HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET Town Board Special Meeting 2020-12-03The Mission of the Town of Estes Park is to provide high-quality, reliable services
for the benefit of our citizens, guests, and employees, while being good stewards
of public resources and our natural setting.
The Town of Estes Park will make reasonable accommodations for access to Town services,
programs, and activities and special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities.
Please call (970) 577-4777. TDD available.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES - TOWN OF ESTES PARK
SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING - TO BE HELD VIRTUALLY
Thursday, December 3, 2020
12:00 p.m.
Board Room – 170 MacGregor Avenue
Estes Park, CO 80517
The Town Board of Trustees will participate in the meeting remotely due to the Declaration of
Emergency signed by Town Administrator Machalek on March 19, 2020 related to COVID-19 and
provided for with the adoption of Ordinance 04-20 on March 18, 2020. Procedures for quasi-judicial
virtual public hearings are established through Emergency Rule 06-20 signed by Town Administrator
Machalek on May 8, 2020 and outlined below.
ADVANCED PUBLIC COMMENT
Options for the Public to Provide Public Input:
1. By Public Comment Form: Members of the public may provide written public comment on a
specific agenda item by completing the Public Comment form found at
https://dms.estes.org/forms/TownBoardPublicComment. The form must be submitted by 12:00 p.m.,
Thursday, December 3, 2020. All comments will be provided to the Board for consideration during the
agenda item and added to the final packet.
2. By Telephone Message: Members of the public may provide public comment or comment on a
specific agenda item by calling (970) 577-4777. The calls must be received by 12:00 p.m., Thursday,
December 3, 2020. All calls will be transcribed and provided to the Board for consideration during the
agenda item and added to the final packet.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DURING BOARD MEETING
Options for participation in the meeting will be available by call-in telephone option or online via Zoom
Webinar which will be moderated by the Town Clerk’s Office.
CALL-IN (TELEPHONE OPTION):
Dial public participation phone number, 833-548-0276 (toll-free)
Enter the Meeting ID: 982 1690 2040 followed by the pound sign (#). The meeting will be
available beginning at 11:30 a.m. the day of the meeting. Please call into the meeting prior to
12:00 p.m., if possible. You can also find this information for participating by phone on the
website at www.estes.org/boardsandmeetings by clicking on “Virtual Town Board Meeting
Participation”.
Request to Speak: For public comment, the Mayor will ask attendees to indicate if they
would like to speak – phone participants will need to press *9 to “raise hand”. Staff will be
moderating the Zoom session to ensure all participants have an opportunity to address the
Board.
Once you are announced by phone:
State your name and address for the record.
DO NOT watch/stream the meeting at the same time due to streaming delay and
possible audio interference.
Prepared 12-01-2020
*Revised
NOTE: The Town Board reserves the right to consider other appropriate items not available at the time the agenda was
prepared.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (ONLINE):
Individuals who wish to address the Board via virtual public participation can do so through
Zoom Webinar at https://zoom.us/j/98216902040 – Zoom Webinar ID: 982-1690-2040. The
Zoom Webinar link and instructions are also available at www.estes.org/boardsandmeetings
by clicking on “Virtual Town Board Meeting Participation”. Individuals participating in the
Zoom session should also watch the meeting through that site, and not via the website, due
to the streaming delay and possible audio interference.
Start Time: The Zoom Webinar will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m. on the day of the
meeting. Participants wanting to ensure their equipment setup is working should join prior to
the start of the meeting at 12:00 p.m.
Request to Speak: For public comments, the Mayor will ask attendees to click the “Raise
Hand” button to indicate you would like to speak at that time. Staff will moderate the Zoom
session to ensure all participants have an opportunity to address the Board.
You will experience a short delay prior to re-connecting with the ability to speak.
State your name and address for the record.
In order to participate, you must:
Have an internet-enabled smartphone, laptop or computer.
o Using earphones with a microphone will greatly improve your audio experience.
Join the Zoom Webinar.
o The link can be found above.
Click “Participate Virtually in the Regular Town Board Meeting of the Board of
Trustees”.
DO NOT watch/stream the meeting via the website at the same time due to delays and
possible feedback issues.
WATCH THE MEETING:
The Town Board meetings will be livestreamed at www.estes.org/videos and will be posted within 48
hours of the meeting at the same location.
Documents to Share: If individuals wish to present a document or presentation to the
Board, material must be emailed by Wednesday, December 2, 2020 by 8:00 a.m. to the Town
Clerk’s office at townclerk@estes.org.
Quasi-Judicial Proceedings
(Quasi-Judicial items will be marked as such)
Written Testimony
Must be submitted by mail to Town Clerk, PO Box 1200, Estes Park, CO 80517 or by
completing the Public Comment form at
https://dms.estes.org/forms/TownBoardPublicComment.
Members of the public may provide public comment or comment on a specific agenda item by
calling (970) 577-4777. All calls must be received by 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 2,
2020. Due to the holiday please leave a voicemail and your comment will be transcribed. All
comments received will be provided to the Board and included in the final packet material.
Oral Testimony
To ensure your ability to provide comments during the meeting, you must register by emailing
townclerk@estes.org or calling (970) 577-4777 by Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at 5:00
p.m.
During the meeting, any individual who did not register to speak on a quasi-judicial item may
join public participation by following either the Call-In or Online option previously mentioned.
Individuals who do not register prior to the meeting risk being unable to testify due to
administrative/technical difficulty during the meeting.
Written presentation materials or exhibits must be delivered to townclerk@estes.org by 8:00
a.m. Wednesday, December 2, 2020 in order to be presented during the meeting. No other
written presentations or exhibits will be accepted during oral testimony by any member of the
public.
Packet Material
The packet material can be accessed through the following link: Town Board Packet or under
the Town Board section at www.estes.org/boardsandmeetings or you may request a paper
packet by emailing townclerk@estes.org or calling (970) 577-4777.
AGENDA
BOARD OF TRUSTEES – TOWN OF ESTES PARK
TO BE HELD VIRTUALLY
ACTION ITEMS:
1. 2021 VISIT ESTES PARK (VEP) OPERATING PLAN AMENDMENT. Town
Administrator Machalek.
To consider the 2021 VEP Operating Plan as amended by the Larimer County
Commissioners.
ADJOURN.
Prepared 11-27-2020
*Revised
Page 4
2021 Visit Estes ParkOPERATING PLAN
Page 5
Mission Vision
We drive sustainable
year-round economic
growth by encouraging
visitor demand.
To offer positive and
memorable experiences
for guests and quality of
life for our community.
2021 Visit Estes Park OPERATING PLAN
The Visit Estes Park Local Marketing District, DBA Visit Estes Park (VEP) is a Destination Marketing
Organization (DMO) and lodging tax district. Following is the 2021 operating plan for use of lodging tax
dollars collected for this statutory district.
Within it readers will find:
• Key ideas that were foundational to the creation of this operating plan and are a driving force of the
VEP mission and vision
• Audiences and goals
• Colorado Tourism Office data and research supporting VEP’s goals
• A high-level outline of VEP goals, objectives and metrics used to measure success
• An overview of the expected variance between 2020 and 2021 budgets
• A letter from the CEO
• The 2021 budget
The plan reflects careful consideration of the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will
have, on demand and budget in the coming year, as well as our vision to positively affect the quality of
life for our community through our execution of it.
Executive Summary
1 Page 6
2021 Visit Estes Park OPERATING PLAN
Key ideas, audiences and goals
Colorado’s
Original
Playground
Sustainable
Tourism
High Quality
Guests
Target
Leisure
Audiences
2021
Organizational
Goals
Our tagline. It reflects the fact that the Estes Valley was founded on
leisure, recreation and adventure travel, and evokes the feeling that the
best of Colorado exists – in its purest form – in Estes Park.
We seek to inform and educate visitors and potential guests on the
Colorado Tourism Office’s Leave No Trace principles so they can join the
Estes Park community in preserving the forests that surround us for future
generations, and contribute to the sustainability of our community.
We strive to attract high-quality guests; this is not a “come one, come
all” approach. Our strategy encourages guests to stay longer and
spend more, while our content educates them on all Estes Park has to
offer in order to spread visitation throughout the area and throughout
the year.
These guests will make greater contributions to the economic vitality
of our town, positively affecting the quality of life of our community.
• Families with children learning remotely
• Outdoorsy urbanites
• Professionals working remotely,
looking for safe extended stays
• Empty nesters looking for a safe
heritage destination
• Colorado and feeder market states
that represent major drive markets
1. Create a stronger year-round leisure market
2. Improve group marketing
3. Support stakeholder and community engagement
4. Promote the Estes Park “experience” and our safe
destination in national markets
2 Page 7
Visit Estes ParkBoard of Directors3 Page 8
According to the CTO
The Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) suggests that aligning with a more adventure-seeking, outdoor-loving
audience is where real long-term growth potential lies. We agree, the outdoor recreation industry is a
powerful force in the overall U.S. economy, with consumers spending $887 billion annually on outdoor
recreation and creating 7.6 million American jobs. Outdoor recreation is included in the top reasons
folks visit Estes Park.
In 2019, Colorado welcomed a combined total of 86.9 million overnight and day
visitors, up 2 percent from 2018. These included a record 39.0 million overnight
visitors, up 3 percent from 37.8 million in 2018.
In 2019, Colorado’s discretionary leisure traveler spent an average of $516 per
person per trip, compared with $372 nationally.
The average length of a Colorado vacation trip fell from 5.0 nights in 2018 to 4.8
nights in 2019, still well above the typical U.S. leisure trip of 3.8 nights. Travel
spending also directly supported a record-high 181,200 jobs, up 3.1 percent from
2018 and well above the national average increase of 1.1 percent.
Colorado travelers spent $4.996 billion last year on lodging, generating $574.8
million in state and local taxes, up 9.2 percent from 2018. For 2020, however,
Oxford Economics currently projects that Colorado lodging taxes will decline by
$253 million.
The biggest challenge for tourism by far will be overcoming fear of coronavirus. The
latest wave of U.S. Travel research with MMGY Global shows that COVID-related
fears outstrip every other consideration for travel, including concerns about
personal finances.
“COLORADO SETS VISITOR SPENDING RECORD IN 2019, BUT CHALLENGES AHEAD”
“The key to this recovery is
clear, but far from simple:
restoring consumer confidence
and making it safe to travel.”
- Cathy Ritter, Director of CTO
4 Page 9
Goal #1
Goal #4
Create a stronger year-round leisure market
Promote the Estes Park “experience” and our safe destination in national markets
All to: Continue the evolution of local storytelling, building on brand success, being flexible with
budget to respond to major external pressures, as we recover from the impacts of Covid-19
How we will measure success: total search impressions, organic sessions, paid clicks, time on site, website
users, booking referrals, book direct data, public relations data
Supported by a dedicated marketing team of three people
Create stronger leisure market visitor demand through innovative year-round marketing programs
Dedicate more resources to video for storytelling on VEP website and social media channels
Target overnight stay, drive market travelers and balance demand with marketing to improve and maximize ROI
Utilize social media platforms and influencers to communicate memorable Estes Park experiences
Leverage marketing budget with collaborative opportunities where they are in alignment with VEP marketing
Continue our trend into a digital-centric plan with a hyper-analytic approach to ROI
Content partnerships: target meaningful, national media outlets to create custom editorial to support
key messaging.
Elevate our own brand approach: be our own media house regarding production where possible
Work with CTO to leverage available grant programs to extend marketing reach to key national markets
Reinforce the Estes Park brand and build upon successes in community brand development
Support marketing and promotion of local events that help to build overnight demand to the Estes Park local
marketing district
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
Marketing Program Overview
A
B
C
D
E
Group Sales & Marketing Program
Goal #2 Improve group marketing
Supported by one fulltime and one part-time staff member
Improve RFP process to generate high-quality leads, in order to increase room nights and revenue
Continue stakeholder group sales committee to build optimum group tradeshow and outreach efforts
Adjust group marketing budget for 2021 and target the most effective audiences for the maximum ROI
Develop new marketing materials dedicated to support group sales efforts (printed and digital)
Adjust trade show schedule, continue to improve RFPs, target key group markets for Estes Park
Track room nights generated and continue to build group database for future bookings
F
G
How we will measure success: number of total leads generated, number of total rooms generated,
economic value of group bookings, lead prediction (off season vs. prime demand periods).
5 Page 10
How we’ll measure success: generated advertising revenues to enhance marketing capabilities aligning with
2021 budget, listing click-throughs by account, listing views by account, total referrals by account, total
number of stakeholders whose digital presence improved.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Stakeholder Services Program
Goal #3 Support stakeholder and community engagement
2.75 staff dedicated to support stakeholder services, our local business community
Continue improvement and training for stakeholder businesses to take advantage of VEP marketing
opportunities, including free programs that support local tourism businesses
Improve advertising sales programs: VEP Official Visitors Guide, digital advertising and other programs
Improve effectiveness for all stakeholders in their free Google business listings and Google
travel pages
Support local business marketing by returning to brochure distribution as the Visitor Center returns
Provide added perceived value for stakeholders in their marketing by working with Visit Estes Park
Communicate marketing and advertising opportunities effectively to stakeholders
How we’ll measure success: survey the community for VEP tourism support and sentiment, measure engagements
with stakeholders and community members, continue to collaborate with local partners, attend community
and business group meetings, support local government and boards, be an integrated and valued part of the
community, communicate effectively the local stories that positively impact the community and reinforce the value
of tourism marketing.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Community Engagement Program
Goal #3 Support stakeholder and community engagement
Community outreach needs to be supported by the board, CEO and staff
Communicate effective marketing program impacts and collaborative opportunities that support the
community and helps us to compete in the tourism market
Actively engage with the local community and foster an environment of cooperation and sharing of ideas
and focus upon being effectively transparent to the community
The community must be and feel safe and understand the effective working relationship that VEP has
with our partners as we support the community and the tourism market
Continue to develop and reinforce Estes Park’s brand and support brand engagement in the
community
Efforts to support and reinforce positive engagement with visitors should be done in a
responsible, safe and memorable way that reinforces positive experiences
Address the need for destination marketing in Estes Park for the benefit and well-being of
every person
Work with community members including the Chamber, EDC, Town, County, Rocky Mountain
National Park and other organizations to improve the quality of life to benefit our community
and visitors
6 Page 11
Budget Variance Overview
Primary Income Variances
District Tax Fund Income
Visitor Guide Sales - Stakeholders
Other Ad Sales - Stakeholders
The following is an overview of budget variances looking at 2020 “projected/actuals” compared to the
2021 budget. As directed by the board of directors, VEP will fulfill its responsibility of driving tourism to
the local marketing district and rebuild reserves depleted during the pandemic over the next three years.
The full 2021 budget follows.
The VEP Board recommended a conservative approach to budgeting for 2021 due to decreased lodging
tax income in 2020 and substantial concern about future demand and the potential for Covid-19 impacts
to carry over into visitor demand in 2021.
VEP staff reviewed actual and projected revenues through 2020 and believes that the 2021 budget
numbers are reasonable and likely to be accurate if there is not another major impact to the economy. We
do not anticipate a full recovery in 2021 and therefore have forecast lower lodging revenues as compared
with past year’s actuals – 2018 and 2019 were about $300,000 higher.
The District and Board made the decision to not produce a new Visitor’s Guide for 2020 and therefore
will show $0 as revenue for 2020. For 2021 we are anticipating softer sales for the Official Visitor’s
Guide and this line item reflects that.
We expect business recovery to impact “other” ad sales so are taking a conservative approach to the
total “other” advertising sales revenue we expect for 2021. The budget for 2020 was $602,000 and this
budget would be $152,000 less than a normal year budget.
2020 Projected/Actuals
2020 Projected/Actuals
2020 Projected/Actuals
$1,496,201
$0 (Timing)
$383,634
$2,050,000
$180,000
$450,000
$553,799
$180,000
$66,366
2021 Budget
2021 Budget
2021 Budget
Variance
Variance
Variance
7 Page 12
Primary Expense Variances
Personnel
Marketing & Operations
Group Marketing
Official Visitors Guide
The personnel budget was reduced in early 2020 and will continue to be held at a reduced level
throughout 2021; three open positions will not be filled in this time. Staff collaborated to find efficiencies
and personnel were willing to make adjustments to their job descriptions and take on more work, which
will allow us to operate effectively. There is no plan to fill any further positions at Visit Estes Park into the
future at this time and certainly not until we have fully recovered our reserves through 2023. The
reduction in 2020 for total labor compared to budget was ($132,000).
Marketing and operations considers the high level view of combined expense line items, including all
marketing, and is intended as an overall look at expenses. The budget for 2020 was $2,172,500 and
due to Covid-19 staff substantially reduced expenses to $1,396,375 for a reduction from 2020 budget
of ($776,125). This was necessary due to much lower than normal lodging tax revenues.
The group marketing budget will be reduced as a result of continued lower than normal anticipated
demand for 2021. The focus will be on social markets, which represents our highest demand sector and
remains the strongest market sector for 2020 and 2021. The budget for 2020 was $110,000 and has
been reduced compared with 2020 budget by ($61,000).
The Estes Park Official Visitors Guide will be published through a new vendor and will be distributed by
the vendor in 2021. The guide will be published based on a new production model for responding to
demand levels rather than annual dates, and printed based on demand to avoid waste and improve
distribution costs. No guide was produced in 2020 but distribution costs remained.
$1,081,000
$1,396,375
$55,000
$140,000
$1,100,000
$1,415,000
$49,000
$200,000
$19,000
$18,625
($6,000)
$60,000
2020 Projected/Actuals
2020 Projected/Actuals
2020 Projected/Actuals
2020 Projected/Actuals
2021 Budget
2021 Budget
2021 Budget
2021 Budget
Variance
Variance
Variance
Variance
8 Page 13
Other Expenses
Rent & Utilities
Additional reductions in expenses have been made in many other line items of the budget to achieve full recov-
ery of reserves by the end of 2023 as are shown in the full budget. A conservative approach to total income was
forecast to be as realistic as possible. We believe this is a prudent and reasonable way to forecast the upcoming
year’s budget based on historical results and taking into account the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the
likely business recovery in 2021.
Rent and utilities were completely revamped during 2020 with a new office location for Visit Estes Park and far
improved rental conditions. The workplace is also an improvement for staff, making it more convenient for team-
work combined with privacy. The new office location is $39,000 less expensive than our previous location which
will translate into annual savings for many years to come.
Dear Partners,
I would like to take a moment to thank the Visit Estes Park (VEP) team and Board of Directors for assisting in the
creation of the 2021 operating plan as they all contributed and considered how best to approach this plan. Thank
you also to our partners in the community and to our local government teams for their ongoing and generous
support. Our entire board and team are dedicated and committed to the success of everyone in the local
marketing district in 2021.
We believe this is a responsible and carefully thought out budget and operating plan that represents a
commonsense approach to marketing Estes Park and will help to support our business community and assist our
businesses in recovery in 2021.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2021 budget forecasts and operations were carefully considered. Supporting our
local businesses will be our first and foremost concern, but with the objective to build back VEP reserves during
the next two to three years.
2020 year-end net results are likely to be a loss of ($565,227) therefore, we have built a budget designed to
replenish reserves in 2021 by $210,000 through reduction of expenses and realizing increased revenues, with the
goal of reserves being balanced by 2023.
Eric Lund President/CEO Visit Estes Park
$75,000 $36,000 ($39,000)
2020 Projected/Actuals 2021 Budget Variance
This is a challenge the VEP team has worked carefully to address and represents the true
commitment of everyone on the team to reduce costs, while also keeping in mind our
mission.
With the help and support of our partner agencies, local government and organizations,
and local businesses we will help to grow a healthy and sustainable year-round economy to
positively affect the quality of life of our community.
We are all in this together, and we look forward to working collaboratively to see an
improved 2021.
From the CEO
9 Page 14
2021
Budget
Page 15
Eric budget request - 9-7-20 Income
11
2020 Budget 2020 COVID adjustments 2020 Variance 2021 tentative budget 2020 COVID vs. 2021 Budget
Revenues
District Lodging Tax $2,472,000.00 $1,496,200.75 -$975,799.25 $2,050,000.00 $553,799.25
Non-Tax Revenue: Official Visitor Guide $280,000.00 -$280,000.00 $180,000.00 $180,000.00
Non-Tax Revenue: Stakeholder Services $602,000.00 $383,634.21 -$218,365.79 $450,000.00 $66,365.79
Subtotal Non-Tax Revenue $882,000.00 $1,879,834.96 $997,834.96 $2,680,000.00 $800,165.04
Town of Estes park Marketing Investment
Larimer County Marketing Investment
Larimer County Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILT)$5,412.66 $5,412.66 $0.00 $0.00 -$5,412.66
Subtotal Alternative Funding Sources $5,412.66 $5,412.66 $0.00 $0.00 -$5,412.66
Grants & Awards $25,000.00 $25,000.00 $0.00 $40,000.00 $15,000.00
Other Income $1,900.00 $1,900.00 $0.00 $5,000.00 $3,100.00
Total Revenues $3,386,312.66 $1,912,147.62 -$1,474,165.04 $2,725,000.00 $812,852.38
Expenses
Personnel Services $1,213,000.00 $1,081,000.00 -$132,000.00 $1,100,000.00 $19,000.00
Marketing & Operations $2,172,500.00 $1,396,375.00 -$776,125.00 $1,375,000.00 -$21,375.00
Grants & Awards $25,000.00 $25,000.00 $0.00 $40,000.00 $15,000.00
Total Expenses $3,385,500.00 $2,477,375.00 -$908,125.00 $2,515,000.00 $37,625.00
Excess (Deficiency) of Revenues Over Expenses $812.66 -$565,227.38 $210,000.00
Increase (Decrease) in Fund Balance $812.66 -$565,227.38 $210,000.00
Beginning Fund Balance (does not include reserves)$680,200.63 $680,200.63 $114,973.25
Ending Fund Balance*$681,013.29 $114,973.25 $199,973.25 *increase in fund balance minus the
$125,000 proposed to partially replenish reserves.
Restrictions
Stragetic Reserve $800,000.00 $550,000.00 $675,000.00
TABOR Reserve: 3% of Expenses $101,565.00 $101,565.00 $97,431.00
Total ending cash assets $1,582,578.29 $766,538.25 $972,404.25
Page 16
Eric budget request - 9-7-20 expenses
12
2020 budget 2020 COVID Adjusted 2020 Variance 2021 budget 2020 COVID vs. 2021 Budget
Personnel Services ($ 1,213,000.00)$1,081,000.00 ($ (132,000.00) ($ 1,100,000.00)($19,000.00)
($ -)($-)
Marketing & Operations ($ -)($-)
Special Advertising & Marketing - Grants ($ 25,000.00) $25,000.00 ($ -)($ 40,000.00) ($15,000.00)
Search Engine Optimization ($ 24,000.00) $24,000.00 ($ -)($ 12,000.00) ($(12,000.00)
Media Placement - Regional ($ 300,000.00) $175,000.00 ($ (125,000.00) ($ 275,000.00) ($100,000.00)
Medial Placement - Digital and Social ($ 590,000.00) $375,000.00 ($ (215,000.00) ($ 259,000.00) ($(116,000.00)
Media Planning & Buying ($ 100,000.00) $65,000.00 ($ (35,000.00) ($ 60,000.00) ($(5,000.00)
Creative Assets - Outside Fees ($ 5,000.00) $0.00 ($ (5,000.00) ($ 5,000.00) ($5,000.00)
Creative Assets- Agency Fees ($ 5,000.00) $0.00 ($ (5,000.00) ($ 1,000.00) ($1,000.00)
Creative Expenses $ - $ -
Agency Planning and Management ($ 140,000.00) $99,000.00 ($ (41,000.00) ($ 100,000.00) ($1,000.00)
Advertising Contingency $ - $ -
Group Sales & Group Marketing ($ 110,000.00) $55,000.00 ($ (55,000.00) ($ 49,000.00) ($(6,000.00)
International Promotion ($ 14,500.00) $500.00 ($ (14,000.00) $ -
Research ($ 50,000.00) $30,000.00 ($ (20,000.00) ($ 12,000.00) ($(18,000.00)
Destination Product Development ($ -)($-)
Website ($ 65,000.00) $85,000.00 ($ 20,000.00) ($ 80,000.00) ($(5,000.00)
Brand Strategy $ - $0.00 $ -
Trade Shows $ - $0.00 $ -
Economic Development ($ 17,500.00) $17,500.00 ($ -)($ 10,000.00) ($(7,500.00)
Audit ($ 19,000.00) $11,000.00 ($ (8,000.00) ($ 13,500.00) ($2,500.00)
Bookkeeping ($ 2,500.00) $4,500.00 ($ 2,000.00) ($ 4,000.00) ($(500.00)
Contingencies - General Operations ($ 2,500.00) $0.00 ($ (2,500.00) ($ 2,500.00) ($2,500.00)
Payroll Processing & Human Resources ($ 4,500.00) $375.00 ($ (4,125.00) ($ 4,500.00) ($4,125.00)
Legal ($ 20,000.00) $5,000.00 ($ (15,000.00) ($ 10,000.00) ($5,000.00)
Office Supplies, Postage, Printing ($ 22,000.00) $22,000.00 ($ -)($ 25,000.00) ($3,000.00)
Office Equipment & Software ($ 25,000.00) $15,000.00 ($ (10,000.00) ($ 20,000.00) ($5,000.00)
Rent & Utilities ($ 75,000.00) $75,000.00 ($ -)($ 36,000.00) ($(39,000.00)
Insurance ($ 15,000.00) $15,000.00 ($ -)($ 16,000.00) ($1,000.00)
Cell Phone & Mileage ($ 11,000.00) $6,000.00 ($ (5,000.00) ($ 9,000.00) ($3,000.00)
Page 17
Eric budget request - 9-7-20 expenses
13
Education & Conferences ($ 49,000.00) $7,000.00 ($ (42,000.00) ($ 20,000.00) ($13,000.00)
Information Technology Support ($ 2,000.00) $2,000.00 ($ -)($ 2,000.00) ($-)
Meals & Incidentals ($ 9,000.00) $2,500.00 ($ (6,500.00) ($ 5,500.00) ($3,000.00)
Memberships ($ 18,000.00) $6,000.00 ($ (12,000.00) ($ 10,000.00) ($4,000.00)
Media Familiarization Tours ($ 64,000.00) $15,000.00 ($ (49,000.00) ($ 20,000.00) ($5,000.00)
Public Relations Firm ($ 80,000.00) $80,000.00 ($ -)($ 80,000.00) ($-)
Public Relations Promotions ($ 18,000.00) $18,000.00 ($ -)($ 10,000.00) ($(8,000.00)
eMail Marketing ($ 9,000.00) $9,000.00 ($ -)($ 9,000.00) ($-)
Social Media ($ 7,500.00) $7,500.00 ($ -)($ 5,000.00) ($(2,500.00)
Stakeholder Communications ($ 10,000.00) $4,500.00 ($ (5,500.00) ($ 10,000.00) ($5,500.00)
Marketing Data & Analytics Platform $ - $ -
Official Visitor Guide ($ 261,000.00) $140,000.00 ($ (121,000.00) ($ 200,000.00) ($60,000.00)
Total Marketing & Operations Expense $1,396,375.00 ($ 1,415,000.00)($18,625.00)
Grand Total $2,477,375.00 ($ 2,515,000.00)($37,625.00)
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@VisitEstesPark VisitEstesPark.com/Transparency
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COVID-19 + Travel to Estes Park:
VEP staff recalibrated budget, operations in response to the outbreak in March of 2020.
Summer lodging tax numbers show Estes Park fared well compared to competitors.
Last spring, as COVID-19 spread to Colorado and the state issued Stay-At-Home orders, the
staff at Visit Estes Park requested its Board of Directors declare a state of emergency, which
restricted spending within the organization to personnel and marketing expenses, as well as
allowed staff access to reserve funds to market the destination when it was safe to do so.
When Stay-At-Home orders and Estes Park’s lodging ban were lifted, staff invested reserves and
money saved during the spending freeze in marketing Estes Park to drive markets (Denver, IA, KS,
MN, MO, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Chicago) determined using visitation data, as the travel industry
predicted drive markets would resume travel prior to fly markets.
Visit Estes Park was one of the few DMOs marketing during this time, allowing staff to leverage an
excess of supply in the advertising marketplace, maintain brand awareness as travelers were
beginning to make summer travel plans, and obtain an excellent return on investment on both
money spent and marketing metrics earned.
The results were substantial. Not only did lodging tax numbers come in higher than the best of
scenarios the team projected, but summer numbers were among the best in the state and among
competitors compared to the same months in 2019.
Staff will maintain its spending freeze into the new year, leveraging every available dollar to
market our destination.
APPENDIX A
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APPENDIX A2020 Marketing Highlights
With our conversion rate (we use a global conversion rate is an assumptive rate from BookDirect
calculated by pixels connected to lodging chains across all BookDirect site’s, and is very conservative
as it does not include walk-ins, over-the-phone bookings, expired cookies, etc.) being down a percent in
2020 to 2.79%, we’re still seeing an increase in Estimated Booking Revenue YOY (Fig. 1). There are two
major factors here, our total lodging searches and referrals in BookDirect are up (Fig. 2), as is the
Estimated Average Booking Amount (Fig 3). Traffic on the site has increased 2-11% YOY (Fig. 4) with
traffic increases coming from organic and paid search. One reason traffic may not have increased quite
as much as the lodging searches and referrals, is the A/B testing we completed w/ BookDirect and its
related widgets and modules.
Estimated booking revenue per month, compared YOY
17% YoY growth in booking revenue, when compared to
YoY lodging tax (which was down on average) shows that
visitestespark.com is growing in market share in spite of
the challenges of 2020, which led to a decline in visitation.
An increase in bookings made through Book Direct on
visitestespark.com means an increase in savings for our
stakeholders: Visit Estes Park does not charge fees
to lodging owners for referrals as other online booking
engines do.
BookDirect
Figure 1
Figure 2
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APPENDIX A APPENDIX A
We’ve just completed a round of A/B testing on our BookDirect site and its related widgets in order to
make that more effective. 5 of 6 tests were found to be winners, increasing lodging searches to our
booking engine by 48.5%, which was nearly 44,000 referrals during the testing period.
BookDirect A/B Testing
Figure 3
Figure 4
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APPENDIX A
19-20 Winter Marketing was paused in early March, due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Funds/programs
that were paused were pushed toward spring. We initially began marketing again, with those programs
that had already been paid for and paused, in late May. At this point, plans paused included an
influencer campaign and video shoot (Athlete in Residence and Anthem Video), as well as sponsored
content across a variety of outlets. We also returned to running our paid search and social media
campaigns. The influencer campaign that hosted athletes in late May, and featured ways to travel to Estes
safely and respectfully, generated 113 social posts with 2.3 million impressions and over 84k
engagements, while the videos produced have over 130,000 views on the website alone (they have also
run, paid, on Facebook, Instagram and Hulu). A bit later in the summer, the board approved to allow
access to financial reserves in order to continue marketing the destination. We booked more search,
social and content partnerships. Search and social, specifically saw us get a larger bang for our buck,
with less competitive spending, we were able to see great results.
Summer search saw cost decrease 47% ($15.9k vs $30.5k), resulting in a 99% decrease in
impressions YoY. Even with spend being down, we did see a 20% increase in clicks and a 19k increase
in CTR (15.71% vs 0.08%) YoY. Branded search brought in 97% of all clicks for summer campaigns, with
a low average CPC of $.65 and a CTR of 16.71%. ‘Estes’ specific terms had a CPC nearly $4 lower
than CO Summer terms. See search graphs directly below:
Summer social campaigns were focused on reaching a drive audience of Denver, IA, KS, MN, MO,
Houston, Dallas, Austin, and Chicago, as fly markets weren’t expected to rebound as quickly. Overall, YoY
impressions were roughly the same with an increase of about 4%. Considering spend was down by 50%,
this is a strong performance. Although YoY CTR was down, this was only by 14%. We had a CTR
increase and peak in August and September despite lower spend and impressions. We suspect the end
of summer audience was more comfortable with travel and likely to book as opposed to browse.
Due to our traffic optimization (encouraging conversions) this summer, video views were down by 40%
YoY. However, the AiR videos were most effective in driving strong CTRs. Targeting a core prospecting
audience of dedicated climbers and outdoorsman surprisingly drove lower CTR’s than our generic
prospecting audience. The owned/lookalike audience performed well with CTR’s over 5%. All CTRs are
at the top end of benchmarks.
YTD Marketing
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APPENDIX A APPENDIX A
Fall saw a continuation of search and social spends, interrupted by wildfire. This drew a lot of traffic to
VisitEstesPark.com - but not necessarily the kind we were hoping for. With the brave efforts of firefighters
and first responders (and a little help from the weather) we are now welcoming guests to Estes again.
The page, https://www.visitestespark.com/transparency/, can be accessed by searching for
“transparency” using the search bar on visitestespark.com, by googling “visit estes park transparency”
or through the Partners drop down menu in the footer navigation bar on visitestespark.com.
This page is updated monthly, or whenever a new document is issued.
Included on the Transparency page:
• Coming year operating plan, once approved by the Town of Estes Park & County Commissioners
• Current year mission, vision and strategic plan
• Current year operating plan
• Current year budget
• Dashboard Report - Executive Summary
• Current annual report
• Current audit
• Seasonal marketing campaign updates
• Most recent visitor survey
• Board meeting videos, minutes, upcoming meetings
• Archived reports, budgets, plans
• Policies
• Bylaws
Transparency
All documents integral to the operation of Visit Estes Park are posted
on an easily-accessed page on visitestespark.com.
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November 29, 2020
Larimer County Board of Commissioners,
Dear Commissioners,
Thank you for your consideration and approval of the 2021 Estes Park Local Marketing District
Operating Plan. We heard and acknowledge your concerns with regard to providing this
information to our stakeholders, including the Larimer County Commissioners and Estes Park
Town Trustees whose Boards oversee our organization’s marketing analytics and ROI.
Earlier we provided this Addendum to you and the Estes Park Mayor and Town Trustees.
Moving forward we have discussed proactively providing this information, monthly, to all
stakeholders including the Commissioners and Trustees. It is already posted on our
Transparency Page and can be accessed here:
https://www.visitestespark.com/transparency/dashboard-report-executive-summary/. Further, we
recommend that the quarterly meetings between the Town, County, Visit Estes Park and Trustee
liaisons be restarted.
Additionally, you requested a letter from our Board outlining procedures taken to recruit and
integrate a successful CEO for our organization to address concerns raised by some stakeholders
as to the cost of recruitment and turnover in this position. We do share these concerns and have
implemented additional steps to address them.
During the recruiting process:
1) Our volunteer Board is now meeting twice monthly instead of monthly to keep the
process moving to resolution.
2) A three-person recruiting committee has met publically to discuss recruiting strategies to
convey to the Board. We have received public comment in these meetings.
3) We have reached out to Estes Park Town Government to identify additional resources for
options they have used successfully in recruiting key managers.
4) We have appointed Abi Huebner, the longest-term member of our staff and leadership
team as Interim CEO. She has the full support of our staff and Board.
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5) Our Board has received presentations on three different options for recruiting a CEO,
with a fourth presentation scheduled for our meeting December 1st.
6) We have solicited feedback from our current staff and leadership team on the expertise
and leadership skills they prioritize for a successful CEO.
As the Board for the Estes Park Local Marketing District, we take our responsibility to recruit
and retain a productive and successful leader for this organization seriously; it is critical to the
financial well-being of our local businesses, communities and to our local workforce.
We hope that this letter conveys our respect for your concerns and our commitment to address
them. Please let us know if you have further suggestions.
Sincerely,
Deborah Gibson, Chair
The Estes Park Local Marketing District
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