Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-31-2007* 'K CITY OF UBV~ WAS H I N GTO N Members Present: Meeting Notes AUBURN TOURISM BOARD October 31, 2007 Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce 2:00-3:30 p.m. Board: Chair Sue Singer, Nancy Wyatt, Bob Dunn, Dave Aust, Jamelle Garcia Staff: Debbie Luce, Duanna Richards and Kirsten Reynolds Opening: Chair Sue Singer called the Auburn Tourism Board meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. on October 31, 2007, at the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. 1. Housekeeping • Approval of Minutes -August 16, 2007 - There were no additions or corrections to the August 16, 2007 minutes. The minutes were approved as submitted. - Chair Singer announced a new Board Member, Philip Edwards from the Auburn Regional Group. - Members no longer serving on the Tourism Board included: Sarah Bonds and Jeffery Sabre. 2. Updates: • Website Update -Bob Dunn updated the group on the many new additions to the web- site; it is updated every Monday, work is being done on the itineraries and photo page, mistakes are being fixed as they arise. Weekly Tourism Update - Coordinator Debbie Luce has designed an a-mail page for easy frequent updates. The goal is to ensure hotel staff is aware of things happening in Auburn so their guests can be informed. It is also a tool to encourage hotel staff to send in updates i.e. events and large blocks of rooms available. - There is a tourism segment now airing on Channel 21. - City staff Jeremy Chevalier was asked to design ATB letterhead incorporating design elements from the tourism map. The group would like to modify the current Fact Information Sheet to have the same look as the brochure. Once these are all designed and modified the group will have an electronic marketing packet to send overseas. - Debbie reported that she is doing an article every month on tourism for the Chamber's newsletter. - Tourism Week is -May 10t" through the 18t". The Tourism Board's hosted tourism week will be put on the Community Calendar because the main theme to the calendar is tourism. • Brochure Distribution - Debbie Luce reported that the distribution of brochures has been going well. Distribution sites are checked on a regular basis for refilling efforts. The list of drop points has been expanded and is being tracked for refilling. Everyone likes the stands and only one business has refused to distribute the maps. - There was discussion on the brochure's visibility. The header that is currently at the back page needs to be moved to the top for better viewing (keeping on back but locating at top of section). - Advertising was discussed; it may be beneficial to have some note pads with ATB information on them and postcards for guests staying at hotels. The group will decide how many to be printed after the price is reviewed. Debbie will check with America's Printer and send out price quotes to the Board. ^ A motion was made by Jamelle Garcia to have Debbie Luce spend up to $500. in printing up to 5,000 postcards; motion seconded by Nancy Wyatt. • All Board members were in favor. CVB's memberships - The group is now an official member of the Seattle and Tacoma Convention and Visitor Bureaus. If the group wanted to have brochures at the SeaTac Airport they would charge $16.66 a month or $200. a year for two locations and $33.33 a month or $400. a year for five locations. The group discussed pro-rated cost for the remainder of the year and discussed the benefits. The Board decided to have Debbie research the exact location of the distribution in the airport. • Certified Update - Debbie Luce met with Certified to lay out future marketing locations and after a lot of discussion the total marketing budget came to $4,351.18. Certified commented the locations will provide excellent coverage; Certified has been putting ATB brochures in all of the old distribution sites and will leave them in places until they are empty. The coverage included the following places: - Coeur D' Alene - 110 sites - Spokane -Super Cities - 164 sites - I-90 Corridor - 47 sites - North Central Washington - 125 sites - Vancouver WA - 66 sites -there was a suggestion to located in Vancouver instead of Portland because of their large tourist info. center and high visibility. - Boeing Tour Center - Seattle Terminals • Possible Advertising - - The group was in agreement to utilize other advertising through service clubs and community programs for smaller ads. • Special Groups - All schools involved in the Veterans Day marching band competition were sent a special package listing hotel rates, visitor information and a welcome letter. A thank you letter will be sent as follow up. - Welcoming goodie bags have been provided to hotels for special groups. The welcome bags have been given to the Iron Horse Casino for their Poker Tournament, the Peppertree for a hosted Car Show, the YMCA who hosted 220 guests and the Travel Lodge for two large groups. Partnerships are being pursued with Travel Agents and Green River Community College in efforts to reach more international visitors. - The Hotels have set special rates in conjunction with renting a car from Budget. - The Auburn Regional and Ms. Auburn Pageant representatives were contacted for room reservations during the pageant. - Efforts are being made to contact the Aquatic Center for upcoming tournaments. - Special welcome cards have been distributed on behalf of the ATB for hotel guests. - Debbie has been meting with Julie Brewer and Daryl Faber for a Golf Package that could be available to hotel guests and those flying in/out of the airport. - Chair Singer and Debbie did a presentation to the West Central District of Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. • Press Release with Group Photo -Duanna Richards - Duanna Richards reported the September 8t" article in the Auburn Reporter did not use the photo that was previously taken. - The City contracted for atwo-page photo ad in a Seattle/King County five year publication. - The Community Calendar was brought in draft form to share with the Board. The calendar is themed off tourism and has a pull out map; it will be distributed to libraries and mailed out to residents. 3. Action Items Potential Advertising - The group talked about creating a display board to be used at shows, community events and displayed at City Hall during off times of use. - Bob Dunn will be updating the free verbiage on the experiencewashington.com sight. Banner ads were priced at: $2,250. for cities and accommodations main page $1,000. for events, deals, accommodations on the state page $750. for statewide/local $675. for landing page $500. for local page - Western Group Tour Magazine -for spring - $575. with a four issue minimum. Ad billing would take place quarterly. - 2008 Seattle Travel Show -January 26t" and 27t" - $870. to $795. • Choosing a Project - The group decided to have Debbie focus on Tourism Week for 2008; branding it as "Discover Auburn Week" brought to you by the Auburn Tourism Board. - Auburn Tourism Week brainstorm: ^ The Auburn Chamber Mixer on May 15t" ^ Downs to name arace/horse ^ Supermall store front display ^ Pacific Raceways to name arace/car ^ Muckleshoot involvement ^ A plane ride could be a possible prize Information Sharing - Muckleshoot has a new General Manager, a new Marketing Representative and is in the process of remodeling. - There is a new restaurant opening next to the Sounder Station. - The Lodging Tax Advisory Board needs to meet before the end of the year, it was determined that Debbie would set up this meeting. - The group decided that starting on January 17th they would meet once a month at various locations (TBD) from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Adjournment at 3:30 p.m. The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.