HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Lodging Tax Advisory Committee - 09/25/2017 (2)Lodging Tax Advisory
Committee Agenda
Mission: Promote the City as a destination
to increase tourism and business development
Unless otherwise noted, the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee meets every other Month on the 4rd Monday at 4:00 p.m. in
Centennial North & South Conference Room, 400 West Gowe Street, Kent WA 98032.
For information on the above item(s), or upcoming meetings contact Julie Pulliam (253) 856-5702.
Committee Members: Bill Boyce, Chair, Tim Higgins, John Casey, Barbara Smith, David Kwok, Andrew
Hutchison, Andrea Keikkala, Bryan Powell
City Staff: Ben Wolters, Julie Pulliam
AGENDA
9/26/17
4:00 p.m.
CENTENNIAL NORTH & SOUTH CONFERENCE ROOM
(ACROSS FROM ELEVATORS)
Item Description Action Speaker(s) Page Time
1. Welcome & Introductions NO Bill Boyce 2 min.
2. Approval of June 26, 2017 Minutes YES Bill Boyce 1 2 min.
3. Budget Update NO Ben Wolters 5 5 min.
4. JayRay Presentation - VisitKent.com YES Bridget Baeth 7 40 min.
5. Vacant LTAC Position NO Ben Wolters 5 min.
6. Next Meeting Date November 27, 2017 YES Bill Boyce 1 min.
8. Adjournment
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee June 26, 2017
Minutes Kent, Washington
Draft Approval Pending
Page 1 of 4
Date: June 26, 2017
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Centennial North & South
Attending: Committee & Chair; Bill Boyce, Andrew Hutchison, Andrea Keikkala, Barbara
Smith, Tim Higgins
City Staff & Guests; Ben Wolters, Julie Pulliam, Michelle Wilmot, Ryan Hart,
Colin Campbell, Jason Thomsen, Bridget Baeth, Florin Mehedint, Ryan Millard,
Mike Raven
Agenda: Called the meeting to order at 4:05 pm
1. Welcome & Introductions & Corrections
Welcome and introductions
Move item #5 to item #7
2. Approval of the April 24, 2017 Minutes
Andrea Keikkala moved to appro ve the April 24, 2017 minutes a nd Tim Higgins
seconded, motion passed.
3. Budget
Ben presented the budget as printed in packet. LTAC is on track to go about $20,000
over the revenue budget for this year. Fo recasted expenditures are tracking forward
with contracts. Year-end fund balance is about $470,000.
4. ShoWare Ask $60,000
Tim Higgins presented the reason he as General Manager would like the $60,000 which
is already approved by the Council for ShoWare Marketing.
He would be better able to use the money more efficiently if it was giving to
ShoWare all at once.
When he see an opportunity if the money is already in the ShoWare Marketing
Budget he would be able to secure the opportunity without having to continue
to come back to the Commi ttee each ti me and maybe loose the opportunity to
bid on a show or event.
By doing this ShoWare would be able to move forward with confidence when
securing a show or event.
Committee would still want a recap of all events that the monies are used for to bring
in events to ShoWare Center.
Motion: Move to approve from the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee for
ShoWare Center to have the already approved by Council $60,000 budget in
full moved into the ShoWare budget marketing budget to be used as needed
to bring different concerts and events.
Barbara Smith moved and Andrea Keikala 2nd, motion passed 4-0
Tim Higgins removed himself from the vote.
5. T-Birds Ask - 2017-2018 Season Partnership Package
Colin Campbell stated what the T-Birds presentation is ab out is bringing people to
ShoWare Center, Kent with the T-birds advertising promotional package.
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Lodging Tax Advisory Committee June 26, 2017
Minutes Kent, Washington
Draft Approval Pending
Page 2 of 4
Presentation
Seattle Thunderbirds 2017/18 2019/20 VisitKent.com
Getting people to Eat, Drink, Stay and Play in Kent!
1. Raise awareness for Visit Kent.com to people from around the region.
2. Educate people about opportunities to eat shop, stay and play in Kent.
3. Put heads in beds.
T-Birds member of the Western Hockey League
VisitKent.com Logo on Thunderbirds Team Bus
VisitKent.com Logo on Thunderbirds Team Van
VisitKent.com Logo on Thunderbirds Webcast
VisitKent.com Logo on Print at Home tickets
VisitKent.com Logo on ShoWare arena Dasher boards
An in-house commercial to run between periods
Fun promotions
VisitKent.com Logo on Cool-Bird cut-outs
VisitKent.com Logo on digital program
Radio broadcast on the Fan 1090am
1. 4 30-second spots
2. 1 live read
3. Opening and closing billboards
VisitKent.com placement on the Partner page of the Thunderbirds website.
Broadcast Television
1. 2 30 second commercials
2. 1 Feature sponsor
3. 1 60 second Featurette
Number of room nights
1. Training Camp – 300+
2. Parents Weekend – 70-80
3. Visiting team – 400+
4. Playoff games – 150-200
Over the course 1,000 and add over 160,00 fans that is a lot of people coming
to Kent and spending money in restaurants and shopping each year.
Total Net investment is $59,400 per season
Motion: Move to approve an ask to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee from
the Seattle Thunderbirds in the amount of $59,400 for the 2017-2018 Seattle
Thunderbirds Season Partnership Package to provide marketing to promote
VisitKent.com
Andrea Keikala moved and Tim Higgins 2nd, motion passes 5-0
6. USA Softball 16A Girls National Championship – Kent 2018
In 2006 we had approximately 138 teams from all over the country. Last time I was
here the Committee asked me to bring back 3 things.
Have opening ceremonies at ShoWare C enter which we do want to have. Meet
May 31st had a good meeting. Tim will be getting back with the numbers. This
should be a go, but cost still needs to be figured out. Tim Higgins said he will
make this event work.
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Lodging Tax Advisory Committee June 26, 2017
Minutes Kent, Washington
Draft Approval Pending
Page 3 of 4
Andrea wants t-shirts and other things to promote the event. Free ad i n the
program. We met and I have a better idea of what she is wanting.
We should be able to get rid of the $5.00 per room night
Motion: Move to approve an ask to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee in the
amount of $20,000, $10,000 in 2017 and $10,000 in 2018 for the Softball 16A
Championship.
Tim Higgins moved and Andrea Keikala 2nd, motion passes 5-0
7. JayRay update on website
Website Project
Goals
Site Map
Schedule
Progress Report
Goals
Inspire visitors to ch oose Kent-website should function as an authentic,
inspiration piece (think coffee table magazine)
Encourage overnight stays/hotel bookings
Responsive display (mobile and table, both landscape and portrait)
Simplify layout and navigation
Easy to use content management system
Improved bounce rate
Improve search engine ranking/SEO
New Features
WordPress backend
Search bar
Newsroom
Enhanced featuring TripAdvisor plugin
Improved events calendar
Custom landing pages/URLs for campaigns
Success Metrics
Increase unique visitors
Decrease bounce rate
Site Map
Explore
o Things to do
o Attractions
o Entertainment
o Outdoor Recreation
o Shopping
o Sports
o Day Trips
o Weekend Trips
o Family Adventures
o 10 Free Activities
Eat & Drink
o Restaurants
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Lodging Tax Advisory Committee June 26, 2017
Minutes Kent, Washington
Draft Approval Pending
Page 4 of 4
o Beer, Wine & Spirits
o Happy Hour Sports
o Local Favorites
Stay
o Hotels
o Camping & RV Parks
Travel
o Your Basecamp
o Planning tools
o Airport
o Maps
o Transportation
Schedule
Discovery – approved site map shared w/LTAC 6/26
Definition - (Wireframe/Sketches) w/LTAC 7/24
Design – approved design w/LTAC 8/28
Development – Final website approval for LTAC 9/25
Website launched to public 9/26
Progress Report – Since our last meeting
1. Site map created
2. New stories and listings drafts started
3. Photo-shoot for new images scheduled
Progress Report – Before our next meeting
1. Complete work on wireframe/sketches
2. Complete stories and listings
3. Completer photo-shoots for new images
Chair Boyce stated we are going in the right direction
Andrew what is the best way to get the feedback to JayRay.
Ben asked Bridget to contact the Committee to ask for their feedback
Ryan Hart - last meeting.
Next Meeting
August 28, 2017 @ 4 p.m.
Meeting adjourned
5:00 p.m.
Submitted
Julie Pulliam, LTAC Secretary
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2015 2016 2017 2017 2017 2018
Actual Actual
Adjusted
Budget YTD Est. Actual
Adopted
Budget
Beginning Fund Balance 371,803 394,516 472,260 469,386 469,386 415,200
Revenues
Lodging Tax 279,466 293,347 280,500 175,720 284,000 286,110
Miscellaneous Income 411 1,512 500 2,828 4,000 500
Total Revenues 279,878 294,859 281,000 178,548 288,000 286,610
Expenditures
Services & Charges 10,000 10,311 16,560 4,431 16,560 17,190
Marketing 144,977 166,191 168,000 145,514 168,000 168,000
Projects & Events 23,665 25,000 75,000 25,000 25,000 15,000
Chamber 18,500 18,500 18,500 9,250 18,500 18,500
ShoWare Branding & Marketing 60,022 (13) 60,000 60,000 60,000 60,000
Total Expenditures 257,164 219,989 338,060 244,195 288,060 278,690
Change in Fund Balance 22,713 74,870 (57,060) (65,647) (60) 7,920
Ending Fund Balance 394,516 469,386 415,200 403,740 469,326 423,120
Lodging Tax Operating Fund
as of August 31, 2017
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Lodging Tax Revenue by Month
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Variance
% of
Change
January 12,759 13,395 13,336 16,651 17,552 18,474 922 5.3%
February 10,621 10,886 12,550 13,424 14,410 15,163 753 5.2%
March 14,020 11,641 13,004 13,870 16,517 17,130 614 3.7%
April 12,828 13,023 14,787 14,512 17,505 19,187 1,682 9.6%
May 14,285 14,764 16,742 17,421 18,210 21,895 3,685 20.2%
June 13,681 14,664 15,636 17,213 21,337 21,174 (163) -0.8%
July 15,267 17,290 20,058 22,598 23,960 25,904 1,944 8.1%
August 5,202 23,152 26,947 34,809 33,870 36,793 2,923 8.6%
Year to Date 98,664$ 118,816$ 133,061$ 150,498$ 163,360$ 175,720$ 12,360$ 7.6%
September 25,468 28,734 33,976 38,364 38,142
October 25,742 31,628 35,047 37,780 39,611
November 19,629 19,525 24,710 29,028 31,007
December 18,469 18,916 22,583 23,796 20,474
Full Year 187,971$ 217,618$ 249,377$ 279,466$ 292,594$ 175,720$ 12,360$ 4.2%
% Change:2.8%15.8%14.6%12.1%7.2%
as of 9/19/2017
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ECONOMIC and COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Ben Wolters, Director
Phone: 253-856-5454
Fax: 253-856-6454
220 Fourth Avenue S.
Kent, WA 98032-5895
Date: September 19, 2017
TO: Chair Bill Boyce and Lodging Tax Advisory Committee
FROM: Ben Wolters, ECD Director & Bridget Baeth, JayRay
RE: VisitKent.com presentation
For Meeting of September 25, 2017
SUMMARY: JayRay has been working closely with the City of Kent to design the
new VisitKent.com website. Since we last met with the Lodging Tax Advisory
Committee (LTAC) and got your initial guidance, we have had calls and in-person
meetings with Ben, Michelle, and Julie from the City to review the site, make some
modifications, and finalize the design.
We are excited to share the responses during the LTAC meeting on Monday,
September 25th. During and following the meeting, there will be the opportunity to
share your thoughts, comments, and questions. Depending on the feedback we
receive we would propose completing the editing on Sept 29th and begin the project
development phase by Sept. 29th this schedule would allow the new site to go live
by October 16th.
EXHIBITS: Presentation will be presented at meeting
BUDGET IMPACT: Yes, already budgeted
MOTION: Information Only
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