATCHING THAT TO SEE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
I DID NOTICE TOO, THERE'S A NEW, WHAT LOOKS LIKE A CAMERA WATCHING THE CROSSWALK THAT'S FURTHER DOWN, CORRECT? YEAH, THAT'S, I JUST NOTICED THAT YEP.
YESTERDAY, RIGHT? UM, YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE PUTTING IN THOSE CAMERAS HAS BEEN PART OF OUR, UM, SIM PLAN MM-HMM
UM, AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO WATCHING THAT, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN DECIDE WHEN TO CLOSE THE CROSSWALK WHEN THEY SEE THAT A WAIT TIME GETS LONG ENOUGH IN THE CAR QUEUE MM-HMM
THEN THEY CLOSE THE CROSSING AND THEY MAKE EVERYBODY DO, UM, THE CREEK CROSSING.
AND SO THAT CAMERA HELPS WITH THAT.
UM, WE'VE GOT SEVERAL OF THEM SET UP SO THAT THEY CAN SEE THE, THE QUEUING LINE.
WHO IS THEY? UM, OUR, SORRY, THEY, THE ROYAL, THEY, UM, IT'S OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM.
UM, TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK THE RESIDENT POPULATION UNDERSTANDS THE SIM PLAN IN ITS TOTALITY? AND GOSH, WE ARE.
[01:20:01]
IT'S SO COMPLICATED.NO, I, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE OF MY PASSIONS AND EVEN I HAVE TO KEEP GOING BACK TO MY, I MEAN, I JUST THINK THAT'S, I'VE ALWAYS FELT LIKE A LOT OF THE REACTION IS LIKE THE REACTION OF HOW WAS THE SURGERY? WELL, THEY'RE ONLY HALFWAY DONE SO NOT SO GOOD RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, AND
SO, AND, AND AS PART OF THIS TRANSPARENCY, SINCE THE SIM IS SO IMPORTANT TO MITIGATING THE, THE, THE TRAFFIC IMPACTS FOR TOURISM, I WONDER IF WE CAN FOLD THAT TOGETHER.
SO WE'RE ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE VOICES TRYING TO COMMUNICATE AND EDUCATE THE PUBLIC.
ARE THERE MONTHLY, UM, BLURBS ON THE SIM PROGRESS OUT COMING OUT FROM, I PUT, I TRY AND PUT IT EVERYWHERE, BUT THE PROBLEM IS, IS THAT IT'S COMPLICATED, RIGHT? EVERYTHING'S CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND IF, EVEN IF I'M TRYING TO COMMUNICATE, I'M THINKING ABOUT THIS NEW PROJECT OF, OF A, A ROUNDABOUT AT THE BOTTOM OF FOREST ROAD AND A NEW ROUNDABOUT AT RANGER BREWER AND A SLIP LANE THAT GOES IN BETWEEN THE TWO AND AN EXIT OUT OF TILLOCK AND A SLIP LANE ONTO 1 79.
THINK OF IT LIKE COMPLIC A MARKETING PROBLEM.
JUST LIKE WE'RE TRYING, LIKE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IN PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNICATING THAT TO OUR VISITORS AND STUFF IS A DELICATE MARKETING MM-HMM
WHAT I'M GONNA GO THROUGH AND LIST.
IT'S THE SAME THING WITH THE SIM.
YOU CAN'T GET INTO THE MINUTIAE.
BUT IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A MARKETING CHALLENGE I THINK WE SHOULD EMBRACE TO FIND A WAY MM-HMM
TO DISTILL IT INTO UNDERSTANDABLE COMPONENTS.
SO WE JUST GOTTA AT LEAST COMMON DENOMINATOR, GET IT DOWN TO THE SIMPLEST STUFF.
BUT I THINK, YEAH, I THINK THAT INFORMATION'S REALLY HELPFUL SO THAT PEOPLE ARE MORE PATIENT AND THEY SEE THE, THE PROGRESS MOVING FORWARD, RIGHT? YEAH.
IT'S A DAILY, DAILY CHALLENGE OF MINE IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO COMMUNICATE SIM.
WE EVEN HAVE AN ANNUAL, UM, VIDEO WHERE WE TALK ABOUT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN ONE YEAR, WE WERE LIKE, ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA PUT EVERYTHING SIM RELATED IN THERE.
AND IT BECAME LIKE 17 MINUTES LONG, YOU KNOW, AND YOU'RE JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT STOP.
UM, ANYWAYS, I'M ALWAYS OPEN TO FEEDBACK ON THAT, ON HOW I COULD DO THAT BETTER.
UM, INCREASE THE CITY'S CAPACITY TO DEVELOP, MANAGE, AND PROMOTE TOURISM.
UM, ONBOARD THE TOURISM MANAGER.
I HOPE THAT'S GREEN AT THIS POINT, BUT
UM, AND THEN A REALLY NICE UPDATE.
UH, WE DID POST A JOB DESCRIPTION FOR A NEW, WHAT WE'RE CALLING DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR TODAY.
UM, WE'LL START KIND OF SENDING IT OUT ON KIND OF MONDAY, BUT JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS, THIS WILL BE, UM, A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I KINDA MENTIONED IT EARLIER, BUT A LOT OF MY TIME RIGHT NOW IS DEALING WITH MEDIA AND TRADE, WHICH IS WONDERFUL.
IT'S A HUGE PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE AT THE PROGRAM.
IT'S A LOT OF DAY TO DAY, DAY TO DAY STUFF.
SO, UM, WE DO HAVE A WONDERFUL CONSULTANT WHO'S BEEN HELPING ME WITH 200 HOURS SINCE NOVEMBER.
UM, TOGETHER, HER AND I HAVE BEEN KIND OF BUILDING OUT WHAT THIS ROLE IS.
SO I'VE BEEN WAITING, I, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE HIRE PEOPLE WITH REALLY STRONG IDEAS AROUND KIND OF WHERE, WHERE WE NEED THEM.
AND AGAIN, HAVE THAT LOGIC MODEL SET UP.
SO, UM, TOOK ME ABOUT SIX MONTHS, BUT I'M REALLY READY TO HIRE, HIRE THIS ADDITIONAL ROLE.
UM, I THINK REALISTICALLY APRIL IS PROBABLY GONNA BE WHEN THEY'RE ON BOARD AT BEST.
I'M NOT GETTING MY HOPES UP THAT MY LIFE'S GETTING ANY EASIER IN LIKE, THE NEAR FUTURE, BUT I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT THAT'S NOW YELLOW.
SO DOES THAT PRETTY MUCH ROUND OUT WHERE YOU SEE STAFFING FOR NOW? UM, FOR NOW, YEAH.
YOU KNOW, I THINK AGAIN, I MEAN THERE'S, AND THAT'S ALL BUILT INTO THE BUDGET WE JUST GOT, YEP, THAT'S RIGHT.
LAST YEAR I WAS APPROVED FOR TWO COORDINATORS.
UM, I BELIEVE A LITTLE BIT EXTRA IN CONSULTING.
I THINK I WENT FROM 40 TO 60 FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
UM, AND WE HIRED, UH, ONE COORDINATOR, BUT WE HAD NEVER HIRED THE SECOND ONE.
AND WE'RE FINALLY AT THE POINT OF BEING ABLE TO HIRE THAT SECOND ONE.
WELL, THE DATA RESPONSES ON THE VISITOR SURVEY SHOULD HELP REINFORCE THE VALUE OF THESE HIRES AS WELL.
ANDREW, SO, UM, HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT BEING OUR TOURISM MANAGER AND YOUR, YOUR ROLE? ARE YOU HAPPY? IS YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE IN SEDONA GOOD
ARE YOU STAYING
GET STUCK IN AT COOKS HILL GETS STUCK THERE.
NO, I MEAN, I JUST LIKE, REALLY QUICK RESPONSE.
I JUST THINK THAT WE HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY AND I THINK OUR ACCESS TO RECREATION AND TRAILS IS REALLY UNMATCHED.
AND THAT'S BEEN A REALLY NICE, YOU KNOW, IT'S DIFFERENT THAN BEING IN A CITY, BUT THAT'S ALSO NOT A BAD THING.
UM, DEFINE THE STRUCTURAL NEXT TOURISM PLAN.
I OPENED THAT UP WITH THIS, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN IN THE PROCESS OF DEFINING IT.
UM, AGAIN, I'M SORT OF, WE KNOW TO THE POINT THAT YOU KEEP MENTIONING IT'S A GREAT POINT, IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS PLAN IS AN OPERATIONAL WORK
[01:25:01]
PLAN, RIGHT? JUST 'CAUSE IT'S GREEN DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE STOP DOING IT MEANS THAT NOW WE'RE GOOD AT DOING IT IN THEORY, RIGHT? UM, SO WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE A WORK PLAN, RIGHT? UM, AND TO ME THAT'S BY NECESSITY, IT'S TIED TO THE BUDGET.IT'S KIND OF WHAT WE DO OPERATIONALLY, BUT IT'S NOT ASPIRATIONAL TO US AS A COMMUNITY LOOKING AT WHAT DOES TOURISM MEAN TO SEDONA.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE I WANT TO TAKE OUR NEXT PLANNING, PLANNING CYCLE PROCESS.
BUT AGAIN, THAT COULD ALSO BE ANOTHER CONVERSATION WITH THE TAB AS WE KIND OF GET CLOSER TO.
WHAT I SEE AS THAT KIND OF JULY 1ST, 2026 IS LIKE, WHAT DO WE WANT OUT OF A TOURISM PLAN? I CAN DO A WORK PLAN THAT'S EASY ENOUGH, BUT KIND OF WHAT DO WE, WHAT IS THE ROLE WE SHOULD BE PLAYING IN THE COMMUNITY IN THAT SPACE? UM, AND THEN ENCOURAGE TEAM BUILDING POSITIVE INTERNAL CULTURE.
UM, DEFINITELY BE BETTER AT IT.
BUT PART OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, WAITING, MAYBE WAITING FOR THIS NEW HIRE TO COME ON BOARD, BUT, UM, THINGS ARE HAPPENING.
AND THEN PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL TOURISM CONFERENCES.
UM, I'VE GOT A GREAT LIST OF EVENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT DOWN.
UM, I CAN THINK, AS I MENTIONED TO YOU IN MY FIRST, ONE OF MY FIRST MEETINGS, LIKE I'M COMMITTED TO GOING TO ESSENTIALLY LIKE AN OUT OF STATE OR NATIONAL CONFERENCE THAT'S HOSTED HERE ONCE, ONCE A QUARTER.
THEY WERE KIND OF THE SAME TRIP, BUT JUST TWO DIFFERENT EVENTS.
SO IT'S STILL IN LINE WITH FOUR.
UM, THAT'S CURRENTLY WHAT I'M EARMARKED FOR NEXT YEAR.
WE MIGHT INCREASE IT BY ONE, BUT AT MINIMUM I'LL BE AT KIND OF FOUR OF THESE INDUSTRY EVENTS REPRESENTING SEDONA.
UM, AND THEN ANNUAL ARIZONA GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM.
ESTO, WHICH IS THE US TRAVEL CONFERENCE, WILL BE IN PHOENIX THIS YEAR.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'LL BE AN EASY ONE.
I TYPICALLY PROBABLY WOULDN'T GO TO THAT IF IT WAS OUTTA STATE, BUT IT'S KIND OF A NO BRAINER IF IT'S IN STATE.
SO, UM, AND THAT IS THE RAPID UPDATE OF S SEDONA TOURISM PLAN 20 24, 20 25.
UM, LOVE, JUST, YOU KNOW, REACTIONS, COMMENTS.
AND I THINK SPECIFICALLY WE KIND OF CALLED OUT THE EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING ACTION STEP OR KIND OF INITIATIVE IS ONE FOR A FUTURE MEETING.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE VALUE OF TOURISM CONVERSATION KIND OF COMING OUT.
I'M SURE THAT MAYBE THAT RESEARCH AROUND TRAFFIC THAT WE'D MENTION AND TIES TO SIM WOULD BE A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION.
BUT, UM, ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TODAY WOULD FEEL KIND OF WARRANTED FOR A FUTURE TAB MEETING.
SO, I DON'T KNOW IF WE TALKED ABOUT THIS.
UH, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A MORE IN DEPTH, MAYBE I'D LIKE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW THE TOURISM, WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, ARTICULATES WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM OFFICE FOLKS IN, IN LIKE A, A REALLY CLEAR WAY.
UH, SO THAT AS WE'RE GOING FORWARD, WE COULD SORT OF CHECK WHAT THAT MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY.
WHAT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND COOL.
DO YOU HAVE ANY, UM, UH, A PROGRESS? I KNOW AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A TALKING ABOUT BRINGING ALL OF WHAT USED TO EXIST AS SUSTAINABILITY MESSAGING.
SEDONA CARES ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE NO LONGER ACTIVE COMING INTO ONE OF ITS OWN NEW THING.
THAT'S THE EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.
SO, BUT THAT SO THAT, THAT EDUCATIONAL MESSAGING IS ALL ENCOMPASSED INTO THIS ONE CATEGORY THAT'S SEDONA CARES OR WHATEVER WE CALL IT TO BE.
THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THERE.
I SEE IT BEING KIND OF A SPIRAL OFF OF THAT.
I MEAN, IT'S, THE WAY I THINK ABOUT IT IS, YOU KNOW, LIKE OUR GOAL IS TO CHANGE BEHAVIOR, RIGHT? IT'S NOT JUST TO GET PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE A WORD.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT LIKE, HEY, LIKE WE, WE WANT PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE SEDONA.
THAT'S KIND OF A GOAL OF OUR MARKETING.
WE WANT, LIKE IF WE JUST LOOK AT A TRADITIONAL, LIKE LET'S JUST SAY SEDONA CARES OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THAT'S NOT CHANGING BEHAVIOR.
SO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AND HAVE BEEN DOING IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THEIR PRIORITY BEHAVIORS WE WANNA SEE CHANGED IN THIS DESTINATION? I'VE GOT A GREAT LIST.
I DON'T THINK IT'S COMPREHENSIVE, IT'S ALWAYS LIVING, BUT IT'S LIKE REDUCING VEHICLE CONGESTION, TRAIL ETIQUETTE, HEAT SAFETY, PREPARING YOUR RECREATION EXPERIENCE, COMMUNITY ETIQUETTE.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT SPECIFIC ACTIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, MY INITIAL MILESTONE WILL BE UPDATING THE STEWARDSHIP PAGE ON SCENIC SEDONA WITH A REPOSITORY OF INFORMATION.
BUT WHAT'S NICE AND WHAT I'VE KIND OF CHATTED ABOUT WITH THE TEAM IS THAT EACH OF THOSE ROWS, IT'S ITS OWN SOCIAL POST.
EACH OF ITS ROWS CAN BE KIND OF ANYTHING.
IT'S REALLY JUST THAT REPOSITORY THAT ANYBODY CAN PULL FROM.
UM, I'M NOT OPTIMISTIC THAT EVERY ENTITY IN SEDONA IS GONNA SAY EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE SAYING WITH THE WAY THAT WE'RE SAYING IT, BUT TO ME IT'S LESS ABOUT THE, THE CONSISTENT MESSAGE IS IMPORTANT, BUT WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IS HAVE EVERY TURN SOME ENTITY IS TELLING SOMEBODY TO DO SOMETHING ELSE, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY PRIORITIZE POTENTIALLY SEASONALLY.
WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, HEAT SAFETY IS A BIG ONE IN THE SUMMER.
WE SHOULD ALL BE BANGING THAT DRUM IN THE SUMMERTIME AS BEST WE CAN AND REALIZE WHERE WE ARE IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS.
AND WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS WITH FOLKS LAST YEAR WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE
[01:30:01]
NEED TO BE MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING INTO THE TRAIL AT AN APPROPRIATE TIME WITH WATER AND THEIR PROTECTIVE GEAR.BUT I MAYBE AM ALSO NOT TELLING THEM TO LIKE LEAVE IF YOU'RE TIRED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S BETTER FOR A TRAIL HEAD, RIGHT? SO IT'S KIND OF ALIGNING THE MESSAGE WITH WHEN THE DECISION GETS MADE, UM, IS KIND OF WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE DIVING IN WITH OUR FOCUS GROUP THAT WE'RE DOING WHAT LOOKS LIKE TO BE EARLY MARCH.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN IN TALKS WITH ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM.
THEY'RE OPEN TO US DOING APPRECIATE SEDONA TO TIE IN WITH APPRECIATE ARIZONA.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS IN PRACTICE, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU RIGHT NOW.
UM, IF I WAS MY COLORADO TOURISM OFFICE HAD, IT WOULD BE YOU NEED TO USE OUR BRANDING AND YOU NEED TO WORK WITH OUR TEAM ON EVERYTHING.
WHICH I'M NOT OPPOSED TO, I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WHAT ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM WANTS ME TO DO.
UM, I LIKE THE IDEA OF AN APPRECIATE SEDONA CAMPAIGN CONCEPT.
UM, I THINK THAT WOULD LOOK REALLY NICE ON LIKE OUR VISITOR CENTER, RIGHT? AND KIND OF SEEING THAT AROUND THERE, IT'S GOT A NICE KIND OF POSITIVE MESSAGE, JUST LIKE SONSONA CARES.
I'M OPEN TO KEEPING SONSONA CARES.
THAT'S PART OF WHAT I WANT TO, WITH THE FOCUS GROUPS.
MAYBE WHEN WE COME BACK TO THE TAB WITH THE MESSAGING MATRIX IS LIKE, WHAT'S THE BEST PATH FORWARD? I KNOW IT'S A WEBSITE, I KNOW IT'S THIS COMMUNICATING, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T MADE SOME OF THESE TOP LEVEL DECISIONS YET.
BUT, UM, THE IDEA WOULD BE THAT, YOU KNOW, ANY PRIORITY MESSAGE THAT'S BEEN DISTRIBUTED BEFORE IS AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGED IN SOME WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM IN OUR NEW MATRIX.
I JUST WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, SMALL AND CONCISE LIKE SEDONA CARES OR, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD COME OUT OF THAT, OR IF THAT'S A GOAL OF YOURS OR IF YOU WANTED TO KEEP IT MORE
NO, IT'S, IT'S A, I MEAN, I'D SAY RIGHT NOW IT'S EITHER APPRECIATE SEDONA OR SEDONA CARES.
AND THAT'S, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE'S NOT OTHERS.
ANOTHER ITEM FROM HERE THAT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR DISCUSSION FOR US IS WHAT'S IN THE TRANSPARENCY HUB.
I THINK THAT'D BE FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
I'D LOVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE WIRE FRAME OF THAT YOU'VE GOT IN MIND SO FAR THAT MY TRIGGER THINKS, UH, THOUGHTS THERE.
THERE'S SO MUCH COMPLEX INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE COMMUNICATED TO PEOPLE.
HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU SIMPLIFY IT DOWN? SO WITH THEIR ATTENTION SPAN, THEY'RE GONNA PAY ATTENTION TO IT AND THEN GET IT.
YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE WAY I LOOK AT OUR PRESENTATION OF DATA IS YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, PRESENTATIONS THAT I'M GIVING FRANKLY NEXT IN THIS, IN, IN THIS AGENDA, WHICH IS ME KIND OF WITH A SCREEN GOING THROUGH DATA POINTS.
YOU KNOW, I WISH THEY WERE A LITTLE MORE CONCISE, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE KIND OF WORKING ON WITH OUR RESEARCH TEAM.
I'M JUST, I GOT IT TO A BASELINE NOW WE'RE FIGURING OUT, BUT I WANT TO HAVE LIKE ONE LEARNING OUTCOME PER SLIDE, WHICH IS NOT CURRENTLY WHAT WE HAVE, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
UM, AND THAT'S KIND OF ONE FORMAT.
THEN THERE'S THE MONTHLY REPORT, WHICH IS A PDF THAT PEOPLE WILL SIT DOWN AND READ THAT CAN BE MORE BUSY, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN HAVE MORE INFORMATION IN IT.
AND THEN THERE'S THE TRANSPARENCY HUB, WHICH IS LIKE FIFTH GRADE LEVEL, YOU KNOW, THAT IS, AND THAT IS MORE, AGAIN, TO ME, THE TRANSPARENCY HUB IS TRULY A RESIDENT COMMUNICATION STRATEGY.
I'M NOT TRYING TO OVERWHELM THEM WITH TOURISM DATA.
IT REALLY IS, HERE'S OUR TOURISM PLAN, HERE'S THE BUDGET THAT'S ALLOCATED TO TOURISM, AND HERE'S OUR, HERE'S THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AND THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY COMMUNICATING ITS SUCCESS.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, IS VISITATION UP OR DOWN TO SOME EXTENT, RIGHT? AND BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THAT OUT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS LAUREN AND I WAS TALKING ABOUT, THE MORE YOU GET INTO THE TOURS OF RESEARCH, THE MORE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
AND WE WANNA AVOID THAT WITH A TRANSPARENCY HUB.
REALLY JUST WANNA SHOW, WE WANNA GIVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION TO RESIDENTS.
YOU KNOW, I THINK I, I REALLY BELIEVE THAT RESIDENT SENTIMENT, UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH, WITH NEGATIVE RESIDENT SENTIMENT TOWARDS TOURISM IS THAT RESIDENTS HAVEN'T BEEN CONSULTED, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE TOURISM TOWN HALLS IN THE PLAN.
UM, MAKING SURE THAT THEY CAN HEAR FROM ME, FRANKLY, UM, ON A SOMEWHAT REGULAR BASIS AND THAT, YOU KNOW, TOURISM IS HAPPENING WITH THEM AND NOT, AND NOT WITHOUT THEM.
AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF BEING AWARE.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE TOURISM FORECAST AS MUCH AS IT SOUNDS FUN AND I REALLY WANNA DO IT, BUT IT'S REALLY SAYING, HERE'S WHAT TO EXPECT.
RIGHT? HERE'S, HERE'S, HERE'S WHAT WE SEE BASED ON PREVIOUS INFORMATION.
AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF US MIGHT THINK THAT THAT'S COMMON KNOWLEDGE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW RESIDENTS.
IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A TOURISM PROGRAM TO MAKE OUR RESIDENTS AWARE OF WHEN WE THINK THERE MIGHT BE PINCH POINTS.
AND THAT TO ME IS LIKE ONE WAY TO LOOK AT KIND OF A TRANSPARENCY HUB.
YOU GOT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS? SO, GOOD.
UM, SPEAKING OF DATA
UM, AGAIN, I JUST, YOU KNOW, I KNOW I SENT THIS TO YOU LIKE AT LUNCH.
PART OF IT IS WE DON'T GET ALL THE DATA UNTIL, FRANKLY, THE FIRST WEEK OF THE FOLLOWING MONTH.
SO THE TIMING HERE IS ALWAYS A LITTLE CRUNCHED FOR ME, BUT, UM, ABLE TO GET IT OUT.
UM, SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING OBVIOUSLY IS HOTEL PERFORMANCE ON THE TOP.
[01:35:01]
SHORT TERM RENTAL PERFORMANCE IN THE MIDDLE AND THEN SCRAPED AIRBNB DATA FOR THE CITY OF SEDONA ON THE BOTTOM.UM, YOU DO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, OCCUPANCY TOOK, YOU KNOW, A NEGATIVE TURN FOR THE FIRST TIME.
WE'VE SEEN IN A BIT, UM, MY, MY INSIGHTS INTO THIS IS THAT, UM, THIS IS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, WHICH IS WHEN I BELIEVE NEW YEAR'S DAY WAS ON A MONDAY.
SO, UM, BECAUSE OF WHERE NEW YEAR'S DAY LANDED THAT FIRST WEEK IN JANUARY, GOT THE GAIN TO SOME EXTENT IS, IT'S NOT THE, IT'S NOT THE WHOLE STORY HERE, BUT I DO THINK THAT JUST, THAT'S A MAJOR HOLIDAY AND IT LANDED ON AN OPPOSITE SIDE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, FOLKS WERE HERE THROUGH JANUARY 4TH INSTEAD OF KIND OF LEAVING ON THAT JANUARY 1ST.
SO, UH, I DO THINK THAT'S ONE FACTOR HERE.
AND THEN FRANKLY, EARLY DECEMBER WAS NOT GREAT.
UM, WE, WE DID, WE DID HAVE A NICE HOLIDAY, BUT I THINK THAT THE COMBINATION OF WHERE THE HOLIDAY LANDED AND DECEMBER BEING ONE OF THOSE SPLIT MONTHS, UM, WHICH I REALLY SEE, AND THIS IS WHAT I TALK ABOUT WITH A LOT OF KIND OF THE, THE GROUPS THAT I TALK TO IS EARLY DECEMBER'S A GREAT TIME TO BE HERE.
THE WEATHER'S NOT ANY DIFFERENT THAN IT IS.
IT'S JUST TYPICALLY A DOWN AND LEISURE BETWEEN THE HOLIDAYS MM-HMM
UM, BUT, UM, IT'S KIND OF MY, MY, MY THOUGHTS THERE.
AND THEN AGAIN, AS A REMINDER, EVEN THOUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THAT BOTTOM ROW OCCUPANCY'S DOWN 4%, ADR IS UP 7%.
HOW IS REVENUE UP 13.5? THAT'S 'CAUSE WE SEE ABOUT 400 MORE PROPERTIES REPORTING IN THAT DATA SET THAN WE DID LAST YEAR.
THAT'S WHY REVENUES ALWAYS LOOKS LIKE IT'S NOT CONGRUENT WITH THE OTHER, WHICH ARE TYPICALLY CONNECTED.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU SEE HERE.
AND I THINK IT'S JUST NICE THAT WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS LIKE THE SEDONA LODGING COUNCIL PARTNERS THAT I CAN KIND OF TALK WITH ABOUT THIS DATA.
BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SEE HERE IS THAT VILLAGER VOTE CREEK TYPICALLY IS PERFORMING FOUR POINTS LOWER THAN CITY OF SEDONA.
THAT'S JUST CONTINUES TO BE KIND OF THE, ACROSS THE BOARD STORY THERE.
SO, UM, OTHER THAN MY COMMENTS ON THE EARLIER SLIDE, IT'S REALLY JUST MORE, THIS IS NOT, I WOULDN'T TAKE ANYTHING ELSE AWAY FROM THIS RIGHT NOW.
UM, I WILL SAY WE HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THE DATA SET FOR THE LAST MONTH OR SO.
THEY KEEP RESENDING US THE DATA AND IT'S BEEN CHANGING A LOT, UM, KIND OF OVER, OVER TIME.
BUT, UM, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS ONE IS GOOD TO PRESENT.
UM, BUT JUST KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN
UM, WHAT'S INTERESTING ON THIS SLIDE THAT I'LL KIND OF CALL OUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS WOULD BE THAT, UM, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN GROUP UP SINCE I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THESE REPORTS.
UM, BUT IT'S DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SEE FOR KIND OF TRANSIENT.
SO I DEFINITELY JUST WANT TO KIND OF COMMEND THE HOTELS FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
UM, I AM SEEING, YOU KNOW, GROUP BOOKED AND THEN GROUP COMMITTED OR KIND OF COMMITTED TO THE FUTURE TIME THAT, THAT IT'S, THAT IT'S LANDING.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY YOU LOOK AT TRANSIENT AND THAT'S JUST SORT OF, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, I DID FOR TODAY PULL IN, UM, DIFFERENT, I PULLED IT RIGHT OUTTA KEY DATA.
UM, I'D MENTIONED THAT WE LOOK AT THE, WE NOW HAVE A RESIDENTIAL ZONE FOR AIRBNB WITHIN KEY DATA THAT GIVES US MORE OF A ONE-TO-ONE TO THE CITY'S LICENSING STRUCTURE FOR SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
REMEMBER, UM, ON THIS SLIDE, THIS IS ALL THAT BOTTOM ROW IS ALL LISTINGS AVAILABLE ON AIRBNB, WHETHER IT'S A HOTEL OR A TIMESHARE.
'CAUSE IT'S THE CITY OF SEDONA WAS THE LIMIT.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE, ALTHOUGH IT'S, I HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU, BUT BASICALLY THIS IS THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE LISTED WITHIN RESIDENTIAL ZONES.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WHERE ALL FOUR MONTHS FOR ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, TRANSIENT WERE, YOU KNOW, DOWN ON THE LEFT FOR BOOKING PACE.
WE'RE SEEING A BIT OF A DIFFERENT THING THERE A LITTLE BIT HERE.
THIS IS LIBERAL BECAUSE IT DOESN'T COUNT FOR, UM, OR IT, IT SAYS BLACKOUT DATES OR BOOK DATES.
BUT, UM, I, MY BASICALLY MY QUESTION WAS GROUPS UP AT TRANSIENTS DOWN IN HOTELS, WHAT'S IT LOOK LIKE FOR THE REJECTIONS OF THE SHORT-TERM RENTALS? UM, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THIS COULD BE TELLING A DIFFERENT STORY.
WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL, YOU KNOW, WE GET THE ACTUAL MONTH'S REPORT BEFORE WE REALLY KNOW.
BUT, UM, SOMETHING, SOMETHING THERE THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO AROUND, YOU KNOW, THIS QUESTION OF IS MARKET SHARE SHIFTING AT ALL? CAN YOU BE SLIGHTLY MORE DIRECT? ARE THE, ARE WE SEEING GAINS, WE'RE SEEING HIGHER GAINS IN THE SHORT TERM RENTALS AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS THAN WE ARE GAINS IN THE HOTELS? MM-HMM
GAINS MEANING OCCUPANCY, REVPAR, UM, DEMANDS.
SO OCCUPANCY, OCCUPANCY, OCCUPANCY IN THIS CASE.
SO IF OCCUPANCY IS DOWN IN HOTELS, HAS IT GONE AWAY OR HAS IT TRANSFERRED TO A DIFFERENT SECTOR? AND SO THE, THE CAPACITY AS WELL HAS GONE OR HAS IT BEEN STABLE FOR THE LAST YEAR FOR SDRS IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS? UM, YEAH, THAT NUMBER IS INCREASING ANY DATA TO SAY HOW MUCH AND HOW MANY.
UM, THERESA JUST SENT HER REPORT THE OTHER DAY TO 1,211, I BELIEVE.
IT WASN'T ANYTHING MASSIVE MM-HMM
[01:40:01]
BUT WE ARE STILL APPROACHING 18%.UM, AND I THINK MAYBE WE HAD MM-HMM
MAYBE WE WENT FROM LIKE 17.6 TO 17.8 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN DECEMBER.
I SAW NUMBERS AT 1208, 1211 OR SOMETHING RECENTLY IN THE PRESS, BUT OKAY.
DOES HER DATA SPLIT THEM BETWEEN WHOLE HOUSE AND PARTIAL RENTALS? YES.
YEAH, SHE'S GOT AN INDICATION OF LISTING TYPE.
THOSE ARE OFTEN SELF-REPORTED.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M FINDING, SO YOU GOTTA TAKE SOME OF IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
LIKE SOME OF THESE ARE LISTED AS HOTELS.
UM, SO AND SO IT'S NOT, IT'S A OWNER REPORTED DATA.
CAN LISTED BY THE OWNER AS A HOTEL WITHIN YEAH.
AND THEN THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE THREE LISTINGS AS A HOTEL PER HOUSE.
DOESN'T THAT RAISE A RED FLAG IF, IF THE OWNER SELF LISTS AS A HOTEL IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA? SO THERE MIGHT BE SOME ZONING ISSUES THERE, PERHAPS.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN? LIKE WITH THERESA? THEY, THEY SELF, THEY SELF IDENTIFY CRAIG.
IT'S, IT'S THE SAME WITH LIKE A GOOGLE BUSINESS LISTING.
YOU'VE GOT PEOPLE THAT ARE LIKE, I'M A CAFE WHEN I'M REALLY LIKE A RESTAURANT KIND OF THING.
BUT IF THEY'RE A HOTEL, AREN'T THEY A DIFFERENT TAX STRUCTURE IS, ISN'T THERE SOME OTHER ONUS ON THEM IF THEY'RE A HOTEL AS OPPOSED TO BEING, UH, A SHORT TERM RENTAL OR THE TAXES ARE THE SAME EXACTLY THE SAME TAXES ARE THE SAME.
AND THIS IS JUST WHAT THEY, THIS IS LIKE THE KEYWORD SEARCHING THAT'S IN AIRBNB AND VRBL.
LIKE WHEN YOU START YOUR AIRBNB PAGE, YOU CLICK ON WHAT YOU SAY THAT YOU ARE, WHETHER YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A TOWNHOUSE OR A HOTEL OR A HOME OR AN YOU JUST CLICK.
BUT THEY ALL PAY THE SAME SALES BY TAX STRUCTURE.
WOULD THEY HAVE DIFFERENT ZONING REQUIREMENTS? DEFINITELY.
I JUST, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE, IT SEEMS TO ME IT WOULD BE A RED FLAG TO SOMEBODY FOR SOMETHING SAYING, YOU'RE SAYING YOU'RE A HOTEL, YOU GOTTA THEN DO X, Y, AND Z.
I WOULD SAY THIS IS LIKE ME SAYING I'M TALLER THAN I AM ON MY DRIVER'S LICENSE.
NO ONE'S REALLY GONNA FACT CHECK THAT
UM, AND THEN, UH, YEAH, NOT MUCH TO SAY HERE THAT'S DIFFERENT.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, GREATER SEDONA SAW BIT OF A HIGHER PERFORMANCE VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK SAW A BIT OF A HIGHER PERFORMANCE IN, IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER.
OH ACTUALLY, SORRY, THIS IS ONE.
DIRECT SOURCE DID PERFORM BETTER THAN THE SCRAPED.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT JUST SPEAKS TO, THESE ARE KIND OF MORE THE PROFESSIONALLY MANAGED VACATION RENTALS.
AND AGAIN, I'M HOPING THAT THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE THIS REPORT, THIS WILL NOT BE, THIS WILL ONLY BE THE RESIDENTIALLY ZONED PROPERTIES.
UM, WE'RE IN FINAL STAGES OF VALIDATING THAT.
SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE, I'LL BE ABLE TO KIND OF UPDATE ON WHAT, WHAT WE FIND.
I'VE GOT A RESEARCH ANALYST THAT'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL FOR US TO KIND OF GET INTO SOME DEEPER STUFF ON THIS QUESTION.
UM, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE DID FINISH A CALENDAR YEAR, SO I ASKED TOURISM ECONOMICS TO GIVE US JUST SOME RAPID 20, 24 YEAR IN REVIEW RESEARCH STUFF.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A LOOK BACK THE LAST THREE YEARS WITH YELLOW BEING 2024, BLUE BEING 2023, YOU KNOW, LIGHT BLUE BEING 2023, DARK BLUE BEING, UH, 2022.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID OUTPERFORM IN THESE METRICS OVER, UM, 2023.
UH, YOU KNOW, OCCUPANCY IS ONE THAT I WILL CALL OUT AS, AS A NICE ONE.
UM, YOU, YOU DO LOOK AT THOUGH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE REVENUE COMPONENTS, YOU KNOW, AREN'T REALLY OUTPACING INFLATION AT TIMES.
AND THEN WE KNOW THAT COSTS HAVE GONE UP FOR HOTELS IN WAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO, BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT QUITE, YOU KNOW, EXPENSES WENT UP MORE THAN 5% FROM WHAT I CAN KIND OF GATHER WHEN I SPEAK TO HOTELS.
SO IT'S NICE TO SEE GREEN, BUT IT'S NOT THE WHOLE STORY.
BUT IF YOU DO LOOK BACK, YOU KNOW, YEAR OVER YEAR THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS BEING MADE AT LEAST ON THESE, ON THESE METRICS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S REALLY THE REALITY AND KIND OF MAIN STREET OR UPTOWN, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT KIND OF SALES TAX REVENUE.
BUT DID WANNA TAKE SOME TIME JUST TO SHOW, UM, A THREE YEAR LOOK BACK ON THESE METRICS.
UM, AGAIN, SIMILAR STORY WITH THE ADDING IN THE SHORT TERM RENTAL COMPONENT.
UM, FRANKLY AGAIN, THE STORY IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE REVENUE IS WHERE YOU SEE THE HIGHEST GAINS.
THAT'S 'CAUSE THERE'S MORE SUPPLY IN THE MARKET.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK RICHIE, YOU WANNA MENTIONED IT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SEEING, AND AGAIN, THERE'S THE INCREASES THAT LAUREN ALLUDED TO THAT THERESA'S TRACKING.
BUT THEN YOU ALSO HAVE THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THAT ARE LISTING ARE KIND OF IN THAT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, DEMAND IS GOING UP 'CAUSE OCCUPANCY IS STAYING THE SAME, BUT WE'RE SEEING GAINS IN OTHER GAINS IN OTHER WAYS.
UM, I THINK THIS MIGHT'VE BEEN THE ONE YOU WERE REFERENCING, PROBABLY BOB IN THE PAST.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE LOOKED BACK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE A ZERO DATA FROM SYMPHONY TELLING US FOR LENGTH OF STAY AND DISTANCE
[01:45:01]
TRAVELED FROM JANUARY 1ST, 2023 TO JANUARY 1ST, 2024.BASICALLY THOSE, THOSE TWO YEARS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THERE IS THAT LENGTH OF STAY IS INCREASED WITHIN THIS DATA SET, UM, BY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HALF A DAY.
UM, AND DISTANCE TRAVELED, GAINED, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY A POINT.
AND WE GOT, YOU KNOW, MORE FOLKS FROM FURTHER OUT, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO THIS DATA SET.
UM, I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE MANY THINGS WE'RE DOING HERE IS JUST, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE ROBUST ANNUAL REPORTING ON THINGS LIKE THIS.
SO THIS WAS JUST A BANDAID FOR THIS, THIS MEETING, BUT, UM, WE ARE LOOKING INTO SOMETHING MORE, MORE ROBUST.
UM, I KNOW WE ASK THIS ALL THE TIME, BUT WHERE DO INTERNATIONAL VISITORS FIT? I JUST SAW A WHOLE BUSLOAD OF PEOPLE FROM KOREA.
SO THERE'S, THEY'RE NOT INCLUDED IN THE GEOLOCATION DATA THAT'S HERE.
THERE IS SOME, UM, BUT IT'S NOT A GOOD CAPTURE THAT, THAT JUST THE WAY THAT THE CELL PHONES ARE TRACKED IS JUST NOT A VIABLE AVENUE HERE.
UM, WE'VE GOT SOME DATA FOR, YOU KNOW, ARIZONA, UM, THAT WE GET, BUT IT'S NOT SEDONA TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
THERE IS A NEW COMPANY THAT I MET AT GO WEST, UM, REALLY NICE FOLKS FROM WYOMING THAT HAVE BEEN DOING, UM, IT'S THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE DATA SET I CAN THINK OF IN THE SPACE, BUT IT IS ALL SELF-REPORTED, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS PAUSE WHEN I SAY SELF-REPORTED DATA.
UM, BUT THEY WORKED WITH ALL OF THE TRAVEL AGENTS, TOUR OPERATORS IN A AOTS REPRESENTED COUNTRIES.
SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, CANADA, MEXICO, UK, FRANCE, GERMANY, MAYBE AUSTRALIA.
THERE MIGHT BE, I THINK IT'S FIVE OR SIX.
THEY'RE ADDING A FEW COUNTRIES EVERY YEAR.
UM, BUT REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THE PASSENGERS BEING SERVED THROUGH.
AT LEAST THE TRAVEL TRADE IS A DATA SET THAT WE'RE EXPLORING GETTING ACCESS TO FOR NEXT YEAR.
I'VE HEARD RUMBLINGS THAT A OT WILL REQUIRE YOU TO INVEST IN THIS DATA TO GO TO IPW.
SO IT'S KIND OF A NO BRAINER FOR US TO DO THAT.
BUT UM, THAT'S SORT OF THE AGE OLD QUESTION IS HOW DO WE GET REALLY GOOD INTERNATIONAL DATA? YOU CAN GET IT FROM THE AIRPORT, RIGHT? YOU CAN LOOK AT DE DEPLOYMENTS AND AND AND ON PAYMENTS, BUT PEOPLE COULD BE COMING IN FROM VEGAS.
THEY COULD BE, AND WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE COMING TO SEDONA.
LIKE BACK IN THE DAY, LIKE DENVER, WE ALWAYS FELT REALLY GOOD ABOUT THE DENVER NUMBERS UP IN, UP IN COLORADO.
'CAUSE YOU KIND OF KNOW THEY'RE COMING OFF THE PLANE AND GETTING TO DENVER, BUT IT'S A LITTLE HARDER FOR US TO GET THIS ONE FOR THE DOMESTIC DATA, UH, CELL PHONE DATA.
IS IT BASED OFF OF AREA CODE? NO.
HOW DO THEY, HOW DO THEY DO IT? UM, SO YEAH, SO I MEAN THIS IS MY WORK PHONE, BUT MY PHONE OVER THERE IS A NINE SEVEN THREE NEW JERSEY NUMBER.
UM, THEY BASICALLY HAVE IT WHERE UM, THEY KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS PHONE SITS AT MY ADDRESS IN SEDONA AND THEY'VE MARKED THAT AS HOME.
AND THEY KNOW THAT IT GOES TO CITY HALL AND THEY MARK THAT AS WORK ESSENTIALLY ON AN AVERAGE.
AND THAT'S HOW THEY CAN BACK OUT COMMUTERS.
YOU KNOW, FOLKS THAT WORK IN THE OFFICE THAT COMMUTE FROM VERDE OR COTTONWOOD, THEY'RE NOT COUNTED IN THE TOTAL, WHICH IS HOW KIMLEY-HORN DID IT WITH THEIR VISITATION STUDY AS WELL.
YOU BACK OUT RESIDENCY, BACK OUT COMMUTERS.
SO, YOU KNOW, MY HOME CHANGED BETWEEN WHEN I WAS IN DENVER VERSUS HERE BASICALLY.
BUT I MIGHT HAVE BEEN TRACKED AS A VISITOR FOR LIKE THE FIRST, FOR A LITTLE WHILE, FOR THE FIRST MONTH OR SO.
JUST BRINGING UP THE NUMBERS, YOU KNOW.
[5.d. Group Discussion: TAB Meeting Schedule]
AGENDA ITEM FOR US, UH, IS JUST TA MEETING SCHEDULE.WANTED TO TAKE SOME TIME TO, TO CHAT WITH YOU ALL ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, CONTEXT HERE IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ONLY REQUIRED TO MEET WITH YOU ALL FOUR TIMES A YEAR.
THAT'S WHAT IS IN KIND OF THE, THE EN ENACTING DOCUMENTATION.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN MEETING 12 TIMES A YEAR AND REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.
I THINK THAT WAS REALLY A REQUIREMENT FOR US IS WE GOT THE PLAN UP, THE MARKETING PLAN, UP THE BRANDING, UP THE VI THE VISITOR CENTER UP, YOU KNOW, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, REALLY, REALLY VALUED THAT TIME WITH EVERYBODY.
I THINK AS WE'RE LOOKING AT KIND OF OUR, OUR, OUR WORKLOAD, OUR WORKFLOW, YOU KNOW, HOW WE WANT TO BEST USE AND FRANKLY RESPECT YOUR TIME AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT SOMETHING BETWEEN FOUR AND 12.
UM, I THINK THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, FOR US EVERY OTHER MONTH COULD MAKE SENSE.
UM, WE'VE CHATTED WITH, YOU KNOW, JOHN AND ALTHEA BEFORE AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, DO WE PLAN FOR MORE AS OPTIONAL BUT THEN CANCEL THEM AND KIND OF HAVE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARDER TO ADD MEETINGS THAT TAKE THEM AWAY.
I THINK FOR ME IT'S REALLY UNDERSTANDING LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY PULLED OUT SOME AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE FUTURE.
SOME OF THEM I'M NOT READY TO DO NEXT MONTH 'CAUSE WE'RE STILL KIND OF IN PROGRESS, BUT KIND OF JUST WOULD LOVE TO GET SOME INPUT ON WHAT'S THE RIGHT MEETING CADENCE FOR US TO GO FORWARD WITH ANYBODY.
GOT THOUGHTS OF THE MONTH? I'M ALL CONFUSED BECAUSE STRIKES ME AS RIGHT, IT SAYS, UH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19TH.
DID YOU MEAN MARCH? YEAH, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE 16TH.
ONLY YOURS SAYS THAT POP WE ALL HAVE RIGHT.
SO I TRAVEL A GOOD DEAL AND I ACTUALLY ARE TRY TO TRAVEL AROUND THESE MEETINGS
[01:50:01]
BECAUSE THEY'RE ONE OF MY FEW FACE-TO-FACE OBLIGATIONS.UM, SO KNOWING AHEAD OF TIME IS BETTER FOR ME YEAH.
THAN CANCELING AT THE LAST MINUTE.
THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO DO WITH NUMBERS OF MEETINGS, BUT JUST ORGANIZING.
I MEAN THE, EVERY OTHER MONTH DOES LEND ITSELF TO PREDICTABILITY SCHEDULING.
UM, I DO UNDERSTAND IT'S HARDER TO ADD A MEETING IF WE NEEDED TO, BUT MM-HMM
SO WE'RE, WE'RE KICKING OUR EYES.
WE KEEP IT AS THE FIRST, SO IT WOULD BE WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH AND THEN IF WE SEE LIKE NEXT MONTH THERE'S NO AGENDA ITEM THAT'S HOT TOPIC, WE CANCEL IT.
IS THAT A BETTER WAY? I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT.
THAT THE SAME FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, BUT IT'S LIKE, IT IS, THAT'S HARD FOR ME BECAUSE I NEED TO PLAN MY TRAVEL SCHEDULE.
SO I, I TRY TO LIKE TO BE IN TOWN THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH, RIGHT.
WE'D LEAVE THAT LIKE THAT AND THEN A MONTH OUT WE'D SAY WE'D NEED BECAUSE I MEAN, THE QUESTION COMES DOWN TO IS IF WE HAVE A HOT TOPIC THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AND NOW WE'RE SKIPPED A MONTH, NOW YOU'RE GONNA BE TWO MONTHS OUT BEFORE WE GIVE THEM INPUT.
THAT'S THE CONCERN I HAVE THAT I WOULD RATHER KEEP IT ON THE CALENDAR PERSONALLY THEN A MONTH OUT WE SAY WE'RE NOT GONNA MEET IT, WE DON'T NEED IT, LET'S CANCEL IT.
IT'S EASIER TO DO THAT THAN IT IS TO RESCHEDULE, I THINK.
BUT AGAIN, IT'S UP TO MY CONCERN IS THAT IF SOMETHING POPS UP AND SOMETHING CHANGES AFTER SPRING BREAK, SO DO WE NEED A MONTHLY PLACEHOLDER OR DO WE NEED AN EVERY OTHER MONTH PLACE? WELL, WHAT JOHN IS SUGGESTING, AND I'M AMBIVALENT, DOESN'T MATTER TO ME, HAVE IT AS A PLACEHOLDER EVERY MONTH.
YOU'LL KNOW 30 DAYS IN ADVANCE AT A MINIMUM THAT IT WOULD BE CANCELED.
AND THOSE OF US WHO ARE TRAVELING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE CAN TELL YOU WHETHER WE'RE GONNA BE HERE OR NOT IN SEPTEMBER OR EVEN NOVEMBER FOR MY CASE.
SO I CAN TELL YOU ALREADY AHEAD.
SO, AND THEN WE CAN DECIDE GIVEN THE TOPICS, DO WE HAVE A QUORUM I GUESS IS THE, THE YEAH.
THAT'S GONNA BECOME THE CHALLENGE.
I THINK ONE OTHER THING THAT WE THREW OUT THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE NEVER DO ONE IN JANUARY.
MAYBE WE NEVER DO ONE IN JULY TO JUST KIND OF RELEASE, RELEASE THOSE.
SO WE KIND OF SCHEDULE, YOU KNOW, NINE AND THEN WE CAN RELEASE OTHER ONES.
THAT'S, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? SKIP? JANUARY.
I WAS MARKING DOWN THE, THE DATES FOR THE YEAR AND TRYING TO SAY, OKAY, IF WE'RE TRYING TO DO EVERY OTHER, OR WHAT IF, WHAT IF WE, BECAUSE I HAD SAID SIX TO ME FEELS LIKE EVERY OTHER MONTH IS A LONG TIME TO NOT BE HAVING DISCUSSIONS AND THEN YOU'RE KIND OF HAVING TO GO BACK AND REMEMBER WHAT THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION WAS AND PERHAPS TAKING TIME JUST TO GET BACK ON THE SAME PAGE.
UM, SO I SAID, WELL WHAT ABOUT EIGHT? BUT THEN YOU'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, THAT'S NOT AN EASY SEPARATION
SO, UM, I LIKE THE IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, NOT IN JANUARY.
NOT IN JULY, BUT THEN IS THERE A TIMEFRAME FOR THE CITY THAT HAS, UM, POTENTIALLY MORE NEED? YOU KNOW, LIKE IS THERE THE END IS THE END OF THE YEAR.
LIKE THIS YEAR WE HAD A, WE HAD THE VISITOR CENTER STUFF AND IT ALL NEEDED TO HAPPEN IN THE FALL.
IS THE FALL A BUSIER TIME? SHOULD WE PLAN TO HAVE MORE MEETINGS IN THE FALL? LESS MEETINGS EARLIER? YEAH.
I MEAN, BUDGETING IS MAINLY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR RIGHT.
BUT WE, I MEAN COUNCIL HAS, LAUREN AND I STARTED BUDGETING IN DECEMBER, WHICH GIVES RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CITY, RIGHT? SO IF YOU PLAY THAT BACKWARDS, THAT MEANS WE'RE GONNA HAVE A TENDENCY TO HAVE TO HAVE A FEBRUARY MARCH AT LEAST.
MAYBE JUST TO BE ABLE TO SUPPLY THEM WITH ANY FEEDBACK IF REQUIRED.
WHERE IS OUR FEEDBACK MOST VALUABLE TO YOU? I WAS KIND OF THINKING THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN.
AND SO IF YOU, IF WE HAVE, IF WE PUT TWO TOGETHER SO THAT WE CAN, YOU CAN PRESENT A MARKETING CAMPAIGN, REFINE IT AND BRING IT RIGHT BACK.
SO MAYBE WE, WE, WE BUNCH THEM AROUND THOSE PERIODS OF TIME.
I DON'T KNOW HOW VALUABLE OUR FEEDBACK IS TO YOU ON BUDGET VERSUS THAT.
SO I I WOULD, I I THINK IT'S AN INTERESTING POINT.
IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE CONTRIBUTE AND LET'S MAKE SURE WE'RE AVAILABLE AT THOSE TIMES.
I THINK MAYBE LIKE MONTHLY MEETINGS, AT LEAST PLANNED MONTHLY MEETINGS WE CAN ALWAYS CANCEL IF WE DON'T NEED THEM.
BUT LEADING UP TO THE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES, RIGHT.
WHICH TO ME IS LIKE THAT LIKE FALL, SPRING TIME PERIOD AND THEN YOU RELEASE, YOU KNOW, JANUARY, JULY FOR SURE.
AND WE'RE STARTING TO DEVELOP A TEMPO ANYWAYS IN LEARNING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WHAT WORKS.
SO YEAH, SO I WOULD LIKE TO BRING, WE WERE TOO LATE THIS YEAR AND WE FELT IT.
I WOULD LIKE TO BRING IT TO COUNCIL IN OCTOBER VERSUS WHEN I BROUGHT IT TO THEM IN UH, NOVEMBER, WHICH MEANS I WOULD NEED TO BRING IT TO YOU ALL IN SEPTEMBER.
SO DEFINITELY A SEPTEMBER MEETING AND THEN WHATEVER THAT EQUATES TO IN THE SUMMER.
BUT SO THEN IF YOU WERE DOING EVERY OTHER MONTH STARTING NOW, SEPTEMBER WOULD NOT BE ONE.
WHICH IS WHY IT SEEMS TO MAKE SENSE TO ME THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FEBRUARY, WE UM, KNOW THAT OUR PLAN WAS TO SKIP MARCH AND DUE APRIL, THEN JUNE, YOU KNOW, SKIP MAY DUE JUNE, BUT THEN PERHAPS WE JUST SCHEDULE OUT THE LAST HALF OF THE YEAR AND OFFER THAT AS THE 30
[01:55:01]
DAY CANCELLATION FOR THOSE THAT ARE SO EVENTS VERSUS EVERY OTHER WEEK OR EVENT MONTH.IT'S NOT THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF APRIL.
SO THIS, I WANNA BRING THIS UP BECAUSE I'M GONNA BE NOT IN THE OFFICE THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL AND WE CAN'T DO THE SECOND WEEK OF APRIL.
SO I WAS GONNA PROPOSE IF WE COULD DO IT THE THIRD WEEK OF APRIL AND I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT, THAT'S A ONE TIME EXCEPTION.
WE'RE SO WHAT DAY IN APRIL? I'M WEDNESDAY THE APRIL 16TH.
WE'RE SKIPPING MARCH FOR SKIPPING MARCH.
THE IDEA WOULD BE TO SKIP MARCH.
REGULAR BUSINESS ON IN MAY, JUNE, SKIP JULY.
UNLESS YOU'D WANNA ALSO SKIP MAY.
AND IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE SOMETHING IN MAY, WE'RE GONNA BE NEEDING TO LAUNCH OUR SUMMER CAMPAIGN.
SO I, I THINK GIVEN LAUREN'S COMMENTS, AT LEAST HAVING IT ON THE BOOKS FOR THEM, I KNOW IT'S A LOT WE'RE ASKING EVERY MONTH TO DO THIS, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS CANCEL.
I JUST DID THE MATH ON WHEN I'M GONNA NEED TO BRING YOU GUYS STUFF.
SO IT'S, THAT'S WHY IT'S HARD TO, TO DO THE EVERY UPDATE.
IF YOU HAVE A CALENDAR PROPOSAL, THAT'D BE A GOOD THING TO REVIEW WITH US.
WHAT YOU NEED FROM YOUR TIMING AND, AND THE TOPICS OBVIOUSLY.
AGAIN, WE JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GET A PULSE TODAY.
'CAUSE AGAIN, MYSELF, I CAN PROBABLY PREDICT YOU WHEN I'M GONNA BE HERE OR NOT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYBODY ELSE, FRANCIS PERHAPS HAS SIMILAR THINGS IN THE FUTURE YOU HAS TO PLAN FOR.
BUT DID I UNDERSTAND APRIL 16TH IS THE DATE FOR THE NEXT ONE? DOES IT WORK FOR EVERYBODY OR PERFECTLY FOR ME, SO COOL.
AND SO THE REASON TO SKIP THE MARSH MEETING IS WE DON'T REALLY HAVE AN AGENDA ITEMS THAT ARE NEEDED.
YOU'RE QUITE BUSY, YOU'RE IN, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT MAKES TOTAL SENSE AND WE KNOW THAT AHEAD.
SO YEAH, IF YOU GUYS DID LOOK AT IT AND SAY, YES, WE NEED IT IN MAY, AND YES, WE NEED IT IN SEPTEMBER, BUT THEN WE DON'T WANNA HAVE TOO MANY BIG BREAKS AND THE AGENDA ITEMS ARE LOOKING LIKE THIS, THEN YEP.
WE'D LOVE TO ADVISE AND AGAIN, IF YOU, IF LIKE IF YOU WANTED TO PRESENT TWO MONTHS WORTH OF DATA TO US TO SAY HAVING TO DO THAT EVERY, I DON'T KNOW, I WOULD STILL SEND YOU ALL THE MONTHLY RESEARCH REPORTS, BUT MAYBE NOT.
BECAUSECAUSE WOULD BE IN LIKE I WOULD STILL SEND YOU STUFF, BUT IT JUST WOULDN'T BE A STAFF REPORT AND A MEETING BASICALLY.
SO YEAH, AND IF WE'VE GOT QUESTIONS WE CAN SHOUT 'EM BACK TO YOU.
WE LOVE KEEPING MEETINGS ON TIME.
[6. FUTURE MEETING DATE]
SO CONFIRM NO MEETING NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH.AND THEN THE EIGHT UH, APRIL 2ND SESSION IS PUSHED TO APRIL 16TH.
ANYBODY GOT ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE GROUP? ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I THINK MEETING'S ADJOURNED.