Mar 13, 2024 Tourism Commission

SO I'M OVER THE CONVENTION SALES AND SPORTS, UH, FOR OUR DIVISION.

AND AGAIN, EVERY DAY WE'RE LOOKING TO BOOK CONVENTIONS OVER OTHER CITIES, UH, SPORTING EVENTS.

AND IT GETS DOWN TO THE HOTEL ROOMS THAT THEY BOOK IN THE VENUES THEY BOOK TO MAKE THAT PUZZLE WORK.

UM, IT CAN BE AS SMALL AS 10 ROOMS PER NIGHT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT EASY TO BOOK AUSTIN.

UH, A CLIENT MIGHT SAY, I WANNA LOOK AT 10 HOTELS AND I LOOK AT DOWNTOWN, I WANNA LOOK IT OUT.

WE SOURCE IT ALL TOGETHER, MAKE IT EASY, GET THOSE PROPOSALS AND THEN GET THAT RIGHT TO THEM.

SO IT'S FREE SERVICE AND THIS IS WHAT THE CLIENTS GET FROM US.

AND THEN ONCE WE BOOK IT, THEN WE SERVICE THEM, MAKE SURE WE CONNECT WITH SMALL BUSINESSES, MUSIC, AND SO FORTH.

SO THIS CVENT IS THE NUMBER ONE PORTAL WHERE CLIENTS ARE, UM, SOURCING THEIR, THEIR MEETINGS AND EVENTS.

UH, CVENT IS A, IS A PRETTY LARGE, UH, PORTAL.

AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THE DESTINATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA, CURRENTLY, WE'RE NUMBER EIGHT IN DEMAND FOR, UM, MEETINGS AND EVENTS.

SO THAT'S A HUGE, UM, ACCOLADE WHEN, AND SHOWS THE DEMAND COMPARED TO, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE OTHER CITIES LIKE ORLANDO AND CHICAGO THAT HAVE MUCH BIGGER, UM, INVENTORY OF HOTELS AND CENTER.

WE STILL, LITTLE AUSTIN STILL RATES NUMBER EIGHT, SO THAT SPEAKS WELL TO OUR DEMAND.

NEXT, PLEASE.

OH, THANK YOU.

THIS IS JUST AN IDEA OF SOME OF THE CONVENTIONS, UM, THAT BASICALLY ARE AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.

UM, AS TOM MENTIONED, BECAUSE OF THE, THE INCREASE IN INVENTORY DOWNTOWN, WE'RE UP TO ABOUT 15,000 ROOMS DOWNTOWN, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, A CITYWIDE OF 1500 ROOMS PER NIGHT OR MORE.

THAT'S WHEN YOU START SEEING WHAT WE CALL COMPRESSION, WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE HOTELS CAN, UM, STACK ON TOP OF THEIR GROUPS, BUT THEY'VE GOT THIS BASE OF CONVENTIONS, THAT'S WHERE ROOM RATES GO UP AND SO FORTH.

SO WITH THAT, THESE ARE SOME OF THE GROUPS THAT ARE JUST 1500 PEAK ROOMS OR MORE.

SOME, UM, ARE TEXAS GROUPS THAT WE RELY ON HEAVILY.

UM, THEY'VE COME EVERY OTHER YEAR OR EVERY YEAR.

UM, SOME CORPORATE BUSINESS, OF COURSE, SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, THEY, UM, CONTRACT ABOUT 52 0 5,

[00:10:02]

UH, PER NIGHT.

BUT LIKE SO MANY OF OUR CONVENTIONS, WE KNOW THERE'S A LOT MORE BOOKING THAN JUST THAT.

UM, A LOT OF ATTENDEES, IN SOME CASES, ONE OUT OF EVERY TWO DON'T EVEN GO THROUGH THE OFFICIAL ROOM BLOCK, UM, THAT A GROUP SETS UP.

THEY DECIDE TO DO IT ON THEIR OWN FOR WHATEVER REASON.

SO THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THESE GROUPS.

UH, A LOT OF OUR GROUPS ARE BOOKING FAIRLY SHORT TERM.

UM, SOME ARE REBOOK LIKE TEXAS ROADHOUSE THAT WAS GONNA BE HERE IN 2020.

NOW THEY'RE FINALLY COMING.

ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, ONE OF THE PREMIER, UM, AFRICAN AMERICAN SORORITIES, THEY JUST BOOKED FOUR MONTHS AGO.

UM, AND THEY'RE EXPECTING 8,000 WOMEN TO COME TO TOWN.

SO, UH, SOME BOOKS A LITTLE FURTHER OUT, BUT A LOT CLOSE IN.

AND THEN YOU CAN SEE, UH, AS WE'RE GETTING INTO THE SUMMER, AND THIS IS WHERE, UM, WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO GET THESE CITY-WIDES OVER SLOWER TIMES.

THIS IS WHEN THE HOTELS REALLY NEED IT.

THEY REALLY, UM, IN ORDER TO GET THE BIG ROOM BLOCKS AS WELL.

SO, YOU KNOW, A GROUP LIKE, UH, THE ELKS ARE COMING BACK NEAR THE 4TH OF JULY, THE VETERINARY MEDICAL.

THIS IS A, LIKE, GAME CHANGER FOR THE SUMMER FOR SURE.

AND THEN WE HAVE OUR ANNUAL GROUP, KELLER WILLIAMS. SO WE, WE VALUE THOSE SUMMER GROUPS AND THEN WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE ONE OF THE BEST DECEMBERS EVER.

TYPICALLY, IT'S HARD TO BOOK DECEMBER.

UM, BUT HERE WE'VE GOT TWO VERY LARGE CITYWIDE IN DECEMBER, WHICH IS AWESOME.

AND EVERY CITY WANTS THIS, NASHVILLE, SAN ANTONIO.

THEY ALL WANT THAT SUMMER.

THEY ALL WANT DECEMBER KIND OF BUSINESS.

NEXT, PLEASE.

SO FORECASTING THIS IS JUST, UM, OUR INDUSTRY IN GENERAL USES TOURISM ECONOMICS AS A FORECASTER.

A LOT OF DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS USE A CRM, UM, A COMMON CRM WHERE THEY CAN DOWNLOAD DATA AND TOURISM ECONOMICS CAN LOOK AT THAT AND SEE OF THE BOOKINGS THAT COME THROUGH THE CONVENTION BUREAUS, THE, THE DMO, HOW'S EVERYTHING LOOKING? UM, SO TOURISM ECONOMICS, FOR EXAMPLE, COMPARING TO 2019, WHICH WE PROMISE PRETTY SOON WE'RE GONNA STOP TALKING ABOUT 2019.

WE'RE JUST GONNA MOVE ON, BUT WE'RE STILL HERE.

UM, BUT COMPARING TO 2019, YOU CAN SEE ON THE LOW AND HIGH END, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT WITH 25 STILL, UM, GETTING BACK TO THE, THOSE SAME LEVELS OF 2019 FOR GROUP DEMAND.

NEXT, PLEASE.

AND THEN THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE NEW HOTEL INVENTORY COMING IN THAT DOESN'T STOP.

UM, SO YOU CAN SEE VARIETY DOWNTOWN AND ALL THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE AREA.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DIGESTING THIS MORE INVENTORY COMING IN AND OF COURSE WE'RE CHARGED TO HELP TRY TO SELL OUT AND FILL OUT EVERY HOTEL IN THE ENTIRE AUSTIN AREA.

DO YOU HAVE YOU AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS? AND THIS IS A POSITIVE THING, BUT IN 2014 WE HAD 6,800 ROOMS DOWNTOWN.

THIS YEAR WE'RE GONNA BE 15,000 ROOMS DOWNTOWN.

WE'VE DOUBLED OUR PORTFOLIO DOWNTOWN IN 10 YEARS, RIGHT? AND WE'VE SEEN THAT ON TOP OF THAT, ACROSS THE CITY.

LEMME JUST TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT.

YEP, THERE YOU GO.

SO, UM, SO OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ON THE CONVENTION CENTER PROJECT AND YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE ARE THE 60TH LARGEST CONVENTION CENTER IN THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW.

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE NEEDED A, A BIGGER CONVENTION CENTER WITH MORE EXHIBIT HALL SPACE AND MORE BALLROOMS AND MEETING ROOMS. AND OBVIOUSLY THAT PROJECT KICKS OFF IN 25.

IT'LL BE FINISHED IN BY 2029.

SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE ON THIS CHART, 376,000 SQUARE FEET OF WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN OUR CURRENT BUILDING IN TERMS OF RENTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE.

AND THEN YOU'LL SEE WITH A PROOF OF CONCEPT ON THE FAR RIGHT, WHICH IS 709,000, UH, SQUARE FEET OF SPACE IN THE, IN THE NEW BUILDING.

THIS IS A CONCEPT ONLY, IT'S NOT FINALIZED YET.

AND, AND THE CONVENTION IS WORKING THROUGH DESIGN RIGHT NOW.

AND WE'LL BE DOING THAT FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHS OR SO.

BUT YOU CAN SEE WE ARE GONNA HAVE A SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER CONVENTION CENTER, UH, THAT THAT WILL BE SELLING INTO THE FUTURE.

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT.

SO 25 TO 30, WE PUT TOGETHER A STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, ALONG WITH A LOT OF OUR HOTEL SALES PARTNERS, UH, WITH SOME OF OUR VENUES HERE IN TOWN WITH A CONVENTION CENTER STAFF, OUR LEADERSHIP ON OUR BOARD, WE KNEW THAT WE HAD, WE HAD A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH.

HOW ARE WE SELLING THE CITY BEFORE THE BUILDING GOES DOWN TO 25? HOW ARE WE GONNA SELL THE CITY BETWEEN 25 AND 29? 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT OUT OF THE CONVENTION BUSINESS, WE'RE JUST OUT OF THE CONVENTION BUSINESS FOR THE CENTER FOR THOSE YEARS.

AND THEN HOW ARE WE SELLING OURSELVES IN PHASE THREE, WHICH IS POST 2029 WHEN THE BUILDING'S REOPENED? UM, AND SO WE PUT TOGETHER SOME STRATEGIES ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THAT.

I WILL TELL YOU THE FOUR BIGGEST STRATEGIES, AND, AND STEVE WILL DIVE IN THIS A LITTLE BIT DEEPER, BUT THE FOUR BIGGEST THINGS WORKING WITH THE TOURISM PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IS INCREASING IN-HOUSE BUSINESS.

IF YOU REMEMBER LOOKING AT THE TPI DOCUMENT, 10% OF THAT AT LEAST COULD BE USED FOR BUYING IN-HOUSE HOTEL BUSINESS.

SO WE'LL DO THAT.

WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE CALLING CAMPUS STYLE OR MINI WIDES.

SO LET'S SAY WE GOT A 1500 ROOM LEAD FOR THE THOUSAND ROOM MARRIOTT HOTEL.

THEY CAN USE OTHER HOTELS AS OVERFLOW.

PUT 800 ROOMS IN THERE AS THE HEADQUARTER HOTEL.

LET'S ENCOURAGE SOMEBODY TO PUT THOSE 700 ROOMS AROUND THAT HOTEL.

SO IF WE START DOING THAT FOR OUR FOUR BIG BOX HOTELS DOWNTOWN, WE DO IT AROUND THE HYATT, WE DO IT AROUND THE RENAISSANCE AND THE TOMMY THOMPSON, SOME OF OUR BIGGER HOTELS, AND

[00:15:01]

IF WE CAN START DOING ENOUGH OF THAT, WE'RE GONNA FILL A SIMILAR COMPRESSION TO WHAT WE SAW FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER.

AND THAT'S REALLY CRUCIAL BECAUSE WHEN DOWNTOWN'S FULL, EVERYBODY ELSE CAN CHARGE RATE.

SO WE'VE GOTTA REALLY WORK ON THIS MINI WIDE CAMPUS STYLE APPROACH.

UM, AND, AND STEVE AND THOSE GUYS ARE LETTING CUSTOMERS KNOW, WE ARE NOT OUT OF, WE'RE NOT OUT OF BUSINESS FOR THE MEANSES MARKET.

WE'RE GONNA INCENTIVIZE GROUPS TO LOOK AT US DURING THOSE FOUR YEARS.

UH, WE'RE SEEING A LOT MORE SPORTS ACTIVITY.

UH, DREW HAYES AND OUR SPORTS COMMISSION IS DRIVING A LOT MORE SPORTS.

I KNOW ANNA SERVES ON THAT BOARD AND SHE KNOWS HOW MUCH BUSINESS THE SPORTS COMMISSION'S BRINGING TO TOWN.

AND THAT'LL, THAT'S NOT JUST A 25, 29 SOLUTION, THAT'S A LONG-TERM SOLUTION.

WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SEE MORE SPORTS BOOKINGS, WHICH IS GONNA HELP.

AND THEN BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF OUR BUDGET IN THE PAST, ESPECIALLY DURING THE COVID YEARS, WE'VE NEVER HAD THE BUDGET AS A DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION TO DO A NATIONWIDE YEAR-ROUND ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN.

SHELLY'S GONNA BE WORKING ON THAT FOR US.

IN THE PAST, WE'VE ALWAYS HAD SUMMER CAMPAIGNS, HOLIDAY CAMPAIGNS, THAT WAS IT ONLY IN SPECIFIC MARKETS.

A LOT OF IT JUST BEING SOCIAL, WHERE ACTUALLY WITH, WHEN THE TPIS IN PLACE ARE GONNA HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY CREATE A, AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN THAT'LL DRIVE MORE ROOM NIGHTS, PROMOTE DIFFERENT THINGS IN THE, IN THE COMMUNITY, EVERYTHING WE'VE EVER PROMOTED IN AUSTIN, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT, CONTINUE TO DO THAT.

WE'RE JUST GONNA DO A LOT MORE OF IT, RIGHT.

AND IN DIFFERENT MARKETS.

SO THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THE BIG FOUR STRATEGIES.

UM, STEVE, YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANNA DEAL IN TERMS OF THESE STRATEGIES AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA DIVE DEEPER INTO? UM, AS TOM SAID, YOU KNOW, UM, USING THE FULL SERVICE HOTELS AS HUBS WHERE OTHER SURROUNDING HOTELS COULD PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ROOMS FOR THOSE PROGRAMS WOULD BE GREAT.

BUT ALSO WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF OFFSITE VENUES, AND WE'RE RIGHT NOW TALKING TO SEVERAL OFFSITE VENUES ABOUT, HEY, YOU'VE BEEN TERRIFIC FOR EVENING EVENTS, BUT HOW ABOUT A DAYTIME EVENT? CAN YOU BE READY TO GO FOR A MEETING? UM, YOU KNOW, WITH AUDIO VISUAL AND SO FORTH.

UH, SO WE'RE GATHERING THOSE ASSETS AND WE'RE GONNA REALLY MARKET THAT.

THAT'S THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY, NOT JUST DOWNTOWN.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, AUSTIN STATE LIMITS THEATER WITH THE W CAN THEY USE, CAN THEY DO DAYTIME MEETINGS? AND THERE'S HOTELS THERE.

THE AT T CONFERENCE CENTER IS A LARGE HOTEL.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE A CONVENTION CENTER.

THERE'S ALL THE HOTELS THERE, THE PALMER, THE LONG CENTER, UH, THE RENAISSANCE.

UH, BUT UH, AGAIN, UH, CAN THE SPEAKEASY CAN, UH, THE, UM, STATESIDE PARAMOUNT BE FOR DAYTIME MEETINGS? UM, AND THERE IS SOME GENERAL INTEREST MAINLY WITH TECH GROUPS WHERE THEY'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE WOULD LIKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN A TYPICAL BALLROOM.

YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE OPEN TO USING A THEATER.

UM, IT IS STILL A HARD SELL, BUT IF WE CAN MARKET IT AND SHOW HOW EASY IT IS TO BOOK IT, THE HOTEL AND THE VENUE AND IT'S WALKABLE, UM, I THINK WE CAN REALLY GET THERE.

SO THAT'S ONE THING FOR SURE.

UM, WE'RE GOING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, JUST REALIGN OUR SALES TEAM, WHICH WE HAVE TO REALLY MARKET THESE AREAS.

AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT DOWNTOWN, IT'S THE ENTIRE AREA.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY OUR FOCUS RIGHT NOW ON THESE MIDT WIDES.

COMMISSIONER CHAPPEL.

UNLESS YOU HAVE A CLARIFYING QUESTION ABOUT A SLIDE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

QUICK QUESTION, DO YOU HAVE A, LIKE A SQUARE FOOTAGE TARGET OR GOAL, LIKE TO THE 247,000 SQUARE FEET OF THE CONVENTION, DO YOU HAVE A TARGET THAT YOU'RE AIMING TO BASICALLY SAY, RIGHT, WE HAVE X INVENTORY AVAILABLE FOR YOUR NEEDS? IS THAT SO, SO PART OF THIS PART? GREAT QUESTION.

UH, COMMISSIONER.

SO WE, WE WENT THROUGH AND CREATED, UH, THROUGH A LOT OF DAB DATABASES, KIND OF THAT HIT LIST OF GROUPS THAT WE SHOULD BE GOING AFTER THE DESTINATION.

UM, DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL, WHICH IS THE TRADE ORGANIZATION OVER ALL THE DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS.

IF YOU HAVE A MEETING IN YOUR DESTINATION THAT TRAVELS, YOU HAVE TO REPORT THAT WITHIN 90 DAYS BACK TO THAT ORGANIZATION.

SO NOT EVERYBODY CAN LOOK TO SEE HOW THAT MEETING DID.

SO WE KNOW WHAT GROUPS OUT THERE ARE GONNA FIT OUR NEW BUILDING, AND THEN WE'VE GOT THE CUSTOMERS WE ALWAYS HAD.

AND THE I OBVIOUSLY IT WON'T BE JUST GETTING BIGGER GROUPS.

IT'LL BE LIKE, HOW CAN WE DO TWO OR THREE GROUPS AT A TIME NOW AND FIT THAT AS A PUZZLE, RIGHT? SO, 'CAUSE YOU GOT, YOU DON'T WANNA JUST HAVE A GROUP THAT'S IN FOR 10 DAYS, FOUR DAYS MOVE IN FOUR DAYS A SHOW AND THREE DAYS OUT.

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT IF YOU HAD TWO SHOWS THAT OVERLAP EACH OTHER A LITTLE BIT AND YOU WOULD DRIVE ROOM NIGHTS TWICE IN THAT 10 DAY PERIOD.

SO YOU WANNA LOOK AT MULTIPLE BOOKINGS AT ONE TIME.

YOU WANNA LOOK AT BIGGER CITY WIDES AS WELL, THAT, ESPECIALLY DURING NEED PERIODS AND SUMMER.

LIKE IF WE GOT ELKS, YOU KNOW, EVERY SUMMER, WOULDN'T YOU? THAT'S A BIG WIN FOR US.

SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU DRIVE DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR ALSO PLAYS INTO IT, BUT THE SIZE OF GROUPS, YEAH, WE'VE REACHED, BELIEVE ME, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH IN THAT.

YEAH, NO, YEAH.

AND IT SOUNDS THAT, THANK YOU.

I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU JUST HAD OVERALL, JUST BECAUSE YOU RIGHT, WE HAVE THE LOSS OF THIS SPACE, AND SO GIVEN THAT WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SOLVE IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, AT LEAST THE GOAL IS TO MAINTAIN WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING AT POSITIVE, EXPANDING AND CREATING EFFICIENCIES.

AND, AND COMMISSIONER, WE WE'RE ALREADY GETTING CUSTOMERS WHO ARE SAYING, WE WANT TO BOOK, WE WANNA BOOK AUSTIN FOR 20 31, 20 32 RIGHT NOW, AND THE NEW BUILDING AND NEW DESIGNED, YET THEY STILL WANT TO COMMIT TO THE CITY.

WE'RE STARTING TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ALREADY.

NO, AND THAT'S EXCITING, RIGHT? TOTALLY.

NO, YEAH, NO, AND THAT'S GREAT.

UM, YEAH, AND I GUESS, RIGHT, YOU'RE WORKING THE LOGISTICS OF THE, THE DISPARATE GROUPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, PUTTING IT TOGETHER, WHICH IS A, A MONUMENTAL LIFT.

COMMISSIONER CHAPPEL, UH, I LIKE TO ASK FELLOW COMMISSIONERS TO HOLD THEIR QUESTIONS TO THE END SO WE CAN GET THROUGH THE PRESENTATION

[00:20:01]

ANYTHING MARKET WANNA NOW YOU WANNA WAIT, WE'LL WAIT TILL THE SECTION.

SHE'S GOT A NICE MARKETING SECTION TO GO THROUGH.

SO SOME OF OTHER KPIS.

WE KNOW WHEN PEOPLE COME IN TOWN FOR A SITE INSPECTION, OUR BOOKING SCENARIO IS 60, 70%.

SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO COME DO SITES OF THE CITY.

'CAUSE WHEN THEY COME, THEY BOOK.

SO THINGS LIKE THAT.

WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT DEFINITE ROOM NIGHTS BOOKED WITHIN A 36 MONTH WINDOW, SPORTS ROOM NIGHTS, CONVERSION ON LEADS, ALL THOSE KIND OF THINGS IN TERMS OF REPLACING THE LOST ROOM NIGHTS FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER.

HERE'S SOME OTHER ADDITIONAL KPIS.

WE'LL LET YOU GO THROUGH THIS, THROUGH YOUR LEISURE.

SO ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE'RE LETTING CUSTOMERS KNOW IS WE'RE NOT CLOSED FOR MEETINGS BUSINESS, IT'S THE CENTER'S DOWN.

BUT WE'VE GOT A LOT OF HOTEL ROOMS THAT ARE NEXT TO EACH OTHER DOWNTOWN WITH A LOT OF MEETING SPACE THAT A LOT OF MEETING PLANNERS WILL FIND ATTRACTIVE.

SO AS WE GET OUT AND ADVERTISE IN THE TRADE COMMUNITY, IN THE MEETINGS COMMUNITY, IT'S, WE'RE STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS, HERE ARE THE INCENTIVES WE'RE OFFERING, BRING YOUR MEETING TO AUSTIN.

THERE ARE A LOT OF GROUPS HERE THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO FIT HERE, OR TO BE ABLE TO FIND THE AVAILABILITY HERE AND NOW THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THE AVAILABILITY AND THEY, AND THEY'RE GONNA BE GETTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR A GREAT DEAL WHILE THEY'RE HERE.

SO, SO AGAIN, WE'RE NOT ON A BUSINESS, SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA CLIENT EVENTS IN ALL THESE DESTINATIONS.

WE'RE GONNA GO TO TRADE SHOWS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

WE'RE GONNA DO, WE'RE GONNA DO CUSTOMER EVENTS WITH, YOU KNOW, WE DID AN ANTONELLI'S ACTIVATIONS SEVERAL TIMES THIS YEAR.

WE ALWAYS TAKE, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME AUSTIN ON THE ROAD WITH US AS WE GO THIS YEAR WAS CHEESE AND THE GREAT THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING AS A COUPLE.

UM, AND IT WAS ALWAYS A BIG HIT ACROSS ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES WE WENT TO.

AND THEN WE'RE ALWAYS DOING THINGS IN CHICAGO.

THERE'S A LONGSTANDING ICE SKATING EVENT IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

IT'S A BIG HIT IN CHICAGO WITH OUR CUSTOMER BASE.

SO WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA CONTINUE DOING THOSE THINGS, WORKING DIFFERENT INDUSTRY TRADE SHOWS.

WE'RE GONNA KEEP LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE'RE STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS.

WE'RE GONNA OBVIOUSLY KEEP PUSHING THE SPORTS BUSINESS.

WE TALKED ABOUT DREW AND HIS AND HIS, UH, SPORTS, UH, BOARD ARE BOOKING A LOT MORE EVENTS INTO THE TOWN, THE DRIVE ROOM NIGHTS, AND THAT'S A LOT OF WEEKENDS AND SUMMER BUSINESS.

SO THAT'S CRITICAL FOR US.

AND THENM TURN OF SHELLY, SHE'S KINDA GO THROUGH SOME QUICK MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS AND WE'LL GET THROUGH THE T PIT AS WELL.

SO A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'RE UP TO RIGHT NOW AT OUR MARKETING TEAM WITH VISIT AUSTIN.

SO LAST YEAR WE DEVELOPED A NEW ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN CALLED YOUR IN FIRST SHOW, WHICH REALLY BUILDS ON THE ANTICIPATION AND EXPERIENCE OF, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO GO TO A FESTIVAL OR A CONCERT, THAT BUILDUP OF COMING, THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA CREATE AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA EXCITED ABOUT POTENTIAL VISITORS TO AUSTIN.

UM, WHAT'S REALLY WONDERFUL ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN IS THAT IT'S SO MODULAR.

WE'RE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT SO MANY DIFFERENT DESTINATION ASSETS OF AUSTIN.

AND ALSO WE CAN ADAPT THE CREATIVE CAMPAIGN TO WORK NOT ONLY FOR OUR LEISURE TRAVELERS, BUT ALSO FOR STEVE AND OUR SALES AND MEETINGS BUSINESS AS WELL.

AND JUST KIND OF TAKING A LOOK BACK AT OUR CAMPAIGN RESULTS FROM LAST YEAR, AGAIN, A MUCH SMALLER MEDIA BUDGET, UM, THAN WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DEPLOY FOR THIS YEAR'S SUMMER CAMPAIGN.

AND AS TOM HAD MENTIONED, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO BE ABLE TO HAVE BUDGET WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO TRULY BE ALWAYS ON AND HAVE AN EVERGREEN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN.

UM, BUT THAT BEING SAID, EVEN WITH LOWER BUDGET LEVELS, UM, WE STILL HIT ALL OF OUR, UM, KPIS AND OBJECTIVES FROM A MEDIA STANDPOINT.

AND ONE THING THAT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF IS JUST LIKE OUR KICK THE RATES, ESPECIALLY ON PAID SOCIAL, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING ON CURATED CONTENT, UM, TO DRIVE PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND OFFERINGS THAT AUSTIN HAS TO OFFER.

AND FROM A HIGH LEVEL, JUST, YOU KNOW, OUR CHANNEL STRATEGY THAT WE WORK ON, UM, REALLY WE CONSIDER OURSELVES A REFERRAL PARTNER FOR LOCAL, UM, BUSINESSES IN AUSTIN.

UM, WE'RE PROUD TO REPORT THAT LAST YEAR, OUR LAST FISCAL YEAR, WE HAD OVER A MILLION CLICKS THAT WERE, UH, DIRECT REFERRAL LINKS TO LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVE ON VISIT AUSTIN.

AND THIS IS THROUGH A MIX OF OUR PAID AND OWNED CHANNELS, OUR EMAIL MARKETING PROGRAMS THAT WE SEND OUT TO A LIST OF LEISURE AND MEETINGS, UM, AUDIENCES AS WELL.

SO I WANTED TO TAKE JUST A QUICK LOOK AT SOME DATA.

AGAIN, EVERY SINGLE DECISION THAT OUR TEAM MAKES IS BACKED BY DATA.

UM, THIS IS FROM A PART MORE, UH, PARTNER THAT'S CALLED ZICO, WHICH IS AN INCREDIBLE TOOL FOR UNDER US TO UNDERSTAND WHO IS VISITING AUSTIN, WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM, HOW MUCH MONEY ARE THEY SPENDING? AND ONE THING THAT YOU'LL SEE ON HERE, SO THE BARS IN GREEN, THAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL VISITORS.

AND THEN IN BLUE, THAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF VISITOR SPEND.

SO YOU'LL SEE US USUAL SUSPECTS ARE DRIVE MARKETS, HOUSTON, DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO.

WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THOSE ARE FOR OUR LOCAL VISITOR ECONOMY.

HOWEVER, IT REALLY IS THE FLY MARKETS FOR, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE ABLE TO REACH WHAT WE CALL MORE OF A HIGH VALUE, MORE QUALIFIED VISITOR TO MARKET.

UM, AND AS WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE INCREASED AD ADVERTISING SPEND, WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH THOSE TRAVELERS OUT OF MARKET AND AGAIN, HAVE THEM IN MARKET AND SPENDING MORE MONEY WHILE THEY'RE HERE.

HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF OUR MEDIA STRATEGY FOR THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR.

OUR AGENCY IS PRESENTING THE FULL TACTICAL PLAN NEXT WEEK.

SO REALLY EXCITED TO GET THAT ON, UM, ON THE ROAD AND BEING ABLE TO BE IN MARKET STARTING ON MAY ONE.

UM, BUT AS WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BEING SUPER LA LASER FOCUSED ON ALL OF OUR OBJECTIVES AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, REACHING THE TRAVELER IN A FULL FUNNEL, UH, JOURNEY FROM AWARENESS AND INTEREST ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BOOKINGS.

UM,

[00:25:01]

WE'RE LOOKING AT MEDIA PARTNERS WHO WERE ABLE TO SEE CONVERSION RATES, ARE THEY BOOKING HOTEL, RIGHT? HOTEL ROOM NIGHTS? ARE THEY BOOKING FLIGHTS? UM, AND THIS YEAR WITH A LARGER BUDGET THAN WE HAD FROM LAST FISCAL YEAR, REALLY GETTING CLOSER TO WHERE WE WERE IN PRE PANDEMIC LEVELS.

WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO ADD IN AND BE ABLE TO TEST SOME NEW SECONDARY FLY MARKETS AGAIN.

SO ONCE WE HAVE MORE BUDGET, UH, PROVIDED TO US FROM TPID, WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT THE MARKETS THAT WE SHOULD BE SPENDING IN.

AND HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF ALL OF THE MEDIA PARTNERS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AGAIN, WHERE WE'VE BEEN REALLY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS THAT CAN REALLY PROVIDE US MORE HOLISTIC PARTNERSHIPS, UM, AND WORKING WITH PARTNERS AGAIN THAT HAVE THE DATA AND THE REPORTING THAT CAN SHOW THE TRUE IMPACT OF OUR MEDIA DOLLARS IN DRIVING VISITATION TO THE CITY.

SO LOOKING AHEAD, I'M SURE Y'ALL HAVE HEARD OF THIS LITTLE THING CALLED THE SOLAR EC CLIFFS THAT WILL BE HAPPENING APRIL 8TH.

UM, ONE THING ABOUT THIS WEEKEND, IT IS ALSO THE CMT AWARDS.

SO NOT ONLY THIS WEEKEND THAT WE HAVE IN APRIL, RIGHT NOW ON SUNDAY, IT'S TI THIS WEEKEND, IT'S USUALLY A LOWER DEMAND NIGHT ON THAT SUNDAY EVENING, DOWNTOWN HOTELS ARE OVER 70, 70%, UH, RATE.

AND THEN ALSO FOR, UH, HOTELS OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN, WE'VE BEEN SEEING THAT CLOSER TO 65, 60 8%.

SO, UM, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING, YOU KNOW, KEEPING OUR EYES ON THIS.

AND ONE THING THAT I'M INCREDIBLY PROUD ABOUT IS OUR TEAM HAS SPENT OVER TWO YEARS DEVELOPING CONTENT ON OUR WEBSITE.

AND OUR LANDING PAGE IS REALLY A HUB OF SAFETY INFORMATION FROM THE CITY.

UM, A TOOL FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND UNDERSTAND, OKAY, WHERE DO I GO SEE THE SOLAR CLIPS? WHAT TYPE OF GLASSES DO I NEED TO WEAR? WHAT BUSINESSES ARE, UM, LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE OFFERING CUSTOM EVENTS? SO WE LAUNCHED A SITE ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, AND WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR AUSTIN SOLAR ECLIPSE, OUR OUR PAGE IS THE NUMBER ONE ORGANIC LISTING THERE.

SO REALLY USING THAT AS A CONTENT HUB FOR VISITORS.

AND THEN, AS TOM HAD MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, REALLY, UM, BUILDING OUT OUR VIDEO LIBRARY OF ASSETS, UM, THE DISTRICT VIDEOS, WHICH WE JUST, UH, LAUNCHED THIS PAST SUMMER.

WE HAVE, UM, WITHIN THE VIDEOS WE WORKED WITH 10 LOCAL AWESOME MUSICIANS, UH, TO CURATE THE SOUND FOR THESE VIDEOS.

UH, THE VIDEOS FEATURE OVER 165 LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND AGAIN, THEY REALLY DO CELEBRATE THE LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS THAT WE HAVE IN AUSTIN.

SO DEFINITELY TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE AT YOUR LEISURE ON OUR ORGANIC CHANNELS.

UM, THESE ARE YEAREND NUMBERS FROM OUR LAST FISCAL YEAR, BUT AGAIN, CONTINUING TO SEE, UM, A GROWTH IN FOLLOWERS, ENGAGEMENTS, LINK CLICKS, AND WE REALLY DO HAVE A TEAM OF ROCK STARS WHO ARE CONSTANTLY, UM, HAVE THEIR PULSE ON WHAT TYPES OF CONTENT IS, YOU KNOW, DRIVING CLICKS, DRIVING ENGAGEMENTS, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO KIND OF LEARN AND OPTIMIZE OUR ORGANIC STRATEGY FROM THERE.

WE ALSO DISTRIBUTE A VISITOR GUIDE EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

UM, WE HAVE A, UH, A LITTLE OVER 250,000 DISTRIBUTION AND WE HAVE THESE AT EVERYWHERE FROM OUR VISITOR CENTER.

WE HAVE THEM AT LARGE EVENTS HERE.

AND AGAIN, REALLY CELEBRATING, HIGHLIGHTING LOCAL BUSINESSES IN AUSTIN.

AS I MENTIONED ON OUR ORGANIC, UH, SOCIAL, WE'VE REALLY SHIFTED TO A VIDEO FIRST CONTENT STRATEGY.

AND YOU KNOW, THIS REALLY GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE SO MANY LOCAL AUSTIN BUSINESSES, HIGHLIGHT OUR ARTS AND CULTURE COMMUNITIES.

AND, UM, THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE KEY INITIATIVES WE HAD LAST YEAR FROM A MONTHLY MURAL SERIES THAT WE DID ON INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK.

UM, WE ALSO WORK WITH A LOT OF LOCAL PARTNERS AND EVENTS, UH, TO DO KIND OF GIVEAWAYS AND DRIVE ATTENDANCE FOR EVENTS LIKE HOT LUCK FESTIVAL AND AUSTIN GAMBLERS AND THE A TX OPEN.

UM, SO CONTINUING TO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE BEING REALLY CONNECTED TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT MIGHT BE OF ENTRANCE TO POTENTIAL VISITORS NEXT.

OH, GO FOR IT.

SO, I DUNNO IF YOU WERE WATCHING CNN ON NEW YEAR'S EVE THIS YEAR, BUT YOU WOULD'VE SEEN AUSTIN, TEXAS ON TV FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF.

UM, WE WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT.

WE GOT A CALL FROM CNN, THEY SAID, WE WANT TO, WE WANNA PROMOTE YOUR NEW YEAR'S EVE EVENT.

AND WE'RE LIKE, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR THAT? THEY'RE LIKE, WE'RE A NEWS ORGANIZATION.

WE, WE DON'T WANT ANYTHING.

LIKE, OH, WE LOVE THAT.

SO WE HELPED OUT WITH A LITTLE BIT OF OUR PRIVATE DOLLARS IN TERMS OF UPGRADING THE BANS AND HELPING WITH SOME SECURITY COSTS.

BUT THIS, THE IDEA IS THAT'S, THIS IS WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE.

WE'RE NOW WORKING WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE TO CREATE A NEW NEW YEAR'S EVE FESTIVAL.

IF YOU REMEMBER IN THE DOCUMENT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE COULD USE DOLLARS DURING THE CONVENTION CENTER CONSTRUCTION PERIOD WAS FOR A NEW YEAR'S EVE EVENT.

SO THE IDEA IS LET'S CREATE A THREE DAY FESTIVAL OVER NEW YEAR'S EVE.

SO I'VE TALKED TO ED ABOUT WHAT CAN WE PUT IN IN, IN HIS SHOP, WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THE MOOD? WHAT ARE WE DOING ON AUDITORIUM SHORES? WHAT ARE WE DOING ON RED RIVER? WE WANT TO, WE WANNA MAKE THIS A THREE DAY MUSIC FESTIVAL JUST STARTING THIS NEXT YEAR.

THIS WAS A GREAT WAY TO LAUNCH.

AND WE WERE ON TV FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF AND YOU KNOW, WE HAD CHEFS INTERVIEWED, WE HAD COACH INTERVIEWED, WE HAD THE MAYOR INTERVIEWED.

IT WAS JUST A GREAT AUSTIN COMMERCIAL.

AND IT OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS THE VIEW EVERYBODY SAW THAT WAS DOWNTOWN THE FIREWORKS.

AND OVER 25,000 PEOPLE DOWN IN AUDITORIUM SHORES.

THIS IS JUST THE START OF WHERE WE WANT TO GO, BUT WE WANNA DRIVE BUSINESS FOR OUR LOCAL MUSICIANS AND OUR VENUES HERE OVER NEW YEAR'S EVE.

I WON'T PLAY THE VIDEO 'CAUSE IT TAKES A FEW MINUTES AND I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY ASKING US TO MOVE ALONG, SO WE'LL MOVE ALONG.

ANYTHING

[00:30:01]

ELSE YOU WANNA ADD WITH MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS? UM, MOSTLY, OH, JUST ONE THING ACTUALLY.

SO AS PART OF OUR MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM, WE ACTUALLY, UH, HOSTED A BLIND INFLUENCER THIS PAST WEEK DURING SOUTH BY, SHE HAD A PANEL SESSION WITH THE HEAD OF ACCESSIBILITY FROM APPLE, AND SHE COVERED AUSTIN AS AN ACCESSIBLE DESTINATION FOR BLIND TRAVELERS.

SO THAT'S JUST ONE IN RECENT INITIATIVE THAT WE DID THAT WE WERE REALLY PROUD TO HOST.

AND THEN ALSO, THIS IS JUST, AGAIN, A SNAPSHOT OF A CAMPAIGN THAT WE DID WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, AGAIN, DRIVING BUSINESS AND, UH, REFERRALS TO OUR LOCAL VENUES AND, UH, LOCAL ARTISTS IN AUSTIN.

SO YOU'LL SEE THAT LAST YEAR WE, WE HIRED 141 ARTISTS, $273, $273,000.

THE AVERAGE IS ALMOST $2,000 PER BOOKING.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GO, WHEN WE ENGAGE A MUSICIAN, WE ASK, WHAT DO YOU CHARGE? OKAY, GREAT, THANK YOU.

AND WE BOOK 'EM FOR DIFFERENT EVENTS.

WE TAKE 'EM ON THE ROAD, WE DO LOCAL EVENTS WITH THEM AS WELL.

LOT, EXCUSE ME.

A LOT OF TIMES WE'LL DEAL WITH CONVENTION CUSTOMERS AND WE'RE LIKE, INSTEAD OF GIVING YOU CASH, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU $10,000 WORTH OF MUSICIANS.

AND SO THEY HIRE OUR LOCAL MUSICIANS, WE PAY FOR IT, RIGHT? SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE USING OUR INCENTIVE DOLLARS.

SO IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM, IT HELPS OUR MUSICIANS AND OBVIOUSLY FILM IS A BIG PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.

I'M SORRY, POINT OF ORDER.

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THAT PROGRAM? AUSTIN HIRE MUSICIAN.

AUSTIN HIRE MUSICIAN.

IT'S, IT'S AN, IT'S, IT'S AT VISIT AUSTIN'S ONE OF OUR, IT'S OMAR LOZANO ON OUR TEAM, RUNS THAT PROGRAM FOR US.

AND THEN WE ALSO, MOST DMO WE HAVE A MUSIC DIVISION, WE HAVE A SPORTS DIVISION, AND WE HAVE THE FILM DIVISION AS WELL.

SO WE'RE OBVIOUSLY WORKING WITH THE STATE AND THEIR NEW $200 MILLION INCENTIVE FUND.

WE'RE STARTING TO SEE A LOT MORE FILM ACTIVITY.

WE OBVIOUS, OBVIOUSLY ALWAYS DO REALLY WELL.

IN FACT, LAST YEAR, HERE'S SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW RELEASED IN 2023 THAT WERE FILMED HERE IN AUSTIN.

UM, AND THEN AUSTIN WAS RANKED NUMBER FOUR, UM, BY MOVIE MAKER MAGAZINE AS NUMBER FOUR FILM DESTINATION IN THE COUNTRY.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE A POPULAR DESTINATION FOR FILMMAKING.

AND WE ALSO, NOW FILM ALSO HAS ITS OWN SOCIAL PROGRAM, SO WE'RE OUT THERE PROMOTING THAT AS WELL.

AND THEN WE'RE ALWAYS STILL DOING INTERNATIONAL MARKETING.

SO WE WORK WITH THE AIRPORTS A LOT IN TERMS OF NEW FLIGHT, THE NEW FLIGHTS, WE WANNA SUPPORT THOSE INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS, MAKE SURE THEY'RE GROWING.

WE KNOW WE GET A LOT OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL HERE IN AUSTIN.

THAT'S REALLY THE BIGGEST GROWTH SEGMENT FOR US GOING FORWARD IS, IS THE DESTINATION.

WE'LL BE INTERNATIONAL.

THAT'S WHERE OUR BIGGEST GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES ARE.

SO WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS WITH THE STATE ON OUR OWN, WITH OTHER DS IN THE STATE AS WELL.

AND THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.

DESTINATION TRAININGS, YOU KNOW, YOU GO TO LIKE THE, THE POWWOW TRADE SHOW AND YOU'LL MEET WITH SOME TRAVEL BUYER AND IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, I BROUGHT 90,000 ROOM NIGHTS TO AUSTIN LAST YEAR.

YOU DID? OH YEAH.

I MEAN THE, THERE THERE'S LOTS OF TRAVEL BUYERS THAT ARE BRINGING LOTS OF ROOM NIGHTS TO THE CITY.

SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ENGAGE THESE, THESE, UH, FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THAT.

AND THEN OBVIOUSLY 269 NONSTOP FLIGHTS, 95 DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS.

WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR AIRPORT STAYS BUSY, FEEDS ALL OF OUR TUR FEEDS, ALL OF OUR TOURISM.

SO JUST, YOU KNOW, COPA THIS YEAR, VIVA AIRBUS COMING FROM ON MON, UH, FROM MONTEREY ON MARCH 22ND IS NEW AS WELL AS AIR CANADA, NEW FROM MONTREAL AND STARTING ON MAY 2ND.

SO THOSE ARE THREE RELATIVELY NEW INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS.

WE'VE BROUGHT THE CITY HELP BRING THE CITY.

UM, REAL QUICK, THE PHILLIPS BUILDING.

SO WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A VISITOR CENTER DOWN BY THE CONVENT CENTER.

WELL IN THE COMMENCE CENTER BECOMES A HOLE IN THE GROUND.

YOU CAN'T PARK TOUR BUSES THERE AND YOU CAN'T TAKE THE ONE LANE OF TRAFFIC FOR A TOUR BUS.

SO WE HAD TO FIND A NEW LOCATION.

SO THIS IS HISTORIC BUILDING.

I THINK IT'S BUILT IN 1892 OR 1897.

UH, A LITTLE HISTORY.

IT WAS THE ORIGINAL STUDEBAKER DEALERSHIP HERE IN TOWN.

UM, SO I DON'T, MAYBE THAT'S WHY THEY HAD THE BIG ARCH WINDOWS IN THE FRONT.

MAYBE THAT WAS AN ACCESS POINT AT SOME POINT.

BUT THAT IS GONNA BE THE NEW LOCATION FOR THE VISITOR CENTER SIGNING THE LEASE PROBABLY ABOUT BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK.

UM, AND THIS, THIS NEW VISITOR CENTER WILL OPEN PROBABLY FEBRUARY OF NEXT YEAR, UH, ABOUT 7,500 SQUARE FEET.

IT'S A LITTLE BIT LARGER THAN THE CURRENT VISITOR CENTER.

IT IS LITERALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, HALF BLOCK YOU CAN SEE OFF OF CONGRESS AVENUE.

IT'S ON FIFTH STREET CATEGORY FOR THE TOMMY THOMPSON.

IT'S RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF DOWNTOWN.

IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT LOCATION.

WE'RE REALLY PROUD THAT IT'S A HISTORIC BUILDING THAT WE'RE BRINGING BACK IN THE MARKET AS WELL.

AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.

SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S COMING.

UM, AND THEN WHEN WE'RE CLOSING THE OLD VISITOR CENTER, WE'LL MOVE IN THIS ONE ON FEBRUARY 1ST, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO DOING, OR AUSTIN TOURISM INSIDER TRADING.

AND I'D LIKE TO INVITE ANY OF THE TOURISM COMMISSIONS THAT WANT TO GO TO THAT AT, AT OUR, AT OUR COST.

UM, SO THIS IS BASICALLY A HOW DO YOU SELL AUSTIN PROGRAM? WE BRING IN FOR CLASSROOM.

WE TAKE IN A CITY TOUR ON THE BUS, WE TRAIN YOU ON HOW TO SELL THE CITY.

AND WE'RE DOING THIS WITH ALL OF OUR TOURISM PARTNERS.

WE HAVE SO MANY NEW PEOPLE IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY.

WE NEEDED TO PROGRAM TO TRAIN THEM ON HOW DO YOU SELL THE CITY.

SO WE'RE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING, BUT WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE FROM, UM, DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE TAKE THIS PROGRAM.

NOT JUST PEOPLE INVOLVED WITH TOURISM INDUSTRY.

WE HAVE CORPORATIONS TAKING THIS TRAINING PROGRAM.

WE'VE HAD, UH, THE REAL ESTATE COUNCIL TAKE THIS PROGRAM.

WE'VE HAD, UH, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE FOLKS TAKE THIS PROGRAM.

IT'S, IT'S REALLY ABOUT TRAINING PEOPLE ON AUSTIN, TEXAS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE NEW.

AND THEN I JUST THOUGHT I'D UPDATE YOU QUICKLY ON THE, ON THE, UH, TPI, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON TRYING TO GET THE SIGNATURES FOR THE TPI.

AND HERE ARE SOME OF THE, AGAIN, SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT HAVE TAKEN IT, A LOT OF OUR HOTEL STAFFS, BUT OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL.

[00:35:02]

UM, SO I WILL TELL YOU THAT MOST DESTINATIONS, THAT'S A SIX TO NINE MONTH PERIOD IN TERMS OF GETTING THE SIGNATURES COLLECTION.

WE'RE RIGHT AT THE SIX MONTH SCENARIO RIGHT NOW.

SO THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS THAT, THAT WE NEEDED TO DO TO GET STARTED.

FIRST OF ALL, A LOT OF THE HOTEL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES WANTED TO GET THIS 25 30 CONVERSATION GOING ABOUT HOW ARE WE GONNA SELL THE CITY? WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA CREATE THIS TPI, SHOW US HOW WE THINK WE'RE GONNA GENERATE ROOM NIGHTS.

AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THEY DESERVED TO HAVE AS WE WENT OUT AND STARTED HAVING THE CONVERSATION.

SO THAT TOOK US SIX OR EIGHT WEEKS TO CREATE THAT DOCUMENT FOR THEM AND GET IT TO THE PLACE WHERE THEY LIKED IT.

AND THEN, UH, THE JUST LEGAL SIGNATURES, FIRST OF ALL, WAS IT WET SIGNATURES? WAS THE DOCUSIGN, HOW'D THE CITY WANT IT? AND THEN IT WAS LIKE, WAIT A MINUTE, WE, IF WE HAVE LANDOWNERS, WE MAY WANT THE LANDOWNERS AND THE HOTEL OWNERS.

SO THERE'S THE CONVERSATION WITH CITY LEGAL AND, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY JUST THE HOTELS LEGAL, UH, THEIR LEGAL TEAMS THAT WERE LOOKING AT THIS DOCUMENT.

SO THAT SLOWED SOME OF THIS DOWN A LITTLE BIT.

UM, THEN WE HIT THE HOLIDAYS.

THAT SLOWED US DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE.

UM, BUT, UM, AND SOMETIMES WE'VE GOT, LIKE, YOU HAVE A HOTEL AND IT'S LIKE, IT'S, I JUST MAKING IT THE SMITH HOTEL AND IT'S, BRAD JOHNSON'S SUPPOSED TO SIGN IT.

WELL, THERE IS NO BRAD JOHNSON.

THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BRAD JOHNSON THERE.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU GOT THE NAME BRAD JOHNSON.

SO THERE'S, WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THE CITY ABOUT LIKE, THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT NAME OF THE RIGHT INDIVIDUAL.

SO WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THAT RIGHT AS WELL.

SO IT'S, THAT'S THE THINGS THAT SLOW THIS DOWN A LITTLE BIT.

UM, WE'VE GOT LOTS OF HOTELS THAT HAVE SIGNED.

WE'VE GOT TWO OR THREE MAJOR TUMBLERS LEFT.

AND WHEN WE GET THERE, I THINK WE'LL BE THERE PRETTY QUICKLY.

I THINK THOSE ARE GONNA HAPPEN RELATIVELY SOON.

SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

IF YOU ASKED ME WHEN I THOUGHT WE'D BE IN, IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE, I'D PROBABLY TELL YOU BY MAY ONE, WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE.

UM, AND TO LAUNCH, WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO IN FRONT OF CITY COUNCIL.

WE'LL DEFINITELY BE UP AND OPERATING BY NEXT OCTOBER.

UM, START THE NEW FISCAL YEAR.

SO WE'LL GET, WE'RE TRYING TO GET DOWN AS SOON AS WE CAN, BUT ALL THE OTHER DESTINATIONS TOLD US, AND SCOTT JASO HAS BEEN HELPING US WITH THE TEXAS HOTEL LODGING, WHO'S, WHO'S DONE THE OTHER SEVEN IN THE STATE SITS SIX TO NINE MONTHS.

AND THAT'S WHAT IT'S PLAYING OUT TO BE.

SO, BUT WE ARE WORKING ON IT ACTIVELY EVERY DAY.

SO HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THE TID SALES AND MARKETING.

UM, MR. NOONAN AND, UM, MAY THE RECORD REFLECT THAT WE HAVE COMMISSIONER CHANIN WHO'S JOINED THE DAAS AND, UH, COMMISSIONER CHANIN.

SORRY I'M LATE.

I HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLE GETTING THROUGH THE MADHOUSE OUT IN DOWNTOWN THIS WEEK, YOU KNOW, FOR TOURISM.

THERE YOU GO.

UM, TOM, COULD YOU ADDRESS, UM, TOURISM'S IMPACT ON EMPLOYMENT IN THE CITY AND THE BUREAU'S EFFORTS WITH TRAINING EMPLOY FOR EMPLOYMENT? SO, SO WE'RE, WE'RE SOMEWHERE AROUND 145,000 EMPLOYEES IN THE, IN THE GREATER TOURISM INDUSTRY IN, IN THE AUSTIN REGION.

SO WE'RE USUALLY EITHER NUMBER THREE OR NUMBER FOUR EMPLOYER IN THE REGION.

SO IT'S AN IMPORTANT, UH, EMPLOYMENT SEGMENT.

AND IT'S NOT JUST ENTRY LEVEL, ALTHOUGH A LOT OF PEOPLE START THAT WAY, BUT IT, IT HITS EVERY LEVEL OF EMPLOYMENT ALL THE WAY UP FROM YOU.

'CAUSE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, CEOS, YOU HAVE SALES AND MARKETING PROFESSIONALS, YOU HAVE ATTORNEYS, YOU HAVE ACCOUNTANTS, YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, ENGINEERS, YOU HAVE, YOU NAME IT THAT ARE ON HOSPITALITY BUSINESS.

SO IT HITS ALL DIFFERENT SEGMENTS, BUT IT'S, IT'S UP FROM 130, I THINK IT WAS 132, UH, PRE COVID.

SO IT'S, IT'S GROWING.

COMMISSIONER CHANNING.

COMMISSIONER KANATI.

UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE NEW VISITOR CENTER.

I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THE, THE HISTORIC BUILDING BEING RECOVERED.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS QUESTION MAKES ANY SENSE, BUT I'M WONDERING IF Y'ALL HAVE COMMITTED, UH, VISITOR INFORMATION, TASK FORCE, EXCUSE ME, VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER FUNDS TO, TO BE ALLOCATED FOR THAT PROJECT AS OPPOSED TO HISTORIC FUNDS.

AND THE REASON I'M ASKING IS THE CITY HAS A CAP ON HOW MUCH IT CAN SPEND.

I THINK IT'S 15% ON HISTORIC, UM, PROJECTS.

MM-HMM.

AND I'M JUST, I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S A WAY FOR Y'ALL TO HELPFULLY DESIGNATE THIS SO THAT IT'S FUNDED NOT WITH HISTORIC FUNDS, SO THAT THAT FULL CAP IS AVAILABLE.

BUT SO COMMISSIONER, WE HAVEN'T, UH, WE WERE, WE WERE PLANNING ON PLAYING FOR THIS OURSELVES.

SO, BUT IF YOU'RE TELLING ME THERE MIGHT BE A SYSTEM, HISTORIC TAX CREDITS WE COULD USE, OR A HOT FUNDING FROM HISTORIC, I WOULD CONSIDER IT.

BUT I JUST THOUGHT THAT PROBABLY WASN'T SOMETHING THE COMMITTEE WOULD WANT ME TO DO.

SO WE WERE JUST LOOKING AT, UH, UH, PAYING FOR A LOT OF IT OURSELVES, FRANKLY.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER BAILEY.

WELL, AND MAYBE THAT'S WHAT THE VISITOR INFORMATION, BUT IF YOU, BUT IF YOU'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE, I'M JUST KIDDING.

SO NO, THIS WAS THE, THE CONVERSATION WAS, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY THE CITY WANTS TO USE A HISTORIC HOTEL TAX FUNDING FOR, WE GET THAT MM-HMM.

AND SO, AND WE ARE REFUNDED BY THE HOTEL TAX.

SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UH, THAT AND USING PRIVATE FUNDS AND, AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN WE FUND THIS BUILDING, IT'S GONNA BE IN THAT LOCATION FOR 10 YEARS.

SO IT'S THE INITIAL INVESTMENT, BUT IT'S GOOD LONG TERM.

WE'LL WRITE IT DOWN OVER 10 YEARS.

THANKS.

UM, THANKS FOR THIS.

IT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION.

A LOT OF INFO HERE.

I, YOU KNOW, THIS, WE'VE BEEN INVITING A LOT OF SPEAKERS AND THIS PAST MEETING WE, WE MET WITH ANGELOU ECONOMICS AND PART OF OUR DISCUSSION WITH THEM

[00:40:01]

IS, IS TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THIS COMMUNITY AND EVENTS AND HOW IT WORKS IN OUR FAVOR IN TERMS OF LEISURE AND KIND OF THE SPOKE OFF THAT PIECE.

AND IT'S ONE THAT I'VE BEEN PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN AND I WANT TO CONTINUE TO HAVE US REFLECT ON, AND IT'S A QUESTION, BUT I'M REALLY ASKING YOU TO JUST RIFF OFF YOUR OPINION, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF, I THINK OUR COMMUNITY HAS A LOT OF PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS THAT OTHER COMMUNITIES DON'T.

AND I EVIDENCE THINGS LIKE PEOPLE BUILDING DISTILLERIES, PEOPLE BUILDING BREWERIES, C3 PRESENTS COMING UP, THE OAK VIEW GROUP, BUILDING THE MOODY CENTER.

NOW WE'VE GOT THE AUSTIN GAMBLERS, WE'VE GOT HOT LUCK FESTIVAL, WE'VE GOT CODA OF ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING.

AND IT'S, YOU'RE DOING A FABULOUS JOB OF THROWING A LASSO ON IT AND BRINGING IT INTO THE CENTER TO USE IT AS MARKETING.

BUT I'M JUST LOOKING FOR A LITTLE REFLECTION FROM, YOU KNOW, YOUR VANTAGE POINT OF HOW LUCKY ARE IS THIS COMMUNITY ? AND, AND, AND I WANNA JUST, I WANT US AS A BODY TO REFLECT ON, WE HAVE SOMETHING HERE AND IT'S PART OF OUR JOB IS TO HELP PRESERVE IT, SAVE IT, AND MAKE IT BETTER.

BUT WE, WE, WE DEFINITELY HAVE A SPECIAL SAUCE HERE IN AUSTIN THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE JEALOUS AND ENVIOUS OF.

AND WE, EVEN WHEN IT GETS TO OUR, OUR CONVENTION SERVICES DEPARTMENT ABOUT HOW WE SERVICE OUR CUSTOMERS, WE'RE LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING IN AUSTIN? WE WANNA KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING.

SO EVEN THOUGH EVEN OUR, OUR COMPETITORS ARE ASKING HOW WE'RE SERVICING OUR CUSTOMERS, RIGHT? BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WE HAVE THIS AMAZING BUFFET, TO YOUR POINT, I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT SOME DESTINATIONS AND THEY ARE JUST A TOURISM DESTINATION THERE.

AND THIS IS NOTHING AGAINST, YOU KNOW, SOME PLACES THAT MIGHT HAVE, YOU KNOW, DISNEYLAND OR WHATEVER THOSE, AND THEY'RE, THEY DO AMAZINGLY WELL.

WELL, BUT THEY'RE MOSTLY A TOURISM DESTINATION AND WE HAVE THAT, RIGHT.

UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO A GREAT MEETINGS DESTINATION.

WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALSO A BIG, YOU KNOW, MUSIC DESTINATION.

YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE DOING A LOT OF FILM HERE.

SPORTS IS COMING BACK HERE MORE OFTEN.

BUT YOUR POINT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A GREAT OUTDOOR DESTINATION.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GREAT HOTEL PACKAGE DOWNTOWN.

WE HAVE GREAT WEATHER.

IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE GOOD, WE HAVE A GREAT AIRPORT NOW.

IT'S LIKE, WE MAKE IT EASY TO BE A TOURIST IN AUSTIN.

THAT'S KIND OF THE NUMBER ONE THING.

AND THERE'S A, THERE'S A, IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU LOVE TO DO, YOU'RE GONNA FIND IT HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND, AND I, WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY LUCKY THAT WAY.

YOU KNOW, OUR DOWNTOWN IS THE BEST DOWNTOWN, THE STATE OF TEXAS.

AND, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THE DOMAIN'S AMAZING AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND YOU KNOW, NEW THINGS, NEW SPORTS EVENTS THAT ARE IN TOWN, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE Q2 AND THE GAMBLERS AND THE NEW, THE NEW MOOD AND ALL THESE THINGS.

AND, YOU KNOW, SO WE, WE, WE HAVE A PLETHORA OF RICHES AND WE'RE NOT GONNA APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.

UM, IT'S, IT'S GREAT.

I, I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT.

BUT WE'RE VER WE ARE VERY BLESSED.

AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT IS AS, UH, MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY SAYS, YOU KNOW, COME IN TOWN, SPEND YOUR MONEY, LEAVE , YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE PLAN.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS.

COMMISSIONER CHAPPEL.

UM, ALSO LIKE GREAT PRESENTATION.

UM, IT WAS GOOD TO SEE THE PLAN, THE STRATEGIC, UH, OUTLINE THAT YOU HAVE, ESPECIALLY WHY THE CONVENTION CENTER'S DOWN ALSO, UH, EXCITED TO SEE, HEAR ABOUT THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN.

AND SO I'M GONNA TAKE YOU UP ON YOUR OFFER TO JOIN THE CLASS FOR OH, THANK YOU.

HOW TO SELL AUSTIN.

'CAUSE I, I THINK THAT'S GREAT AND WE ALL NEED MORE OF IT.

I KIND OF JOKE THAT LIKE SOMETHING I WISH WE HAD COUPONS AS WE RUN INTO PEOPLE IN THE STREET, SAY, WELCOME TO AUSTIN.

UM, I JUST THINK THAT'S SPECIAL.

SO THANKS FOR EXTENDING THAT.

YEP.

UM, TO US, UM, I WAS GONNA MENTION THAT YOU COULD HAVE USED THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUNDS TO UPDATE THE OPERATIONS ON THE BUILDING.

SO THERE IS, THERE IS CITY MONEY AVAILABLE SHOULD YOU WANT TO ? OKAY, WELL I, I ACTUALLY LIKE, WE'RE BUILDING A CONVENTION CENTER FOR THE TOURISM INDUSTRY.

WE HAVE TOURISM MARKETING AND WE'RE GONNA DO A T PIT.

AND I WAS LIKE, UH, WE REACHED IN A LITTLE BIT TO SAY SHOULD WE GET THE HISTORIC TAX CREDITS? I GET IF THEY'RE, IF THEY'RE NOT BEING USED AND THEY WANT TO HELP US OUT, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE IT.

NO, THAT'S GREAT.

AND THE, THE PROMO VIDEOS WITH THE 12 DISTRICTS I THINK ARE REALLY GOOD.

AND MY FIRST THOUGHT WHEN I SAW THE VIDEO WAS THIS IS LOOKING MORE LIKE AN INTERNATIONAL CITY.

UM, SO KUDOS TO YOU GUYS AND YOUR TEAM AND YOUR EFFORT FOR GETTING THAT.

AND THEN SHOWCASING KIND OF WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT AUSTIN IS THE COLLECTIVE OF AUSTIN.

COMMISSIONER CHAPPEL, OTHER COMMISSIONERS, DO WE HAVE COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? GREAT.

CLOSELY WITH OUR AGENCY PARTNERS.

SO I ACTUALLY HAD A COUPLE, IF I MAY PLEASE.

UM, THANKS SO MUCH ONCE AGAIN FOR COMING AND BRINGING YOUR TEAM.

UM, MR. NOONAN, UH, I I'M VERY INTERESTED IN AND TO DOVETAIL OFF OF COMMISSIONER CHAPEL'S COMMENTS.

I THINK THE, THE VIDEO AND THE COLLATERAL FOR THE CITY LOOKS GREAT AND, UM, IS SHOWING I THINK A PLACE THAT'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE SOPHISTICATED AND MATURE AS A MARKET AS WELL AS A DESTINATION CITY FOR THE UNITED STATES.

SO KUDOS.

UM, I WANTED TO, FIRST OFF, I HAVE A COUPLE OF GENERAL MARKETING QUESTIONS AND JUST SOME QUICK MENTIONS AND RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS.

SO, UM, , SO I'D LOVE TO KNOW IF, IF IN ADDITION TO YOUR GEOGRAPHIC DATA FOR YOUR DRIVE AND FLY MARKETS, WHETHER THERE IS ALSO, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.

YEAH, SO THE WAY THAT WE EVALUATE AND BUILD OUR MARKETS, SO WE WORK

[00:45:01]

SO WE USE DATA FROM MRI SIMMONS.

SO NOT ONLY ARE WE WORKING, LOOKING AT MARKETS JUST IN TERMS OF WHAT ARE THE DEMOGRAPHIC MAKEUPS OF VISITORS IN THOSE MARKET.

UM, WE ALSO LOOK AT PSYCHOGRAPHIC FEATURES.

YOU KNOW, ARE THERE CERTAIN PASSION POINTS WE'RE FILTERING AND BUILDING AUDIENCE TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO ENJOY OUTDOOR ACTIVITY, PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO ATTEND SPORTING EVENTS, WHO PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO ATTEND LIVE MUSIC, UM, FESTIVALS.

SO IT REALLY IS A MIX OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT DATA POINTS AGAINST US, UH, SYNDICATED DATA POINTS.

UM, ZAGO, MRI SIMMONS.

AND WE ALSO LOOK AT, UM, PUBLIC, A AVAILABILITY PUBLIC, UH, US CENSUS DATA AS WELL.

SO THAT ALSO INCLUDES SAY, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE'S AGE PROFILE RACE, UM, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS.

THEY'RE PART CONVERSATION.

AND, UM, COMMISSIONER, YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT ALL THE MINORITY CHAMBERS SIT ON OUR BOARD.

MM-HMM.

SO WE WERE ALWAYS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOVETAILING WHATEVER THEY MIGHT HAVE KNEW THEY WANT TO BE PROMOTING THEIR AUDIENCES.

WE'RE GONNA HELP, WE'RE GONNA HELP AMPLIFY THAT.

WONDERFUL, THANK YOU MR. NUNAN.

UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, I WANTED TO BRING THIS UP 'CAUSE I'VE SEEN IN OTHER CITIES THEY HAVE, UM, ALMOST SCENARIO PROFILES OF, YOU KNOW, YOUR TYPICAL VISITOR THAT COMES AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND WHO THEY ARE.

AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT MAKES IT INTO A VIDEO.

UM, DO, DO YOU HAVE THAT TYPE OF, UM, LIKE STORY, UM, BUILT IN OR DOES THAT USUALLY DOVETAIL WITH THOSE THAT HAVE, UH, MADE BOOKINGS HERE IN TOWN? SO WE HAVE INTERNALLY, WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL THE CURIOUS URBAN TRAVELER.

AND WE ACTUALLY JUST DID AN UPDATED VISITOR PROFILE FOR THE CURIOUS URBAN TRAVELER 2.0.

UM, AND THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE AREA OF RESEARCH THAT WE KNOW WE NEED AS A DESTINATION, UM, TO REALLY DO A MORE ROPE UP, MORE ROBUST PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RESEARCH PROJECT WHERE WE'RE REALLY A BETTER TO ABLE UNDERSTAND WHO IS THE VISIT, WHO IS THE HIGH VALUE VISITOR THAT'S COMING TO AUSTIN, AND HOW ARE WE MAKING OUR MARKETING THAT'S, UM, ABLE TO BEST CONNECT WITH THEM.

UM, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE MORE INFORMATION ON HOW WE DEFINE OUR AUDIENCE FROM A MEDIA TARGETING, UH, PERSPECTIVE.

WONDERFUL, THANK YOU.

UM, AND THE RAPID FIRE IS, UM, FIRST OFF WE HAVE THE, UM, CHAIR, UM, GERHART FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY HERE TO HAVE TO GIVE SOME REMARKS AND HELLO.

I'M SORRY WE DIDN'T SAY HELLO EARLIER.

UM, SO IF YOU, I KNEW YOU HAVE TO LEAVE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO JUST, UM, SAY HELLO TO HIM AS YOU LEAVE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

UH, ALSO, UM, WONDERING HOW WE CAN GET AN ECLIPSE EVERY YEAR IF YOU COULD HELP.

YEAH, NO, THAT'D BE AWESOME.

CAN WE MOVE THE SUN ON THE MOON REAL FAST? , YOUR BOOKINGS ARE ALWAYS BETTER THAN JUST ONE OFFS, BUT WHATEVER LOVE TO MAN.

WEEKENDS ARE PREFERRED.

UH, ALSO, UM, THE, THIS BODY THE COMMISSION IS LOOKING TO, TO REALLY, I THINK AMP UP ITS LOOK AT CULINARY TOURISM AND AND CULINARY DRAW.

I WANTED TO SEE IF YOU COULD SPEAK JUST A LITTLE BIT TO THAT, IF, IF WHOEVER WANTS TO TAKE THAT ON.

YES.

UM, ACTUALLY, SO CULINARY IS A HUGE FOCUS POINT FOR US THIS YEAR, YOU KNOW, HIGHLIGHTING ALL OF OUR RESTAURANTS AND THE FOOD OFFERINGS HERE IN AUSTIN.

UM, ONE EXCITING INITIATIVE THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY WORKING ON, SO WE HAVE A, UH, THE VISIT AUSTIN FOUNDATION AND EVERY YEAR WE DO SOMETHING CALLED THE GIVE BACK GIG WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK TO RAISE MONEY TO SUPPORT, UH, THE LOCAL HOSPITALITY COMMUNITY.

AND WE ALSO LOOK AT SUPPORTING, UM, ANOTHER ENTITY.

WE'VE SUPPORTED ARTS FROM THE STREETS IN THE PAST.

UM, AND THIS YEAR WE'LL BE SUPPORTING WITH AMCA, UM, WHICH SUPPORTS, YOU KNOW, WOMEN IN, UH, THE CULINARY INDUSTRY.

AND THE CONCEPT FOR THIS EVENT IS, UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH SOME HIGH PROFILE CHEFS AND PAIRING THEM UP WITH STUDENTS AT TRAVIS HIGH IN THE P-TECH PROGRAM.

UM, AND WE'RE GONNA DO A ALMOST LIKE COOKING COMPETITION WHERE WE'LL FILM CONTENT OF THE CHEFS WORKING WITH THE STUDENTS TO CREATE A CUSTOM BITE AND DISH FOR THIS EVENT.

UM, WE'RE ALSO GONNA CREATE THIS LIKE REALLY POWERFUL STORYTELLING FEATURES, UM, WITH THE CHEFS JUST TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHO OPENED THE DOOR FOR THEM, HOW DID THEY GET INTO THE INDUSTRY.

UM, WE KNOW THAT IT IS SO IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND NURTURE YOUNG TALENT AND SHOW THEM THAT YOU CAN BE SUCCESSFUL WORKING IN CULINARY AND SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, WORKING IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY HERE IN AUSTIN.

UM, THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'RE STILL KIND OF WORKING ON JUST IN TERMS OF CULINARY AND FOOD THAT IS DEFINITELY A HUGE, SUCH A, IT'S A WONDERFUL DESTINATION PILLOW FOR AUSTIN AND IT'S GONNA BE A HUGE PART OF OUR STORY FOR THE BRAND THIS YEAR.

AND NEXT WE, WE'VE GOT SOME MORE EXCITING NEWS COMING OUT LATER ON THE YEAR WE'LL TALK ABOUT, BUT JUST RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOUR CHAIRS SKEETER MILLER FROM COUNTY LINE RESTAURANTS, YOU'RE GONNA BE PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT WE DO WITH RESTAURANTS.

AND, UM, TWO QUICK, TWO QUICK MORE THINGS.

UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE KPIS, UH, TO SORT OF INDICATE THE SUCCESS OF THE HEALTH OF THE TOURISM MARKET HERE IN AUSTIN.

IS THAT, UM, UPDATED ON A MONTHLY BASIS OR IS THAT QUARTERLY? IS THAT SHARED IN LIKE A NEWSLETTER FORMAT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE AS COMMISSIONERS CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THAT CAN HELP KIND OF KEEP US ON THE PULSE? WELL, YEAH.

I MEAN, WE ALWAYS GIVE OUR RESULTS EVERY YEAR.

TO THE CITY COUNCIL THAT COMES OUT IN THE FALL.

DURING THE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA START GETTING READY TO DO OUR MARKETING PLAN.

WE TURN THAT IN IN MAY, JUNE EVERY YEAR.

AND THEN, AND THEN WE ALWAYS UPDATE IT IN OCTOBER BASED ON WHAT OUR RESULTS OF THE END OF THE

[00:50:01]

YEAR WERE.

SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL ALWAYS SEE THAT SNAPSHOT IN THE FALL ONCE WE GET THROUGH OUR FISCAL YEAR.

BUT WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA KEEP THAT UPDATED.

AND PART OF THAT'S THOSE KPI KPIS IS TO MEASURE OUR SUCCESS, HOW WE'RE DOING IN THAT 25 TO 29 PERIOD.

AND MY LAST QUESTION, UM, MORE OF A TECHNICAL ONE.

UH, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHEN MOST HOTELS CLOSE THEIR BOOKS AND HOW THAT HAS AN IMPACT ON, UH, THEIR FINANCES AND, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THEY'RE REACHING THEIR ROOM NIGHT TARGETS? GOSH, IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO WHEN I WORKED AT A HOTEL .

UM, IT'S DEFINITELY THE END OF THE YEAR, JANUARY, DECEMBER.

AND THEY LOOK AT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM.

YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT IS THE SHARE, LIKE, HOW IS YOUR HOTEL COMPARED TO THE SHARE OF OTHER COMPETITOR HOTELS.

UH, THEY CAN'T JUST LOOK AT ONE HOTEL.

THAT WOULD BE, THEY GOTTA LOOK AT FIVE OR SIX OR SEVEN HOTELS.

BUT THAT'S ONE MEASURE.

HOUSE PROFIT IS A BIG THING.

SO YOU KNOW, WHEN ALL THE EXPENSES ARE DONE, WHICH WAGES IS A HUGE PART, HOW IS YOUR HOUSE PROFIT? WHAT'S GOING TO THE OWNERS, WHAT'S GOING TO THE MANAGEMENT? SO THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG FOCUS AS WELL.

UH, ANY LAST QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, REMARKS FROM THE COMMISSION? UH, COMMISSIONER CHAPEL, ONE LAST QUESTION.

WE TALKED, UH, I THINK LAST SESSION ABOUT ONE MORE DAY AND KIND OF PROMOTING AUSTIN.

AND SO I'M CURIOUS ON, AS YOU'RE ATTEMPTING TO PULL IN THE BUSINESS TRAVEL AND THE BUSINESS CONVENTION, HOW ARE YOU FLIPPING THEM TO BECOME TOURISTS FOR THE CITY? AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO, RIGHT.

WE'RE INCENTIVIZED TO GET ONE MORE NIGHT, ONE MORE STAY.

AND SO, UM, JUST INTERESTED IN, HEAR YOUR EFFORTS ON THAT.

AGAIN, WE ARE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT AUSTIN AND, AND ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE RICHES THAT WE HAVE IS, IS THAT I, I ALWAYS SAY YOU WANNA BOOK A CONVENTION HERE BECAUSE THEY'VE BECOME TOURISTS.

RIGHT? IF YOU, YOU, YOU DON'T GET MANY TOURISTS THAT COME INTO TOWN AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M DOING? I'M GONNA GO TO THAT NURSING CONVENTION EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT A NURSE.

'CAUSE I WANNA SPEND A COUPLE MORE DAYS HERE.

BUT IF YOU'RE A NURSING FOR THE NURSING CONVENTION, YOU'RE GONNA TURN A COUPLE MORE DAYS INTO FOR VACATION TIME.

AND WE SEE THAT WITH THIS ARTICLE DATA.

YOU'LL SEE THIS ARTICLE DATA WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO AND FROM THE HOTEL, THE CONVENTION CENTER, THE FIRST THREE OR FOUR DAYS, AND THEN THE NEXT THREE DAYS, THEY'RE GOING ALL AROUND THE CITY, GOING TO MUSIC VENUES AND PARKS AND ALL THAT KINDA STUFF.

AND SO WE KNOW THAT YOU GET KIND OF A TWOFER WITH COMMISSIONERS WHEN YOU GET 'EM IN TOWN FOR A CONVENTION.

THEY'RE GENERALLY TACKING ON A COUPLE UP EXTRA DAYS.

'CAUSE IT IS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

RIGHT.

SO THAT'S A BIG PART OF IT.

BUT WE ARE ALWAYS ENCOURAGING TO STAY LONGER.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER CHAPPEL.

GREAT QUESTION.

AND ALSO TO ADD TO THAT, WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO SEE IF WE CAN HAVE A MEETING FEATURING CONVENTION YEARS AND, AND THOSE AT PLAN, UH, MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS.

SO I THINK WE'LL ALSO, UH, REACH OUT TO YOU FOR THAT TO TRY AND YOU WANNA HAVE SOME, YOU WANT SOME PROFESSIONAL MEETING PLANNER TO YEAH.

JUST TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT PROCESS IS AND YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, HELP HELP THEIR WORK AND UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT THEY DO.

HOW, HOW MANY, HOW MANY DO YOU WANT? , WE CAN DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP.

UM, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF, UH, EXCITING MEETINGS COMING UP.

AND, UH, FOR THOSE WATCHING AT HOME, YOU CAN SEE THAT ON OUR FORTHCOMING ROADMAP FOR FUTURE, UH, TOURISM COMMISSION MEETINGS IN YOUR SPARE TIME.

UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, MR. NUNAN AND TEAM FOR COMING THIS AFTERNOON.

WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

AND, UM, THIS IS DEFINITELY, UM, A RICH REPORT THAT WE WILL, UM, ALSO POST ON OUR WEBSITE TO ENSURE THAT, UM, MEMBERS OF THE TOURISM COMMUNITY CAN ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AS WELL.

AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU BACK VERY SOON.

WE'LL SEE YOU VERY SOON.

A QUICK UPDATE ON THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT.

THANK YOU SPEAKERS.

AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.

UM, AS WE GET SET UP TO, UM, I'M, I'M JUMPING AROUND A LITTLE BIT, UH, WITH THE AGENDA.

SO THE LAST AGENDA ITEM WE ACTUALLY COVERED WAS AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR.

UM, AS WE HAVE, UM, CHAIR'S PREROGATIVE, I'M GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH NUMBER TWO QUICKLY.

AND THEN, UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE.

SO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO IS, IS

[2. Discussion of the Red River Cultural District regarding City Council’s vote in support of a city funding.]

LAST MONTH WE HAD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NICOLE ALDO, UH, EXCUSE ME, COME TO SPEAK ABOUT, UM, THE CURRENT SITUATION OF, OF BEING FUNDED AS A CULTURAL ARTS DISTRICT THROUGH CITY COUNCIL.

UH, THE CITY COUNCIL DID VOTE TO CREATE A CONVERSATION AROUND, UM, THIS PARTICULAR DISTRICT AND ITS FUNDING.

AND SO MOVING FORWARD, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO FOLLOW THIS, UH, DEVELOPMENT.

UM, THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED ON FEBRUARY 29TH SPOKE TO THE NEED FOR, UM, ESSENTIALLY THE, THAT THE, THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD LOOK AT THIS ISSUE AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME ACTION BY MAY.

AND SO, UH, IN OUR LAST MEETING, WE HAD JOHN REEDY, UH, VOLUNTEER TO PUT

[00:55:01]

TOGETHER A DRAFT RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL TO, UM, RECOMMEND THE FUNDING OF THIS CULTURAL DISTRICT FOR PURPOSES, UH, OF BROADER TOURISM BENEFIT HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND SO, UH, COMMISSIONER REY, UH, WHILE HE IS NOT HERE TODAY, HAS STILL COMMITTED TO DOING THAT.

UM, AND THAT WILL BE ON OUR NEXT MEETING AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.

SO I WANTED TO UPDATE Y'ALL ON THAT.

UH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS WITH REGARD TO THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT? HEARING NONE.

I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME OUR,

[3. Presentation by Dr. Karl Gebhardt, Chair of the University of Texas at Austin Department of Astronomy, regarding the importance of the upcoming April 8,2024 Eclipse.]

UH, SECOND PRESENTER OF THE DAY, DR.

CARL GEBHART, CHAIR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY, TO TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE UPCOMING APRIL 8TH, 2020 FOR ECLIPSE.

WELCOME.

AND MAY THE RECORD SHOW THAT WE ALSO HAVE COMMISSIONER EILEEN BAAN, PARTICIPATING VIRTUALLY AS WELL.

HELLO, EILEEN.

AND HELLO, UM, CARL, I THINK AS YOU LIKE TO BE CALLED, WELCOME.

BE ALONG THAT, UH, UH, PATH THERE.

UH, SO YEAH, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT LIPS, BUT JUST LET ME GIVE YOU A, A FEW WORDS ABOUT ME, THE ASTRONOMY DEPARTMENT, AND THERE'S A FEW POINTS I WANNA MAKE THERE.

SO I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE, UH, 2000.

I'VE BEEN A PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT.

UH, I, I, I CAME HERE.

I, I GREW UP IN UPSTATE NEW YORK.

UM, SO I'VE BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME.

I STARTED A CHAIR A FEW MONTHS AGO.

UM, I SPENT THE FIRST HALF OF MY CAREER WORKING ON BLACK HOLES.

I, I, I, I THINK I STILL HAVE THE MOST BLACK HOLE MASSES MEASURED IN THE, ON THE PLANET.

UH, THAT WAS KIND OF MY CLAIM TO FAME.

AND NOW I WORK ON MODELS OF GRAVITY WHERE THE UNIVERSE CAME FROM.

NOT QUITE WHAT YOU FOLKS ARE, ARE, ARE HEARING, UH, IN THESE TALKS.

UH, AND I WANNA TALK A BIT ABOUT WHY WE DO THIS 'CAUSE AND, AND WHAT'S ALSO, WHEN THE ASTRONOMY DEPARTMENT, WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW IS KIND OF REMARKABLE.

WE ARE ON THE EDGE OF SO MANY, UH, IMPACTS IN THE FIELD.

WE HAVE THE MAJORITY ONE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST ALLOCATIONS ON THE JAMES WEB SPACE TELESCOPE.

WE HAVE A PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING AT GALAXIES THAT WERE JUST FIRST FORMED IN THE UNIVERSE.

UM, WE HAVE, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE TRYING TO FIND SIGNS OF LIFE, OF BIOSIGNATURES IN PLANETS OUTSIDE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN OUR LIFETIME, THAT THERE'S GONNA BE A HEADLINE OF A PAPER THAT SAID, SIGNS OF LIFE FOUND OUTSIDE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

JUST IMAGINE THE, THE IMPACT THAT THAT'S GONNA HAVE.

AND I WANT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TO BE A MAJOR, A LEADER IN THAT.

NOW, A LOT OF THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF, YOU, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF A DREAM JOB FOR ME.

I GET TO WORK ON THESE CRAZY EXCITING TOPICS.

UM, BUT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ME AND FOR THE OTHER FACULTY IN THE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE WE GET THAT INFORMATION OUT.

WE HAVE A HUGE OUTREACH COMPONENT.

UH, THE ASTRONOMY DEPARTMENT AND MCDONALD OBSERVATORY ARE THE SAME THING.

IT'S THE SAME PROGRAM YOU'VE HEARD OF.

I ASSUME YOU'VE BEEN OUT TO WEST OF TEXAS, I HOPE SO, AT LEAST.

AND SEEN THE TELESCOPES.

UM, AND WE HAVE A HUGE OUTREACH THERE WITH, UH, STAR DATE, WHICH YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF AS WELL.

SO WE WORK REALLY HARD.

PART OF OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE WE GET THIS EXCITEMENT OUT TO THE PUBLIC WHO FUNDS THIS.

AND JUST TO BE VERY LIKE, UH, UM, KIND OF ESOTERIC ABOUT IT.

I LOVE WHAT I DO BECAUSE IT MAKES US THINK OUTSIDE OF OUR BOX.

WE ARE ASTRONOMY IS LITERALLY OUTSIDE OF THE WORLD, OUTSIDE OF THE EARTH.

UH, AND IT ALLOWS US TO LOOK INSIDE.

AND THAT'S WHAT I LOVE.

AND EVERY TIME WE GET A CHANCE TO MAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOK UP, THAT'S WHEN WE GET EXCITED.

AND THAT'S WHAT THIS ECLIPSE IS DOING.

UH, AND SO WE ARE DOING A LOT OF WORK ON MAKING SURE THE INFORMATION IS OUT THERE ABOUT THE ECLIPSE.

I HAVE A COUPLE LINKS UP THERE AS WELL.

SO YOU ALL KNOW THE DETAILS.

UM, ON APRIL 8TH IS THE ECLIPSE IN AUSTIN.

THERE'S GONNA BE TOTALITY FOR ONLY ABOUT TWO MINUTES.

OKAY? I'LL SHOW YOU, UH, UM, A MAP IN A MOMENT.

BUT FROM 1 36 TO ONE 30 SET TO 1:38 PM UH, THAT'S IT.

UH, WHERE, WHERE THE, IT WILL GET DARK.

YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE PLANETS AND STARS.

UH, IT'S NOT GONNA BE LIKE NIGHTTIME DARK, BUT IT'LL BE LIKE A DAWN OR DUSK.

THE WHOLE DURATION OF THE ECLIPSE IS GONNA BE MUCH LONGER FROM ABOUT 1220 TO ABOUT 3:00 PM AND I'LL TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE.

BUT THE TIME THAT WE REALLY ARE EXCITED ABOUT IS THAT TWO MINUTES THAT YOU HAVE IN AUSTIN, UM,

[01:00:01]

GLASSES OR VIEWERS.

AND I HAVE A FEW EXAMPLES HERE.

I'LL SHOW YOU IN A MOMENT.

I, I, I HAVE PROPS.

UH, YOU ALWAYS WANT TO USE THOSE FOR LOOKING AT THE SUN, EXCEPT DURING TOTALITY.

AND YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY LOOK AT THE SUN WITH YOUR NAKED EYE DURING TOTALITY.

THAT IS A SPECIAL, SPECIAL EVENT.

AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THAT.

NOW YOU HAVE THOSE TWO MINUTES, BUT, AND YOU DON'T WANNA BE LOOKING AT IT WHEN THE MOON COMES OUT, WHEN THE, UH, WHEN THE SUN COMES OUT OF TOTALITY.

I'LL EXPLAIN THAT IN A MOMENT.

BUT THAT IS A VERY SPECIAL TIME.

THE LAST TOTAL ECLIPSE THAT AUSTIN HAD WAS IN THE YEAR A 1397.

OKAY? I DON'T THINK THIS COMMISSION WAS AROUND THEN.

AND OUR NEXT ONE IS IN 2343.

I DON'T THINK THIS COMMISSION WILL PROBABLY BE AROUND THEN.

IT'LL BE, UH, SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

BUT THAT IS, SO THAT'S A PRETTY SPECIAL THING.

AND YOU KNOW, I LIKE TO IMAGINE BACK IN 1390S THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE WERE ONLY A HANDFUL OF HUMANS WHO ACTUALLY VIEWED THE ECLIPSE BACK THEN, BUT THAT WOULD FREAK PEOPLE OUT, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YOU HAD NO IDEA IT WAS COMING.

WE'VE KNOWN THIS HAS BEEN COMING FOR, I DON'T KNOW, A HUNDRED YEARS PROBABLY AT THIS POINT.

UH, AND THAT WOULD JUST TOTALLY FREAK YOU OUT IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS COMING.

IT WOULD BE PRETTY SPECIAL, YOU KNOW, STILL.

BUT YOU WOULD HAVE SOME, SOME PRETTY SERIOUS ISSUES.

UM, IN TEXAS, OUR LAST TOTAL OF ECLIPSE WAS IN, IN 1900 THAT WAS DOWN BY THE GALVESTON AREA.

AND OUR NEXT ONE IS IN 2045.

NOT THAT FAR AWAY, BUT IT'S JUST A TINY CORNER UP IN THE PANHANDLE.

SO IT REALLY IS PRETTY SPECIAL TO HAVE AN ECLIPSE HERE.

I WAS IN ONE, UM, IN, IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

THAT'S WHERE I WAS, UH, FROM.

IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO ROCHESTER, YOU HAVE LIKE A 95%, UH, 95% CHANCE OF CLOUDS.

AND IT WAS CLOUDY THAT DAY.

SO IT GETS DARK, BUT YOU DON'T GET TO SEE THE SUN AT ALL.

UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION AND TRAINING AT THESE, UH, UH, A COUPLE WEBSITES THERE.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET TRAINED FOR HOW TO VIEW THE ECLIPSE.

AND WE, WE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THIS.

UM, THERE'S ANOTHER THING HAPPENING TO THE, UM, ASSIGNMENTS FOUNDATION IS HAVING A WHOLE SET OF PROGRAMS IN THE LINE OF THE ECLIPSE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

THEY'VE ACTUALLY HAVE WORKED WITH LOCAL BREWERIES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MAKE SPECIAL ECLIPSE BEER.

AND I, THERE WE HAVE TWO IN AUSTIN THAT ARE MAKING SPECIAL BEERS.

I FORGET THE TWO.

I WA I WA I.

SO I DON'T KNOW.

BUT THAT'S THAT.

BUT THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF EXCITING.

SO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE HERE.

AND THIS IS THE PATH.

YOU'VE SEEN THIS PATH BEFORE.

UM, SO EVERYONE ALONG THERE IS GOING TO BE HIT BY THE ECLIPSE, BUT EVERYONE HAS CALCULATED THE PROBABILITY OF IT BEING CLEAR ALONG THE ECLIPSE.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO JUST SPEND THEIR LIFE FLYING AROUND THE WORLD TRYING TO FIND THE ECLIPSE.

AND AUSTIN, THE AREA OF RIGHT AROUND AUSTIN HAS THE HIGHEST PROBABILITY IN THE COUNTRY FOR IT TO BE CLEAR ON THAT DAY.

SO THAT IS WHY EVERYONE AND THEIR FAMILY HAS COMING TO AUSTIN.

I KNOW JUST SO MANY PEOPLE.

AND IT'S BEGINNING TO PICK UP MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE COMING THROUGH.

SO IF YOU, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT ONE, THERE'S A ZOOM IN.

THIS IS LIKE A ZOOM IN RIGHT AROUND AUSTIN.

UH, WE'RE AT THE EDGE THERE.

WHAT I HAVE, THERE ARE LINES THERE OF THE LENGTH OF THE ECLIPSE.

FOUR MINUTES, THREE MINUTES, AND TWO MINUTES.

THE FARTHER ARE, YOU ARE AWAY FROM THE CENTER.

THERE IS, UM, IS IS THE SHORTER THE, THE DURATION OF THE ECLIPSE.

YOU SEE, AUSTIN IS ON THE VERY BOTTOM THERE ON THE EDGE.

SO IT JUST GETTING ABOUT THAT TWO MINUTE MARK, UH, FOR WHERE THE ECLIPSE IS GONNA BE.

YOU REALLY WANT TO BE KERRVILLE, WACO, THEIR DEAD CENTER WHERE YOU GET A GOOD FOUR MINUTES.

EVERYONE I KNOW IS TRYING TO DRIVE OUT THERE.

SO THERE'S GONNA BE A HUGE TRAFFIC ISSUE.

UH, 'CAUSE TWO MINUTES TO FOUR MINUTES MAY NOT SEEM A LOT TO YOU, BUT YOU TALK TO THESE ECLIPSE GOERS AND THEY'LL GO, THEY GO FOR SECONDS.

THEY SAY, IF I GO OVER HERE ONE MILE, I GET AN EXTRA 10 SECONDS IN THE ECLIPSE.

IT'S HUGE.

'CAUSE IT IS REALLY, I DON'T KNOW, HAS ANYONE ABANDONED AN ECLIPSE? IT IS A PRETTY SPECIAL, WHEN IT'S A TOTAL ECLIPSE, IT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY SPECIAL THING.

NOW, THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN THAT MUCH BECAUSE YOU NEED VERY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

YOU NEED NOT ONLY THE MOON TO BE IN FRONT OF THE SUN, BUT YOU NEED THE DISTANCE OF THE MOON TO BE, UH, THE PROPER MOUNT.

IF I BRING THE MOON CLOSER TO THE EARTH, 'CAUSE THE MOON IS NOT IN A PERFECTLY CIRCULAR ORBIT, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT'S CLOSER TO THE EARTH AND TIMES WHEN IT'S FARTHER AWAY.

IF I BRING THE MOON CLOSER TO YOU, THEN IT FILLS A LOUDER, A LARGER ANGLE ON THE SKY.

SO IT CAN COVER THE SUN IF THE MOON'S AWAY FROM YOU A LITTLE BIT.

IT'S A SMALLER ANGLE ON THE SKY SO IT DOESN'T COVER THE SUN.

THAT'S WHAT WE HAD BACK IN, UM, IN OCTOBER OF 2023.

WE HAD AN ANNULAR ECLIPSE.

THE MOON WAS A LITTLE BIT FARTHER AWAY SO IT DIDN'T COMPLETELY BLOCK THE SUN.

THIS ONE IS A, IS ONE OF A, A SPECIAL ONE, UM, WHERE THE MOON IS ALMOST AS CLOSE AS IT CAN BE TO EARTH.

SO YOU REALLY WANNA

[01:05:01]

WE HAVE A LOT OF EVENTS WHERE WE'RE DRIVING, UH, OUR, OUR FACULTY OUT TO THESE EVENTS OUT IN THE COUNTRY, UH, IN HOSTING, HOSTING SPECIAL PARTIES OUT THERE.

BUT THERE IS A BIG ONE IN AUSTIN.

WE, UH, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, WE HAVE, UH, OUR PRESIDENT HAS ALREADY SAID THE CAMPUSES, THE CLASSES ARE CANCELED FROM LIKE NOON TO THREE.

WE'RE ALL KIND OF EXCITED BY THAT.

AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE STATIONS ALL AROUND THE CAMPUS.

WE'VE LEARNED FROM LAST OCTOBER THAT WE DON'T WANT ONE BIG CENTRALIZED SPOT.

WE HAD LIKE 10, 15,000 PEOPLE RIGHT ON THE RIGHT BY THE UT TOWER.

UH, AND NOW THEY'RE GONNA PUT LIKE 10 OR 15, UH, SOLAR TELESCOPES AND INDIVIDUALS ALL AROUND THE CAMPUS JUST TO SPREAD IT OUT.

WE'RE NOT THE PUBLIC, OF COURSE, IS PUBLIC UNIVERSITY CAN WALK ONTO THE CAMPUS AND, AND, AND PARTICIPATE, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA ADVERTISE IT AS A PUBLIC EVENT.

WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA GET A PEOPLE ANYWAY 'CAUSE WE JUST HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO SEE THIS.

THERE'S A HUGE EVENT ON THE, ON THE LAWN OUT HERE, ON THE, UH, IN THE PARKS AROUND HERE BY THE SIMONS FOUNDATION.

UH, THEY HAVE THE SPACE THERE.

THEY'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING A MOCKUP OF OUR MAJOR TELESCOPE, THE JAVI EVER TELESCOPE, UM, ON THE MIDDLE OF THE LAWN.

AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE ASTRONOMERS AROUND THE TELESCOPE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.

UH, AND, AND THIS IS PART OF THE SIMONS, UH, FOUNDATION AS WELL.

SO WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN DURING THE ECLIPSE, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE HERE, SO THE AIR WILL COOL, IT'LL GET A GOOD 10 TO 15 DEGREES COOLER FOR THOSE TWO MINUTES REALLY QUICKLY.

AND IT'S REALLY WEIRD.

IT'S KIND OF FREAKY.

THE ANIMALS GET QUIET.

SOMETIMES THE BIRDS WILL GO BACK TO ROOST.

UH, 'CAUSE THEY'RE CONFUSED.

UM, IT WILL JUST KIND OF BE A, A DARK, A, A DUSK OR DAWN.

AGAIN, NOT COMPLETELY DARK, BUT IF THERE ARE BRIGHT PLANETS UP, I SHOULD KNOW THIS.

IF THERE ARE BRIGHT PLANETS UP, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THEM.

YOU'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, UH, STARS IN THE DAYTIME.

YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SEE THE CORONA OF THE SUN IF THE CONDITIONS ARE GOOD.

I'LL SHOW YOU THAT IN A MOMENT.

NOW, THERE'S A VERY IMPORTANT POINT THAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE SOLAR VIEWING GLASSES, AND I WOULD LOVE TO GET THIS OUT THERE, USE A TREE AND LOOK AT THE GROUND.

IT IS REMARKABLE.

THE LEAVES ON THE TREE BASICALLY ARE MAKING A CAMERA.

IT'S CALLED A PINHOLE, A CAMERA, MAYBE YOU MAY, WHEN AS A KID, YOU JUST TAKE A BOX, YOU PUT A PINHOLE IN IT, AND YOU CAN, IT ACTS LIKE A BASIC CAMERA AND IT CAN RE-IMAGE THE SUN ON THE BACK OF THE BOX.

THE TREES DO THE SAME THING.

THE TOP LEFT IS JUST ON MY, THE TOP RIGHT IS JUST AN IMAGE ON MY PORCH THAT I TOOK DURING, UH, ON OCTOBER 14TH AND 2023.

THIS WAS DURING THE ANNULAR.

AND YOU SEE ALL THOSE HALF MOONS, THAT'S WHEN THE MOON WAS COMING IN FRONT OF THE SUN.

WE ONLY GOT A PARTIAL, BUT YOU CAN SEE IT ALL OVER THE PLACE.

AND SO THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE.

AND SO YOU KIND OF, A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK, WELL, YOU GO TO AN OPEN SPACE THAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, A CLEARER VIEW.

NO, IT'S REALLY FUN TO FIND A TREE.

SO THEY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TELL PEOPLE TO FIND A TREE.

SO WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN DURING THE ECLIPSE? SO IF YOU GO TO, TO THE NEXT ONE.

SO THIS IS WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE.

UM, IT, AND, AND SO THE FIRST, THE MOON IS GONNA BEGIN TO COME IN, IN FRONT OF THE SUN.

SO OVER ON THE LEFT, AT ABOUT 1220, YOU'LL SEE THE MOON BEGIN TO COME IN FRONT OF THE SUN, AND IT'LL BE A CHUNK OF THE SUN.

NOW, HERE'S WHERE YOU NEED SOLAR GLASSES.

AND I BROUGHT A PAIR HERE, AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU A BUNCH IF YOU WANNA USE FOR YOUR FAMILY.

I PREFER THESE OVER EVERYTHING ELSE THAT I'VE USED.

AND THIS, YOU JUST HOLD IT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE.

AND I CAN'T, THESE LIGHTS AREN'T BRIGHT ENOUGH.

OH, I CAN'T EVEN SEE THROUGH THESE LIGHTS.

SO YOU JUST HOLD LIKE THIS AND, AND YOU LOOK AT THE SUN, IT, THESE ARE PERFECT.

IF YOU HAVE EYEGLASSES, UH, YOU CAN GET, UH, A NORMAL SOLAR VIEWING GLASSES.

BUT THOSE ARE CLUNKY BECAUSE YOU CAN DO THIS.

YOU DON'T WANNA LOOK AT THE THING FOR, YOU KNOW, AN HOUR AND WATCH THE MOON COME ACROSS.

THAT TAKES A LONG TIME.

YOU DO THIS AND YOU TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS AND YOU JUST, YOU CAN GO AROUND YOUR, GO AROUND, YOU KNOW, CAN WORK OUT IN YOUR GARDEN.

BUT, SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND JUST THIS SQUARE, CHEAP SOLAR VIEWING GLASSES LIKE THIS.

THAT'S THE BEST WAY.

1 37 IS THE PEAK.

THAT'S WHEN YOU WANT TO USE YOUR NAKED EYE.

UM, IT'S GONNA BE NATURAL BECAUSE IT'S GONNA GET DARK.

YOU'RE GONNA BE USING THESE, YOU WON'T REALLY EVEN SEE THAT MUCH.

'CAUSE THE SUN'S GONNA BE SO BLOCKED.

IT WON'T BE THAT BRIGHT.

YOU JUST LOOK AT THE SUN AT THAT POINT.

NOW IT'S QUICK THOUGH, RIGHT? SO THIS IS, THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE, UH, CAREFUL AND WE'RE CAREFUL WHEN WE CALL THE PUBLIC IS YOU HOLD THIS UP, THE MOONS ARE COMING, COMING, COMING.

ALL OF THE SUDDEN IT'S GONNA GET DARK.

AND THEN YOU CAN, AND THEN, AND THEN YOU'RE EYE KNOWS WHETHER YOU KNOW YOU'RE GONNA GET, UH, IN TROUBLE OR NOT.

AND THEN YOU CAN LOOK AT THIS ON, YOU DEFINITELY WANNA DO THAT.

AND, AND IT'S THE, THE AWESOME THING IS TO LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL IF YOU'RE IN A CROWD, IS TO LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUALS AND SEE THEIR REACTION BECAUSE IT'S

[01:10:01]

A SPECIAL REACTION.

UM, AND THEN IT COMES OUT OF TOTALITY.

AND THEN IT'S JUST COMPLETELY OPPOSITE ON THE OTHER SIDE.

THAT THE MOON WAS COMING IN TO BLOCK THE SUN AND THEN THE OTHER SIDE BEGINS TO GO AWAY.

AND SO THAT WHOLE PROCESS IS ABOUT A TWO AND A HALF HOURS FOR THE ECLIPSE.

UH, BUT AGAIN, YOU ONLY GET THOSE, UH, THOSE, UH, TWO MINUTES.

SO IT'S GONNA BE PRETTY SPECTACULAR.

UM, WE ARE ALL SUPER EXCITED.

I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE GUARANTEED THAT THE WEATHER'S GONNA BE CLEAR AND GOOD FOR US, .

UH, THAT'LL BE A VERY, VERY SAD DAY.

BUT AGAIN, IT'S THE PEOPLE ARE FLYING FROM, FROM WHERE THEY LIVE.

THAT'S IN THE PATH OF THE ECLIPSE TO AUSTIN BECAUSE THEY THINK IT'S GONNA, THE, THE PROBABILITY OF BEING A CLEAR.

SO IT BETTER BE CLEAR.

UM, THERE ARE PLANES, THERE ARE SOME, UH, UM, AIRLINE COMPANIES WHERE YOU CAN FLY ALONG THE PATH OF THE ECLIPSE, UH, .

AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN CHARGING THAT MUCH, BUT I THINK THEY'RE PROBABLY ALL BOOKED UP AT THIS POINT.

UM, SO I DON'T THINK WE HAVE REALIZED HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE COMING THROUGH YET.

PEOPLE ARE JUST KIND OF STILL CATCHING ON.

A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL BE DRIVING IN.

THE EXPECTATION FROM PAST ECLIPSE IS THAT DRIVING OUT TO THE COUNTRY WILL BE EASY.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE GOING OUT, UH, AND MOST OF OUR EVENTS WE'RE LEAVING AT AROUND 7:00 AM TO GO TO DRIPPING SPRINGS TO BE READY FOR A 1:30 PM ECLIPSE.

YOU KNOW, A HALF HOUR, 45 MINUTE DRIVE.

WE'RE GONNA COUNT FOR FOUR OR FIVE HOURS.

PEOPLE ARE GOING OUT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, BUT MOST PEOPLE ARE LEAVING BETWEEN SEVEN AND 8:00 AM COMING BACK IS WHAT WE THINK THE HUGE JAM'S GONNA BE.

I'M NOT SURE IF YOU GUYS DEAL WITH THAT, BUT THAT'S GONNA BE THE BIG ISSUE IS GETTING BACK IN.

SO I WANNA, I WANNA GIVE YOU A BUNCH OF THESE.

YOU CAN BRING 'EM HOME TO YOUR FAMILY.

YES, YES.

YOU CAN GET, YOU CAN GET A BUNCH.

UM, IF YOU'D LIKE TO APPROACH THE DIET AND JUST HAND THEM OUT, WE'D LOVE TO GET A PICTURE.

UM, MS. OJEDA, IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND AS TO TAKE IT WITH ALL OF US HOLDING UP OUR, UH, ALMOST VIEWFINDER ECLIPSE GLASSES.

SHOULD WE GO DOWN? UM, I DON'T KNOW.

YEAH, LET'S TAKE A QUICK, QUICK PAUSE.

NOT THAT WE'RE STOPPING THE MEETING, BUT WE'RE TAKING A PHOTO WITH OUR SPEAKER, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, OUR STAFF FOR MS. OJEDA.

ALRIGHT.

I LEAVE THE, AWESOME.

IT'S OKAY.

NO, NO, NO.

I WANT YOU, YOU CAN TAKE IT.

IS IT OKAY? YEAH, OF COURSE.

DO YOU NEED FOR US? YEAH.

CAMERAS, TAKE A , I, MCDONALD'S.

PUT THEM ON 1, 1, 2, 3.

OH, THAT'S CUTE.

TAKE IT WITH THIS ONE.

DO Y'ALL WANNA TAKE AN, OKAY.

? OH, THIS LOOKS GOOD.

ONE.

1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3.

NOW WITH THEM ON 1, 2, 3.

ON CUT OF OUR FACES? YEAH, ON MUTE ON .

ISN'T THAT AWESOME? CONFUSED LIKE, WHAT'S GOING ON?

[01:15:06]

ALL RIGHT.

UH, WE'RE BRINGING IT BACK HERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OUR PHOTO BREAK.

UM, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO, UM, DR.

EBHART FOR COMING.

ACTION ITEMS. ITEM NUMBER FIVE, APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT WORKING GROUP REGARDING HOW TO IDENTIFY PARK AMENITIES TO LEVERAGE TOURISM FUNDING FOR PARKS SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT CAN BENEFIT PARKS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UM, APRIL 8TH, PLACE TO BE AUSTIN, TEXAS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, DISCUSSION AND

[5. Approve a recommendation from the Parks and Environment Working Group regarding how to identify park amenities to leverage tourism funding for park-specific projects that can benefit parks and environment in our community.]

UM, THIS AGENDA ITEM, I WILL PASS OFF TO COMMISSIONER KANATI.

UM, COMMISSIONER KANATI, IF YOU CAN GIVE A BRIEF SUMMARY AS TO HOW WE CAME, UH, TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE US TODAY AND, UM, YOUR PROPOSED, UH, PLAN OF ACTION TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.

IT'S NOT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AS A FUNDING SOURCE.

UH, THANK YOU.

UH, CHAIR.

THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF THE PARKS ENVIRONMENT WORKING GROUP, WHICH WE ACTUALLY CREATED BACK IN 2020 AS A WAY TO FIND WAYS TO BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY IN THE PARKS ENVIRONMENT SPACE FROM THE TOURISM ACTIVITY, UH, WE ACTUALLY WERE APPOINTED WITH FOUR DIFFERENT CHARGES.

UM, WE PREVIOUSLY GENERATED SOME SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE APPROVED TO COUNCIL ON HOW TO USE HOTEL TAX MONEY UNDER CHAPTER 3 51 AND CHAPTER 3 54.

THIS IS A SORT OF A OUTSIDE OF THE HOTEL TAX SPACE, BUT OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN GENERATE OUT OF OUR SORT OF TOURISM INDUSTRY FUNDING BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY IN OUR PARKS ENVIRONMENT SPACE.

UM, THIS HAS BEEN ACTUALLY ONGOING SINCE JULY 26TH, 2022.

WE'VE, UH, FINALLY GOT IT PULLED TOGETHER.

UM, THE WORKING GROUP WAS APPOINTED TO BRING IN A LOT OF REALLY GREAT EXPERTISE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UM, IT INCLUDED INITIALLY, UH, SOME OF THE PARKS BOARD, UH, EXCUSE ME, THE TOURISM COMMISSION MEMBERS, BUT REALLY LOTS OF PEOPLE FROM THE PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT SPACE.

UH, AND RIGHT NOW I'VE LISTED THEM IN THE REPORT THAT CURRENTLY, UH, ARE, ARE ON.

THEY INCLUDE, UH, MOLLY ALEXANDER, WHO USED TO BE WITH DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, UH, HANNAH FER, WHO'S NOW THE INTERIM CHAIR OF THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY, UH, GEORGE FER, FORMERLY THE EED WITH HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY, CLARK HANCOCK WITH SAVE BARTON CREEK ASSOCIATION.

UH, KAYLA REESE AND SOME OTHER FOLKS AT AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION.

TED SIFF FROM THE SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY, CHUCK SMITH FROM PEACE PARK CONSERVANCY.

AND THEN SOME VERY HELPFUL GUIDANCE FROM SCOTT JOLO, WHO USED TO BE ON THE TOURISM COMMISSION.

EACH OF THESE PEOPLE HAS REALLY SOLID EXPERIENCE IN CHASING DOWN FUNDS TO BENEFIT OUR PARKS.

AND WHAT WE DID IN WORKING WITH THEM OVER THIS LONG TIME IS WE, WE KIND OF CAME UP WITH A TEMPLATE WHERE WE'D STARTED WITH A, A REPORT THAT WAS, UH, GENERATED BY THE, UM, URBAN LAND INSTITUTE BACK IN 2019.

AND THEY HAD A WHOLE LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY PUT TOGETHER, UH, FOR, AT THAT TIME, THE TRAIL FOUNDATION, WHICH THEN BECAME A, A SORT OF FORMAL RECOMMENDATION FOR THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY ABOUT HOW THEY COULD OPERATE AND BENEFIT OUR, THAT PARTICULAR PARK.

AND WE TOOK THAT RECOMMENDATION.

AND THEN THROUGH THE WORKING GROUP'S, UH, ADDITIONS, WE ADDED SOME IDEAS AND UPDATED SOME INFORMATION, WHICH IS WHAT YOU NOW HAVE ATTACHED IN EXHIBIT A.

A VERY LENGTHY DOCUMENT THAT, AGAIN, STARTS WITH SOME VERY THOROUGH RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS ULI REPORT AND THEN UPDATES TO REFLECT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN THE CITY.

AND SO OUR HOPE IS, UH, VERY MUCH LIKE, UM, WHAT WE DID WITH THE PREVIOUS WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS, THE TRAIL COM, THE TOURISM COMMISSION WOULD RECOMMEND A COUNCIL THAT THEY CONSIDER THESE IDEAS.

AND WE TRIED TO PUT TOGETHER A SHORT ONE PAGE FORMAT, AND AGAIN, SORT OF LAYS OUT THE CASE FOR, UM, WHY PARKS ENVIRONMENT IS IMPORTANT TO OUR CITY.

WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE VIEWED, UH, AS A VERY, UH, ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS CITY.

UM, WE ALSO USE OUR PARKS ENVIRONMENT TO, UH, RECRUIT PEOPLE TO COME TO THE CITY.

THEY COME TO OUR PARKS, THEY COME TO BARTON SPRINGS, COME TO ZILKER PARK, AND LOTS AND LOTS OF OTHER PLACES.

IN FACT, VISIT AUSTIN FEATURES.

IN THE VIDEO WE SAW BARTON SPRINGS POOL.

AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A PART OF OUR TOURISM DRAW.

AND AS TRADITIONAL SOURCES FOR PARKS FUNDING HAVE STRUGGLED TO KEEP UP WITH OUR GROWTH, AND ALSO WITH SOME CONSTRAINTS THAT THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS IMPOSED, WE REALLY HOPE THAT WE COULD GO GET COUNSEL TO THINK MORE ASSERTIVELY ABOUT FINDING OTHER WAYS TO BENEFIT OUR PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT, SPACE BENEFIT THE CITY AND THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AS WELL.

SO WE PRESENTED TO YOU AND I APPRECIATE, UH, UH, CHAIR RONAN'S, UH, PARTICIPATION ALSO IN MAKING SOME CHANGES TO THIS FINAL DOCUMENT, UH, IS EXHIBIT A, WHAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND TO BE A VERY THOROUGH, UM, REVIEW OF, OF, OF OPTIONS.

I DID HAVE A SHORT PHONE CALL WITH, UH, SCOTT JOLA FROM THE HOTEL INDUSTRY TODAY.

HE CONFIRMED HE STILL THINKS THIS IS A, A VERY GOOD AND THOROUGH SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS.

HE DID WANT TO POINT OUT THAT IT DOES NOT, THIS PARTICULAR REPORT DOES NOT TOUCH THE TOURISM PIT.

UM,

[01:20:01]

AND, UM, AS WE UNDERSTAND THERE ARE LIMITATIONS ON WHAT THAT SOURCE OF FUNDS CAN BE USED FOR.

IT REALLY CAN'T BE USED FOR PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT.

SO IT'S NOT PART OF THIS RECOMMENDATION.

AND I'LL STOP THERE.

IT'S, IT'S QUITE A LONG REPORT.

I HOPE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO READ IT.

BUT I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT OUR COMMUNITY EXPERTS IN OUR DIFFERENT PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT SPACE AND AS WELL AS THE TOURISM AND COMMISSION MEMBERS, UH, PUT INTO THIS PROJECT.

AND, UH, I COMMEND IT TO, UM, TOURISM COMMISSION FOR ADOPTION AND RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL.

HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS I CAN.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER KANATI, ARE THERE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS WITH REGARD TO THE PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACCOMPANYING ULI REPORT AS PRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER? MS. OJEDA? EXCUSE ME.

UH, YES.

UH, COMMISSIONER MATHIS, IT'S A REQUIREMENT, UH, TO PARTICIPATE.

IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE.

UH, VIRTUALLY ONE HAS TO PUT ON THEIR, ON THEIR CAMERA.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO TURN ON YOUR CAMERA THIS AFTERNOON? THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I THOUGHT THE CAMERA WAS ON.

OH, CAN YOU? NO, SORRY.

WELL, NOW WE'VE GOT THAT SOLVED.

THANKS SO MUCH.

UM, NOW WITH THAT, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OR THE REPORT BEFORE YOU COMMISSIONER SHEEE? I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TODAY BECAUSE, UH, AS, UH, THIS BODY MAY BE AWARE, UH, THE STATE PASSED SOME MAJOR CHANGES TO OUR PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDS AND HOW WE COLLECT, UH, THOSE FUNDS, HUGE FUNDING SOURCE FOR, UH, PARKS HERE LOCALLY.

UM, YEAH, SO IT, IT'S REALLY TIMELY THAT, UH, WE START LOOKING INTO, UH, INTO THINGS IN THAT MANNER.

SO I, I WAS WONDERING, UM, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR CHANGES BETWEEN THIS REPORT AND THE 2019 REPORT? WELL, THESE ARE IN DIFFERENT SPACES BECAUSE THE WORKING GROUP SORT OF WAS GIVEN FOUR CHARGES.

THE, THE FIRST WORKING GROUP REPORT WAS ASKING, UH, WITH THE RESTRICTIONS ON HOTEL TAXES UNDER CHAPTER 3 51 AND CHAPTER 3 54, HOW CAN WE LIVE WITHIN THOSE RESTRICTIONS AND FUND PROJECTS THAT COULD BENEFIT OUR PARKS? THIS IS ACTUALLY MOSTLY OUTSIDE.

IT HAS A PASSING REFERENCE TO CHAPTER 3 51 AND CHAPTER 3, 4 4.

BUT IF YOU, IF YOU KIND OF WALK THROUGH IT, I THINK THE, THE SUMMARY ITEMS IS THERE'S OTHER WAYS TO, TO SUPPORT, UH, PROJECTS INCLUDING BOND FUNDING.

UM, I THINK WE HAVE A LIST HERE, WHOLE RANGE OF THEM.

WE HAD A SHORT DISCUSSION OF THE PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDS AND THE CHANGES YOU REFERENCED, UH, COMMISSIONER THAT HAD KIND OF LIMITED THAT AS A SOURCE.

UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO A, AN APPROACH FOR USING DEFERRED MAINTENANCE FUNDS, BOND FUNDING FROM GENERAL OBLIGATION FUNDS AND GENERAL REVENUE FUNDS.

KIND OF GO INTO SOME DETAIL ABOUT THAT.

UH, TAX INCREMENT FINANCING AS A TOOL THAT COULD BE USED.

UH, I, I COULD GO DOWN THE REST OF THE LIST HERE, BUT THESE ARE BASICALLY, FOR THE MOST PART, NON 3 51, 3 34 FUNDING SOURCES OUTSIDE OF THAT SPACE.

PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY, UM, NATIONAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, STATE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.

UM, I DON'T HAVE IT MEMORIZED ENOUGH TO, TO GO INTO DETAIL, BUT I, I, I, I'M, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO, TO SEE THAT THE, THE DETAILS ARE SET FORTH IN THIS EXHIBIT A.

I LOVE THIS.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER CHAP.

COMMISSIONER CHAPO, UM, GREAT REPORT ALSO FOR, UM, FINDING FONTS.

I THINK IT'S FANTASTIC.

UM, CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE, THE, THE LAG, RIGHT? BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S A BIG IMPACT IN TERMS OF WHEN THE FUNDING IS RECEIVED.

AND SO, I'M SORRY, HOW DO YOU MEAN THE LAG? THE LAG, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE FEES WERE ASSESSED EARLIER AND THEN THEY'RE NOT RECEIVED, WHICH COULD LOCK UP FUNDS, IT SAYS FOR 10 YEARS.

SO ON NUMBER, PLEASE REMIND ME WHERE WE ARE.

OH, UH, AND SECTION, UH, PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDS.

SO, RIGHT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW WE CAN GET DIFFERENT FUNDS.

AND SO ONE OF THE OPTIONS THAT IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS RATHER THAN HAVING THE FEES DUE AT THE END OF A PROJECT, THAT THE FEES WOULD BE DUE AT THE TIME THEY'RE ASSESSED.

SO YOU COULD COLLECT THE FEES.

SO THIS A PARAGRAPH.

PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDS.

IS THIS PAGE ONE AND TWO SIDE? PAGE ONE.

UH, FIRST PARAGRAPH.

IF YOU, IF YOU SORT OF ASSIGN THE F FEE AT THE BEGINNING BASED ON THE INITIAL PROPERTY VALUES, AND THEN WAIT TO COLLECT IT AT VERY END, BY THE TIME IT COMES INTO POSSESSION OF THE CITY, YOU'VE ALREADY LOST ALL THE GROWTH AND THE, YOU KNOW, INCREASES IN THE PROPERTY VALUES AT THAT TIME.

I'M GONNA HAVE TO REALLY THAT FIRST PAGE, BUT IT JUST, THAT SEEMS TO, ASIDE FROM DIFFERENT FUNDING RESOURCES, IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE THE TIMING OF THE COLLECTION FUNDS.

I'M GOING FROM MEMORY HERE, BUT ONE OF THE CONCERNS ABOUT COLLECTING IT AT THE END OF THE PROJECT IS YOU'VE GOT GROWTH IN VALUES OF THE PROPERTY IN, YOU KNOW, PROPERTY VALUES INCREASING IN THE INTERIM BETWEEN WHEN IT STARTED AND WHEN YOU ACTUALLY FINISHED THE PROJECT.

AND

[01:25:01]

I'M, I'M, I, WE GOT A LOT OF GUIDANCE FROM AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION ON THIS PARTICULAR PIECE OF THE, UH, REPORT.

AND I HOPE I'VE GOT IT CORRECTLY IN HERE, BUT THAT WAS ONE OF THE CONCERN.

YEAH, NO, I MEAN, IT, IT, IT SOUNDS GREAT.

I JUST WANTED TO, TO CONFIRM ON THAT.

THE RECOMMENDATION IS MORE ABOUT THE GETTING THE ASSESSMENT AND THE FEE AT THE TIME OF COLLECTION, RIGHT.

CLOSER TOGETHER.

SO YOU HAVE THOSE FUNDS AND THEN YOU ALSO FUTURE, YOUR ASSESSMENTS ARE BASED OFF IF YOU'RE GROUND LEVEL THAT YOU'VE ALREADY ESTABLISHED, CORRECT.

ASIDE FROM SPECIFIC PROJECT FUNDS.

SO, AWESOME.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? I HAVE A CLARIFYING QUESTION FOR OUR STAFF LIAISON.

MS. OJEDA, IF YOU CAN CLARIFY, I BELIEVE THE THREE XS ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN TOURISM COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION REQUIRES, UM, CLARIFICATION.

I THINK IT'S 0 0 2.

IT'S THE NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS WE'VE SENT TO COUNCIL.

UM, SO I, I JUST WANT THAT TO BE NOTED FOR THE RECORD THAT THAT EDIT WILL NEED TO HAPPEN IN ORDER FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION TO PASS.

UH, AS THIS IS THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION THIS BODY HAS SENT TO COUNSEL, I THINK IT, I THINK IT'S RELATES TO COMMISSIONER.

I THOUGHT THAT THE NUMBERING SYSTEM BASICALLY SAID THAT THIS MEETING ON THIS DATE, IF IT'S GOT AN AGENDA ITEM ASSOCIATED WITH IT, YOU ADD THAT.

BUT DO YOU KNOW? NO.

ALRIGHT.

WE'LL, UM, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND FLAG THAT.

UM, FOR CORRECTION.

UM, BUT, UH, IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS WITH REGARD TO THE PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION IN ACCOMPANYING REPORT, ACTUALLY WE HAVE ONE WITH COMMISSIONER IAN.

UH, ONE QUESTION I WANTED TO KNOW IF WE WERE GOING TO PRESENT NOT ONLY THE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL, BUT WERE WE GOING TO PRESENT THE, UM, THE WORKING GROUP NOTES AS WELL? YES.

IF I RECALL THE RECOMMENDATION.

OH, IS IT PER THE RECOMMENDATION DOCUMENT? OBJECTION.

YES.

AND OBJECTION.

PERHAPS WHAT CAN HELP US IS IF WE READ THE RECOMMENDATION IN FULL FOR THE RECORD AND THAT CAN, UH, POTENTIALLY RESOLVE ANY POTENTIAL QUESTIONS THAT THE COMMISSIONERS MAY HAVE.

COMMISSIONER KANATI.

UH, MAY I ASK YOU READ THE RECOMMENDATION PROPOSED? YES.

I'M TRYING TO, I'VE GOT TOO MANY COPIES OF THE PAPER HERE.

UM, DO YOU REALLY WANT ME TO READ THE WHOLE, THE FULL PAGE OF THIS? UM, YES.

UM, SO THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, 2020 4 0 3 1 3, I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE, UM, WHATEVER THIS AGENDA ITEM IS.

THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE TOURISM COMMISSION, PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT WORKING GROUP IDENTIFIED PARK AMENITIES TO LEVERAGE TOURISM FUNDING FOR PARK SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT CAN BENEFIT THE PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY.

WHEREAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS CITIES IN THE COUNTRY WITH OUR PARKS PRESERVES OPEN SPACE AS WATERWAYS, SPRING FED POOLS AND GREEN BELT TRAILS, ATTRACTING TOURISTS AND CITIZENS ALIKE TO AUSTIN'S PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT.

WHEREAS AUSTIN'S TOURISM INDUSTRY ACTIVELY USES OUR PARKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRACTIONS TO PROMOTE, PROMOTE TOURISM TO AUSTIN.

AS READILY SEEN FROM THE VISIT AUSTIN'S WEBSITE, WHICH LISTS AUSTIN PARKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRACTIONS.

THERE'S A LINK WHICH FEATURED BARTON SPRINGS POOLS, LOCAL POLITAN AND PARK MOUNT ELLE LADYBIRD, LAKE BUTLER TRAIL, AND MANY, MANY MORE.

WHEREAS TRADITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES FOR PARKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SPACES HAVE STRUGGLED TO KEEP UP WITH OUR GROWING CITY AND HAVE EVEN DWINDLED OVER THE YEARS, ESPECIALLY WITH RECENT STATE LAW CHANGES, WHICH PREVENT THE CITY OF AUSTIN FROM COLLECTING PARKLAND DEVELOPMENT FUNDS DECREASING THE AMOUNT OF PARKLAND THE CITY CAN ACQUIRE, AND LIMITING THE ABILITY OF MUNICIPALITIES TO RAISE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE THAT COULD OTHERWISE BE USED TO PAY FOR PARK AND ENVIRONMENT PROJECTS.

WHEREAS THE TOURISM COMMISSION WAS ESTABLISHED TO PROVIDE EXPERTISE AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL CONCERNING ISSUES RELATED TO AND THAT PROMOTE TOURISM.

AND IN THIS ROLE SEEKS TO FIND WAYS FOR BOTH THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AND CITIZEN CITIZENS OF AUSTIN'S BENEFIT.

AND WHEREAS THE PARKS ENVIRONMENT WORKING GROUP WAS APPOINTED TO PREPARE RECOMMENDATIONS TO IDENTIFY PARK AMENITIES, TO LEVERAGE TOURISM FUNDING FOR PARKS SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT CAN BENEFIT PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN TOURISM COMMISSION ENCOURAGES THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER AND DIRECT STAFF TO CONSIDER THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH ARE ATTACHED FOR PARK SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT CAN BENEFIT PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY.

A LITTLE REPETITION IN THERE.

SORRY ABOUT THAT.

NO WORRIES.

COMMISSIONER KANATI FOR READING

[01:30:01]

IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, TOURISM COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION, UH, PLEASE LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE VIEWED THE TEMPLATE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL.

AND INDEED COMMISSIONER KANATI IS CORRECT THAT THE RECOMMENDATION NUMBER IS THE AGENDA ITEM NUMBER IN THE AGENDA IN THIS CASE, 0 0 5.

UM, SO WE WILL ADD THAT TO THIS DRAFT.

IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE US TO COUNSEL? I MOTION WE APPROVE.

SO MOVED BY COMMISSIONER, UH, OCION.

IS THERE A SECOND THOUGH? MOVED BY COMMISSIONER KTI.

THANK YOU TO YOU BOTH DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS, UM, DRAFT AS WELL AS THE ULI REPORT ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT.

COMMISSIONER BAILEY? NO.

OH, SORRY.

ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, BEING NONE? I'D LIKE TO JUST THANK COMMISSIONER KANATI FOR ALL OF HIS WORK AND HIS DILIGENCE IN BRINGING THIS TO, UH, THE AGENDA.

IT'S BEEN SEVERAL MONTHS, I THINK, OVER ACTUALLY A SERIES OF YEARS , WHERE WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, VERY IMPORTANT, UM, DOCUMENT AND RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE FINALLY SENDING TO COUNCIL ABOUT THE VALUE OF, OF PARKS AND OPEN SPACE, UH, IN OUR TOURISM ECONOMY.

SO THANK YOU.

AND, UH, WITH THAT I WOULD LIKE TO HOLD A VOTE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF PASSING THE RECOMMENDATION NUMBER 2 0 2 4 0 3 3 0 5 TO COUNSEL.

PLEASE STATE YOUR AFFIRMATION BY SAYING AYE.

AYE.

A, LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT OUR TWO PARTICIPANTS, COMMISSIONER BAAN AND COMMISSIONER, UM, MATHIS MATHIS, EXCUSE ME, UM, BOTH SUPPORT THIS AS WELL.

UH, THIS RECOMMENDATIONS, RECOMMENDATION PASSES THE AUSTIN TOURISM COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY.

AND, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE NOW MOVE ON DISCUSSION,

[6. Discussion and approval of the remaining 2024 calendar dates for the Tourism Commission meeting dates and location changes, if necessary.]

UH, TO DISCUSSION ITEM NUMBER SIX, UH, WITH POTENTIAL ACTION.

WE ARE TO REVIEW THE REMAINING 2024 CALENDAR DATES OF THE TOURISM COMMISSION AND LOCATIONS.

AND FOR THIS, I'M GONNA CALL UPON OUR STAFF LIAISON, MS. OJEDA, TO HELP US, UH, CALL OUT THE FORTHCOMING DATES AND LOCATIONS OF THE, UH, REST OF THE MEETING DATES FOR THE, UH, 2024 MEETING YEAR.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

UM, SO IN YOUR PACKET, YOU ALL RECEIVED, UM, THE CALENDAR IN STARTING NEXT MONTH.

UH, WE MEET ON, WE WILL CONTINUE TO MEET EVERY SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH, EXCEPT ONE TIME.

AND I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THAT IS.

BUT NEXT MONTH IN APRIL ON THE 10TH, WE'LL BE MEETING ACROSS THE WAY IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSION ROOM, WHICH IS ACROSS THE HALLWAY.

UM, WE'LL BACK IN HERE IN MAY, IN JUNE.

WE'RE AGAIN, ACROSS THE WAY IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSION ROOM, UM, AT THE DIFFERENT TIME CHANGE AT FROM THREE TO FIVE IN JULY, WE WILL BE BACK HERE IN THE CHAMBERS, EXCEPT WE WILL BE MEETING THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, WHICH IS THE 15TH.

AND BACK ON THE SAME TIMEFRAME AT TWO 30 TO FOUR 30.

AUGUST, UM, HAS BEEN CANCELED, UM, UH, ACCORDING TO YOUR VOTES THAT WE HAD IN FEBRUARY AND EVERYTHING ELSE, THAT IS THE SAME FOR THE REMAINING OF THE YEAR, STARTING SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER.

THANK YOU, MS. ODA.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS CALENDAR BEFORE US? SEEING NONE, UH, WE MOVE FORWARD TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, NOTING THAT WE WILL ASSESS WHETHER OR NOT WE, UH, KEEP THE DECEMBER MEETING DATE AT A FUTURE DATE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM NUMBER SIX, DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF THE REMAINING.

THAT IS WHAT WE JUST DID.

WONDERFUL DISCUSSION.

APPROVAL ITEM, UH, DISCUSSION

[7. Discussion and approval of the upcoming Agenda topics for the 2024 calendar year for editing or approving of agenda topics.]

APPROVAL ITEM NUMBER SEVEN OF THE APPROVAL OF THE UPCOMING AGENDA TOPICS, WHICH IS IN YOUR ACCOMPANYING WORKING DOCUMENT, UH, FOR THE TOURISM COMMISSION ROADMAP.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS WITH REGARD TO FORTHCOMING MEETING THEMES, TOPICS FOR THE AGENDA, INCLUDING SPEAKERS?

[01:35:12]

SO JUST A GENERAL OVERVIEW.

WE HAVE, UH, I BELIEVE SEVEN MEETINGS LEFT THIS YEAR WITH, UH, THE FIRST UP, UH, COMING UP IN APRIL.

UH, FOOD AND BEVERAGE.

THIS IS OUR CULINARY TOPIC.

SO IF FOLKS HAVE ANY IDEAS AS TO SPEAKERS THAT CAN SPEAK TO CULINARY TOPICS HERE IN AUSTIN AS FAR AS IT RELATES TO THE ECONOMY, PLEASE LET US KNOW.

UH, ADDITIONALLY, MAY 8TH IS, AGAIN, NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK.

SO WE ARE GOING TO, I THINK, SHOWCASE MUSIC AS A, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE LARGER TOURISM REVENUE DRIVERS HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

OUR JUNE MEETING, WE WILL COVER MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL SITES AS, AND HOW THEY CONTRIBUTE TO THE TOURISM ECONOMY.

JULY CONVENTIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS.

THAT'S OUR CONVENTION ORGANIZERS AND CONVENTIONEERS THAT WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM AND SEE HOW THEY EXPERIENCE.

AUSTIN.

AUGUST AGAIN, IS NO MEETING PROPOSED.

UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY NOW OFFICIALLY A CANCELED MEETING.

UH, SEPTEMBER.

WE HAVE, UH, FUNDING AUSTIN TOURISM AN UPDATE ON THE CITY HOT TAX.

UH, WE'D LIKE TO INVITE THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO DO THEIR ANNUAL UPDATE ON THE COLLECTION OF THE CITY HOT TAX AND HOW, UH, THOSE FUNDS ARE BEING ALLOCATED FOR CITY SERVICES, PARTICULARLY CITY ARTS, UM, AND CULTURE GRANTS, UH, AS WELL AS THOSE APPLY TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION AS WELL.

UM, HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANTS.

THAT IS, UH, OCTOBER.

WE HAVE A LOCALIZED AND BROADER LOOK AT THE TOURISM INDUSTRY FROM A GEOGRAPHIC STANDPOINT, OUR CULTURAL DISTRICTS, UH, AS WELL AS OUR HISTORIC DISTRICTS AND OUR BROADER DOWNTOWN.

AND LASTLY, WE DON'T HAVE A TOPIC YET FOR NOVEMBER, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE KIND OF KEPT THE, THE AGENDA OPEN, UM, AS WELL AS DECEMBER AS WELL.

IT WAS PREVIOUSLY PROPOSED TO, TO CANCEL THE MEETING, BUT WE'RE STILL ON HOLD, UH, AS WAS PREVIOUSLY STATED AS, UH, IN TERMS OF MAKING THAT DECISION FINAL.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, IDEAS, THOUGHTS THAT COME TO MIND IMMEDIATELY? COMMISSIONER BAILEY? UM, I'M JUST FOCUSING ON THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE 'CAUSE THIS IS THE WAY MY BRAIN WORKS.

I'M GONNA GIVE IT TO YOU NOW AND NOT LATER 'CAUSE THEN I'LL LOSE IT.

SO YOU'VE GOT THE AUSTIN FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL THAT'S PRODUCED BY C3 PRESENT, WHICH DEFINITELY DRAWS PEOPLE IN AND THEY STAY IN HOTELS.

AND THE HOT LUCK FESTIVAL IS VERY SIMILAR.

AND ONE OF THE REASONS I THINK HAVING A FESTIVAL IS IMPORTANT 'CAUSE THEY BRING CHEFS IN FROM ALL OVER DIFFERENT PLACES.

AND I THINK THAT HAVING THAT DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW THEY TARGET AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS, IS PROBABLY VERY RELEVANT.

YOU KNOW, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOMEBODY REPRESENTING THE JAMES BEARD AWARD COULD GIVE SOME INSIGHTS INTO REGIONAL RESTAURANT SCENES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

'CAUSE UH, WE'RE LOOKING OUTWARD IN INWARD.

RIGHT? UM, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE GONNA THINK ABOUT THE TEXAS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION 'CAUSE I SEE THAT ON HERE, BUT, MM-HMM.

AND OF COURSE THERE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE, TAKING A LOOK AT SOME OF THE, THE, THE, THE BIG DISTILLERIES AND, UM, THE NEW KIND OF MICROBREW DESTINATION.

I MEAN THE, THE WHOLE CORRIDOR.

I THINK THERE'S ACTUALLY AN ASSOCIATION NOW IN FREDERICKSBURG THAT SOMEWHERE THERE'S AN ASSOCIATION THAT'S STARTING TO MARKET ALL OF THE STOPS BETWEEN HERE AND FREDERICKSBURG AND BUNDLING.

AND I MEAN, THERE, THERE'S PROBABLY SOMEONE WHO I BET YOU IF YOU ASK FREDERICKSBURG TO TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT ON THAT COMMUNITY OF THE TRAIL OF WINERIES, DISTILLERIES AND BREWERIES.

AND THERE'S, I'M SURE FROM THE VISIT AUSTIN GROUP WE JUST TALKED WITH, THEY WILL HAVE SOMEONE ON SITE WHO COORDINATES AND, OR IS LOCKED IN.

THEY DO IT TOGETHER, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.

THEY, THEY TRY TO JOIN AND WORK TOGETHER ON BETWEEN AUSTIN AND HERE.

SO, MM-HMM.

QUICK THOUGHTS.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER BAILEY.

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU AT HOME, UH, WE HAD COMMISSIONER PENOC AND ASK FOR SAMPLES FROM OUR SPEAKERS.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YES, FIELD TRIPS AS WELL.

UM, UH, NOTHING OVER, ACTUALLY.

WE NEED TO REVIEW OUR GUIDELINES FOR, UM, COMMISSION ETHICS.

BUT, UH, I'M ALWAYS DOWN FOR A FREE MEAL, , IF IT'S PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE.

UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS WITH REGARD TO OUR UPCOMING AGENDA TOPICS? COMMISSIONER, UH, EXCUSE ME, MS. OJEDA? YES.

UM, I'M, I'M GETTING TO THIS.

UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, ANY OTHER LAST

[01:40:01]

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? SEEING NONE, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND KEEP TALKING ABOUT THIS, UH, COMMISSION ROADMAP TO HELP US SORT OF DEVELOP WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE MORE AT OUR, UH, FORTHCOMING MEETINGS, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, GET EVERYONE EXCITED HERE ABOUT TOURISM IN AUSTIN AS WE, UH, INCREASE OUR PLANNING FOR THE COMMISSION AND, AND HOW WE'D LIKE TO COMMUNICATE TOURISM'S BENEFITS HERE LOCALLY IN THE TOURISM ECONOMY.

I ALSO WANNA POINT YOUR, YOUR FOCUS TO, UH, ANOTHER HANDOUT THAT WAS PROVIDED BY MS. OJEDA, UH, TO, UH, ASSIST US IN, UH, SOME FUTURE.

AND I'M ACTUALLY GONNA LOOP THIS IN WITH AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.

UH, THAT'S SOME CONSIDERATION, SOME REMINDERS FOR THE BOARD.

SO YOU SHOULD ALL HAVE THIS.

IT HAS SOME HIGHLIGHTED TEXT.

IT WAS ON TOP OF YOUR BOARD PACKET, COMMISSION PACKET, UH, NEXT MONTH IN APRIL.

WE ALSO HAVE BOARD ELECTIONS.

SO WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO SPEAK AS A BOARD, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS OFFLINE, BUT NOT WITH A QUORUM ABOUT WHO WOULD LIKE TO RUN FOR, UH, THE COMMISSION FOR THE OFFICER POSITIONS.

CURRENTLY WE HAVE TWO CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR WHO, UM, ONE LEADS THE MEETING AND ONE LEADS THE MEETING IN THE BOARD CHAIR'S ABSENCE.

SO THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE, UH, CONSIDERED.

WE ALSO, UM, YOU CAN READ THROUGH THIS LIST.

IT'S MORE DETAILED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS OF BOARD SERVICE, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE TERMS, UM, HOW THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE VOTED IN, UM, DECLARING IN CANDIDACY UH, VOTING PROCEDURES.

SO PLEASE, UH, FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THIS LIST.

UH, SO WE CAN COME INTO THE APRIL MEETING, UH, FULLY, UM, FULLY AWARE OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS COMMISSIONERS TO UNDERTAKE OUR ELECTIONS.

UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, I'D LIKE TO REMIND COMMISSIONERS THAT EACH OF US NEEDS TO COMPLETE OUR, UH, SEXUAL HARASSMENT TRAINING, WHICH IS A REQUIRED OF ALL BOARD AND COMMISSION MEMBERS, UH, TO COMPLETE IN ACCORDANCE WITH CITY ORDINANCE 2 0 1 8 1 2 1 3.

UH, AND WE NEED TO COMPLETE THAT BY MAY 10TH.

SO IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE THAT, UM, PLEASE GO TO YOUR BC EMAIL ADDRESS, YOUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS EMAIL ADDRESS TO COMPLETE THAT TRAINING.

AND ADDITIONALLY, UH, IF YOU HAVE, UH, OTHER QUESTIONS AROUND, UH, RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR, THEY'RE ALSO LISTED HERE.

IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE FOLLOW UP WITH EITHER ME OR, UH, OUR STAFF LIAISON, MS. OJEDA.

COMMISSIONER SHANNON.

SO HAS THIS EMAIL ON THE, UM, SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROGRAM, HAS IT ALREADY GONE OUT? SHOULD I HAVE IT IN MY INBOX? OKAY.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WHO'S DONE IT? LET'S RAISE OUR HANDS.

GOOD.

ALL RIGHT.

WE'RE DOING OKAY.

UH, FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN'T, PLEASE DO IT.

UM, ALRIGHT, NOW MOVING ON TO OUR WORKING GROUP

[8. Update from the Short-Term Rental Working Group on any new reports regarding STRs recommendations.]

UPDATES.

FIRST WE HAVE AN UPDATE FROM THE SHORT TERM RENTAL WORKING GROUP ON ANY NEW REPORTS REGARDING THE SHORT TERM RENTAL RECOMMENDATIONS.

I'M GOING TO PASS THE BATON OVER TO COMMISSIONER CHAPEL FOR AN UPDATE.

THANK YOU CHAIR, RON.

AND AFTER READING SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS HERE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE CAN MAKE YOU STAY THE CHAIR.

SO THAT'S GREAT NEWS AS WELL.

, UM, UH, QUICK UPDATE ON STR WORKING GROUP.

WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH, UM, CITY COUNCIL OFFICES AND KIND OF EXPLAINING OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND GIVING THEM THE DEEP DIVE OF THE REPORT.

LOOKING FOR COUNCIL SPONSORS TO TAKE UP THIS AND MAKE IT, PUT IT ON THEIR AGENDA.

SO REALLY JUST DOING ROUND ROBINS WITH, UH, KEY STAKEHOLDERS, UH, WITH COUNCIL AND TRYING TO TALK TO EVERYONE.

AND THEN SEE IF SOMEONE WANTS TO TAKE UP THE SDR POLICY AND MOVE IT ON THE AGENDA.

BUT THINGS LOOK PROMISING.

WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF GOOD SUPPORT AND FEEDBACK FROM OUR APPROACH AND KEEPING IT TIED WITH, UH, COMPLIANCE, LICENSE ADOPTION, AND THEN COMMUNICATION.

OUR, OUR, OUR MAIN FOCUS IS THANK YOU COMMISSIONER CHAPPEL.

CAN YOU, FOR THE GOOD OF THE GROUP OUTLINE WHO IT IS YOU'VE ALL TALKED TO AS WELL AS THE ATTENDEES IN THOSE MEETINGS? UH, I HAVE IT ALL WRITTEN DOWN, BUT JUST TOP OF MEMORY

[01:45:01]

HERE.

WE'VE MET WITH DISTRICT TWO.

WE MET WITH COMMISSIONER, EXCUSE ME, DISTRICT SIX, MACKENZIE KELLY.

UM, WE HAVE MET WITH, UH, WE WERE GOING TO MEET WITH, UM, FUENTES OFFICE TODAY.

WE HAD TO RESCHEDULE 'CAUSE SHE'S NOT LIVE.

YEAH, WE MET WITH MADISON HARPER'S OFFICE.

WE HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM, UH, MAYOR WATSON'S.

I'M SITTING AT HIS DESK RIGHT NOW.

UH, MAYOR WATSON'S OFFICE.

WE'VE NOT HEARD BACK FROM POOL'S OFFICE.

WE HAVE SPOKE WITH VELAS OFFICE.

THEY ARE INTERESTING AND THEY'RE WORKING ON THIS EFFORT.

I THINK ONE THING THAT'S, THAT'S INTERESTING I WISH TO TALK ABOUT IS THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS ALSO LOOKING AT THIS ISSUE AND THEY ARE, THERE ARE PEOPLE WITHIN CITY COUNCIL OFFICES KIND OF LOOKING AT THIS ISSUE, BUT THERE'S NO COLLECTIVE KIND OF PUSHING IT FORWARD.

AND I THINK THAT'S THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS WORKING GROUP HAS KIND OF TAKEN ON THAT ROLE, UM, TO KIND OF USHER EVERYTHING TOGETHER.

AND SO I THINK THAT WE'LL CON CONTINUE DOING THAT.

UM, LOOK FOR OUR, OUR SPONSOR, AND THEN I THINK WE'LL TIGHTEN UP THE RECOMMENDATION SO THAT THEY CAN GO FORWARD WITH COUNCIL.

UM, THAT SEEMS TO BE THE, THE PLAN.

AND SO WE'RE GETTING GOOD CADENCE AND GOOD FEEDBACK.

IT'S JUST, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES A WEEK TO GET A MEETING AND THAT, THAT SORT OF THING.

UM, WE'VE ALSO BEEN LOOPED IN WITH, UM, SOME OTHER LOCAL SDR EXPERTS IN TERMS OF TAXES AND FEES THAT WE'RE GOING TO EXPLORE.

AND WE'VE GOT A LOT OF CIRCLING BACK TO DO IN TERMS OF LIKE, WITH THE PLATFORMS AND WHERE, AND THEY'RE DOING THE SAME THING AS WELL.

SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S STILL ALIGNED ON WHERE WE'RE AT.

BUT TO REPORT WE ARE .

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER.

CHAP.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER PENOC IS ALSO SITTING IN ON MANY OF THOSE MEETINGS.

UH, I MYSELF AM GOING TO BE ATTENDING A, A FORTHCOMING MEETING WITH COMMISSIONER RATHER COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, UM, TO BE SCHEDULED, BUT THAT, THAT'S ALSO IN MOTION.

IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THAT'S BEEN IN YOUR MEETINGS? UM, YEAH, JUST MOSTLY, UM, JUST, JUST THE TWO OF YOU.

OKAY, GREAT.

JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, AND, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED EFFORTS AND, AND HELPING PUSH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD.

UH, I THINK IT'S, UH, REALLY GREAT TO HAVE, UM, REALLY SOME FORMIDABLE RESEARCH AND ALSO STELLAR, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS TO PUT FORWARD TO COUNCIL TO REALLY RECTIFY THIS ISSUE AND HELP MOVE US ALL FORWARD.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK.

UH, WE'VE ALSO SPOKEN WITH, UH, DISTRICT FIVE TOO, SO I THINK WE'RE MORE THAN HALFWAY THROUGH COUNCIL.

LAST ITEM OF THE AGENDA, WE'RE GONNA DO, I BELIEVE A FINAL UPDATE FROM THE PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT WORKING GROUP.

GOOD WORK.

THANKS ALL.

MOVING FORWARD TO OUR

[9. Update from the Parks and Environment Working Group regarding the recent recommendation and dissolving of the working group.]

AND IF, UM, COMMISSIONER KANATI, IF YOU'D LIKE TO, I, I THINK OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATION WE JUST APPROVED, UM, IN THAT WE DID TALK ABOUT THERE WAS A FOURTH CATEGORY OF RESPONSIBILITY THAT THAT WORKING GROUP WAS ASKED TO LOOK AT, WHICH WAS PALM PARK HOT FUNDING OPTIONS.

UM, THIS WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT CITY COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES WHEN SHE WAS ON THE TOURIST COMMISSION INCLUDED.

BUT I'M GONNA TELL YOU, I DON'T THINK OUR WORKING GROUP IS REALLY FOCUSED AROUND THAT.

AND AT LEAST I WOULD SUGGEST IF THAT IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO PURSUE, MAYBE A NEW WORKING GROUP BE SET UP PROBABLY WITH OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS BECAUSE I THINK THE EXISTING COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE SORT OF PARKS FOCUSED AND IT MIGHT BE BETTER TO HAVE SOME MORE EXPERTISE BROUGHT IN ON THAT.

UM, I, I WAS GONNA SAY, I KIND OF WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE, THE, THE EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE, THE SDR WORKING GROUP IS AND, AND, AND TRYING TO HAVE SOME MEETINGS WITH CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO TAKE Y'ALL'S RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD.

I THOUGHT MAYBE OUR WORKING GROUP WOULD MAYBE CONTINUE TO ACT IN THAT CAPACITY, UH, IF WE NEED TO DISSOLVE OR NOT NOW.

BUT, UM, I ACTUALLY DIDN'T HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE YOU WANTED TO GO WITH THIS.

RIGHT.

I GUESS MY, MY OWN PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION IS WE, WE COULD DROP THIS ONCE WE, UH, GET THROUGH SOME CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AND THEN THE COMMISSION COULD CONSIDER WHETHER THIS PALM, UH, UH, PALM PARK HOT FUNDING CATEGORY DESERVES ITS OWN DISCUSSION.

THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS.

COMMISSIONER KANATI.

COMMISSIONER BAILEY, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? YEAH, IJI JUST, I'M THINKING AS I RECALL FROM SOME TIME BACK WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT, UH, SOME OF THE MODELING FOR THE CONVENTION EXPANSION, I WON'T BE ABSOLUTELY SURPRISED IF WHEN WE SEE WE ALL GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE FIRST VISION PLAN FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER DESIGN, THAT THERE ISN'T SOME PORTION OF PALM POSSIBLY RELATED.

AND, AND, AND POINT BEING IS EITHER WE GET IN FRONT OF IT BY SAYING WE'RE WE NEED A COMMISSION.

JUST MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE START TO SEE THESE THINGS, ARE WE SEEING THINGS THAT REPRESENT WHAT THE COM A COMMITTEE IS INTERESTED IN, OR B, USE THAT THERE'S DEFINITELY GONNA BE TIME TO, TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THAT WOULD BE AN, AN IMPORTANT

[01:50:01]

CONTRIBUTION FROM THIS BODY TO WEIGH IN ON THAT.

BUT EITHER WAY, I THINK IT'S, IT'S PROBABLY GONNA SHOW UP 'CAUSE IT'S TOO ADJACENT TO THE BUILD OUT JUST TO, SO IT'S MORE OF A COMMENT THAN A RECOMMENDATION.

IF Y'ALL LIKE, I COULD.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

SORRY, ONE SECOND.

UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER BAILEY.

COMMISSIONER KANATI, IF Y'ALL LIKE, I COULD ASK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES IF SHE WOULD LIKE FOR US TO ENGAGE WITH THIS.

I'M SURE SHE'S MORE UP TO SPEED THAN I AM ON IT AND I COULD REPORT BACK TO THE TOURISM COMMISSION WITH WHATEVER I HEAR.

YEAH, I'D LIKE THAT.

SORRY IF I, IF I, UM, WAS PREMATURE IN, IN WANTING TO SUNSET THE, THE WORK GROUP.

I KNOW IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR SOME TIME.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU WERE STILL INTERESTED AND ENGAGED IN CARRYING THE, THE WATER, SO TO SPEAK, FOR THE, FOR THE WORK GROUP AND, UM, WANTED TO RESPECT YOUR EFFORTS.

I'M NOT SURE I PERSONALLY AM, BUT I THINK MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD, IN AN INFORMED WAY LOOK AT BESIDES JUST MY OWN PERSONAL PREFERENCE.