Winchester-Frederick County Tourism Board - 8:00 AM

AGENDA Winchester-Frederick County Tourism Board - 8:00 AM Meeting 8:00 AM - Thursday, July 16, 2026 Visitors Center - Video Room Page 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2.1. June 2026 Tourism Board Minutes 3. NOMINATIONS AND VOTE FOR CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR Roll call vote(s) required 4. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT 4.1. July 2026 Directors Report 3-5 5. COMMITTEE REPORTS 5.1. MEMBER NOMINATING COMMITTEE 5.2. MARKETING COMMITTEE -Read the Reviews social campaign (Teaser, Candy Hill, Richards Fruit Market launched) -Winchester Anthem and other songs -So Glad We Winchestered social and traditional media campaign -Itinerary build-outs and dedicated website page 5.3. PERSONNEL COMMITTEE 5.4. FINANCE COMMITTEE 6 Tourism Budget Summary July 2026 5.5. VIDEO FEATURETTE AD HOC COMMITTEE -Misty Mountain Meadworks completed and released -Byblos restaurant in final production -Paladin restaurant in pre-production 6. OLD BUSINESS 6.1. Destination Ambassador Training Relaunch Details 6.2. Tourism Master Plan Progress Update 6.3. "I Love My Town" Local Art Contest Car Wrap Update 7. NEW BUSINESS 7.1. Fiscal Agency Change Update and Process 7.2. Christmas in July Event to support Winchester Winter Village Page 1 of 6  7.3. Beer & Cider Trail Milestone and Refresh 8. CITY AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT LIAISON COMMENTS 9. PUBLIC COMMENTS 10. NEXT MEETING: Thursday, August 20th. **Please plan an extra hour for Clarity of Place Master Planning session following regular business** 11. ADJOURNMENT Page 2 of 6 Agenda Item #4.1. Executive Director’s Report Prepared for the July 16, 2026 Tourism Board Meeting Following is a summary of projects and activities partaken in by the staff of the Winchester-Frederick County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visitors Center. Significant Meetings • Assisting Delegate Oats’s office with planning for an agritourism-focused workshop on Aug 26th featuring Commissioner Charles Green of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services • Justin is serving on the 2026 VA-1 Tourism Conference planning committee and it met again. • Renee held another 2026 Hungry for History event planning meeting. • Staff continues to meet with car art wrap winner. Revision is underway by Renee. • Justin met with SU staff, discussions restarting about Feltner Building satellite visitor center and art gallery, possibly before Winter Village. • Justin attended a webinar about a new way to track unticketed event attendance. • Justin attended a meeting with Delegate Oats, VTC, Mayor Harbaugh, property owners and others about the Wayside Inn. • Justin met with Joe Veneto from the Veneto Collaboratory who is working on a project with the MSV. • Justin attended a Virginia Tourism Statewide Strategic Plan workshop for the Shenandoah Valley Region in Harrisonburg to learn the plan in detail, examine practical applications for the findings in our locality, and provide feedback to VTC for how we would like to see funding to support the findings and recommendations. • Staff attended a meeting regarding bringing an esports tournament to the area. VA250 Events and Update • Winchester-Frederick County VA250 Committee meets 1st Wednesday of the month at 10am in the upstairs SU conference room in Davis Hall (above the Visitor Center). • Upcoming July & August Events: July 19 2 -3 pm Presentation: Sarah Strother’s Story MSV July 25 5 -7 p.m. George Washington House of Burgesses Election, hosted by French and Indian War Foundation, Courthouse Square, Old Town Winchester July 30 Art Ability: Revolutionary Valley, 6 – 7 August 8 12 – 4 Trolley Tour of Daniel Morgan Sites in Clarke Co. and Winchester*($25 fee) August 8 [10-4 ] Open House Daniel Morgan Home 226 Amherst St. Free for WFCHS Society members, $10 for public August 21 2 -3 pm Gallery Talk: “Revolutionary Valley”, MSV August 23 2 -3 pm Gallery Talk: “Revolutionary Valley”, MSV August 28-September 7 Hungry for History Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum, Open Tues. – Sat., 9 am – 4pm, is exploring the connection of VA250 and the history of apples in our Valley. Enjoyed apple themed crafts in the art studio and take home an apple. August 31 10am Stonewall Jackson’s Headquarters Museum, “Celebrating the Centennial Around the Dining Room Table in Winchester, 1876” Knead bread will provide bitesize samples. Page 3 of 6 Agenda Item #4.1. Events • Christmas in July fundraiser for Winter Village on July 23 from 4:30-6:30p. • Destination Ambassador Training at Winchester Regional Airport Aug 25, 8:30am-12pm • Agritourism Summit at West Oaks Aug 26, 4:30-6:30pm • Hungry for History coming up Aug 28-Sept 7, 2026. Travel Writers – PR – Film Office • Working with Yes& on several influencer/creator trips Media Appearances • July Tourism Tuesday guest was owners of Gypsy Jane's Southern Food Lounge Community Outreach / Site Visits • Various site visits. Conferences and Out of Area Meetings • VADMO Board of Directors Retreat, July 16-17, Charlottesville, VA • PBA Annual Conference, June 22-25, Pocono Mountains, PA (Faye) • STS Connections Conference, Sept 9-11, Richmond, VA (Justin) • MATPRA Media Marketplace, Sept 22-24, Central Delaware (Faye, maybe Justin) • GNEMA Group Tour Marketplace, Sept 29-Oct 1, Atlantic City, NJ (Faye) • Sports ETA 4S Summit, Oct 12-14, Fort Worth, TX (maybe Faye) • VA-1 State Tourism Conference, Nov 18-20, Spotsylvania, VA (Justin, Faye, Renee) Regional Initiatives • Regional initiatives update o Shenandoah Valley Tourism Partnership (SVTP) – Plans and discussions are continuing with SVTA to merge the two organizations & rewrite bylaws. Statistics • June 20+626 vs. 2025 – Occupancy -1.7%, ADR +4.5%, RevPAR +2.8%, Revenues up 6.3% Weekly Occ (%) - Apr 18, 2026 to Jul 04, 2026 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 18-Apr 25-Apr 2-May 9-May 16-May 23-May 30-May 6-Jun 13-Jun 20-Jun 27-Jun 4-Jul This Year Last Year Page 4 of 6 Agenda Item #4.1. • Short Term Rentals (STR) Report from AirDNA (all properties Winchester & Frederick Co combined) June 2026 % change from 2025 Total Available STR Listings 173 +1.2% Occupancy 60% -5.8% Average Daily Rate (ADR) $153.32 +10.5% Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) $91.78 +4.1% Total Estimated Revenues $412.7k +1.2% Page 5 of 6  Agenda Item #5.4. Winchester-Frederick County CVB Budget Planning Sheet as of 7/14/2026 100% of budget year elapsed FY25 Approved FY25 YTD Variance FY26 Approved FY26 YTD Variance % of Budget Expenditures Total Personnel (salary & benefits) $ 336,400.00 $ 346,344.39 $ 9,944.39 $ 422,700.00 $ 410,912.29 $ (11,787.71) 97.21% Professional Services $ 77,000.00 $ 85,646.11 $ 8,646.11 $ 77,000.00 $ 50,344.21 $ (26,655.79) 65.38% Building Security $ 1,500.00 $ 2,629.80 $ 1,129.80 $ 1,500.00 $ 3,249.80 $ 1,749.80 216.65% Printing & Binding $ 30,000.00 $ 38,131.25 $ 8,131.25 $ 40,000.00 $ 32,233.08 $ (7,766.92) 80.58% Total Advertising $ 460,000.00 $ 342,800.81 $ (117,199.19) $ 351,900.00 $ 391,926.62 $ 40,026.62 111.37% Trolley & Fleet Vehicle $ 5,500.00 $ 5,768.27 $ 268.27 $ 45,500.00 $ 35,366.73 $ (10,133.27) 77.73% Communications (phone & internet) * $ 8,400.00 $ 8,689.65 $ 289.65 $ 8,400.00 $ 7,846.27 $ (553.73) 93.41% Building & Vehicle Insurance * $ 1,800.00 $ 1,691.73 $ (108.27) $ 1,800.00 $ 1,712.96 $ (87.04) 95.16% Total Leases & Rentals * $ 16,400.00 $ 21,149.88 $ 4,749.88 $ 16,400.00 $ 15,091.91 $ (1,308.09) 92.02% Training, Travel & Education $ 11,800.00 $ 14,089.00 $ 2,289.00 $ 11,800.00 $ 9,591.71 $ (2,208.29) 81.29% Dues Memberships & Misc (Incl Grant) $ 4,000.00 $ 5,712.82 $ 1,712.82 $ 5,000.00 $ 56,867.72 $ 51,867.72 1137.35% Merchandise for Resale $ 25,000.00 $ 20,720.19 $ (4,279.81) $ 25,000.00 $ 24,350.77 $ (649.23) 97.40% Total Materials & Supplies $ 13,200.00 $ 15,292.86 $ 2,092.86 $ 23,000.00 $ 10,170.81 $ (12,829.19) 44.22% Total Expenses $ 991,000.00 $ 908,666.76 $ (82,333.24) $ 1,030,000.00 $1,049,664.88 $ (19,664.88) 101.91% Revenues Interest Earnings * $ 1,027.00 $ 7,519.02 $ 6,492.02 $ 1,027.00 $ 5,434.45 $ 4,407.45 529.16% Special Events (ad sales/trolley) $ 28,000.00 $ 20,895.00 $ (7,105.00) $ 28,000.00 $ 23,116.13 $ (4,883.87) 82.56% Gift Shop Sales $ 33,000.00 $ 29,888.18 $ (3,111.82) $ 33,000.00 $ 36,072.80 $ 3,072.80 109.31% Frederick County Contribution $ 606,473.00 $ 569,983.99 $ (36,489.01) $ 593,451.00 $ 593,451.00 $ - 100.00% Miscellaneous $ 5,000.00 $ 5,096.38 $ 96.38 $ 5,000.00 $ - $ (5,000.00) 0.00% City Contribution $ 317,500.00 $ 317,500.00 $ - $ 356,500.00 $ 317,500.00 $ - 89.06% Recovered Costs (grants) $ - $ 65,392.51 $ 65,392.51 $ - $ 10,000.00 $ 10,000.00 - Total Revenues $ 991,000.00 $1,016,275.08 $ 25,275.08 $ 1,016,978.00 $ 985,574.38 $ 7,596.38 96.91% Revenue vs Expenditures Variance $ - $ 107,608.32 $ 107,608.32 $ (13,022.00) $ (64,090.50) Reserve Fund Balance $ 227,655.44 $ 619,182.96 Page 6 of 6 -> NOTES