Mammoth Lakes Tourism Board

Minutes of Regular Meeting

Wednesday, December 01, 2021 at 1:00 P.m. - 3:30 P.m.

437 Old Mammoth Road, Suite Z, Mammoth Lakes

Members Present:

• Chair Jeremy Goico,
• Vice Chair Pat Foster,
• Treasurer John Morris,
• Secretary Jess Karell,
• Board Member Eric Clark,
• Board Member John Mendel,
• Board Member Larry Crabb,
• and Board Member Deb Radcliff

Members Absent:

• Board Member Lynda Salcido

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1.

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Jeremy Goico called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 437 Old Mammoth Road. Members of the Board attended the meeting via videoconference. 

2.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS

Chair Jeremy Goico welcomed new Board Member Deb Radcliff to the Board. Chair Goico said that his sister had visited Mammoth last weekend and utilized one of the new flights on Advanced Airlines to fly from Mammoth to Hawthorne and was pleased with the experience. He reported that Thanksgiving week had been very busy and that he had received positive feedback from guests. Chair Goico thanked Mono County Public Health Deputy Director of Covid-19 Operations Jennifer Burrows for working with him to set up a vaccination drive at his business for both COVID boosters and flu shots for his employees and encouraged other employers to contact Ms. Burrows if interested in holding a vaccination clinic at their worksite. Chair Goico reported that his business had just had their best November since 2005 and said that winter was pacing well, the best since 2017. He said that he appreciated the Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Customer Service trainings last month and found them helpful for himself and his staff. 

Vice Chair Pat Foster said that it was great to have his team back together now that Advanced Airlines flights were utilizing the Mammoth Yosemite Airport. He reported that Woolly greeted the first Advanced Airlines flight and that he had received positive feedback from the passengers. Mr. Foster said that he was thankful for the partners that were involved in making it a success and that he looked forward to winter.

Secretary Jess Karell reported that Sierra Nevada Resort (SNR) and their restaurants had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Ms. Karell announced that this would be her last meeting on the MLT Board since she had accepted a job in the food industry which made her ineligible to hold a seat on the Board as a lodging representative. 

Board Member Deb Radcliffe said that she was happy to be appointed to the MLT Board. Ms. Radcliffe said that the Village was slammed all weekend, the Annual Tree Lighting Event was a success, and the overall sentiment was that the visitors were very happy.

Board Member Eric Clark welcomed Ms. Radcliffe to the Board. Mr. Clark reported that November had set a new record for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) in lodging, retail, and ski and said that McCoy's in the Village set a sales record on the Friday after Thanksgiving and then beat that record the next day. He said they hired three shuttle buses from Vons to help with transportation over the Thanksgiving Holiday and reported positive guest feedback. He said going forward it would be helpful to offer transportation via the Gondola to move people from the Mountain to the Village for the Annual Tree Lighting Event and spoke about efforts at this year's event to redirect traffic with the assistance of the Mammoth Lakes Police Department (MLPD) which helped with the congestion.

Board Member Larry Crabb welcomed Ms. Radcliffe to the Board and reported that his business had set a record on Thanksgiving weekend and said that it was a good start to the season. Mr. Crabb said that he looked forward to the new air service plans.

Board Member John Mendel reported that he was at Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) on Sunday and spoke with two passengers from separate flights who each reported positive experiences on their Advanced Airlines flights and said that he felt that it was first class service.

There was discussion among members of the Board.

3.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

The Sheet Writer Owen Page asked if MLT would be making any changes to their marketing approach due to the news of the Omicron variant.

Executive Director John Urdi discussed travel bans and said that there would be no change to marketing at this time.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi and members of the Board.

4.

CONSENT AGENDA

• Resolution:
  Moved by Treasurer John Morris
  Seconded by Board Member John Mendel

  Approve the Consent Agenda

  For (8)	Chair Jeremy Goico, Vice Chair Pat Foster, Treasurer John Morris, Secretary Jess Karell, Board Member Eric Clark, Board Member John Mendel, Board Member Larry Crabb, and Board Member Deb Radcliff
  Absent (1)	Board Member Lynda Salcido

  Carried (8 to 0)

4.1

Adopt Resolution 2021-03 to Allow for Virtual Board Meetings to Continue During the Covid-19 Pandemic Declared Emergency

4.2

Approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 3, 2021

5.

POLICY MATTERS

5.1

Welcome new MLT Board Member Deb Radcliff representing Restaurants

Chair Jeremy Goico introduced new Board Member Deb Radcliffe.

Ms. Radcliff discussed her background, spoke about MLT and said that she looked forward to being part of the group.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

5.2

Thank you to outgoing Board Member Jess Karell representing Lodging

Chair Jeremy Goico thanked Board Member Jess Karell for her service on the Board.

There was discussion among members of the Board.

5.3

Announcement of Board and Staff Ethics Training – Wednesday, January 19, 2022 - 9:00-11:00am

Chair Jeremy Goico discussed the upcoming Ethics Training.

Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML) Assistant Clerk Angela Plaisted provided additional details about the training and offered to email each member of the Board to let them know if they were required to attend the training this year and to send a link to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) website's Ethics Training Course for those that were unable to attend the training hosted by TOML.

There was discussion between Ms. Plaisted, Mr. Goico, and members of the Board.

5.4

Presentation on Fiscal Year 2020-21 Deliverables - Brief presentation by MLT staff to report out on Fiscal Year 2020-21 Deliverables and a brief update on the November 17, 2021 Town Council presentation, Fiscal Year 2020-21 Annual Report

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the Fiscal Year 2020/21 MLT Deliverables Report and discussed the MLT presentation which he and Marketing Director Brian Wright presented to the Town Council at their November 17th meeting.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi and members of the Board. 

5.5

Air Service Update - Update on air service start-up and booking pace for Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) and Eastern Sierra Regional Airport (BIH) including “First Flight” celebration at BIH on December 19, 2021

Executive Director John Urdi gave an update on air service at the Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) and the Eastern Sierra Regional Airport (BIH). Mr. Urdi spoke about the success of the first flights with Advanced Airlines and announced that the first flight celebration for BIH would be held on December 19th at 2:00 p.m.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi and members of the Board.

5.6

Financial Reports - Receive an update regarding the financial health of the Mammoth Lakes Tourism and the results of the previous month for Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) and current account balances.

Executive Director John Urdi outlined the information in the Financial Reports.

There was discussion between Mr. Urdi and members of the Board.

6.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

6.1

International Sales

Director Of Sales and International Marketing Michael Vanderhurst gave an update on international sales activities. Mr. Vanderhurst reported that he had attended a Brand USA conference in London in November and said that MLT had partnered with Alterra to host a "Welcome Winter/Mammoth is Open" Gala in Sydney, and said that he would attend a virtual conference next week with Brand USA which would focus on Asia and the Pacific. Mr. Vanderhurst gave an update on the Omicron variant and how it had already affected international travel and how it could possibly affect travel going forward.

There was discussion between staff and members of the Board.

6.2

Communications

Director of Communications Lara Kaylor gave an update on recent public relations activities. Ms. Kaylor reported that she had attended several media meetings in New York in November and announced that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Public Information Officer (PIO) Chris Smallcomb would be a guest speaker at this month's Community Coffee on December 9th. She said that she was working on a press release regarding airport transportation from Bishop to Mammoth and said that she had worked with TOML and Mammoth Lakes Recreation (MLR) on an application for the "What does Santa do after Christmas? He Goes Fishing!" Grant which if awarded to the Town would provide a $25,000 grant that would go toward the Tangle Free Waters program.

There was discussion between Ms. Kaylor and members of the Board.

6.3

Marketing

Director of Marketing Brian Wright gave an update on marketing events and activities. Mr. Wright reported that he attended meetings every two weeks with Destination Analysts for COVID updates and would have information after the next update with regard to how the Omicron variant would affect domestic travel. He said that the winter campaign had begun and encouraged local business owners to contact Local Marketing Manager Rebecca Davison with their mid-week or winter deals. He reported that while Social Media Coordinator Sarah Wallock was on a United Airlines (UA) flight recently, she noticed that there was a full-page ad about air service to Mammoth in the UA inflight magazine, Hemispheres. Mr. Wright announced that there would be an Advanced Airlines airplane with a Mammoth Air wrap on it by the time the Board meets again.

There was discussion between Mr. Wright and members of the Board.

6.4

Digital Marketing

Senior Content Marketing Manager Meghan Miranda gave an update on recent website activity and announced that Visit Mammoth's Industry website had recently been revamped and could be viewed at industry.visitmammoth.com.

There was discussion between Ms. Miranda and members of the Board.

6.5

Special Events

This item was taken out of order.

Special Events Manager Dakota Snider gave an update on recent special events activity. Mr. Snider reported that small events posters and brochures had come out right before Thanksgiving and said that larger posters would be available before Christmas. He discussed signage at the corner by Footloose Sports and said that he would meet with TOML Parks and Recreation Director Stuart Brown next week with regard to event funding for the fiscal Year 2021/22 season. Mr. Snider said that the Special Events Steering Committee met earlier today and that they would hold an event workshop on January 26th for all event producers in Mammoth. He said that the Events Association's meetings were held the first Wednesday of the month and that they would start quarterly mixers in the near future. Mr. Snider said that he would meet with Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) Director of Special Events Michelle Tomaier to formulate a plan to activate the Town as well as the Mountain during the Grand Prix in January.

There was discussion between Mr. Snider and members of the Board.

6.6

Local Marketing

Local Marketing Manager Rebecca Davison gave an update on recent marketing activity. Ms. Davison spoke about Visit Mammoth's Fly Local webpage and reported that the air service mailers had been sent out with discount codes for locals. Ms. Davison said that MLT was now successfully fielding all calls that came in as a result of the mailers, rather than using a call center as they had in the past. She reported that Air Service ads were being aired on KBIS, Sierra Wave and KMMT radio stations. Ms. Davison announced that there was a current Mammoth Gift Card Buy One Get One (BOGO) offer that offered a $25 gift card for every $100 gift card purchased through the end of the year.  

There was discussion between Ms. Davison and members of the Board.

6.7

Social Media

Social Media Coordinator Sarah Wallock gave an update on marketing events and activities. Ms. Wallock said that she had attended the first flight event at MMH last week and said that the event had generated positive feedback on Visit Mammoth's social media platforms.

There was discussion between Mr. Wright and members of the Board.

7.

OTHER STANDING UPDATES

7.1

Mammoth Resorts Update - Eric Clark 5 minutes

Board Member Eric Clark gave an update on Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) events and activities. Mr. Clark said that he had utilized the local's discount code recently to book a January flight to Denver. He said that MMSA's lodging reservations had already passed a December record. He said that they had lost Chair 5 due to the inability to make additional snow at this time and said that Chairs 10, 4 and 2 were still running along with a couple of others. He said that snow making temperatures were in the forecast which would help work toward opening Canyon Lodge. Mr. Clark announced that Early Ups for IKON passholders would return on December 5th and said that Night of Lights was scheduled to take place on December 18th and that rooftop tickets were available online. He said that MMSA President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ron Cohen was currently with representatives from Visit California in Washington, DC representing the Mountain and advocating for the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development (SHRED) Act, which if passed, would bring funding to the Forest Service in perpetuity.

There was discussion between Mr. Clark and members of the Board. 

7.2

Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Update - Jeremy Goico 5 minutes

Chair Jeremy Goico gave an update on recent Chamber events and activities. Chair Goico thanked MLT staff for their help with the Business Excellence Gala, MMSA for use of Canyon Lodge for the event, and congratulated Business of the Year winner Mammoth Hospital. He reported that last month's Customer Training was well attended and thanked Workshop Facilitator Jo Zulaica for leading the training.

There was discussion between Mr. Goico and members of the Board.

7.3

Town Council Update - Lynda Salcido 5 minutes

There was no Town Council report given.

8.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 3:02 p.m. to the next regular meeting scheduled to be held on January 5, 2022.