Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau Meeting

Board of Directors Meeting Wednesday, September 20, 2017 Legend’s Restaurant 1313 W. Lindsey St. Minutes Board Attendance: (P) Kyle Allison, City Council (A) Rex Amsler, Embassy Suites (P) Adrian Buendia, Restaurant Industry (P) Charles Diclemente, Marriot at NCED (P) Carol Dillingham, Cleveland Cty. (P) Jerry M. Hatter, Balfour of Norman (P) Mandy Haws, Attraction (P) Brenda Hall, City of Norman (A) Kevin Henry, OU Athletics (P) Randy Laffoon, SportsRadio 1400 (P) Alesha Leemaster, Norman Public Schools (P) Leesha Maag, Norman Arts Council (P) Scott Martin, Chamber of Commerce (P) William Murray, Montford Inn (A) Michael Palermo, Restaurant Industry (P) Paige Williams Shepherd, Chickasaw Nation (A) Andy Sherrer, Republic Bank (P) Jason Smith, NEDC (A) Juna Stovall, OU, CCE Call to Order Dillingham called the meeting to order at 11:36 a.m. Minutes Minutes from August were considered. Laffoon moves to approve, Murray seconds, the motion passes unanimously. Finance Report Haws goes over the financials from August. Highlights include re-assignment of website to a more appropriate line item. Operating cost down, mainly due to timing of PTO to reflect new policies. Murray moves to approve as presented, Laffoon seconds. Motion passes with no objections. Northpark Update Dillingham reports on the masterplan for the Northpark area which includes an Expo, Arena, and hotel. It also includes single and multifamily housing, senior housing, and a new interchange at Tecumseh. Smith says that this would help with the trouble that the city is having with retaining and attracting young people. Sales tax down, people want experiences. Allison says that that was his experience when he moved back to Norman, there was no ‘cool’ places to live. Schemm states that funding was not discussed, this was presented as a road map but TIF will be biggest point of discussion. Allison says that investment in projects like this helps other parts of community. Dillingham says that the inner-city project a lot of that is county owned property and the projects will happen with or without TIF. Murray says he would love to see local and unique to Norman businesses promoted in the new development and to avoid situations like the blighted area of Ed Noble Parkway. Smith says that the Ed Noble Parkway situation was due mostly to a disinterested owner who does not live here. Maag asks if it will have to be voted on? Schemm states that it was just a masterplan and VisitNorman is in favor of anything that brings visitors to town but we want to have input to make sure it is the best plan possible. AirBNB Update Schemm would like to thank Kyle Allison for getting AirBNB on City Councils radar. They represent the highest hotel rooms. Contact has been made with AirBNB but don’t know what that collection will look like, more importantly it will help to level the playing field. Annual Report Schemm reports that the draft copy is included in packet and that based on feedback will get that to city council. Highlights include the fact that the most rooms booked ever, were from this year! Servicing was down, but bigger group numbers, some of which can’t be controlled such as a final four appearances. Brickman needs changes by September 27th. STR Forecasting Schemm states that they provided a 5 year projection on where they see the market heading. A small increase over the near future followed by a 2% or so increase from 2020-2021. The demand in Norman is higher than anywhere else in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City will be adding about 2000 new rooms over the same time period. Sales Wagner reports that it was a productive August with 11 leads sent out, which represent a mix of leasds from membership and conferences. The AOPA Fly-in was a huge success which broke previous attendance records. Leisure Burgess-Cady reports that 1 travel show was attended in August, and 5 groups/conferences and 5 leisure groups were serviced as well as the annual hotel dispersal. Communications Brickman reported on the media blitz that took them to Tahlequah and Muskogee. Several big weekends were highlighted including the Opolis’ 15th Anniversary, Cleveland County Fail and AOPA in September and the upcoming October 21 weekend with Mix on Main, OK Wine Walk, National Weather Center Festival, and Silver Soiree. These weekends allow for giveaways in these markets to get people here. Press mentions are up due to quality placement. SEM/SEO buying words to get them to our site. Uber Eats is coming to Norman! Laffoon moves, Maag 2nds. Adjourned at 12:40 PM