Lodgers Tax Committee

LODGERS TAX COMMITTEE MEETING 6/20/2018 11:00am City Council Chambers Meeting called by: Jennifer Lazarz, Tourism & Marketing Manager, jlazarz@gallupnm.gov Committee Members in Attendance: Cindy Tanner (chair), Steve Harper, Jeremy Boucher First order of business: Vote was held and unanimous remove Alexandra Griego from the Lodgers Tax Board. A motion was made to invite three General Managers/Owners to submit letters of interest to Jennifer Lazarz (addressed to the mayor) for his consideration and for the review of the committee. The recommended properties were Best Western, Springhill Suites, and Holiday Inn Express/Towneplace Suites (same owner). 9th Annual Youth Football Event: Jeremy Boucher asked Sammy to briefly clarify why he wanted an increase- it is to expand his marketing further in the four corners. Motion to vote by Cindy, second by Steve. Unanimous vote to approve at 15K 24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest: Committee commended Seth on the strength of enrollment for his current event given the conditions of the forest and the last month of unsure whether that could have canceled his event. Motion to vote by Cindy, seconded by Steve. They unanimously voted to award the event 10K again. Mario Estrada Softball Tournament: Discussion centered on whether or not promotional items help sell an event. They are thrilled that Sandra has recruited 50 teams and that is a huge thing for the sport in our community. The committee had a discussion on what to fund due to the short turn around between application and event. Jeremy Boucher recommended funding at $6,300 to cover the first place awards as well as the mvp and similar awards and the committee discussed what those awards would look like with Sandra from a branding standpoint. The committee then recommended Sandra meet with Jennifer in January of next year to help prepare her application earlier for the following year. Motion to award the amount made by Jeremy, second by Cindy Tanner, unanimous vote for recommendation of $6,300.00. FY 19 Marketing Plan: Jennifer discussed proposals for a marketing contractor and public relations contractor with the committee and the committee unanimously voted to support contracting a majority of the City’s print marketing services, digital media services, and public relations/press. CRM: Jennifer reviewed the features of the proposed Customer Relationship Management Software that would integrate the City Tourism office with the Visitors Center as well as manage the sales leads and consumer leads generated by conferences and publications throughout the year. The group was impressed and looking forward to the possibilities after such a roll out.