|
For Approval February 19, 2020
<br /> Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors Meeting
<br /> January 15, 2020
<br /> The Chapel/Orange County Visitors Bureau met at
<br /> The Hampton Inn & Suites , 370 E . Main Street, Carrboro, NC 27510
<br /> Board Members Present : Pam Hemminger, Dixon Pitt, Tanya Moore, Anthony Carey, Kayla Dempsey, Sam Vadgama ,
<br /> Lydia Lavelle, Mark Sherburne, Tim Hoke, Annette Stone, Matt Gladdek, Penny Rich, and Jamezette Bedford .
<br /> Not Present : David Brooks, Mark Bell , Libbie Hough , Spring Council .
<br /> Staff Attendance : Steve Brantley, Laurie Paolicelli, Marlene Barbera, Leslie Wilcox
<br /> Also present : Clean , Inc . — Jessica Herrschaft, Zack Thompson , Jon Parker, and Hannah Beckner. Sarah Parris , Executive
<br /> Director, The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough . Randi Emerman , Founder & Executive Director, Film Fest 919 .
<br /> Guest : Alexa Nota , President, Chapel Hill Short -Term Rental Alliance .
<br /> Call to Order
<br /> Chair Anthony Carey called the meeting to order at 8 : 05 a . m .
<br /> Introductions were given by all .
<br /> Approval of Minutes
<br /> Chair Carey requested a motion to approve the November 20, 2019 minutes . Mark Sherburne so moved and Tim Hoke
<br /> seconded the motion . With all members in favor, the minutes were approved as submitted .
<br /> Finance Report Executive
<br /> Commissioner Rich gave a brief description of the financial report for new members . The source of Visitor Bureau
<br /> financial information is Gary Donaldson , Chief Financial Officer, Orange County Finance and Administration Department
<br /> and the Tax Administration Department of Orange County .
<br /> Our goal with the financial report is to give an overall view, sort of like at the 30, 000-foot level . We do not want to get
<br /> lost in the weeds and talk about every single dollar.
<br /> Penny reminded the board that occupancy tax revenues are two month ' s in arrears so today' s report is on November
<br /> occupancy taxes . Collections were $ 160, 000, up about $ 14, 000 from November 2018 representing a 9 . 55 % increase .
<br /> Almost $ 11, 000 ( $ 10, 948 . 55 ) was Airbnb occupancy tax collections . Total occupancy tax collected year -to - date through
<br /> November is roughly $ 760, 000 ( $ 758, 414 . 83 ) up $ 46, 807 from last year, which represents a 6 . 58% increase . Our largest
<br /> expenditures , as always, is advertising . We recently designed and published our new Visitors Guide and Neighborhood
<br /> Guide, which Laurie will discuss in her Executive Director' s report . We anticipate the budget will be uneventful over the
<br /> next couple of months if not the remainder of the fiscal year, which is a good thing . We do not expect any dip in
<br /> occupancy tax revenue and are on trend to stay steady . Mark Sherburne shared that the October/ November flip -flop
<br /> was due to this year' s game schedule resulting in a healthier November. Penny inquired on whether that was a good
<br /> thing and Mark responded that it can and can 't be depending on the weather which is iffier in November and having a
<br /> game during the Thanksgiving week isn ' t always a good thing.
<br /> In recent years, Laurie and Penny started focusing on the information from the Tax Office with the increase in short -
<br /> term rentals and realizing there was not a balance between occupancy and tax collections . Laurie and Penny met with
<br /> Nancy Freeman who, at the time was the Assistant Tax Collector . Laurie shared that we receive occupancy tax data from
<br /> not only the Orange County Tax Office but also the Town of Chapel Hill and through AirDNA, a service that provides
<br /> Airbnb data .
<br />
|