Chair Pat Foster provided an update on the recent Business After Hours co-hosted by the Town and Hot Creek Aviation which was held at the Mammoth Yosemite Airport. Chair Foster announced that Treasurer John Morris was awarded the Mayor's Spirit of Mammoth Award, and reported that the new mayor, Chris Bubser, said she would like more updates from the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) . He suggested that members of the trade off attending Town Council meetings to provide updates. Chair Foster announced that his first grandchild had arrived.
Board Member Mary Beth Ericson reported that lodging lead time and occupancy were down mid-week, daily rates were coming down significantly, and more people were asking for discounts. Ms. Ericson said she hoped for more guidance from the Town with regard to implementation of the 2% Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) increase on bookings that are made after January 1st, 2025.
Board Member Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa joined the meeting at 1:35 p.m.
Vice President, Global Tourism Vanderhurst who also service as the Chair of the Town's Planning and Economic Development Commission (PEDC) reported that the Commission would hold a meeting on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. which would include information from Town staff regarding the timeline and process of the implementation of the 2% TOT increase.
Secretary John Mendel attended a Sierra Sourced meeting last week and discussed the goal of the program to bring together businesses from various industries across the east and the west side, and creating a directory of those businesses and finding a way to work together.
Board Member Cristi Quesada-Costa said her restaurant had been very busy over the Thanksgiving holiday, but had been slow since then.
There was discussion among members of the Board.