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For Approval November 16, 2016 MINUTES Chapel Hill /Orange County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors Meeting October 19, 2016 The Chapel Hill /Orange County Visitors Bureau met at Siena Hotel, Chapel Hill, NC Board Members Present: George Cianciolo, Penny Rich, Shannan Campbell, Andrew Strickland, Meg McGurk, Tim Hoke, Mark Bell, Lee Storrow, Lee Pavao, Jeffrey Strickler, Rosemary Waldorf- Chair, Nitin Khanna, Karen DeHart, Aaron Bachenheimer, Mark Sherburne Not Present: Annette Stone, Allison Nichols- Clapper, Michelle Johnson Staff attendance: Laurie Paolicelli, Marlene Barbera, Allison Chambers, Tina Fuller, Steve Brantley Also present: Aaron Nelson, Sarah DeGennaro, Roger Stancil, Rob Stern and Amanda Marinelli, Elizabeth Pascal, Steven Kelly, Beth Waters of Clean Design Call to Order Chair Rosemary Waldorf called the meeting to order at 8:10 am. Introductions were given by all. Followed by an update by Orange County Commissioner Penny Rich in regards to the Wegmans being built in Chapel Hill. It has been approved by both the Orange County Board of County Commissioners and the Chapel Hill Town Council. This will promote tourism both as another destination for travelers visiting the county as well as Epicureans: She expressed thanks to both Steve Brantley and Dwight Bassett for their economic development efforts as well as Chapel Hill town manager Roger Stancil. George Cianciolo shared that Wegmans is among the top five grocery chains in the U.S. Roger Stancil shared that this has been a historic effort by both the Town Council and the County Commission and has included the sharing of information with Wegmans about the importance of Epicurean endeavors by the town and local agriculture by the county. Approval of Minutes Chair Waldorf requested a motion to approve the September 21, 2016 minutes. Lee Pavao so moved and George Cianciolo seconded. With all members in favor, the minutes were approved as submitted. Chairs Report Chair Waldorf shared with the board that she and the Visitors Bureau staff organized a meeting with hotel General Managers on October 12. At that meeting she learned that there was some concern about rates going down and a little bite of softening in the market. Jay Patel, Mark Sherburne and Anthony Carey will work with Visitors Bureau staff to look at some numbers and share a micro view with our local elected officials of the tourism industry in Orange County as well as a micro view of what the tourism industry means to our overall economic development efforts. Laurie Paolicelli interjected that the catalyst for this is the interest we are seeing in hotel development wanting to come into the area. Existing properties want elected officials to have more information about how this development affects existing rates and demand. Mark Sherburne added that while October is normally the busiest month for hotels in the county, this month saw some properties offering "shoulder rates ", which is concerning. The Ashville, NC Visitors Bureau is currently studying this issue and their CEO will attend the January 2017 meeting of this board. When you look at what we are trying to accomplish with brand and tourism this is not a lot of dollars, since for example Garden and Gun costs $26,000 for a one page ad.