Feb 12, 2025 Tourism Commission

SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SHAPEY DISCUSSION.

UH, MS. BROON.

UH, FIRST ITEM

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

ON THE AGENDA.

WE ARE LOOKING TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE TOURISM COMMISSION FOR THE REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING OF DECEMBER 11TH, 2024.

DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED BY COMMISSIONER SHANNON.

HEARING NONE, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.

AYE.

UH, COMMISSIONER MATHIS, WE GOTTA SEE YOUR VOTE.

COULD YOU TURN ON YOUR CAMERA PLEASE? .

MR. MATHIS.

HI.

CAN YOU TURN YOUR CAMERA ON SO WE CAN SEE YOUR VOTE? I HAVE MY CAMERA ON, I DON'T KNOW.

OH, OKAY.

IT'S NOT SHOWING THAT IT'S ON, BUT, UH, MAYBE WE CAN GET THAT FIGURED OUT FROM A TECH, UH, SITUATION.

UM, ARE YOU VOTING IN FAVOR OF THE MINUTES? YES, PLEASE.

NUMBER TWO, STAFF BRIEFINGS.

MINUTES PASSED UNANIMOUSLY ONTO ITEM

[2. Staff briefing from Staff Liaison, Felicia Burleson, regarding the vacancy and updates for commission board.]

UM, MS. BURLESON, UH, PLEASE PROCEED.

UM, NOTHING REALLY NEW GOING ON.

WE STILL HAVE OUR TWO VACANCIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO FILL.

UM, I KNOW THAT MAYBE HALF THE MEMBERS ON OUR BOARD MEMBERS, UM, MAY BE EXPIRING THEIR TERMS DUE TO, UM, THEIR COUNCIL MEMBER.

SO THAT MORE INFORMATION IS TO COME FOR THAT.

AND THAT'S ABOUT IT.

SAME COMMISSIONER SHANNON.

THANK YOU, MS. BURLESON.

AND JUST TO CLARIFY, UH, WE HAVE TWO VACANCIES IN DISTRICT FOUR AND DISTRICT 10.

UM, AND THE ONE VACANCY THAT I THINK WILL BE COMING UP, UM, THE SOONEST IS THAT OF COMMISSIONER REY.

UH, AND THAT IS DISTRICT SEVEN.

UM, AND, UH, JUST SHOW OF HANDS, DO WE KNOW, ARE, ARE ANY OF US CYCLING OFF THE COMMISSION SOON THAT WE KNOW OF MS. PIAN? UM, I'M EXPIRING, BUT I JUST GOT PICKED UP AGAIN.

SO YOU'RE ALSO RENEWED.

PERFECT.

THANK YOU FOR THOSE UPDATES.

COMMISSIONERS.

NOW WE MOVE ON TO, UH, AGENDA

[3. Presentation by Tom Noonan, President & CEO, Visit Austin regarding the outlook for Tourism in Austin in 2025.]

ITEM NUMBER THREE.

PRESENTATION BY MR. TOM NOONAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, UH, FROM VISIT OFTEN, EXCUSE ME, VISIT AUSTIN REGARDING THE OUTLOOK FOR TOURISM HERE IN TOWN FOR 2025.

MR. NOONAN, PICK ME UP.

UM, I, I'LL BE PRESENTING THIS MORNING BRIEFLY, AND THEN I'M GONNA LEAVE.

WE HAVE THE, THE CROWDSTRIKE LAUNCH EVENT AT THREE 30 AT MOODY'S.

SO I NEED TO RUN, BUT I ALSO HAVE STEVE, STEVE VISI, OUR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING.

AND I HAVE SHELLY HALL HALL WHO DOES OUR, UM, OUR MARKETING FORCE.

SO THEY'RE GONNA DIVE DEEP INTO THE SALES ASPECTS OF THE MARKETING ASPECTS.

AND I'M GONNA GO OVER A LITTLE BIT OF THE ISSUES IN TERMS OF, UH, OUR BOARD STRUCTURE AND, UH, T PIN AND SOME OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO, UM, I'M NOT SURE YOU ALL ARE AWARE OF THIS, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE NEWER MEMBERS, BUT VISIT AUSTIN HAS FIVE BOARDS THAT WE HAVE.

SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT OVERSIGHT, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANOTHER NONPROFIT IN TOWN THAT HAS FIVE BOARDS OVER THEM.

AND WE HAPPY TO COME PRESENT TO THE TOURISM COMMISSION AS WELL.

UM, SO LEMME GO BACK TO FIVE BOARDS.

WE HAVE OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD, UH, WHICH IS MADE UP OF A SUBCOMMITTEE OF OUR, OUR LARGE BOARD, BUT THEY HAVE SEPARATE BOARD MEETINGS.

SO WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD THAT MEETS, AND THEN WE HAVE OUR FULL BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

AND WE'RE JUST BOUNCING ALL OVER HERE TODAY.

UM, AND THEN WE GO INTO OUR AUSTIN SPORTS COMMISSION BOARD MEETING AS WELL.

'CAUSE WE HAVE THE SPORTS COMMISSION AS PART OF OUR ORGANIZATION.

AND THEN ABOUT ABOUT SIX YEARS, SEVEN YEARS AGO WHEN I, WHEN I ARRIVED HERE IN AUSTIN, WE CREATED A VISIT AUSTIN FOUNDATION.

AND THE IDEA OF THE FOUNDATION IS TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.

IT'S ABOUT SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, JOB FAIRS, CAREER FAIRS.

UM, WE, WE SUPPORT THE, UH, TRAVIS HIGH SCHOOL P-TECH PROGRAM FOR HOSPITALITY TOURISM, THOSE KIND OF THINGS.

IT'S ALL ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE FIND OUR INDUSTRY, FIND JOBS IN THE HOSPITALITY TOUR TOURISM INDUSTRY, BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE THREE OR FOUR LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN THE AREA.

SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF OUR WAY OF OUR INDUSTRY GIVING BACK TO AUSTIN IN TERMS OF HELPING PEOPLE FIND JOBS AND CAREERS IN OUR INDUSTRY.

SO IT'S, UM, IT'S A, AND WE DO A COUPLE BIG FUNDRAISERS EVERY YEAR AND, UM, AND THEN A LOT OF SMALLER

[00:05:01]

FUNDRAISERS.

BUT, UM, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A, IT'S OUR, IT'S THE 5 0 1 C3 PART OF OUR ORGANIZATION.

AND THEN WE ALSO, JUST, AS YOU KNOW, WE LAUNCHED THE TOURISM PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT.

THE COUNCIL PASSED ON DECEMBER 12TH.

UM, SO IF WE GO TO THAT NEXT SLIDE, I THINK IT SHOWS THAT, MAYBE IT SHOWS.

THIS IS OUR MAIN BOARD.

UH, THIS IS CURRENTLY CHAIRED BY ROB GILLETTE FROM THE RENAISSANCE HOTEL.

UM, YOU'LL FIND THAT ON THIS BOARD, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE NOT ONLY ALL THE CHAMBERS REPRESENTED ON OUR BOARD, YOU'RE GONNA FIND RIKA THE MAYOR, CITY MANAGER, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ZOE QUADRA IS ALSO ON OUR BOARD AS WELL AS, UH, TRICIA FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER.

WE HAVE THE AIRPORT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ON OUR BOARD.

DAA IS ON OUR BOARD.

CAP METRO WAS ON OUR BOARD.

AND THEN 51% BY OUR BYLAWS IS, UH, HOSPITALITY TOURISM ENTITIES.

UH, THERE HAS TO BE A MAJORITY OF THE BOARD THAT'S FROM THE HOSPITALITY TOURISM MINISTRY.

SO THAT IS OUR MAIN BOARD.

AND THEN YOU'LL SEE A SUBCOMMITTEE.

THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THAT SHOWS YOU OUR, UM, I MISSED IT, SORRY.

THIS IS OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WHICH IS THE SUB BOARD OF OUR MAIN BOARD.

AND THEN THIS IS OUR TOURISM PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD.

SO THE TPI BOARD, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR IS WE HAVE A APPOINTED THREE OFFICERS, AND THEY ARE, THE CHAIRMAN IS JEFF DONAHOE FROM THE HYATT REGENCY IS THE CHAIR.

UH, SCOTT, UH, BLAYLOCK IS THE VICE CHAIR.

HE'S FROM THE JW MARRIOTT HOTEL.

AND THEN ANDY PATEL, WHO'S THE OWNER OF A LOFT AUSTIN NORTHWEST.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT THESE HOTELS, YOU'RE GONNA SEE LOTS OF DIFFERENT BRANDS.

YOU'RE GONNA SEE LOTS OF DIFFERENT SIZE HOTELS, LOTS OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY, LOTS OF DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, DIVERSITY ON THIS GROUP AS WELL.

'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A HOA HOTEL OWNERS ON HERE.

WE HAVE THREE OF THOSE.

YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, JUST DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY.

SO IT'S REFLECTIVE OF THAT 150 HOTEL COMMUNITY THAT SUPPORTED THE TPI.

SO WE ACTUALLY HAD ABOUT 35 PEOPLE THAT APPLIED FOR THESE 13 SPOTS.

IT WAS A VERY, UM, UH, ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT WHO SHOULD MAKE THAT AN INITIAL TPI BOARD.

UH, THE TPI HAS, THEY'VE AGAIN, ELECTED OFFICERS.

WE HAD THE, UM, UM, WE HAD THE, THE BYLAWS APPROVED.

WE'VE LAUNCHED THE ORGANIZATION, OBVIOUSLY WITH THE STATE.

UM, SO WE'VE GOT THE TPI READY TO GO.

IN FACT, I WILL TELL YOU, WE'VE HAD TWO MEETINGS WITH THE TID BOARD ALREADY.

THE FIRST ONE WAS TO DO ALL THOSE THINGS I JUST TALKED ABOUT.

AND THEN LAST FRIDAY WE HAD WHAT WE CALLED OUR TID BOARD SUMMIT, WHICH LASTED FOR NINE AND A HALF HOURS.

AND IT LITERALLY WAS THE IDEA OF SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS OF GETTING OUR TID BOARD UP TO SPEED ON EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING, SALES AND MARKETING.

SO A LOT OF THE STUFF YOU'RE GONNA SEE TODAY FROM, FROM STEVE AND FROM SHELLY, THAT WAS ALSO PRESENTED TO AUSTIN HOTEL LODGING, WE ALSO PRESENTED TO THIS TID BOARD AS WELL, TO GET THEM REALLY UP TO SPEED.

AND IT WAS AN IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION ABOUT NOT ONLY THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AS AN ORGANIZATION IN TERMS OF SALES AND MARKETING, BUT ALSO GETTING THE OPINION OF THE TPI BOARD, HOW THEY WANT TO OPERATE AND HOW THEY WANNA SEE THINGS PRESENTED.

AND SO IT WAS A ROBUST CONVERSATION THAT STARTED AT NINE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.

WE DIDN'T WRAP UP TILL SIX 30 IN THE EVENING.

IT WAS A LONG DAY, BUT IT WAS A REALLY PRODUCTIVE DAY.

AND SO YOU'LL SEE THAT NORMALLY OUR BOARDS MEET ON A QUARTERLY BASIS, BUT FOR THE TEPID, FOR RIGHT NOW, WE'RE HAVING A MONTHLY BOARD MEETING BY CLOCKWORK.

AND WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA DO THAT FOR THE WHOLE FIRST YEAR.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A 2% FEE.

THE HOTELS HAD ASSESSED THEMSELVES, RIGHT? YOU HAD TO BE OVER A HUNDRED ROOMS AND HAD TO BE LOCATED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

SO WE, THAT'S, THAT'S THE MAKEUP OF THE FUNDING SOURCE.

UH, THE CHALLENGE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS WHEN WE PASSED ON DECEMBER 12TH, WE DIDN'T WANT TO START ON JANUARY 1ST.

AND PART OF IT'S THE CITY'S ACCOUNTING SYSTEM, BUT IT WAS, WE WERE AFRAID THE HOTELS WEREN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO FIND THE RIGHT TECH ADVISOR TO GET THIS LOADED ON THEIR SITE.

BY THE JANUARY 1ST DEADLINE, JANUARY 1ST DEADLINE, WE DIDN'T WANT ANY HOTELS GETTING PAID A PENALTY BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET UP TO SPEED DURING THE HOLIDAY PERIOD.

VISITOR CENTER, THIS IS THE NEW VISITOR CENTER LOCATION.

IT'S NOT THE WAY TO DO IT.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE STARTING THE, THE, THE COLLECTION ON APRIL 1ST.

SO THE, WE'LL WE'LL COLLECT IN APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE.

IT'LL GO THROUGH THE CITY PROCESS AND WE'LL PROBABLY SEE OUR FIRST CHECK IN MID-AUGUST.

SO THE CHALLENGE WE HAVE IS WHY WE PASSED THE TID.

WE'RE NOT GONNA SEND ANY DOLLARS UNTIL AUGUST 15TH.

SO IN THE CONVENTION CENTER, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, AND I THINK THEY'RE GONNA COME PRESENT NEXT MONTH IS GOING DOWN ABOUT MAY 1ST.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GET SOME OF THESE DOLLARS EARLY.

SO WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO OUR BANK TO SEE IF WE CAN A LINE OF CREDIT, UH, REVOLVING LINE OF CREDIT SO WE CAN GET SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS EARLY AND PAY IT BACK WITH THE FIRST CHECK.

BUT THESE ARE PUBLIC FUNDS AND YOU HAVE TO BE REALLY CAREFUL ABOUT HOW YOU DO THAT LEGALLY.

AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE HAVE OUR ATTORNEYS LOOKING TO SEE IF THAT'S EVEN A POSSIBILITY.

I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE, UH, VISIT AUSTIN BOARD APPROVED ABOUT A HALF MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE TPD USE.

FOR THE INTERIM.

WE'RE CALLING IT THE FIRST 500 TO TRY TO DO SOME THINGS.

'CAUSE THE IDEA IS WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT WAYS TO FILL HOTEL ROOMS AFTER THE CENTER CLOSES.

AND HOW CAN WE FILL HOTEL ROOMS IN THE FIRST SUMMER WITHOUT THE CONVENTION CENTER.

WE DON'T WANT TO GET OUR CHECK AT THE END OF AUGUST.

AND WE MISS THE WHOLE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO INCREASE HOTEL TAX COLLECTION AND, AND VISITATION IN THE CITY DURING SUMMER WHEN WE REALLY NEED IT.

AND THAT'S OBVIOUSLY OUR, USUALLY OUR NEED PERIOD.

SO JUST KNOW THAT WE'RE WORKING ON TRYING TO DO ALL THOSE THINGS WITH THE T BID.

UM, AND THEN I'M TAKE, LEMME JUST DO MY LAST POINT THEN I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THE STUFF THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

UM,

[00:10:01]

IT'S THE PHILLIPS BUILDING.

IT'S A HISTORIC BUILDING.

IT WAS BUILT IN 1897.

IT WAS THE STUDEBAKER DEALERSHIP AT ONE POINT IN AUSTIN.

IT WAS THE BENSON FAMILY BUSINESS IN AT ONE POINT.

AS I UNDERSTAND, THE USO DANCES USED TO TAKE PLACE IN THIS FACILITY.

IT'S BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.

SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON RENOVATING THE GROUND FLOOR OF THIS BUILDING.

IT'S ABOUT 7,500 SQUARE FEET.

IT WILL HAVE OBVIOUSLY OUR RETAIL OPERATION, ALL THE RIDE THE DUCKS AND, AND ALL THE TOUR BUSES WILL PULL IN FRONT OF THIS BUILDING AND, AND LEAVE.

IT'S OBVIOUSLY CURVED OUT.

OUR BUSES WON'T SHOW UP UNTIL NINE, 10 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.

SO WE'RE NOT GONNA BE BLOCKING TRAFFIC.

WE'RE GENERALLY DONE BY FOUR OR FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON.

SO YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE THERE FOR EVENING TRAFFIC OTHERWISE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S CARVED OUT FOR THE BUSES ALREADY.

UM, SO IT'S GONNA HAVE A RETAIL OPERATION.

IT'LL ALSO HAVE A COFFEE SHOP IN THERE.

AND IF, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ON FIFTH STREET, IT'S RIGHT NEAR THE ME CARTE MUSEUM.

SO IT'S KINDA THE ONLY THING ON THE BLOCK THAT WASN'T OPEN.

AND SO NOW THIS, THE, THE, THE, THE PANEL WILL BE TAKEN OFF AND IT'S GONNA BE OPEN AND LIT AND IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME.

AND THEN THERE'S ALSO GONNA BE AN EVENT SPACE IN THERE FOR ABOUT 130 THOU, 130 PEOPLE.

SO IF YOU, SOMEBODY SAYS, HEY, I WANNA DO A MORE BOARD MEETING IN HERE.

I WANTED TO HAVE AN EVENT HERE, YOU'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO USE THAT SIDE, THE COFFEE SHOP AND EVENT SIDE OF THE VISITOR CENTER.

UM, THE OTHER, THE OTHER VISITOR CENTER DIDN'T REALLY PROVIDE US THAT OPPORTUNITY TO USE THAT THAT WAY.

AND WE WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY OF DOING THAT AS WELL.

SO, UH, WE, UH, OBVIOUSLY MADE A, AN INVESTMENT IN THIS BUILDING TO BRING IT BACK TO MARKET, BUT WE'RE EXCITED BECAUSE IT'S A HISTORIC BUILDING, WE'RE BRINGING BACK TO MARKET AND WE PAID FOR OURSELVES.

WE DIDN'T ASK FOR HISTORIC TAX CREDITS TO PAY FOR IT.

WE'RE DOING IT OURSELVES.

SO, UH, WE WANNA SAVE THOSE CREDITS FOR SOMETHING ELSE.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE UPDATE I'M GONNA GIVE.

AND I'M GONNA HAVE STEVE WALK UP NEXT TO ME AND HE'S GONNA GIVE IT A PRESENTATION ON THE SALES EFFORTS.

AND THEN, UH, SHELLY WILL FALL WITH MARKETING.

BUT I'D LOVE TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE FOR ME ABOUT WHAT I JUST TALKED ABOUT BEFORE I WALK AWAY.

COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS? I HAD ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE TPI.

UH, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE, UH, COLLECTION FROM THE, THE TOURIST, THE GUEST THAT STAYS IN THE HOTEL FOR A ROOM NIGHT? HOW THOSE FUNDS FOR THE TID COME, HOW THEY FLOW, HOW THEY FLOW WITH THE, THE HOT TECHS? YEAH.

SO THEY, THE, THE HOTEL, JUST LIKE THE HOTEL TAX, THE CITY WILL MANAGE AND, AND DO THE COLLECTION.

JUST LIKE, SO WHEN YOU CHECK INTO YOUR HOTEL ROOM, YOU'RE GONNA GET A FEE FOR YOUR HOTEL TAX AS WELL AS THE FEE OR THE, YOU, YOU'LL SEE THE CHARGE FOR THE TAX, AND YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE CHARGE FOR THE 2% FEE ONLY ON THE HOTEL ROOM, NOT ON ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU DO IN, IN THE HOTEL.

SO JUST THE OCCUPANCY, JUST LIKE THE OCCUPANCY TAX, BUT IT'S JUST 2% FEE FOR THAT.

SO WHAT'LL HAPPEN IS THE CITY WILL COLLECT THAT AND THEN WE'LL SEE IT, UH, USUALLY ABOUT A MONTH LATER AFTER.

AND IS THAT THROUGH THE AUSPICES OF THE CONVENTION CENTER OR WHERE DOES IT GO FROM? NO, IT GOES, IT GOES, THE CHECK WILL COME FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO VISIT AUSTIN.

SO LIKE A GENERAL FUND TO YES.

I THINK THAT'S HOW IT'LL OPERATE.

BUT THE OTHER, THE OTHER PART OF THIS IS, IS THAT, UM, UH, THERE'S ONE MORE STEP BEFORE WE FINALIZE ALL THIS, THAT WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL IN SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH OR EARLY APRIL.

THERE'S A THREE CITY PARTNERSHIP THAT'S GOTTA BE SIGNED OFF.

AND THAT TALKS ABOUT WHAT VISIT AUSTIN'S GONNA DO.

WE'RE GONNA BE THE STEWARDS OF THE FUND.

WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA SPEND THE DOLLARS, THE T PIT IS GONNA BE THE FOLKS THAT TELL US HOW THEY WANT TO SPEND THOSE DOLLARS.

AND THE CITY IS THE ONE THAT'S GONNA MANAGE THAT PROCESS.

SO IT'S A THREE CITY PARTNERSHIP SAYING THIS IS WHAT THE CITY IS DOING, THIS IS WHAT THE TPI BOARD'S RESPONSIBLE FOR, AND THIS IS WHAT VISIT AUSTIN'S RESPONSIBLE FOR.

AND THE THREE PARTIES WILL SIGN THAT CONTRACT.

IT'S THE LAST LEGAL STEP WE'VE GOTTA TAKE FOR THE GREAT.

AND FOR THE, UH, PHILLIPS BUILDING VISITOR CENTER.

DO YOU, UH, MAINTAIN A LONG TERM LEASE ON THAT? OR IS THAT JUST DURING CONSTRUCTION OF THE COMMISSION? IT'S A, IT'S A 10 YEAR LEASE.

10 YEAR LEASE.

WE, WE KNEW THAT WE COULDN'T, YOU KNOW, WE COULDN'T PARK OUR BUSES ON THE ONE LANE THAT'S LEFT AROUND THE, AROUND THE CONSTRUCTION SIDE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.

WE'D BE BLOCKING THE STREETS.

WE COULDN'T DO THAT.

AND I, THIS IS GONNA BE, IT'S GONNA BE DUSTY, OBVIOUSLY DURING THE CONSTRUCTION, SO TOURISTS WEREN'T GONNA GO THERE.

SO WE REALLY NEED TO FIND AT LEAST A NEW FIVE YEAR HOME.

AND WE SIGNED A 10 YEAR LEASE.

AND WE KIND OF REALLY LIKE THIS LOCATION BECAUSE IT'S LITERALLY A FIFTH IN CONGRESS.

IT'S A HALF BLOCK OFF OF CONGRESS RIGHT IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN.

IT'S MORE CENTRALLY LOCATED FOR OUR TOURISTS THAT ARE DOWNTOWN THAN THE OTHER LOCATION WE HAD.

THE OTHER LOCATION WAS GREAT AND IT WAS A GREAT FACILITY, BUT I THINK THIS IS EVEN GONNA BE AN IMPROVED, UH, LOCATION AND THE BUILDING'S EVEN LARGER THAN THE LAST BUILDING.

PLUS WE GONNA RENOVATE A HISTORIC BUILDING, WHICH IS COOL TOO.

UH, COMMISSIONER RATHER, VICE CHAIR, BAILEY.

AND WE NEED TO INCENTIVIZE THAT.

UM, I, I, I HEARD YOU RECOUNT HOW YOU'RE ACCELERATING THE TPI MEETING CADENCE AND HOW YOU'RE BULLISH ON GETTING A LINE OF CREDIT O OPTIMALLY.

AND I JUST WANTED TO ASK IN ADVANCE, I DON'T WANNA PREEMPT ANYTHING THAT STEVE OR OR SHELLY MIGHT BE PRESENTING MM-HMM .

BUT IS THERE ANYTHING YOU COULD TIP US OFF OF WHAT, WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT HAVING THOSE FUNDS AVAILABLE THIS SUMMER AND HOW YOU MIGHT, DO YOU HAVE A COUPLE AREAS YOU MIGHT BE DEPLOYING THEM? AND AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO YEAH.

TAKE AWAY FROM THE FULL PRESENTATION, BUT I MEAN, IF, IF YOU DON'T, IF YOU DON'T GET THE FUNDS BY MID-AUGUST, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU DO ADDITIONAL SUMMER ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN ? THE DOLLARS AREN'T AVAILABLE YET.

IF STEVE IS GETTING OPPORTUNITIES RIGHT NOW FOR PIECES OF BUSINESS THAT WANT TO COME TO AUSTIN THIS SUMMER,

[00:15:01]

AND HE DOESN'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SPEND THOSE DOLLARS YET.

SO THAT'S WHY WE WENT TO OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS LAST WEEK AND SAID, CAN WE SEE $500,000? SO AT LEAST WE HAVE SOME FUNDING FOR THINGS THAT SHOW SHOW UP AS AN EMERGENCY, THINGS THAT CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.

AND WE'RE HOPING WE WILL, WE'LL GET A LOAN, WE THINK IN THE FIRST YEAR, UH, THE COLLECTION.

WE WILL GET A CHECK IN AUGUST.

WE'LL GET ONE IN IN NOVEMBER.

IT IS PROJECTED TO BE SOMEWHERE AROUND 15, $16 MILLION FOR THE FIRST YEAR, BECAUSE IT'S ONLY HALF A YEAR COLLECTION.

WE THINK COME OCTOBER ONE, IT'LL BE A, IT'LL BE PROBABLY CLOSER TO 30 MILLION STARTING NEXT YEAR.

AND WE'LL SEE THOSE CHECKS QUARTERLY.

SO WE JUST, WE JUST DON'T WANNA, WE KNOW THE TEEP IS GONNA HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITY AND WE JUST HATE SITTING ON OUR HANDS AND NOT BEING ABLE TO USE IT.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS EARLY SO WE CAN SHOW SOME OF THAT IMPACT ALREADY.

SO IF I HEARD YOU A, A GOOD, UH, STRATEGY, STRATEGIC USE OF THE DOLLARS, WILL BELI INCREASING SOME LEISURE TOUR OUTREACH? A HUNDRED PERCENT.

UM, COMMISSIONER CHAP, NO, THANK YOU TOM AGAIN FOR COMING BACK AND TALKING WITH US.

ANYTIME.

UM, HOW LONG IS THE CONTRACT FOR THE NEW, THE TI THE TPI? YEAH.

IT'S 10 YEARS.

IT'D BEING A 10 YEAR CONTRACT.

AND, AND HELP ME, REMIND ME, UM, THE PURPOSE OF THIS T PED IS TO OFFSET THE VACANCY RATES OR THE CONVENTION CENTER BEING DOWN, OR, WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE BENEFITS.

BUT WHAT IT REALLY IS, IS ABOUT ADDITIONAL SALES AND MARKETING EFFORTS TO INCREASE OVERALL TOURISM INTO THE CITY.

YES, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A CHALLENGE IN FRONT OF US.

'CAUSE THE CENTER'S GONNA BE DOWN.

SO IT'S REALLY APPROPRIATE THAT WE HAVE IT NOW, BUT IT'S REALLY, IT'S, WE'VE CREATED THIS COMMITTEE WE CALLED THE 25 30 COMMITTEE.

STEVE WILL TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT WAS LIKE, HOW ARE WE SELLING THE CITY BEFORE 25, BEFORE THE BUILDING GOES DOWN? HOW ARE WE MARKING THE CITY BETWEEN 25 AND 30 WHEN IT'S ON CONSTRUCTION AND HOW WE'RE MARKING THE CITY AFTER 30.

UH, STEPHANIE, ONE OF YOUR COMMISSION MEMBERS ACTUALLY SERVED ON THAT COMMITTEE AS WELL.

I THINK ED DID.

YOU DID TOO.

SO, UM, SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY, IT'S, IT'S ABOUT A LONG TERM SALES AND MARKETING INITIATIVE.

I WILL, I, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'VE, IF SOME, IF A REPORTER ASKED ME, AND I'VE BEEN ASKED THIS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE TWO BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU HAD? I WOULD SAY WE DIDN'T HAVE A BIG ENOUGH BUILDING AND WE DIDN'T HAVE A BIG ENOUGH BUDGET.

THIS LEVELS THE BUDGET PLAYING FIELD FOR US WITH CITIES LIKE DALLAS AND SAN ANTONIO AND HOUSTON AND DENVER AND OTHERS.

WE WERE, UH, WILLFULLY UNDERFUNDED, ESPECIALLY AFTER COVID, BUT NO.

WELL, AND I RECALL RIGHT, THIS WAS YOUR FIRST YEAR OF HAVING LIKE, NATIONAL ADVERTISING DOLLARS YEAH.

AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO THIS KIND OF FEEDS INTO THAT.

UH, THAT ECOSYSTEM THERE.

NO.

AND THEN GOOD FOR 10 YEARS.

I WAS JUST WONDERING.

YEP.

UH, TO CLARIFICATION.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COMMENTS.

THANKS.

THANK YOU MR. NOONAN.

WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING, STEVE UP NOW YOU'RE GONNA, NOW YOU'RE REALLY GONNA BE.

BUT THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, .

APPRECIATE THANKS.

AND, AND, AND BY SHELLEY TOO, BY THE WAY.

MR. GENI, IF YOU CAN CONTINUE THE PRESENTATION.

SURE.

THANKS FOR INVITING US.

HEY, FOR THE TECH, THERE'S A LITTLE, LITTLE BOX THERE.

WOULD YOU MIND X-ING OUT OF THAT ALERT? THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO, TO GET A REFLECTION ON THE, I GUESS THE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE ROOMS, HOW THE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE ROOMS MIGHT BE IMPACTING THE, THE OCCUPANCY RATES, MEANING, BUT I ALSO JUST HEARD YOU SAY THAT COULD BE THE DEFINITION OF WHAT'S CONSIDERED WITHIN THE ZONE.

AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, IF YOU COULD SAY YOUR POSITION.

SURE.

IT'S, UH, STEVE GENOVESE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR VISIT AUSTIN.

I'M OVER THE SALES, UH, CONVENTION SERVICES AND SPORTS AREAS OF OUR ORGANIZATION.

SO A LITTLE BIT, JUST WANTED TO GO A LITTLE BIT INTO 2024 REVIEW ON SOME STATS.

UH, THIS IS WHAT WE CALL THE SMITH TRAVEL REPORT.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HOTELS USE QUITE A BIT TO KIND OF GAUGE THEIR SUCCESS.

UH, OF COURSE, A BIG PURPOSE OF OUR ORGANIZATION IS TO DRIVE, UM, THAT ECONOMIC IMPACT OF GETTING PEOPLE INTO THE HOTELS SO THEY CAN THEN GO OUT AND SPEND THEIR MONEY IN THE CITY GOING TO LIVE MUSIC, UH, GOING TO RESTAURANTS, SMALL BUSINESSES.

SO OCCUPANCY IS A KEY FACTOR.

UH, WHERE YOU SEE IS THE GREEN SHADED AREA IS, UH, IS WHERE CITIES ARE PERFORMING BETTER THAN AUSTIN IN THOSE PARTICULAR AREAS.

SO, OCCUPANCY AVERAGED, ADRS, AVERAGE DAILY RATE, REVPAR IS REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM, WHICH IS REALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, WHAT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT MIXTURE OF OCCUPANCY AND AVERAGE DAILY RATE, AND THEN A YEAR OVER YEAR CHANGE, UM, IN THOSE, THOSE, UH, SECTORS.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN PRETTY MUCH IS MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

UM, YOU CAN SEE SOME CITIES HAVE REALLY JUMPED AND I WOULD SAY SOME OF THOSE CITIES MAYBE HAD A LOT TO CLIMB UP TO.

UH, THEY WERE STRUGGLING A LITTLE BIT AFTER THE PANDEMIC, BUT THEY'VE DONE REALLY WELL.

UM, THE NEXT IS DOWNTOWN, JUST DOWNTOWN.

AND THAT, UH, VARIES A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AS WELL.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT GETS TO NASHVILLE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN NECK AND NECK WITH THEM.

UM, HOWEVER, WE FOUND OUT THAT THEY, THEY MEASURE THEIR DOWNTOWN VERY DIFFERENTLY THAN WE DO.

UM, THEIR DOWNTOWN IS CONSIDERED ONE MILE FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER.

OURS IS MUCH FURTHER OUT, OBVIOUSLY OVER DOWN THE SOUTH CONGRESS AND SO FORTH.

SO WE FOUND OUT IT REALLY WASN'T APPLES TO APPLES.

BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, NASHVILLE OBVIOUSLY IS, IS DOING QUITE WELL WITH THEIR BUILDING AND ALL THE OTHER CITIES.

SO IN GENERAL, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE MAJOR GROWTH, BUT WE'RE STILL MIDDLE OF THE ROAD VERSUS THE OTHER CITIES.

ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CITIES OR COMMENTS? YES.

VICE CHAIR, BILLY.

[00:20:01]

BUT I JUST WAS TRYING TO SEE IF SOME OF THESE MARKETS THAT ARE QUEUING HIGH ACTUALLY HAVE LESS INVENTORY THAN WE MIGHT HAVE AND THAT CHANGES.

JUST CURIOUS ON HOW THAT AFFECTS THOSE NUMBERS.

THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

I COULD COME BACK TO YOU AND KIND OF SHOW YOU BY CITY.

UM, 'CAUSE IT ISN'T ALWAYS APPLES TO APPLES.

WE JUST GET DOWNTOWN VERSUS THE WHOLE MARKET.

UH, FOR REFERENCE, OUR DOWNTOWN AREA CERTAINLY HAS GROWN IN AMOUNT OF HOTEL ROOMS. UH, WE'RE UP TO ABOUT 15,000 HOTEL ROOMS DOWNTOWN 50,000 IN THE WHOLE MARKET AREA.

UM, SO WITH THAT ALSO WHAT COMES INTO PLAY IS THE EXTRA SUPPLY COMING INTO THE MARKET.

UH, BECAUSE IF WE HAVE TO DIGEST THAT NEW SUPPLY AND, UH, CONTINUE TO WORK ON BUILDING THAT OCCUPANCY, I, I, I DON'T NEED YOU TO FOLLOW UP REPORT.

BUT I, UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE IS INTERESTED IN THAT, I, I WAS MORE CURIOUS USING NASHVILLE AS MAYBE AS A COMPARATIVE.

I'VE SEEN A LOT OF THE DEVELOPMENT, I GO THERE FREQUENTLY, AND SO I SEE HOW SOME OF THOSE PROPERTIES HAVE COME INTO THAT URBAN CORE.

AND I JUST WAS VERY CURIOUS IF THAT WAS OF GIVING THEM AN UN PERCEPTIVE ADVANTAGE THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE REAL.

I THINK SO, IN A WAY, UH, WE HAVE ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF SUPPLY COMING IN DOWNTOWN, I BELIEVE, UH, AS NASHVILLE.

BUT THEN THEY'VE GOT LIKE THE HUGE GAYLORD PROPERTY THAT, UM, IS A WHOLE KIND OF OTHER CONVENTION CENTER THAT'S OUTTA THEIR MARKET.

SO IT IS, YOU HAVE TO KIND OF LOOK AT EACH MARKET AND KIND OF SEE HOW YOU FARE.

UM, BUT WE'RE COMPETITIVE AND WE ALWAYS WANNA SEE HOW WE LOOK VERSUS OUR OTHER CITIES, OF COURSE.

UM, OH, GO BACK TO THE PRESENTATION PLEASE.

COMMISSIONER, TENANT.

I BASICALLY HAD THE SAME QUESTION, WHICH SORT OF, WHICH WAS HOW IS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT OUR, UM, WE HAVE SOME NEGATIVITY IN YEAR OVER YEAR BECAUSE OF OUR INCREASE IN SUPPLY OF, OF HOTEL ROOMS? UM, YES, THAT, BUT ALSO JUST IN GENERAL.

UM, YOU KNOW, GROUP DEMAND, UM, HAS BEEN STRONG, BUT, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE PANDEMIC, UM, LONG STORY SHORT IS, UH, ESPECIALLY OUR CONVENTION CENTER BUSINESS, A LOT OF THAT WAS BOOKED WITHIN THREE YEARS AS A NORMAL BOOKING TREND.

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED WAS, WHEN COVID HIT AND GROUPS WERE CANCELING CITIES, THEY WERE ACTUALLY NEEDING TO MAKE IT RIGHT WITH THOSE CITIES.

SO WHAT THAT MEANT WAS THAT KIND OF THAT FUNNEL WITHIN THE THREE YEARS OF LEADS THAT WE WOULD'VE NORMALLY HAD AND BEEN ABLE TO BOOK, THEY, THEY MADE IT RIGHT WITH ANOTHER CITY.

SO IN THAT CASE, SOME OF THE CITIES THAT BOOK FURTHER OUT, TYPICALLY CITIES WITH BIGGER CONVENTION CENTERS, THAT IT'S NORMAL TO BOOK 8, 10, 12 YEARS OUT.

THEY WERE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE BECAUSE THEY HAD A BASE, AND THEN IF THEY HAD SOME CANCELLATIONS, THEN THEY REBOOKED.

UH, SO FOR US, UH, GIVEN THAT BOOKING WINDOW, THAT, THAT DEFINITELY AFFECTED US AS WELL.

WE HAD TO BOOK A LOT MORE ROOM NIGHTS, UH, SHORT TERM THAN WE TYPICALLY HAD.

UH, SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, I'VE GOT SOME STATS THAT'LL SHOW YOU KIND OF HOW WE MADE UP SOME OF THAT.

BUT, UM, CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, IT WAS AN INTERESTING TREND AFTER THE PANDEMIC.

THANKS.

AND THEY GAVE US A ROADMAP ON HOW WE SHOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, GO WITH THESE PHASES AND ACTUALLY COME UP WITH A SEPARATE MARKETING PLAN ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO MITIGATE THE LOSS OF THE CONVENTION CENTER ROOM NIGHTS, WHICH IS A, YOU KNOW, CLOSE TO ABOUT 300, 350,000 ROOM NIGHTS.

ANOTHER FACTOR I WOULD SAY, AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, SHELLY CAN GET INTO THIS, IS THE LEISURE SIDE WEEKEND BUSINESS.

WHAT WE'RE HEARING HOTELS IS, UM, THAT HAS VERY MUCH CHANGED.

YOU KNOW, A FEW YEARS AGO, UH, PEOPLE WERE COMING MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY ON THE WEEKENDS, UH, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC AND SO FORTH.

NOW, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GOING TO EUROPE, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.

SO SHE CAN TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE TRENDS.

BUT WEEKENDS IN LEISURE, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE, EVERY CITY IS TRYING TO CONTINUE TO BOOST THAT UP.

SO THAT'S BEEN AFFECTED AS WELL, UM, FOR GROUP DEMAND.

YOU KNOW, AS WE ENTER THE WHOLE, UM, CONVENTION CENTER, UM, CLOSURE AND, AND EXPANSION PHASE, I DID WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, CNT, WHICH IS THE NUMBER ONE PORTAL FOR RECEIVING GROUP LEADS, UM, HAS CONTINUED TO HIGHLIGHT AUSTIN AS ONE OF THE TOP IN THE COUNTRY FOR RECEIVING LEADS.

SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD, UH, STAT TO SHOW THAT THE DEMAND IS STILL DEFINITELY THERE FOR GROUPS FOR AUSTIN, IT'S JUST THAT THEY'RE SMALLER AND ACTUALLY WE'VE HAD TO HIRE MORE SALESPEOPLE TO, WE GOTTA BOOK MORE GROUPS TO MAKE UP THAT BIG DIFFERENCE OF THE CENTER.

SO WE'RE STILL SUPER BUSY.

IT'S EVEN MORE COMPETITIVE.

UM, BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THERE IS DEMAND FOR GROUP BUSINESS IN AUSTIN.

SO, AS A REMINDER, THIS IS OUR WHOLE 25 30 STRATEGIC PLAN AS IT RELATES TO THE CONVENTION CENTER, UM, CLOSURE AND THEN CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN OPENING.

AND THIS WAS FORMED BY A GROUP CALLED THE 25 30 COMMITTEE, A DIVERSE GROUP OF FOLKS, HOTELS, DESTINATION MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, SMALL BUSINESSES.

[00:25:01]

SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE STRATEGIES AS IT RELATES TO SALES AND MARKETING.

YOU KNOW, IN THIS AREA, OF COURSE, YOU'VE HEARD PROBABLY A LOT ABOUT OUR MINI WIDE CAMPUS STYLE APPROACH.

UM, THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT HOTELS CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, UM, THAT HOPEFULLY CAN WORK TOGETHER.

AND THEY ARE, THEY'RE COLLABORATING REALLY WELL TOGETHER TO BOOK THAT ONE GROUP THAT MAYBE WOULD'VE USED THE CENTER, BUT NOW THEY HAVE TO BE OPEN TO SEPARATING THAT MEETING INTO TWO OR THREE HOTELS OR, AND THERE'S, UM, DIFFERENT POCKETS AROUND THE ENTIRE CITY WHERE HOTELS HAVE WORKED TOGETHER WITH OFFSITE VENUES TO COME UP WITH THESE TYPES OF MINI WIDE OPPORTUNITIES.

WE, AS A BUREAU, UM, ARE PROMOTING WHATEVER WE HEAR FROM THE, THE COMMUNITY.

WE DON'T DICTATE WHAT THOSE MANY WIDES ARE, BUT THEY'RE POPPING UP NATURALLY.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS THEATER IS CONNECTED TO THE W AND THERE'S HOTELS AROUND THAT AREA.

UH, THE AT AND T CONFERENCE CENTER, UH, HAS SEVERAL HOTELS AROUND IT OUT BY THE DOMAIN.

THERE'S THE RENAISSANCE.

UH, SO THERE'S SEVERAL DIFFERENT POCKETS WHERE, UM, HOTELS ARE WORKING TOGETHER, EITHER AMONGST OTHER HOTELS OR OFFSITE VENUES.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S CERTAINLY A, A BIG ROADMAP FOR US.

AND, UM, WE ARE WORKING HARD ON, ON CONTINUE TO, WHEN WE GET THOSE BIGGER GROUPS THAT WILL, THAT COMPRESSION THAT WE TALK ABOUT, WHERE THE DEMAND GOES UP, AND THAT'S WHERE ROOM REVENUE CAN GO UP AND SO FORTH.

UM, WITH THAT, WE'RE ALSO OFFERING, WE'VE BEEN OFFERING INCENTIVES, UH, BEFORE THE TPI, UM, ACTUALLY HAPPENED THROUGH OUR OWN BUDGET.

UM, WE, UM, WE PROVIDE ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN INCENTIVES AND BOOKED ABOUT 74,000 ROOM NIGHTS.

THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE ROI, IT WAS A LOT OF SMALL GROUPS OFFERING THEM INCENTIVES TO BASICALLY BOOK EITHER ONE HOTEL OR MULTIPLE HOTELS.

SO THAT GAVE US A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO REALIZE THIS IS GONNA REALLY WORK WHEN THE TP GETS IN PLACE.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER THINGS SUCH AS SITE VISITS, HALF OF WHAT WE DO IN SALES, IT'S A VERY COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT.

USUALLY A GROUP WILL LOOK AT 2, 5, 10 CITIES BEFORE THEY FINALLY NARROW IT DOWN.

AND USUALLY THERE'S A SITE VISIT AND WHEN THE SITE VISIT HAPPENS, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH HALF OF OUR SUCCESS RIGHT THERE.

IF WE CAN GET THEM IN, WE PRETTY MUCH PICK THEM UP AT THE AIRPORT AND TAKE THEM THROUGH THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE, SHOWING OFFSITE VENUES, SHOWING THE HOTEL OPTIONS THEY HAVE.

MAKE IT IT EASY TO BOOK AUSTIN.

WE'RE A ONE-STOP SHOP.

IT'S FREE WHERE A CLIENT CAN, WE CAN GET ALL THE PROPOSALS, EVERYTHING THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IN DECIDING ON A CITY AIRPORT INFORMATION, YOU NAME IT.

AND THEN IT COMES DOWN TO AFTER A SITE VISIT, AND MAYBE THEY'VE LOOKED AT OUR TWO OTHER CITIES, THEN THEY FINALLY TELL US, OKAY, YOU GOT THE BUSINESS.

AND SOMETIMES THE DECISION MAKER IS NOT THAT PERSON WE MET AT THE SITE VISIT.

IT MIGHT BE A BOARD OF DIRECTORS, IT MIGHT BE A VARIETY OF OTHER PEOPLE AND IN AND FACTORS.

SO THAT'S SALES.

AND YOU KNOW, WE DO OUR BEST TO TO, TO CLOSE IT.

UM, BUT EVERY CITY IS AFTER THAT BUSINESS FOR SURE.

SO THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT WE DO AS A TEAM.

AND WE HAVE A SALES TEAM THAT'S DEPLOYED GEOGRAPHICALLY.

SO WE'RE DOING SALES CALLS, SALES EVENTS IN THOSE MARKETS TO GET AUSTIN TOP OF MIND, UH, FOR THE MEETINGS, UM, PROGRAMS. UM, ONE QUICK QUESTION.

UM, HAVE YOU PARTNERED WITH THE AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL, SCHOOL DISTRICT BEFORE FOR FACILITIES? UH, FOR SPORTS, I BELIEVE FOR, WE DEFINITELY HAVE.

AND THEN A COUPLE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES.

ASSOCIATION GROUPS, UH, SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, UH, SPORTS GROUPS SUCH AS VOLLEYBALL, UM, PRO, YOU KNOW, PROFESSIONAL, UM, FOR-PROFIT ASSOCIATIONS.

BECAUSE I KNOW THEY'RE TRYING TO UP, UP THEIR GAME IN TERMS OF OFFERING THEIR FACILITIES FOR TOURISM PURPOSES.

YES, YES.

THEY WILL MOST LIKELY BE COMING NEXT MONTH TO SPEAK TO THAT.

TERRIFIC.

YEAH, I THINK THIS IS WHERE WE'RE VERY OPEN TO ANY KIND OF OFFSITE VENUE THAT IS, CAN BE TURNKEY FOR A DAYTIME MEETING.

UM, AND I THINK THE GOOD NEWS IS THERE'S A TREND, ESPECIALLY TECH GROUPS THAT WANT TO SEE THAT THEY'RE KIND OF READY TO LOOK AT THAT, THAT THEATER OR THAT OTHER VENUE VERSUS A HOTEL BALLROOM.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY, UH, PUSHING FOR THAT.

UM, WE ALSO, UH, USE, UM, IN INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL AS WE CALL IT.

LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IF I'VE GOT A MEDICAL GROUP IN TOWN, UM, I'LL CONNECT THEM WITH THE DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL AND WE'LL GO SEE THEM AND WE'LL ACTUALLY MEET WITH SOME FOLKS.

THESE ARE THE KIND OF CONNECTIONS I'VE WORKED WITH OUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON SOME STRATEGIC CONFERENCES THAT THEY VERY MUCH WANT TO HAVE IN AUSTIN.

UM, BECAUSE YOU THINK ABOUT THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST PEOPLE COMING INTO YOUR CITY, LIKE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, THINGS HAPPEN.

THEY LIKE THE CITY, THEY LIKE WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

UM, SO I BELIEVE IN ADDITION, JUST THE IMPACT OF CONVENTIONS, THERE'S THINGS THAT GO ON THAT BENEFIT THE CITY, UM, GRANTS AND OTHER THINGS.

SO ALL ABOUT WORKING WITH A ISD WHENEVER WE CAN.

THIS IS OUR CUSTOMER ADVISORY BOARD.

WE JUST, UH, BROUGHT THEM ALL BACK, UH, FOR A MEETING.

UH, INCREDIBLE GROUP OF FOLKS, UH, CORPORATE GROUPS,

[00:30:01]

SO A GOOD MIXTURE.

AND THEY CAME BACK AND THEY WERE ABLE TO GIVE US KEY INSIGHTS ON, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS AS WE REIMAGINE THE COMM, THE CONVENTION CENTER, THE CAMPUS STYLE APPROACH, HOW WE SELL THAT, UH, MARKETING.

UH, SO IT WAS A REALLY GREAT MEETING.

AND WE, WE TYPICALLY HAVE THAT ABOUT EVERY NINE TO 10 MONTHS.

THEY ATTENDED OUR ANNUAL MEETING AS WELL.

AND THEY COME FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

SO GETTING INTO 2025, JUST IN GENERAL FOR THE US THIS IS A, UH, FORECAST FROM US, UM, UH, TOURISM ECONOMICS THAT JUST TALKS ABOUT HOW IS GROUP BUSINESS DEFINITELY, UH, FORECASTED FOR THE FUTURE.

AND I'M HEARING A LOT OF HOTELS SAYING GROUP UP, GROUP UP.

UM, BECAUSE THE BUSINESS TRAVEL, INDIVIDUAL TRAVEL LEISURE, UM, IS, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT'S SLOWLY GOING BACK IN SOME CITIES AND GROUP IS REALLY MAKING UP THE DIFFERENCE.

UM, RIGHT NOW THE FORECAST IS SUCH WHERE THEY'VE HAD DIFFERENT FORECASTS, BUT RIGHT NOW FULLY GETTING BACK INTO LIKE 2019 LEVELS, UM, BY 2026.

SO THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA.

AND THEY DO THIS READJUSTMENT EVERY QUARTER.

NOW FOR AUSTIN, THIS IS A CHART THAT SHOWS JUST THE VISIT AUSTIN BOOKING PACE.

AND AGAIN, KEEP IN MIND NOT EVERY HOTEL GROUP HOTEL ROOM IS BOOKED THROUGH VISIT AUSTIN QUITE A BIT IS BOOKED DIRECTLY WITH HOTELS, MAYBE NOT INVOLVING VISIT AUSTIN.

UH, BUT THESE ARE THE ROOM NIGHTS THAT ARE BOOKED THROUGH US, UH, HOTEL ROOM NIGHTS.

UM, SO AS YOU CAN KINDA SEE WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW FOR 2025 RIGHT NOW FOR ON THE BOOKS, UM, OF THE BUSINESS THAT WE BOOKED, UM, YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE'RE AT AT 4 21, 3 31 VERSUS THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR IN 2024.

WE ARE AT 4 9 6 6 1 4.

AND THIS IS TO BE EXPECTED BECAUSE AGAIN, OF THE CONVENTION CENTER, WE ACTUALLY ARE HAVING AN A VERY STRONG FIRST QUARTER.

AND A LOT OF THAT'S CONVENTION CENTER GROUPS.

UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE STARTING IN APRIL WHEN THE CONVENTION CENTER CLOSES, WE'RE DEFINITELY IN A, IN A CHALLENGE MODE TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON GETTING MORE AND MORE GROUPS.

THE GOOD NEWS IS, AND I'LL GET INTO IT, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES WITH GROUPS THAT BOOK IN THE YEAR FOR THE YEAR.

UH, THEY'RE TYPICALLY SMALLER GROUPS AND THEY'RE ALSO SPORTS GROUPS.

UM, AND YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW FOR 2026 VERSUS, UM, YOU KNOW, SAME TIME LAST YEAR, UM, GOING INTO 2025 AND SO FORTH.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS, ANOTHER GOOD, UH, LET ME GET THIS, UH HMM.

JUST A CLARIFICATION.

CAN YOU SPELL OUT WHAT THE ACRONYM'S? OTB AND S-T-R-L-Y ABSOLUTELY ARE.

OTB IS ON THE BOOKS.

SO IT'S ON THE BOOKS RIGHT NOW FOR THAT YEAR.

UH, SAME TIME LAST YEAR, STLY AND THEN SAME TIME, UH, TWO YEARS AGO.

SO IT GIVES YOU AN IDEA JUST ON THE BOOKING TRENDS.

AND WHAT'S, UH, LIKE A TYPICAL GROUP SIZE OR RANGE? COMMISSIONER CHAPPEL.

A LOT MORE HOTEL ROOMS THAN THAT TOTAL.

A TYPICAL GROUP SIZE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH GROUPS THAT ARE SMALL AS 10 ROOMS. WE'VE ALWAYS VALUED GROUPS THAT, UM, IT STARTED AS 10 ROOMS AND WE'VE GONE UP TO, YOU KNOW, 10,000 HOTEL ROOMS. SO IT COULD BE AN INDIVIDUAL ENTITY COM, COM DOING A TRIP, WANTING A GROUP RATE, AND VERSUS, AND ALSO CORPORATE AND WHATNOT.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

I'LL SAY IT COULD BE A WEDDING GROUP, IT COULD BE, UM, SOME VISIT, SOME, SOME, UH, DMO, YOU KNOW, MIGHT HAVE A THRESHOLD OF, OH, YOU HAVE TO HAVE 50 ROOMS A NIGHT OR A HUNDRED ROOMS A NIGHT.

WE'VE NEVER BEEN THAT WAY.

IT'S BEEN LIKE, IF YOU'VE GOT 10 ROOMS, WE'LL HELP YOU FIND A HOTEL, WE'LL GET YOU SET UP WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES.

UM, SO WE'VE, WE SEE THAT HIGHLY VALUABLE AND, UM, THAT IS A HUGE VOLUME FOR US, THOSE 50 ROOMS OR LESS, ACTUALLY QUITE A BIT.

AND THEN WHEN WE GET INTO IN-HOUSE NOW IN-HOUSE, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS ANYTHING THAT IS NOT CONVENTION CENTER OR PALMER RELATED, WE CALL IT IN-HOUSE, BUT IT COULD BE A SPORTS EVENT THAT IS, UM, AT A BASEBALL FIELD.

UH, SO HERE, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT 2025, WE'RE ACTUALLY UP VERSUS THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR GOING INTO 2024 IN OUR ROOM NIGHTS.

SO ALL THIS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, BOOKING MORE AND MORE IN-HOUSE BUSINESS TO HELP MITIGATE THESE STATS, SHOW THAT IT'S REALLY WORKING, UM, WITH THE INCENTIVES AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING.

UH, SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD TREND, UH, THAT JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT AS WELL.

AND THEN THEY, THESE ARE JUST SOME MAJOR CITYWIDE GROUPS THAT ARE HAPPENING THIS YEAR.

UM, MANY OF THEM, AGAIN, THE FIRST QUARTER RELATED TO THE CONVENTION CENTER.

UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT ATTENDANCE AND AND SIZE AND SO FORTH.

UM, THE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, THAT'S 50,000 THROUGH THEIR OFFICIAL HOUSING.

WE KNOW THERE'S

[00:35:01]

UM, BUT THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA ON THEIR OFFICIAL.

AND THEN, UM, YOU'VE GOT THESE OTHER EVENTS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THAT WOULD NOT BE CONVENTION CENTER RELATED, BUT ARE TAKING IN OTHER PLACES, UM, TO, TO BUILD UP THAT HUGE ATTENDANCE BASE, SOME NEW HOTEL SUPPLY.

UM, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR, EXCUSE ME ONE SECOND, LAST YEAR, UH, WE HAD ABOUT 1300 HOTEL ROOMS COME INTO THE MARKET.

THIS YEAR WE HAVE ABOUT 600.

SO IT'S DEFINITELY, UM, BUT ABOUT 16 HOTELS AND OVER 2,500 ROOMS IN FINAL PLANNING PHASES BETWEEN 26 AND 28.

SO THERE IS STILL HOTEL GROWTH FOR SURE, COMING INTO THE AUSTIN AREA AND THEN GETTING INTO THE SPORTS COMMISSION.

UH, WE DO HAVE A SPORTS COMMISSION BOARD.

UM, THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE, UH, BOARD OF FOLKS.

UM, ALL THE KEY VENUES THAT DRIVE SPORTS, ALL THE TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT JUST THE CALIBER OF THIS GROUP AND HOW THEY'RE REALLY HELPING US CONTINUE TO MOVE SPORTS IN A, IN A, A POSITIVE WAY.

UM, SO THAT'S EXCITING TO SEE THIS BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE, UH, TYPES OF FEEDBACK THAT THEY'RE GIVING US TO KEEP US MOVING FORWARD.

AND THEN, UH, OUR SPORTS COMMISSION, UH, GOT SPORTS COMMISSION OF THE YEAR, UM, WHICH IS A VERY COMPETITIVE SITUATION.

A LOT OF CITIES, UM, HAVE SPORTS COMMISSION AND WE'RE JUST A TWO PERSON SHOW THAT ALONG WITH MYSELF.

UM, BUT DREW HAYES, JORDAN, THAT'S OUR TEAM.

AND, UH, THEY'RE DOING VOLLEYBALL.

THEY'RE DOING BMX BIKING, THEY'RE DOING EVERY KIND OF SPORTS YOU COULD THINK OF.

AND, UH, THEY DO A GREAT JOB AND GETTING INTO SOME SPORTS, UH, OPPORTUNITIES.

AGAIN, WHAT I LOVE ABOUT AUSTIN IS, AND THE SPORTS WORLD, IS WE'RE NOT JUST INTO FOUR OR FIVE KEY SIGNATURE EVENTS.

WE HAVE A KICKBALL TOURNAMENT, YOU KNOW, NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.

WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, YOU NAME IT.

UH, IF WE WILL ACTUALLY WORK WITH THESE, UH, ENTITIES TO GET THEIR SPORTS BOOKED ANYWHERE IN THE AUSTIN AREA.

AND THEY BOOK A LOT IN THE YEAR FOR THE YEAR, AND THEY BOOK, THEY ARE PROBABLY THE BIGGEST SECTOR THAT CAN BOOK ANY HOTEL IN AUSTIN.

YOU KNOW, THESE KINDS OF GROUPS NEED, PERHAPS IT'S A, YOU KNOW, AN ECONOMY HOTEL WITH NO MEETING SPACE OR, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE KIND OF IMPACTS THAT THE SPORTS, UH, COMMISSION CAN MAKE.

I WANTED TO SHOW YOU A COUPLE OF VIDEOS.

UH, THIS IS THAT BLAST, UM, AUSTIN MAJOR ESPORTS EVENT THAT TOM'S GOING TO WITH THE MAYOR RIGHT NOW, UH, TO, FOR THE, UH, PRESS CONFERENCE.

SO I'M GETTING AN EDUCATION ON ESPORTS.

AND BOY, WE BOOKED PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST ONES YOU CAN BOOK IN THE WORLD, AT THE MOODY'S.

SO WE ARE STARTING, UM, WITH ONE OF OUR FIRST ESPORTS EVENTS IN A BIG WAY.

THIS IS CALLED COUNTERSTRIKE.

IT'S WILL BE HAPPENING IN THE SUMMER.

UM, IT HAS A COMPETING PRIZE FOR 1.25 MILLION.

UM, ANTICIPATE TO BE ONE OF THE LARGEST ESPORTS EVENTS IN THE US WITH THOUSANDS IN PERSON AND MILLIONS WATCHING ONLINE FROM, WITH 28 LANGUAGES AND 150 TERRITORIES.

UM, SO THE LAST TIME THIS WAS THIS TYPE OF EVENT WAS IN THE US WAS IN BOSTON 2018.

SO IT'LL BE VERY EXCITING TO SEE HOW THAT IMPACTS THE TOURISM, UM, ECONOMY HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND THEN THE NEXT ONE WE HAVE, THAT I'M SURE YOU KNOW ABOUT IS MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER.

SO THIS IS, UM, GONNA BE IN JULY.

WE LOVE THAT SUMMER BUSINESS.

IT'S GOING TO BE A, A COMMUNITY EVENT IN MANY WAYS WITH A FUN WEEK OF ACTIVITIES, OVER 20,000 IN ATTENDANCE.

UM, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE BIGGEST FANS FROM AUSTIN, UM, AND PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE, THE WORLD REALLY COMING TO TRAVEL TO SEE THESE, THESE, UH, SOCCER STARS.

UM, IT GIVES US, UM, OPPORTUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WITH FIFA IN 2026, UM, YOU KNOW, HAPPENING IN DALLAS AND HOUSTON.

UM,

[00:40:01]

IT'S JUST ONE MORE THING THAT WE EXPECT TO HOPEFULLY CAPITALIZE ON ALL THOSE FOLKS COMING INTO THE ENTIRE US FOR SIX WEEKS AND TRY TO CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE ATTENDEES TO COME INTO AUSTIN, UH, WHILE THEY'RE HERE.

SO, VERY EXCITING TO HAVE THE MAJOR LEAGUE ALL STAR GAME.

ANY QUESTIONS FOR YOU? MIGHT HAVE.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE IT.

MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT, UH, PRESENTATION.

WE HAVE MS. SHELLY HALL, AND, UH, IF YOU COULD STATE YOUR TITLE FOR THE RECORD, WE'D APPRECIATE THAT.

THE CULINARY INDUSTRY HERE.

GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE.

SHELLY HALL, VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AT VISIT AUSTIN.

GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE THIS AFTERNOON, SO I'LL GET GOING ON AGAIN.

LAST YEAR WAS REALLY OUR BENCHMARKING YEAR.

IT WAS OUR FIRST FULLY FUNDED AD CAMPAIGN SINCE WE HAD PRE PANDEMIC.

AND AS WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF OUR CAMPAIGN FROM LAST YEAR, IT'S HELPING US FORM MAKE BETTER DECISIONS AS WE LOOK AHEAD TO, UM, HAVING THE TPI, UH, IMPLEMENTED AND REALLY MOVING INTO AN ALWAYS ON CAMPAIGN FOR FY 25, 26.

UM, SO WE, ONE OF OUR CORE VALUES OF VISIT AUSTIN IS EXECUTE WITH DATA.

UM, SO I'LL SHARE SOME, A LITTLE BIT OF A SNAPSHOT OF DATA THAT WE SEE ON VISITOR ON VISITATION THAT HELPS INFORM HOW WE DEVELOP OUR MARKETING STRATEGIES.

SO THIS CHART HERE, YOU'LL SEE, UM, HOW WE COMPARE THE PERCENTAGE OF VISITORS THAT CAME TO AUSTIN.

THIS IS DATA FROM JANUARY, 2024 THROUGH DECEMBER, 2024 AGAINST THE PERCENTAGE OF VISITOR SPEND.

SO NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF VISITORS TO AUSTIN DO COME FROM OUR DRIVE MARKETS OF HOUSTON, DALLAS-FORT WORTH, SAN ANTONIO, WACO.

UM, HOWEVER, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE OF VISITOR SPENDS, YOU'LL SEE THAT IT FLIPS.

WE MOVE INTO OUR FLY MARKETS LIKE LA, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, DENVER.

SO WHEN WE LOOK AT MAKING MEDIA INVESTMENT DECISIONS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GOING AFTER THE POTENTIAL VISITOR THAT'LL HAVE THE MOST HIGH IMPACT, AND WE'LL SPEND MORE DOLLARS AND MONEY WHEN THEY'RE HERE IN MARKET.

SO WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR MARKETING MIX FOR THE YEAR, LAST YEAR WE SPENT ABOUT 25% ON DRIVE MARKET VISITORS AND 75% OF OUR BUDGET ON OUR FLY MARKETS.

AND RIGHT NOW, WE'RE STILL EVALUATING.

WE MIGHT SHIFT A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR DRIVE FOR THE SUMMER JUST BECAUSE TEXANS WILL COME TO AUSTIN WHENEVER IT'S HOT AND THEY'RE USED TO IT.

UM, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALWAYS KEEPING A PULSE ON AS WE MAKE DECISIONS, UM, FOR OUR MARKET STRATEGIES FOR THE YEAR.

AND HERE WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO INVEST IN MUCH MORE RES UH, RESEARCH, UH, DATABASES.

UM, FROM OUR LAST FISCAL YEAR.

WE ACTUALLY, IN THE PAST, WE, WE'VE RELIED ON, UH, VISITOR PROFILE STUDIES FROM THE STATE WITH OUR, UH, GOOD FRIENDS AT TRAVEL TEXAS.

AND WE'RE RECENT.

WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING OUR FIRST EVER VISITOR PROFILE STUDY OF PEOPLE WHO CAME TO US IN 2024.

WE'LL HAVE THOSE RESULTS IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO GET THOSE LEARNINGS AND THINGS THAT WE THINK WE KNOW ARE TRUE, UM, TO HELP, AGAIN, MAKE US MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.

RIGHT HERE.

YOU'LL SEE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ACCESS TO A MONTHLY, UH, DASHBOARD THAT HAS, THAT SURVEYS ALL VISITORS ACROSS AND TRAVELERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

SO WE CAN GO IN AND LOOK AT DATA FOR VISITORS TO OUR COMPETITIVE SET, BUT THEN OF COURSE, TO AUSTIN.

SO THIS WINDOW HERE SHOWS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CHEER PLANNING WINDOW LOOKS LIKE FROM, UM, YOU KNOW, INTENT TO COME INTO MARKET.

AND WE SEE THIS AVERAGE FOR AUSTIN FOR ABOUT 10 AND A HALF WEEKS.

SO AGAIN, THIS JUST HELPS US MAKE BETTER DECISIONS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR MEDIA AND FIGHTING STRATEGIES.

AND FINALLY, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE INVEST OUR DOLLARS FROM MEDIA PERSPECTIVE, WHAT'S GONNA BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE TRAVEL INSPIRATION RESOURCES? AND IT'S NO SURPRISE, UM, DIGITAL REALLY JUMPS TO THE TOP AND THAT'S WHERE WE SPEND THE BULK OF OUR ADVERTISING DOLLARS AS WELL.

SO, TAKING A LOOK BACK AT OUR 2024 YEAR ON REVIEW, UM, TRULY OUR TEAM DOES EVERYTHING FROM MEDIA AND COMMS, OUR PAID ADVERTISING, EVERYTHING ON OUR, UH, DIGITAL PLATFORMS FROM OUR WEBSITE, ORGANIC, SOCIAL, PAID, SOCIAL PAID SEARCH.

IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DEVELOPING AND CURATING, UM, THE BEST BRAND FOR AUSTIN.

WE PROUDLY HOSTED THE TODAY SHOW, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRAVEL TEXAS.

AND IF YOU SAW IT, YOU SAW THAT IT WAS AN HOUR LONG COMMERCIAL FOR AUSTIN WITH HODA AND JENNA HERE.

UM, AGAIN, COMING ON, UM, SHORTLY AFTER THE BIGGEST SPORTS WEEKEND EVER WITH UT GEORGIA GAME AND ALSO F1, UM, THIS INVESTMENT HAD OVER 70.

UM, THE ROI WAS INCREDIBLE.

WE GOT OVER $770,000 IN EARNED MEDIA VALUE ACROSS ALL THE, UH, THE SOCIAL POSTS FROM HODA AND JENNA, AND COLLECTIVELY ACROSS ALL THE BROADCASTS, IT WAS NOR, UH, CLOSE TO 6 MILLION VIEWS, WHICH IS PRETTY INCREDIBLE FOR THE INVESTMENT THAT WE DID.

AND WE ARE ALSO VERY PROUD, AGAIN, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRAVEL TEXAS TO BRING THE MICHELIN GUIDE TO TEXAS.

UM, AUSTIN RECEIVED MORE STARS THAN ANY OTHER MAJOR CITY IN TEXAS.

WE HAD 44, UM, AUSTIN RESTAURANTS RECOGNIZED, AND IT REALLY IS A TRIBUTE TO

[00:45:01]

AND WE'RE SO PROUD OF ALL OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES WHO ARE RECOGNIZED WHEN WE LOOK AT SOCIAL.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT ONGOING PARTNERSHIPS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING ALL OF THE PUBLIC ART LOCAL MUSEUMS, LOCAL BUSINESSES.

UM, WE ACTUALLY JUST LAUNCHED OUR FIRST, UM, PARTNERSHIP SERIES FOR THE HERITAGE MONTH, FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH, UH, I THINK JUST YESTERDAY.

SO THESE ARE REALLY WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO TELL STORIES OF LOCAL BUSINESSES AND, UH, THE CURATED, UH, TRAVEL EXPERIENCES FOR VISITORS TO LOOK AT.

UM, IN ADDITION TO FOR SUPPORTING DREW AND THE SPORTS COMMISSION, WE DO A LOT OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH EVENTS THAT COME TO AUSTIN.

SO THE A TX OPEN AUSTIN GAMBLERS AND DRIVING MORE, UH, SPORTS VISITORS TO THE DESTINATION AS WELL.

AND WE ARE, IF YOU'LL MAY HAVE NOT NOTICED THROUGH OUR PRESENTATION, WE ACTUALLY JUST WENT THROUGH A LOGO REDESIGN AND A BRAND REFRESH.

SO HERE'S A SNAPSHOT OF OUR AD CAMPAIGN CREATIVE FROM LAST FISCAL YEAR, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY REFRESHING THAT NOW, BUT OUR CAMPAIGN NOW IS AROUND, YOU KNOW, YEAR IN FIRST SHOW.

SO IT BUILDS ON, BUILDS ON THE ANTICIPATION AND EXCITEMENT OF GOING TO A FESTIVAL AND HOW THAT TRANSLATES INTO HAVING A TRIP HERE IN AUSTIN.

SO WE REALLY LEAN IN ALL OF OUR MAIN PILLARS OF MUSIC, FOODS, SPORTS, OUTDOORS, AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY BRINGING VISITORS WHEN WE SERVE OUR ADS TO MORE CURATED CONTENT ON OUR WEBSITE.

A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF OUR CAMPAIGN RESULTS FROM LAST YEAR.

SO WE INVEST IN A DATA PARTNER.

NOT ALL OF OUR DIGITAL PARTNERS ALLOW US, UM, TO PIXEL AND TRACK, BUT WE CAN ATTRIBUTE, UM, OVER 250,000 HOTEL SEARCHES, UM, IN AUSTIN FROM PEOPLE OF BEEN EXPOSED TO OUR ADS.

AND OVER 140,000, UM, ATTRIBUTED HOTEL NIGHT BOOKINGS.

YOU'LL SEE A QUITE A LITTLE BIT OF A, A DATA SWITCH ON FLIGHT BOOKINGS AND FLIGHT SEARCHES, AND THAT'S JUST WITH ONE OF OUR OTA PARTNERS WITH EXPEDIA.

UM, THEY DON'T REPORT ON FLIGHT SEARCH DATA, SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THE DISCREPANCY THERE.

BUT ALL IN ALL, WE'RE, WE CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR BENCHMARKS, WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF TRIED AND TRUE PARTNERS THAT WE CAN SCALE AS WE HAVE MORE BUDGET.

AND AS TOM HAD MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ANXIOUSLY AWAITING, UM, UNDERSTANDING THE FULL IMPACT OF HOW WE TURN ON OUR TID FUNDS, UH, FOR THE SUMMER, AND OF COURSE GOING INTO THE FALL.

AND ALSO AS, UM, EVERYTHING, UH, THAT STEVE HAD MENTIONED ON SPORTS SIDE MEETINGS AND SPORTS, UM, WE ARE ACTIVELY DOING, UM, ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS, NOT ONLY TO SHARE THAT AUSTIN IS STILL OPEN, BUT ALSO REALLY TRYING TO TAKE MORE OF A PRODUCT MARKETING MINDSET IN HOW WE PACKAGE AND SHOW OFF, UH, THE CAMPUS STYLE AND MINI WIDE EVENTS.

UM, WE DO A LOT OF CUSTOM CONTENT WITH THE TRADE MEDIA PARTNERS LIKE PCMA AND AC A SAE, AND WE'RE FROM ON OUR ORGANIC CHANNELS.

WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING ON, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPING FOCUSED, ONGOING CONTENT, UM, THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE BEST OF THE DESTINATION FOR MEETING PLANNERS AS THEY COME TO US.

AND FINALLY, WE PRODUCE A VISITOR'S GUIDE.

WE, UH, PRINT OVER 200,000 COPIES EVERY YEAR AND WE GET VISITOR ONLINE REQUESTS FROM OUR PAID SOCIAL CAMPAIGNS WHEN PEOPLE COME AND VISIT.

THESE ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL LOCAL BUSINESSES TO DISPLAY HERE.

AND WE ALSO OFFER, UM, AGAIN, OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO SHOWCASE THEIR OFFERINGS, UH, TO VISITORS.

AND WE ARE ALREADY IN PRODUCTION FOR OUR 25 26 GUIDE, WHICH WILL BE PRODUCED AND PUBLISHED THIS FALL.

AND FINALLY ON INTERNATIONAL MARKETING.

UM, WE ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THAT AS WE KNOW, BRITISH AIRWAYS IS MOVING TO A DOUBLE DAILY IN MARCH.

SO WE ARE, UM, CURRENTLY RUNNING A CAMPAIGN RIGHT NOW FOR THE DOUBLE DAILY FLIGHT SUPPORT.

UM, THIS SUMMER WE ALSO WRAPPED UP A CAMPAIGN WITH TRAVEL TEXAS AND, UM, SEVERAL OUR CITIES IN THE STATE WITH OUR TEXAS FRONTIERS CAMPAIGN PERFORMED STRONG PERFORMANCE.

AND AGAIN, JUST CONTINUING, UH, TO NURTURE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE HIGH IMPACT, HIGH VALUE INTERNATIONAL VISITORS AND AS OUR MUSIC OFFICE, UH, WITHIN VISIT AUSTIN.

SO LAST YEAR WAS OUR BIGGEST YEAR EVER IN TERMS OF, UM, DIRECT, UH, PAYMENTS TO LOCAL MUSICIANS.

UM, OVER THE LAST NINE YEARS, MORE THAN $2 MILLION HAS GONE DIRECT TO AUSTIN ARTISTS.

UM, LAST YEAR WE HIRED, WE, WE WORKED TO HIRE MUSICIANS FOR MEETINGS, CONVENTIONS WHEN THEY COME TO THE DESTINATION WHEN WE'RE GOING OUT, UM, FOR OUR SALES TEAM WITH MEETINGS AND EVENTS, WE'LL BRING AWESOME MUSICIANS AND THEN ALSO FOR LEISURE ACTIVATIONS AS WELL.

UM, SO IT REALLY IS JUST A WAY FOR US TO GIVE BACK TO THE LOCAL CREATIVE COMMUNITY, UM, AND REALLY DRIVE IMPACT, UH, TO LOCAL ARTISTS.

AND FINALLY, WE WITH, UM, OUR AUSTIN FILM COMMISSION, UM, A LOT OF ACTIVITY AND PRODUCTION THAT HAS HAPPENED IN AUSTIN THIS LAST YEAR THAT IS CONTINUING TO HAPPEN.

UM, AND ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW AS WE LOOK INTO BEING IN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, UM, WE'RE CONTINUING TO SEE REALLY POSITIVE, UH, CONVERSATIONS AND, UH, MORE INCENTIVE FUNDING

[00:50:01]

THAT AGAIN ALLOWS US TO BE COMPETITIVE, UH, WITH OTHER DESTINATIONS THAT HAVE MORE FUNDING AT THE STATE LEVEL.

I'LL STOP AND PAUSE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS.

COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER IAN? UM, YES, SHELLY, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.

I WAS JUST GONNA COMMENT THAT IT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION AND, AND IT'S, UH, REALLY NICE TO SEE ALL THE MARKETING THAT'S COMING BACK AND THE EXPANDING OF THAT MARKETING INTO THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET.

SO GREAT JOB.

WONDERFUL.

COMMISSIONER CHAPPEL ALSO, KUDOS ON YOUR PRESENTATION.

IT WAS ALMOST AS GOOD AS STEVE'S .

WHEN YOU DO YOU, DOES VISIT AUSTIN OR YOUR GROUP, DO YOU WORK WITH THE AIRLINES DIRECTLY TO SET UP RIGHT? THOSE, THOSE ROUTES AND THOSE VISITS GOING AFTER RIGHT.

THE LOS ANGELES, UH, MODEL.

SO WAS IT BRITISH AIRWAYS THAT OPENED UP THE ROUTE AND WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT ROUTE TO ADVERTISE TO THAT AREA? OR DOES VISIT AUSTIN WORK LOCALLY WITH THE AIRLINES THEMSELVES TO GET AROUND SOME OF THE AIRLINE SEARCH DATA ON WHO'S COMING HERE? OF COURSE.

SO WE WORK COLLABORATIVE COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE AIRPORT AND ROUTE DEVELOPMENT TO THE DESTINATION.

AND THEN ONCE WE, UH, NEW ROUTES ARE COMING, WE OFTEN DO CO-OP PROGRAMS WITH THE AIRLINES TO HELP SUPPORT THE NEW ROUTES.

YEAH, NO, AND YOUR DECK WAS PHENOMENAL BY THE WAY.

SO I FOLLOW THE, WHOEVER HANDLES YOU ON INSTAGRAM, I THINK THEY DO A GREAT JOB.

OH, THANK.

SO I REALLY ENJOY THE BRAND.

UM, SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING.

WE HAVE A TEAM OF ROCK STARS VICE CHAIR BAILEY.

UM, IN A PREVIOUS COMMISSION MEETING, WE WERE TALKING TO, UH, SOME OF THE FESTIVAL PRODUCERS AND ORGANIZERS MM-HMM .

AND SOME OF THE BIG MAJOR ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS THAT PEOPLE COME FOR MM-HMM .

SO I'M, IT WASN'T EXACTLY EXPLICIT IN THE PRESENTATION.

I'M WONDERING HOW DO YOU WORK WITH, SAY, FORMULA ONE ACL AND, AND, UM, SOUTH BY, CORRECT.

THAT'S RIGHT.

YES, OF COURSE.

SHE, SHE, SHE HELPS .

SO, SO I'M JUST, I WANNA GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT HOW YOU LEVERAGE NOT ONLY LEVERAGE WHAT WE KNOW IS ANNUAL, BUT SPECIFICALLY HOW YOU LOOK AT TARGETING OTHER BIG EVENTS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY OUT THERE FOR THE WOOING.

UM, SO WHEN WE LOOK AT EXISTING EVENTS, UM, AGAIN, OUR CONTENT TEAM MAKES SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT'S VISITOR RELEVANT, UM, FOR WHENEVER THEY COME TO THE DESTINATION THAT THEY HAVE THE BEST TIME, THEY STAY LONGER, AND OF COURSE ENCOURAGING THEM TO COME BACK.

UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER LARGE SCALE EVENTS AND FESTIVALS AND COMING TO DESTINATION, STEVE AND HIS TEAM AND ALSO DREW AND THE SPORTS COMMISSION WORKS REALLY CLOSELY AGAIN AND, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFYING AND HAVE A PULSE ON, UM, EVENTS THAT WE CAN GO AFTER AND WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO BID FOR.

AND I IMAGINE THAT AS PART OF THIS, UH, TPI PERIOD MM-HMM.

OR THE WHATEVER, THAT THERE ARE A FEW OUT THERE THAT YOU WOULDN'T JINX BY PUTTING THEM ON THE MAP.

BUT I MEAN, DEFINITELY THAT'S PART OF THE STRATEGY IS TO BRING IN, TRY TO FIND SOMETHING THAT'S PRETTY BIG AND GET 'EM HERE.

AND THAT'S, I MEAN SPORTS IS SUCH A HUGE PART OF THAT STORY.

AND AS STEVE HAD MENTIONED, THE MLS ALL-STAR GAME THIS SUMMER.

THAT'S, AGAIN, THAT'S A NEED TIME FOR US.

LIKE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW CAN WE OFFSET THE BIGGEST NEED TIMES, UM, FOR VISITORS AND DESTINATION, AND WHEN WE KNOW OUR LOCAL HOSPITALITY, UH, COMMUNITY NEEDS THOSE NIGHTS THE MOST.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE FILM, UH, PROMOTION? I KNOW THERE'S A FILM TAX CREDIT HERE IN TEXAS.

CAN YOU SPEAK TO HOW YOUR OFFICE, UM, RATHER VISIT AUSTIN PROMOTES THAT? YES.

SO WE HAVE THE FILM COMMISSION THAT'S HOUSED WITHIN VISIT AUSTIN IN OUR MARKETING TEAM.

AND BRIAN WORKS CLOSELY, UM, AT THE STATE LEVEL.

SO WHEN PRODUCTION COMPANIES COME IN HERE, HE ACTS AS A RESOURCE AND A LIAISON WITH CITY ON PERMITTING, ON LOCATIONS, ON KEEPING UP TO DATE ON ALL OF LOCATIONS, AND REALLY, AGAIN, SERVING AS A HUB FOR PRODUCTION PARTNERS AND BRINGING LARGE SCALE PROJECTS HERE.

AND BRIAN WORKS VERY CLOSELY, UM, WITH THE STATE AND OF COURSE WORKING TOWARDS, UM, GETTING MORE FUNDING AS WELL.

I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UM, SOME FILM FOLKS COME IN APRIL, SO THAT'LL BE GOOD TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT THEN.

YEAH, SO THANKS FOR THAT, UM, SNEAK PEEK.

UM, WELL, WITH THAT, IT SEEMS LIKE WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.

UH, I'D LIKE TO THANK, UM, ALL OF OUR PRESENTERS FROM VISIT AUSTIN COMING TODAY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR THIS BRIEFING ON TOURISM IN 2025 IN AUSTIN.

AND, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE GREAT NEWS TO COME.

US TOO.

WE HAVE A PRESENTATION BY TIM FENNEL OF THE TOURISM, UM, EXCUSE

BYE-BYE.

NEXT UP, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR,

[4. Presentation by Tim Fennell, the Tourism Director of the Office of the Governor of Texas, Travel Texas regarding the outlook for Tourism in Texas and its implications for Austin in 2025.]

[00:55:01]

ME, THE TOURISM DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, ALSO KNOWN AS TRAVEL TEXAS REGARDING THE OUTLOOK, EXCUSE ME, FOR TOURISM, UH, IN OUR FAIR STATE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR AUSTIN IN 2025.

WELCOME.

AND, UH, THE TYPICAL TEXAS ORIENTED TRAVELER PLANS TO SPEND ALMOST $7,000 ON LEISURE TRAVEL IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.

UH, THANK YOU, UH, FOR HAVING ME HERE TO, TO SPEAK TO THE COMMISSION ABOUT THE, UH, TEXAS TRAVEL INDUSTRY AND, UM, THE TRAVEL TEXAS PROGRAMS. OUR MISSION AT TRAVEL TEXAS IS TO ENHANCE AND EXTEND THE LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS, UM, BY MARKETING TEXAS AS A PREMIER TRAVEL DESTINATION OUT OF STATE, UH, DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, UH, GENERATING, UH, TRAVEL TO TEXAS AND CREATING REVENUE AND JOBS FOR THE STATE.

WE ARE THE ONLY ENTITY THAT, UH, MARKETS OUT OF STATE FROM THE STATE LEVEL.

UM, SO WE ARE THE ONLY ONE PROMOTING OUT OF STATE.

AND OUR MAJOR PROGRAM AREAS INCLUDE, UH, ADVERTISING, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING, AND OF COURSE OUR TRAVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THAT KIND OF LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL OF OUR MARKETING PROGRAMS. THE, UH, STATE TRAVEL PROMOTION PROGRAM HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.

YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT, UM, THE, UH, MEASURABLE INCREASES IN INFLUENCE TRAVEL SPENDING AND TAX REVENUE OVER THE LAST FIVE, UH, YEARS, STATE TEXAS GENERATED BY TRAVEL INFLUENCE FROM OUR EFFORTS WERE ESTIMATED AT 246 MILLION IN FY 24, UH, WHICH WAS AN INCREASE OF 16% OVER THE PRIOR YEAR.

UH, BEYOND THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS, UH, GENERATED BY INFLUENCE TRAVEL TOURISM PROMOTION HAS MEASURABLE IMPACT ON PERCEPTIONS OF THE STATE, UH, AS NOT JUST A TRAVEL DESTINATION, BUT ACROSS MANY OTHER INDICATORS FOR QUALITY OF LIFE, UH, GOOD PLACE TO RELOCATE A BUSINESS, UH, TO START A FAMILY TO ATTEND COLLEGE.

SO A LOT OF THOSE SORT OF HALO, UH, EFFECTS THAT WE SPEAK ABOUT WHEN WE DO PROMOTE THE STATE FOR TOURISM.

WE ARE, UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON HOW OUR OFFICE IS, IS STRUCTURED, WE ARE PART OF THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR.

UH, IT'S THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM OFFICE.

UM, IN ADDITION TO OUR, UM, TOURISM COMPONENT, THERE'S, UM, THE BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, A CHIPS OFFICE, WHICH IS THE NEWEST PART AND OF THE, UH, OFFICE, UH, WORKFORCE, UH, COUNCIL.

AND THEN OF COURSE THE MUSIC AND FILM OFFICES ARE ALSO, UH, RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO US THERE.

WE ALSO HAVE AN MOU, UH, WITH THESE STATE AGENCIES YOU SEE HERE THAT ALL HAVE A TOURISM COMPONENT AS WELL.

UM, SO AS I MENTIONED, WE ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES OUT-OF-STATE MARKETING, BUT THESE ENTITIES ALL HAVE IN-STATE, UH, COMPONENTS THAT TOUCH TOURISM MARKETING.

SO WE WORK IN COORDINATION WITH THEM AND, AND MEET REGULARLY TO COORDINATE ALL THOSE EFFORTS FOR THE STATE.

SO NOW WE'LL GO A LITTLE BIT DEEPER AND GET INTO SOME OF OUR STATS, UH, THAT WE CAN SHARE ON BOTH, UH, LOOKING BACKWARDS AND A AND A FEW THAT WE HAVE LOOKING FORWARDS AS WELL.

AND, AND GO THROUGH SOME OF THOSE PROGRAM AREAS THAT I, I SPOKE ABOUT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL AS WELL.

SO IT'S, UH, OUR RESEARCH TEAM, UH, PROVIDES THE DATA THAT DRIVES ALL OF OUR MARKETING, AS I MENTIONED.

UM, AND WE ALSO MAKE ALL OF THIS DATA AVAILABLE TO OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS.

UH, WE DISTRIBUTE, UH, DETAILED INDUSTRY RESEARCH BY CALENDAR YEAR, UM, ON REQUEST WITH DATA AT THE STATE, REGIONAL AND LOCAL LEVELS.

SO IT'S AVAILABLE TO BE, UM, PARSED, HOWEVER YOU MAY WANT TO.

AND SO A LOT OF OUR VISIT, AUSTIN IS ONE OF, OF WHO DOES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OF THE DATA WE DO AS WELL.

UM, YOU CAN ACCESS A LOT OF THESE RIGHT ONLINE, SO THEY'RE REALLY EASY FOR OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN THE INDUSTRY TO GET.

AND, UM, LIKE I MENTIONED, THEY CAN BE SPLIT UP, UH, RIGHT THERE ONLINE AND DOWNLOADED, UM, VIA LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT OR CITY OR COUNTY.

HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE.

JUST A SNAPSHOT FOR YOU HERE TO, TO SHOW KIND OF AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL.

UM, AS AN EXAMPLE, THE HILL COUNTRY, UH, REGION IN 2023, YOU CAN SEE THAT ALL THE INDICATORS FOR THE REGION WERE UP FROM SPENDING TO EMPLOYMENT AND TAX REVENUE.

UM, AND THEN AS A, IT'S A GOOD NOTE TO MAKE HERE AS A, AS A CAVEAT, THE, A LOT OF THESE ACTUAL SPENDING STATISTICS I'M GONNA GET THAT ARE STILL 2023, UH, BEING A JUST A, WHAT, SIX WEEKS INTO THE NEW YEAR.

SO WE'RE STILL KIND OF CRUNCHING AND ANALYZING A LOT OF THE 2024 SPENDING, UH, NUMBERS.

SO, UM, UH, WHEN WE START TO LOOK FORWARD, WE'LL GET A LITTLE BIT MORE CURRENT DATA, BUT, UM, SOME OF THE SPENDING IS STILL 2023, UM, AND SHOULD BE BY MARCH.

UM, APRIL AT THE LATEST, WE'LL HAVE THE 24 NUMBERS AVAILABLE.

[01:00:01]

OH, LET'S SEE.

SO STATEWIDE TRAVEL SPENDING SET NEW RECORDS IN 2023 WITH TRAVELERS TO AND WITHIN TEXAS SPENDING 94.8 BILLION, THE SPENDING GENERATED AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF 193.8 BILLION, SUPPORTING 1.3 MILLION TEXAS JOBS, OR ROUGHLY ONE IN 11 JOBS STATEWIDE, EVEN AFTER ADJUSTING FOR INFLATION.

UH, SPENDING IS ROUGHLY AT 96% OF 2019 TRAVEL SHOWING A FULL RECOVERY, UH, AFTER THE PANDEMIC FOR THE INDUSTRY.

UH, EARLY INDICATIONS ARE 20, 24.

NUMBERS ARE GONNA KEEP THAT TREND, UH, GOING AT LEAST WITH SOME STEADY GROWTH, IF NOT SUCH BIG, UH, JUMPS AS WE HAD SEEN IN THE INITIAL PHASES OF THE RECOVERY, SPENDING GROWTH IN 23 WOULD'VE BEEN EVEN HIGHER IF, UH, NOT FOR CHEAPER GAS PRICES AT THAT TIME ANYWAY.

UH, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE CHART ABOVE THE, THE LOCAL TRANSPORTATION AND GAS, UH, NUMBERS ARE THE ONLY ONE COMMODITY TO SHOW A DECLINE YEAR OVER YEAR.

WHILE BILLIONS MORE DOLLARS WERE SPENT AT RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS, FOR EXAMPLE, DOMESTIC VISITOR VOLUME SHOWED SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN 23 EXCEEDING PRE PANDEMIC, UM, ESTIMATES STRONG GROWTH IN BUSINESS AND CONVENTION TRAVEL WAS A MAJOR, UH, CONTRIBUTOR TO THE INDUSTRY ACHIEVING THAT.

UH, FULL RECOVERY IN 2023, INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SHOWED A RETURN TO NORMALCY AS WELL WITH, UH, MORE THAN 6.6 MILLION VISITORS FROM MEXICO, CANADA, AND OVERSEAS VISITING TEXAS ON, UH, AN OVERNIGHT TRIP IN 2023.

AND TO TOUCH ON, UH, ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS HERE, UH, AND BREAK UP SOME OF THE STATISTICS A BIT, UH, ONE OF OUR NEWEST PROGRAMS, OUR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT SECTION STARTED IN, UM, 2024, WAS THE TOURISM FRIENDLY, UH, CERTIFIED COMMUNITY PROGRAM.

THE GOALS OF THIS PROGRAM ARE TO STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS WITH EXISTING DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS AND CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAUS AROUND THE STATE, EDUCATE LOCAL LEADERS ON THE VALUE OF TOURISM AS AN ECONOMIC, UH, DRIVER, ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN STATE PROGRAMS, AND, UH, REALLY EDUCATE, UM, SOME OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND THEN SUPPORT THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE A LITTLE BIT LIMITED, UH, MORE LIMITED RESOURCES AND TOURISM EXPERTISE.

IT'S BEEN, UH, VERY SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH FOR US.

WE HAD OVER 80 COMMUNITIES AROUND THE STATE SIGN UP AND IN THE, UH, INITIAL YEAR, I THINK WE'RE ABOUT TO COMPLETE 40 OF THOSE, UH, IN YEAR ONE, UH, HAVE COMPLETED.

AND THE OTHER 40 ARE GOING TO BE FOLLOWING UP AND FINISHING THAT UP IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, UM, WITH SOME MORE ALREADY SIGNING UP FOR YEAR TWO.

SO IT'S, UM, BEEN REALLY GOOD TO GET THE, THE WHOLE, UH, WORD OUT, UH, BEYOND.

I KNOW A LOT OF OUR MAJOR CITIES ARE ALREADY AWARE OF HOW IMPORTANT TOURISM IS TO THE ECONOMY, BUT I THINK WE'RE REALLY, UH, HELPING GET THAT WORD OUT FOR TOURISM TO SOME OF OUR SMALLER COMMUNITIES WHO IT MAY NOT BE AS APPARENT THAT SOME OF YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE THERE, UH, DAY TO DAY BECAUSE OF THE EXTRA REVENUE FROM VISITORS.

SO I WANNA LOOK, UH, A LITTLE BIT AT, UH, SOME OF THOSE TRENDS AND INDICATORS THAT I MENTIONED.

UM, LOOKING FORWARD TOWARD, UH, 2025, THE INFORMATION I'LL BE SHARING IS FROM TOURISM ECONOMICS, I THINK, UM, UH, IT WAS AT AUSTIN WAS USING SOME OF THE, THE SAME, UH, STATS FROM TOURISM ECONOMICS, BUT I'VE, UH, MINE WILL BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AT THE MACRO, MORE STATE, UH, AND US LEVELS.

UH, ALSO WILL BE USING SOME MATERIAL FROM US TRAVEL ASSOCIATIONS, UM, US TRAVEL INSIGHTS REPORT.

SO THESE, UH, INDICATORS SHOW THAT TEXAS IS WELL POSITIONED AS TRAVEL HAS STARTED TO NORMALIZED, AND AS I MENTIONED, MAYBE SHOWING SOME SIGNS OF, OF GROWTH BEING NOT AS ROBUST AS IT HAD BEEN INITIALLY.

UH, POST PANDEMIC YEAR END 2024, TEXAS LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY JOBS ARE UP 2.5% OVER LAST YEAR, WHILE THE US AVERAGE IS UP, UH, 2.1%.

YOU CAN, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE HERE THE A A TREND WILL SAY, UH, ALL THROUGH IT IS THAT TEXAS'S GROWTH AND RECOVERY HAS AS OUTPACED THE US AS A WHOLE PRETTY MUCH ACROSS THE BOARD.

AIR PASSENGER, UH, THROUGHPUT GREW 5.5%, UH, TO 78.9 MILLION PASSENGERS IN 24, WHILE THE US INCREASED, UH, LESS THAN HALF THAT AT 2.1%.

AND THE SAME FOR HOTEL DEMAND, TEXAS UP 1.2% WHILE THE US WAS 0.5.

YEAR OVER YEAR LEISURE TRAVEL INTENT IS STILL VERY HIGH, UH, WITH 81% OF THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND PLUS INCOME BRACKET PLANNING TRAVEL IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.

[01:05:03]

UH, NEARLY $1,200 MORE THAN THE LAST WAVE THAT WE MEASURED.

AND TEXAS IS THE SECOND HIGHEST LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY EMPLOYER IN THE NATION BEHIND CALIFORNIA.

UH, US LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY JOBS HAVE GROWN 8.5% SINCE 2019 WITH THE HIGHEST GROWTH HAPPENING, UH, IN THESE TOP 10 LARGEST EMPLOYMENT STATES YOU SEE HERE.

UM, TEXAS ADDED 116,000 JOBS, UH, IN LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY SINCE 2019, OVER 80% AHEAD OF THE NEXT LARGEST EMPLOYMENT STATE.

AND AS I MENTIONED, WE ALSO SAW INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL REALLY REBOUND, UH, START TO REBOUND IN 2023.

AND, UH, HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT TEXAS IS OUTPACING THE US AS WELL IN, UH, OVERALL INTERNATIONAL VISITATION RECOVERY, EXPECTING FULL RECOVERY, UH, A FULL YEAR ON INTERNATIONAL VISITATION BEFORE THE, THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE.

WE'LL SEE THAT.

SO NOW WE'LL LOOK, UH, A LITTLE BIT AT SOME CONSUMER SENTIMENT.

UH, I THINK THIS IS ALSO A, A, A REPORT THAT VISIT AUSTIN MAY HAVE REFERENCED, UH, SOME OTHER DATA IN THEIR PRESENTATION.

UM, WE, UH, WORK WITH A COMPANY CALLED FUTURE PARTNERS THAT, UH, IS A, DOES THE STATE OF THE AMERICAN TRAVELER STUDY TO TRACK MONTHLY CONSUMER SENTIMENT.

AND DESPITE ALL THE UNCERTAINTY THAT I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE ALL SEEING RIGHT NOW, AS THE NEW YEAR KICKS OFF, TRAVELERS, UH, REMAIN OPTIMISTIC WITH THOSE INTERESTED IN TEXAS LEANING EVEN MORE INTO SOME OF THE TRENDS THAT WE SEE TRAVEL TAKING IN 2025.

A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE PORTRAIT OF THE AMERICAN TRAVELER STUDY.

IT'S A MONTHLY TRACKING SURVEY SAMPLING ADULT TRAVELERS ACROSS THE US IN ORDER TO GAUGE TRAVELER SENTIMENT AND GATHER INSIGHTS INTO THOSE DOMESTIC TRAVEL TRENDS.

SO A MAJORITY OF AMERICAN TRAVELERS, UH, STILL INTEND TO TAKE THAT LEISURE TRIP AND MAKE IT A PRIORITY IN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS.

UH, THE TEXAS TRAVEL IN INTENDERS SCORE, UH, EVEN HIGHER, UH, ON THAT INDEX AT 64.3%.

UH, IT REMAINS A PRIORITY FOR TRAVELERS DESPITE, UM, THE FACT THAT THEY DO INTEND, UH, FULLY EXPECT TO SEE INFLATION AND COSTS INCREASE, UH, IN 2025.

UM, WHERE WE DO SEE THIS COMING INTO PLAY IS, UH, GROWING DEMAND FOR BUDGET TRAVEL IN 2025.

SO IT TRAVEL IS A PRIORITY.

UH, TRAVELERS ARE NOT GOING TO STOP TRAVELING, UM, BUT THEY, AND THEY WILL SPEND MORE, BUT THEY WILL PROBABLY BE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO DO SO MORE ECONOMICALLY, UH, MORE AFFORDABLY.

UM, THE, WHEN WE LOOK AT IT THIS WAY, I LIKE TO THINK THAT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MEAN THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE BUDGET LEVEL, IT'S JUST LOOKING AT HOW CAN THEY MAKE THEIR DOLLAR GO FARTHER ON THEIR TRIP.

ON THE OTHER SIDE, UM, WE SEE, UH, OR SORRY, SORRY.

UM, ONE OF THE WAYS WE SEE THE, UH, TRAVELERS TRYING TO CONTROL COSTS WOULD BE TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE MORE OFF THE BEATEN PATH DESTINATIONS.

UM, ALSO DO A LITTLE BIT, I THINK, TO OVERCROWDING OF SOME OF THE MEGA POPULAR, UH, DESTINATIONS THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT IN THE NEWS.

BUT, UH, ALSO TO, UH, HELP CONTROL COSTS.

UM, THERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY HERE, I THINK, TO TARGET VISITORS LOOKING FOR NEW EXPERIENCES AND ALTERNATIVES TO BROADWAY SHOWS IN NEW YORK, OR A TRIP TO CHICAGO OR ORLANDO.

UM, IT'S A, I THINK, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DESTINATIONS THAT MAY NOT BE THE FIRST ON SOMEONE'S LIST ALL THE TIME TO, UH, SLIDE IN THERE AS WELL.

AND, UH, ON THE OTHER SIDE, LUXURY TRAVEL IS STILL AN IMPORTANT CATEGORY, UH, OR TO A CORE GROUP OF TRAVELERS, AND ALSO PROVIDES A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, UH, AT A NICHE MARKET FOR THOSE WHOSE PRODUCT REALLY FITS THAT CONSUMER.

THAT, THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT WITH THE BUDGET CONSCIOUS AND THE UNKNOWN ECONOMIC ASPECTS, WE STILL DO SEE THAT MARKET FOR LUXURY TRAVEL STAYING ROBUST.

SO I ALSO WANT TO CALL OUT A FEW OTHER TRAVEL TRENDS WE'RE SEEING HERE THAT MIGHT BE OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO AUSTIN.

AND, UH, THE FIRST ONE HERE IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING GIG TRIPPING, WHICH IS, UH, PLANNING YOUR TRIPS AROUND MAJOR CONCERTS OR MUSIC FESTIVALS.

UM, WHILE MANY ALSO MIGHT SEE THIS AS A NICHE AUDIENCE, I DON'T THINK AUSTIN, AUSTIN WILL SEE THIS AS A, A, THE NICHE AND IT, UM, AND ACTUALLY IT'S NOT NICHE BECAUSE IT APPEALS TO 42% OF AMERICANS OVERALL AND MORE THAN 52% OF THOSE WHO HAVE INTENT

[01:10:01]

TO TRAVEL TO TEXAS.

SECONDLY, WITH THE, THE FANTASTIC COVERAGE OF THE RECENT MICHELIN RECOGNITION, UM, THE WORLD SEEMS TO BE DISCOVERING WHAT ALL OF US IN AUSTIN ALREADY KNOW, AND THAT IS THAT AUSTIN IS A FANTASTIC FOOD DESTINATION.

UH, AND FOODIE TRIPS ARE ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR TRIP TYPES.

57% OF AMERICANS AND MORE THAN 65% OF TEXAS TRAVEL ATTEND INTENDERS, UH, FIND THAT FOODIE TRIP, UH, APPEALING AND, UH, HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES, UH, EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL WHERE PEOPLE GET TO REALLY CONNECT WITH THE DESTINATIONS.

CULTURE, HISTORY OR ENVIRONMENT, UH, IS A GROWING TRAVEL TREND WITH ALMOST 56% OF AMERICANS AND 65% OF TEXAS TRAVEL INTENDERS FINDING EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL APPEALING.

UH, IT SEEMS TO BE ANOTHER AREA THAT AUSTIN IS POISED REALLY WELL TO CAPITALIZE ON IN THE COMING YEARS.

SO AGAIN, OVERALL, I SEE, UH, WE SEE THAT, UH, THE SURVEY IS SHOWING THAT, UM, AMERICAN TRAVELERS ARE STILL HIGHLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT 2025, AND, UH, I THINK IT LOOKS, IT BODES WELL FOR THE INDUSTRY OVERALL.

SO IF YOU, UH, ARE STILL WITH ME AFTER ALL THOSE STATS, I'LL MOVE ON MAYBE A LITTLE MORE ON THE MARKETING SIDE AND, UH, GO THROUGH SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS, UH, JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S KIND OF FAMILIAR WITH WHAT WE DO, UH, AT THE STATE LEVEL, ADVERTISING IS OUR LARGEST, UH, PROGRAM AREA, MAJOR COMPONENT OF OUR TOURISM PROMOTION.

UH, THE PROGRAM AREA COORDINATES ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS, MARKETING, TEXAS AS A PREMIER TRAVEL DESTINATION ACROSS ALL MEDIA CHANNELS, UH, TELEVISION, STREAMING, DIGITAL, SOCIAL, AUDIO OUT OF HOME.

UM, WE ARE THERE , THE COMPETITION FOR THE TRAVELER'S ATTENTION IS FIERCE.

UH, ACCORDING TO RECENT RESEARCH BY EXPEDIA, TRAVELERS SPEND AN AVERAGE OF 71 DAYS THINKING ABOUT AND PLANNING TRIPS BEFORE BOOKING.

AND THEY VIEW A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF TRAVEL CONTENT DURING PLANNING.

PAID ADVERTISING HELPS TO KEEP TEXAS TOP OF MIND THROUGHOUT ALL STAGES OF THE TRIP PLANNING PROCESS.

FROM DREAMING AND INSPIRATION TO PLANNING AND BOOKING TRAVEL, TEXAS PROMOTES TRAVEL TO THE STATE UNDER THE BRANDING OF LET'S TEXAS, LET'S TEXAS IS AN INVITATION, A CHALLENGE TO EXPLORE ALL THE STATE HAS TO OFFER BY TURNING THE STATE NAME INTO A VERB.

A TRIP TO TEXAS IS PRESENTED AS AN EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER.

TEXAS MAY NOT BE THE ONLY STATE WITH BEACHES, HIKING TRAILS OR FIVE STAR RESTAURANTS, BUT THESE ATTRACTIONS COME WITH A TRUE SIDE OF TEXAS SPIRIT THAT YOU CAN'T GET ANYWHERE ELSE.

THE BEGINNING OF 2025 SAW THE LAUNCH OF THE STATE'S NEW LET'S TEXAS CAMPAIGN QUEUING OFF OF THE LET'S TEXAS TAGLINE.

THE NEW CAMPAIGN PROVIDES A WARM AND FRIENDLY PROMPT TO TRAVELERS TO COMPLETE THAT PHRASE WITH ANY ACTIVITY OF THEIR CHOICE.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, JUST ONE OF THESE SPOTS NOW THAT WE'RE RUNNING AND THERE'LL BE A WHOLE SERIES, BUT I'M GONNA WANTED TO SHARE ONE, UH, BRIEF 32ND SPOT WITH YOU WITH A FEW, UH, LOCATIONS HERE THAT YOU MAY FIND FAMILIAR.

OH, WAS IT, DID IT, DID THE VIDEO GET, OH, IT'S A PDF.

OH, I'M SORRY, I CAN'T SHARE THAT WITH YOU.

THEN I GOT CONVERTED TO A PDF.

UM, BUT I DO, UM, I CAN DIRECT YOU TO TRAVEL TEXAS.COM AND, UH, ON THAT PAGE YOU WILL SEE OUR, UH, LINK TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL, OR JUST SEARCH FOR TRAVEL TEXAS ON YOUTUBE.

AND, AND THERE'LL BE A WHOLE PLAYLIST WITH OUR, UM, DID I JUMP THAT? AH, THERE WE GO.

UH, IT'LL BE A WHOLE PLAYLIST OF ALL THE NEW, UH, VIDEO SPOTS THAT ARE AIRING RIGHT NOW.

UH, IN ADDITION TO A SERIES OF VIDEO ADS, LIKE THE ONE WE DID NOT SEE , THE CAMPAIGN WILL UTILIZE A FULL 360 MEDIA ECOSYSTEM, INCLUDING VIDEO PLATFORMS LIKE AMAZON PRIME VIDEO AND DISNEY PLUS, UH, IN A VARIETY OF HIGHLY TARGETED MEDIA ACROSS PRINT, DIGITAL, UH, PODCASTS, UM, OUT OF HOME DIGITAL, OUT OF HOME AND SOCIAL MEDIA.

AS PART OF THE CAMPAIGN, UH, THE STATE PARTNERS WITH OTHER TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE BRANDS TO REACH NEW AUDIENCES.

YOU SEE A FEW OF OUR, UM, 2024 PARTNERS SHOWN HERE.

AND IN 2025, WE'LL HAVE SOME NEW INTEGRATED CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS WITH TOP BRANDS LIKE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER AND, UH, THE CULINARY CONTENT PUBLISHER, SVO, HELPING US TO EXTEND THE UNIQUELY TEXAS INVITATION TO TRAVELERS EVERYWHERE.

YEP.

IS IT HUNG UP? THERE WE GO.

UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, ALL THIS MEDIA ACTIVITY DRIVES BACK TO THE WEBSITE I MENTIONED, UH,

[01:15:01]

TRAVEL TEXAS.COM.

THIS IS OUR CONSUMER FACING WEBSITE WITH INSPIRATIONAL CONTENT COVERING WHAT TO DO, CITIES, REGIONS, AND, UH, OTHER PLANNING AND HOTEL INFORMATION.

ONE COMPONENT OF THE WEBSITE I'D LIKE TO CALL OUT IS OUR TRIP BUILDER.

UH, IT PROVIDES VISITORS WITH AN ITINERARY BUILDER THAT USES THE SWIPE LEFT OR SWIPE RIGHT FUNCTIONALITY, UH, SIMILAR TO OTHER APPS.

AND IT DRIVES A, IT'S DRIVEN A LOT HIGHER ENGAGEMENT AND TIME ON AND TIME ON THE SITE FOR VISITORS.

SO WE FOUND THAT ITINERARY PLANNING TOOL IS REALLY GETTING THAT TEXAS CONTENT IN FRONT OF PEOPLE AND LETTING THEM LEARN, UH, THINGS ABOUT THE STATE THAT THEY DID NOT KNOW BEFORE THEY SPENT THAT MUCH TIME RESEARCHING.

AND, UH, WE DO NOT JUST DO, UH, CONSUMER, UH, CAMPAIGNS IN THE US WE RESUMED OUR INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING IN 2023 WITH ADS ADAPTED TO SPEAK TO EACH MARKET.

HERE YOU'LL SEE SOME OF OUR, UH, 20, 24 CAMPAIGN EXAMPLES TRANSLATED, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA OF, UH, ONE, A STREETCAR IN, UH, TORONTO, A FEW STREETCAR THERE THAT WERE COMPLETELY WRAPPED WITH TEXAS MESSAGING, UM, ALL THROUGH THE COLD WEATHER TO ENCOURAGE CANADIANS TO COME DOWN AND ENJOY OUR WARM WEATHER.

HERE.

THERE ARE MANY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL OF OUR, OUR TOURISM PARTNERS TO, UH, LEVERAGE THE STATE'S INVESTMENT IN TOURISM PROMOTION.

I THINK VISIT AUSTIN MENTIONED A, A FEW PARTNERSHIPS WE DID TOGETHER, UH, WITH THEM AND SOME OTHER CITIES, UH, AN INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, UH, THE MICHELIN PROGRAM, UM, AND BRINGING THE TODAY SHOW TO TEXAS AS WELL.

WE'RE, WE'RE PARTNERSHIPS, UM, AND WE OFFER, UH, REALLY AFFORDABLE CO-OP ADVERTISING ACROSS OUR ENTIRE CAMPAIGN AS WELL.

UH, THROUGH ALL THE, THE MEDIA AND RESEARCH ITEMS YOU SEE HERE ARE AVAILABLE FOR CO-OP TO ALL, UH, INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS.

SO, REALLY QUICKLY, IF I STILL HAVE A FEW MINUTES, I'LL JUMP INTO OUR, UH, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING, UH, VERY QUICKLY.

UM, IN ADDITION TO ALL THE PAID MEDIA WHERE OUR TEAM IS CONSTANTLY OUT THERE, UH, GETTING THE EARNED MEDIA AND ALSO WORKING WITH TOUR OPERATORS, UM, WE UTILIZE OUR, SO OUR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS TO PROMOTE THE STATE THROUGH PR AND MARKETING EFFORTS, AS WELL AS WORKING WITH, UM, MAJOR INFLUENCERS, UH, TARGETING THE, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA AND, UH, TRADITIONAL MEDIA FOR FAM TOURS, BRINGING THEM HERE TO EXPERIENCE THE STATE FIRSTHAND AND WRITING ABOUT IT AND, AND GETTING A LOT OF COVERAGE FOR THE STATE THAT WAY.

HERE YOU'LL SEE, UH, JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE IMPACT TO THE MEDIA COVERAGE, UH, AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT GENERATED THROUGH OUR EFFORTS IN, UH, 2024 AND, UH, HELPING TEXAS TO STAND APART IN THAT, UH, CROWDED MEDIA LANDSCAPE.

THE, UH, PR AND MARKETING EFFORTS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR PARTNERSHIP.

UM, WE DO MEDIA MISSIONS ALL AROUND THE WORLD WITH OUR PARTNERS, UH, ATTEND TRADE SHOWS.

UM, OF COURSE OUR PARTNERS ARE INTEGRAL IN HELPING US, UH, BRING FAM TOURS HERE, BOTH TOUR OPERATORS AND MEDIA, AND HELPING US HOST THEM TO GET IN A FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE OF THE STATE.

AND, UH, AND THEN OUR, WE DO COLLABORATIONS ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AS WELL, UM, WITH OUR PARTNERS.

AND THAT IS ALL I HAD TODAY, AND EXCEPT, UH, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR OH, OKAY.

AND I GUESS WE CAN SHOW THE COMMERCIAL NOW IF WE'D LIKE TO SEE THAT AS WELL.

SURE.

THEN WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.

, UH, YEAH, THE NEXT ONE I THINK HAS THE VIDEO.

IT'LL BE THE NEXT SLIDE.

YEAH, THERE WE GO.

CALLING ALL WATER LOVERS AND JOY SEEKERS, SPONTANEOUS DANCERS AND INDOOR EXPLORERS.

WE SEE YOU, CULTURE LOVERS, TOE TAPPERS, TASTE MAKERS, AND NIGHT LIFERS.

WHETHER YOU LIKE TO CHEER FROM THE BACK ROW OR SING ALONG IN THE FRONT, WE'RE WAITING FOR YOU AND YOU AND ALL OF YOU.

[01:20:01]

LET'S, TEXAS.

SO AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S UH, TWO OR THREE OTHER VIDEO SPOTS SIMILAR TO THAT.

UH, THERE'S ALSO 16 OR 15 SECOND VERSIONS OF EACH OF THOSE.

AND THEN A WIDE VARIETY OF, UH, DIGITAL, UM, AND AUDIO AND OUT OF HOME ADVERTISING AS PART OF THAT CAMPAIGN AS WELL.

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS.

COMMISSIONER CHOP.

WELCOME MR. F THANK YOU FOR SHARING.

IT WAS A GOOD OVERVIEW.

UM, I LIKE THE NEW TAGLINE.

LET'S TEXAS.

I THINK THAT'S GREAT.

UM, NO, UH, THANK YOU.

CONTINUE THE, THE GOOD WORK.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OTHER COMMISSIONERS? QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? VICE CHAIR? BAILEY, I HAVE A REAL CURVE BALL FOR YOU.

UH OH.

, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THIS, BUT OKAY.

I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO , I'M INTERESTED IN ON YOUR TAKE ON WHAT YOU THINK THE TAYLOR SHERIDAN EFFECT MIGHT BE FOR PEOPLE VISITING TEXAS.

WELL, I DEFINITELY KNOW IT'S CREATED BUZZ IN A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, INTEREST IN VISITING.

CERTAINLY THE SHOWS ARE HAVING, UH, KIND OF THE GAME OF THRONES EFFECT AT A, THAT WHERE WE'RE STARTING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HEARING CHATTER, WE'RE GETTING PEOPLE WHO COME UP, UH, CONSUMERS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TRADE ARE COMING UP AND SAYING, HEY, I WANT TO GO TO TEXAS.

I'VE, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN WATCHING YELLOWSTONE AND NOW I NEED TO GO AND SEE EVERYTHING.

AND, UH, I THINK WE GOT, UH, ONE OF THE BEST ANECDOTES I, UH, WAS, UM, SOMEONE IN NEW ZEALAND WHO, UH, AT ONE OF OUR EVENTS THERE, UH, WAS LIKE, CAME UP AND WAS LIKE, OH, MY BOYFRIEND IS LIKE A COWBOY, YOU KNOW, HE'S LIKE, STARTED WATCHING YELLOWSTONE, THINKS HE'S A COWBOY, AND NOW I HAVE TO TAKE HIM TO TEXAS TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, HE'S LIKE, PLEASE, WE NEED TO GO.

SO IT'S DEFINITELY HAVING THAT EFFECT.

WE'RE SEEING IT ALL AROUND THE WORLD, AS A MATTER OF FACT.

SO, UM, I CAN'T TRACE ANY NUMBERS.

WE DON'T HAVE ANY DIRECT RESEARCH ON ANY OF THAT, BUT I KNOW IT HAS JUST ANECDOTALLY CREATED THAT SORT OF PR BUZZ FOR THE STATE.

WELL, AND, AND I, IT'S NOT YOUR JOB TO REPORT IT, BUT I I'M SURE THE FILMING THAT'S TAKEN PLACE FOR SOME OF THOSE PRODUCTIONS ARE IN TEXAS.

IT'S A DIFFERENT DIVISION, BUT YOU'RE RELATED AND I HAVE TO SEE THEM ALL KIND OF, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW THE EXTENT, BUT I KNOW SOME IS YES, DONE.

YEAH, I HAVE A, I HAVE A FRIEND WHO LEASED HIS PLACE.

HE OWNS A BIG OLD, A HUNDRED YEAR OLD BUILDING DOWNTOWN LOCKHART, AND THEY TOOK OVER LOCKHART FOR ABOUT A WEEK AND THEY DID A LOT OF WORK OVER THERE.

IT WAS PRETTY AMAZING TO SEE WHAT THEY CAN BUILD OUT IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.

YEAH, WE DEFINITELY KNOW THAT FILM AND TELEVISION HAS A HUGE EFFECT ON TOURISM, PARTICULARLY WHEN SHOWS REALLY TAKE OFF AND HIT, YOU KNOW, HIT A NOTE LIKE THAT WITH THE PUBLIC.

SO IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA KEEP OUR EYE ON AND, AND DEFINITELY LEVERAGE AS MUCH AS WE CAN FOR THE STATE, UH, THAT POPULARITY AND, UH, SEE WHAT IT CAN DO TO BRING MORE PEOPLE HERE.

THANK YOU VICE CHAIR BAILEY, UH, I THINK I'LL CLOSE WITH A QUESTION THAT, WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT FOR TOURISM IN TEXAS IN 2025? AND HOW ABOUT FOR AUSTIN? WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT FOR AUSTIN? WELL, I THINK, UM, SO THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND, MAYBE BECAUSE IT'S SO RECENTLY FOR AUSTIN THAT JUMPED TO ME WAS THE, UH, THE MICHELIN RECOGNITION AND REALLY BEING RECOGNIZED AS, UH, A FOOD SCENE HERE.

I THINK WE'RE DEFINITELY WELL KNOWN FOR MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT AND NIGHTLIFE, OF COURSE, THE SPORTS AND, AND THE F1 AND EVERYTHING.

BUT, UM, I DON'T THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE KNEW WHAT A VIBRANT RESTAURANT SCENE, UH, I MEAN OUTSIDE OF THE IMMEDIATE AREA.

AND PEOPLE WHO HADN'T BEEN HERE, UH, KNEW AS MUCH ABOUT IT.

IT JUST WASN'T TALKED ABOUT MAYBE AS MUCH IN THE MEDIA.

SO I THINK THAT'S A HUGE AREA THAT I COULD SEE REALLY, UH, MOVING FORWARD IS GONNA BECOME BIGGER AND BIGGER.

UM, AND NOW, I'M SORRY, THE, THE SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION.

UH, FOR TEXAS, FOR TEXAS AS A WHOLE, UM, BOY, I JUST THINK THE, UM, THE CONTINUED GROWTH, THE CONTINUED, UM, JUST THE POSSIBILITIES FOR WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO HERE.

I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SEE MORE AND MORE THINGS COMING IN, LIKE, UM, A MEOW WOLF, UM, EXPANDING, UH, BEYOND, UH, INTO HOUSTON NOW.

UM, SO JUST NEW EXPERIENCES LIKE THAT SEEM TO BE BECOMING AVAILABLE FOR THE STATE, NEW EVENTS COMING IN, UM, ALL THE TIME.

AND I THINK THAT WILL JUST REALLY KEEP THE TOURISM GROWTH GOING.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME MR. FENNEL.

THANK YOU FOR COMING.

WE'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU BACK AS WELL.

AND I'LL BE WORKING WITH THE CITY TO, TO TALK ABOUT THAT.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

ALRIGHT, UM, NOTING THAT WE HAVE, UM, SOME COMMISSIONERS THAT NEED TO LEAVE SOON.

I'M GOING TO PROPOSE THAT WE PAUSE ON DISCUSSION ITEMS NUMBER FIVE AND SIX, NOTING THAT WE WILL DISCUSSING THE CONVENTION CENTER NEXT, UH, MEETING DURING OUR MARCH MEETING.

[01:25:01]

UM, ALSO WE HAD A SPEAKER FROM THE, UM, FROM A ISD WANT TO COME AND SPEAK ABOUT, UH, VENUES.

UM, THIS WAS ALSO, UM, A MEETING WHERE WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS.

AND SO I'M GOING TO BE LOOKING OUT FOR SOMEONE TO SPEAK TO THAT.

APRIL IS GOING TO BE AROUND FILM AS WE PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED AT A DECEMBER, UH, WORKING MEETING.

UH, SO WITH THAT SAID, UM, I'M TRYING TO BE MINDFUL OF THE TIME.

UH, I'D LIKE TO MOVE ON TO DISCUSSION

[7. Update from the Short-Term Rental Working Group on any new reports regarding the STR’s new focus and efforts for recommendations.]

ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.

UH, A BRIEF UPDATE FROM THE SHORT TERM RENTAL WORKING GROUP.

AND WITH THAT I CALL COMMISSIONER CHAPEL TO DISCUSS ANY UPDATES.

THANK YOU, CHAIR RONAN.

UH, THE SHORT-TERM WORKING GROUP, OUR UPDATE AT THIS TIME IS WE, UH, I THINK OUR LAST UPDATE, WE TALKED ABOUT MEETING WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND KIND OF GIVING AN OVERVIEW, UM, TO HIM AND HIS TEAM AND OFFERING OUR TEAM SERVICES ON THE BACKSIDE FOR OPERATIONS.

UM, THERE WAS A RECENT, UH, UPDATE THAT HAS COME OUT FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, UM, EFFECTIVELY CHANGING THE CONVERSATION FROM LAND USE INTO KIND OF COMPLIANCE, MORE ADOPTION.

AND SO THE SHORT TEAM, SHORT TERM RENTAL WORKING GROUP WILL BE MEETING WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE ON FRIDAY TO KIND OF RECALIBRATE AND KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON NOW, UM, USING THE, THE PLAN AND KIND OF TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE OTHER AREAS IN TERMS OF, UH, INTAKE AND OPERATIONALLY.

BUT IT SEEMS TO BE KIND OF, OUR EFFORTS ARE PAYING OFF.

SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE, UM, ON THE TEAM, UM, UH, FOR YOUR WORK THERE.

IT WAS, UH, SO ALL LOOKING FORWARD TO UPDATE YOU ON NEXT STEPS AS COUNCIL.

OH, I THINK THE OTHER IMPORTANT THING IS THAT, UM, COUNCIL'S GONNA HAVE, I THINK A VOTE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH ON THE SHORT-TERM RENTALS, UM, LAYING DOWN THE GROUNDWORK, UH, THAT KIND OF THIS GROUP PROPOSED AND RECOMMENDED LAST YEAR.

SO KUDOS TO THE, THE BOARDS AT ALL AS ALL AT THE END.