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November 20, 2019
<br /> Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors Meeting
<br /> October 16, 2019
<br /> The Chapel/Orange County Visitors Bureau met at
<br /> The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill -Carrboro, 104 S . Estes Dr. , Chapel Hill
<br /> Board Members Present : Pam Hemminger, David Brooks, Tanya Moore, Anthony Carey, Matthew Wilkins ( in Kayla' s
<br /> place ) , Mark Bell , Shannan Campbell, Sam Vadgama , Lydia Lavelle, Mark Sherburne, Tim Hoke, Spring Council,
<br /> Annette Stone, Matt Gladdek, Libbie Hough, Penny Rich, and Katie Murray .
<br /> Not Present : Jeff Strickler and Dixon Pitt ,
<br /> Staff Attendance : Laurie Paolicelli , Marlene Barbera , Tina Fuller, Leslie Wilcox
<br /> Also present : Clean, Inc . — Joanna Choma, Glen Felman, Zak Thompson, Stephanie Perri, and Niki Bell . Aaron Nelson,
<br /> The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill -Carrboro . Sarah Parris, Alliance for a Historic Hillsborough .
<br /> Call to Order
<br /> Chair Anthony Carey called the meeting to order at 8 : 11 .
<br /> Introductions were given by all .
<br /> Aaron Nelson welcomed everyone to The Chamber and gave an overview of The Chamber and discussed the Big Bold
<br /> Ideas program .
<br /> Approval of Minutes
<br /> Chair Carey requested a motion to approve the September 18, 2019 minutes . Shannan Campbell so moved and David
<br /> Brooks seconded the motion . With all members in favor, the minutes were approved as submitted .
<br /> Finance Report Executive/ Directors Report
<br /> Commissioner Rich reported we are in the second quarter of the budget and it is on target . 14 . 4% of occupancy tax
<br /> revenues, remembering we are two month ' s in arrears . In addition to tracking traditional lodging occupancy tax
<br /> revenues we are also tracking AirBnB occupancy tax revenues through AirDNA and those revenues are up . Supply was
<br /> 1, 994, which is 24 % over August . 10, 294 more unit nights were available for sale . Therefore, demand is high . August
<br /> seemed to be an okay month for lodging, a little down from last year but it does seem like the demand keeps coming .
<br /> Overall , we are looking good but the goal is to keep watch on the AirBnBs because percentage-wise they are growing
<br /> and growing, as the hotels are staying steady . We want to ensure we are collecting the occupancy tax from the AirBnBs .
<br /> Visitors Bureau is healthy . We spend a large portion of our budget on advertising and our new advertising agency is
<br /> Clean Design . If you have been watching our advertising campaign online and through social media , Clean Design is
<br /> doing a wonderful job .
<br /> Fund balance is a little high right now at about $ 300, 000 so we want to be sure to utilize that .
<br /> Tim Hoke inquired about Visitors Bureau relocation . Commissioner Rich explained that there is a business interested in
<br /> the building now occupied by the Visitors Bureau and that selling it would put the property, valued at about $ 5M , back
<br /> on the tax role which would be good for Orange County overall . Laurie Paolicelli explained the process for relocating
<br /> and that she is working with Orange County Asset Management to identify offices that meet the Visitors Bureau needs in
<br /> terms of size, space, and location and then Asset Management will move forward with evaluating, negotiating, and
<br /> eventual leasing of space . Laurie shared information on some spaces she has already visited and evaluated but stressed
<br /> it is still early in the process . She meets with the County Manager on Monday and hopes to have more details and offer
<br /> an in -depth report during our November board meeting .
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