Jan 16, 2025 Visit Boerne Advisory Board

4 0 1.

4 0 1

[00:00:01]

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, AT 4 0 1, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL THIS MEETING INTO ORDER.

[1. CALL TO ORDER – 4:00 PM]

YOU WANT ME TO CARRY ON? WELL, LET'S SEE.

HOW MANY, UH, PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS DO WE HAVE? ANYONE? ANYONE? ? NONE.

OKAY.

SO WE HAVE NO CITIZENS FOR THE COMMENTS.

UH, MOVING RIGHT ALONG.

EVERYBODY GET A CHANCE TO CHECK OUT THE MINUTES AS MUCH AS WE NORMALLY DO.

I MOVE TO APPROVE

[3. APPROVE MINUTES]

ALL RIGHT.

YOU HAVE A SECOND? YEAH, YOU DO.

ALL RIGHT.

WE HAVE A SECOND AND, UH, MINUTES ARE NOW APPROVED.

GOOD.

SO THAT PUTS YOU ON NUMBER FOUR.

THAT'S NEAT.

CHIEF PRESENTATION ON HOTEL PERFORMANCE.

ALL RIGHT.

WELCOME EVERYBODY.

WE'VE GOT A

[a. Fair Market Share Report - Hill Country Competitive Set 3rd Quarter Ended 9/30/24 and Comparative to 9/30/2023]

AND WE'LL START OFF WITH THE HILL COUNTRY PERFORMANCE FOR JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER OF 24.

AND AGAIN, THIS SHOWS US OUR FAIR MARKET SHARE, HOW WE DID IN REVENUE OCCUPANCY.

AND YOU'LL GO TO THE FIRST LINE, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IF WE RAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF ALL THE ROOMS THAT ARE 877,000, WE REPRESENT 5.9% OF OUR FAIR MARKET SHARE.

WE RAN 62.88% OCCUPANCY, OUR FAIR MARKET SHARE, AND THAT QUARTER WAS 6.23.

SO WE BEAT OUR FAIR MARKET SHARE.

YOU CAN SEE THAT BANDERA DID NOT.

YOU CAN SEE THAT FREDERICKSBURG DID NOT.

YOU CAN SEE THAT KERRVILLE DID NOT, UH, NEW BRAUNFELS DID, AND SAM MARCUS DID.

AND WE HERE LATELY HAVE BEEN IN THE TOP THREE.

WE WERE GENERALLY, UH, THREE OR FOUR, BUT WE'RE MOVING UP GRADUALLY.

AND YOU CAN SEE FROM THE OCCUPANCY STANDPOINT, ONLY ONE CITY BEAT US.

AND THAT WAS SAN MARCUS.

WE'RE AT 62.88%.

WE FINISHED OUR YEAR IN, UH, AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER.

AND WE ENDED UP THAT OUR ER, FISCAL YEAR, WE ENDED UP AT ABOUT 64.5% OCCUPANCY FOR OUR YEAR.

AND THE STATE AVERAGE RIGHT NOW IS 60%.

SO WE BEAT THE STATE AVERAGE BY JUST A LITTLE BIT.

SO AS WELL, YOU CAN SEE ON THE AVERAGE DAILY RATE OF 1 23, WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE.

UH, 1 51 FOR FRAX SPREAD, WHICH IS ALWAYS HIGH.

1 29 FOR NEW BRAUNFELS.

AND WE, AGAIN, WE WERE THIRD.

SO WE'RE INCHING UP.

WE'RE MOVING, WE'RE MOVING UP A LITTLE BIT EACH QUARTER.

ANY QUESTIONS ON FAIR MARKET SHARE? WITH NONE.

WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT HILL COUNTRY PERFORMANCE.

AND THIS IS THE SAME THING, BUT IT LOOKS AT THE THIRD QUARTER THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

ON THE RIGHT IS LAST YEAR.

AND OUR FAIR MARKET SHARE ENDED UP AT 5.82.

THIS YEAR WE WERE AT 6.23.

SO AGAIN, WE'RE MOVING UP FAIRLY WELL.

WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

UH, SWIFT

[b. Smith Travel Research Overview 3rd Quarter Ended 9/30/2024, and January - December 2024]

AND THIS IS DATA BY MEASURE.

OCTOBER ONE THROUGH DECEMBER 28.

AND IT SHOWS THE YEAR, UH, FOR THAT PERIOD OCCUPANCY AGAINST 65 70.

THAT'S GONNA COME DOWN A LITTLE BIT AT THE END.

AVERAGE DAILY RATE, A HEALTHY 1 27 DEMAND, 32,479 ROOMS AND REVENUE JUST OVER 4 MILLION.

WE ENDED UP, OUR, OUR GOAL LAST YEAR WAS TO COLLECT $1.1 MILLION IN HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.

WE BEAT THAT.

WE, UH, CAME UP JUST ABOUT 50, $60,000 AHEAD.

WE BEAT IT.

SO WE WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THAT DATA.

[c. Datafy Traffic Summaries 3rd Quarter Ended 9/30/2024 and Comparative to 9/30/2023]

AND SHE'S GOT SOME GOOD INFORMATION TO SHARE ON THAT.

SO TORY, AND I'M GONNA BRING MY .

ALL RIGHTY.

SO I DON'T THINK THIS IS FOR ANYBODY'S FIRST MEETING, RIGHT? EMILY, THIS ISN'T YOUR FIRST ONE, RIGHT? NO.

OKAY.

SO THEN I WILL SPARE ALL THE REMINDER OF WHAT THESE ARE, UH, 50 MILES AWAY HOTEL INFORMATION FOR THIS PERIOD.

UM, WE, UM, ARE JUST ABOUT ALL ARE UP FROM THE PREVIOUS QUARTER.

UM, BUT I WILL POINT OUT SOMETHING THAT WAS KIND OF AN OUTLIER FOR US.

UM, SO ACTUALLY, SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE UP IN TOTAL TRIPS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR, BUT WE WERE ABOUT THE SAME AS WHAT WE WERE, UH, LAST QUARTER OR UP.

UM, VISITOR DAYS ARE DOWN JUST TO SCOTCH AVERAGE LENGTH OF DAY, BASICALLY ABOUT THE SAME.

UM, AND THEN ONE DAY TRIPS ARE UP, TWO DAYS ARE DOWN A HAIR, THREE DAYS ARE DOWN A HAIR, FOUR DAYS ARE UP.

AND THEN, SO THE FIVE PLUS DAY REALLY STOOD OUT, 66.9% UP.

SO I DID SOME DIGGING AROUND AND CALLING AROUND 'CAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S,

[00:05:01]

WE ALWAYS WENT UP.

BUT AGAIN, THAT'S OVER LAST QUARTER, NOT OVER LAST YEAR, RIGHT? THAT'S OVER LAST YEAR.

YES.

PURPLE IS LAST YEAR.

FROM LAST YEAR.

OKAY.

UM, AND IN CALLING AROUND A LOT OF OUR LIMITED SERVICE HOTELS SAW A BIG INCREASE IN, UH, CONSTRUCTION WORKER STAYS.

MM-HMM .

AND SOME OF THOSE ARE BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, 30 AND 50 DAYS.

10 AND 30 DAYS.

SO THESE ARE REALLY, REALLY LONG STAYS.

UM, WALMART HAD A RENOVATION GOING ON.

DOLLAR TREE WAS BEING CONSTRUCTED.

THERE WAS A CAR DEALERSHIP BEING CONSTRUCTED AND THE FAIRFIELD HAD A REALLY BIG PIECE OF BUSINESS WITH LIKE POLICE DOG TRAINING.

AND THOSE WERE LIKE GROUPS OF, YOU KNOW, 30 TO 50 PEOPLE TRAINING FOR 55 DAYS AT A TIME.

SO THAT ALL HAPPENED IN THIS PERIOD AND GAVE US THAT, THAT 66.9% INCREASE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, FAIRFIELD HAD THE LARGEST INCREASE IN, IN, UH, OCCUPANCY.

AND WE STARTED DIGGING AND FINDING OUT WHY THAT ALL TRADE.

YEAH.

SO IT WAS A GOOD PIECE OF BUSINESS FOR THEM.

UM, I WILL SAY WHEN, WHEN SOMEONE STAYS IN A HOTEL OR A SHORT TERM RENTAL FOR MORE THAN 30 DAYS, YES WE DO NOT GET THAT OCCUPANCY TAX.

UM, BUT IT WAS GOOD BUSINESS FOR THEM.

ANY QUESTIONS SAY MORE THAN 30 DAYS.

IT'S CONSIDERED YOUR TEMPORARY .

YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY OCCUPANTS.

SO THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO TAX AT ALL.

NOT EVEN THE FIRST FEW DAYS.

THEY JUST, IT'S ALL GONE.

YEAH.

YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE TO STAY THAT PERIOD CONSISTENTLY.

AND, AND A LOT OF WHAT HAPPENS A LOT OF TIMES ON THE, ON THE HO ON THE CONSTRUCTION ROOM OR THOSE ROOMS, THEY MIGHT COME ON SUNDAY NIGHT AND STAY AND GO HOME THURSDAY, BUT THEY'LL KEEP THEIR ROOM.

THEY WON'T OCCUPY MINUTES CONSIDERED TO OCCUPY ROAD.

SO THEY JUST KEEP GOING BACK AND FORTH.

BUT IT IS, IT IS CONSISTENT OR 30 DAYS AFTER.

30 DAYS, OKAY.

IN A ROW, IN A ROW COMES UP EVERY NOW AND THEN WITH SHORT TERM RENTALS BECAUSE SOMEBODY WANTS TO RENT A HOUSE FOR MORE THAN 30 DAYS.

THEY'RE WAITING FOR A HOUSE TO BE FINISHED.

YEAH.

CONSTRUCTION FOR YOUR HOME, EVERYTHING.

YEAH.

OR THEY MOVED OUT OF A HOUSE AND THEY NEED A PLACE TO STAY FOR TWO OR THREE MONTHS.

SO WE SEE THAT ON OCCASION, EVEN LIKE GLEN BIRDS WILL STAY FOR SOMETIMES OVER A MONTH.

THAT'S A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF BUSINESS FOR THAT PARTICULAR HOTEL, OBVIOUSLY.

BUT DOES THAT GONNA AFFECT YOUR NUMBERS AS FAR AS PERCENTAGE WISE, WHERE YOUR HOTEL TAX VERSUS THE TOTAL TOTAL REVENUE BROUGHT IN? DOES WE WE'RE FOR THAT LAST YEAR, WE HAD, OUR GOAL WAS 1.1 MILLION AND COLLECTED HOW TALL OCCUPANCY TAX.

WE DATED IT BY ABOUT $60,000.

I HAD ANTICIPATED THAT WE WOULD GET TO 1.2 MILLION AND IT WAS OFF IN IT BECAUSE OF INSTANCES LIKE THIS.

BUT WE DATED, UH, TALKING TO A FRIEND IN CALIFORNIA TODAY WHO RUNS HOTELS.

IT'S CRAZY.

OH YEAH.

THEY GOTTA BE INSANE RIGHT NOW.

IT'S, YOU CAN'T FIND ANYTHING.

MM-HMM .

INSANE.

THAT'S WILD.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS BEFORE WE MOVE? ALRIGHTY.

UM, DMA VISITATION, SO HOUSTON, DALLAS, AND AUSTIN OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR HAVE SEEN A TINY LITTLE DECREASE, BUT WE ARE SEEING SOME INCREASES IN HARLINGEN, ODESSA, MIDLAND, A LOT FROM CORPUS, UM, A LOT FROM WACO AND A LOT FROM SAN ANTONIO AND ABILENE.

SO THAT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING.

UM, FROM THE PREVIOUS QUARTER THEY, THEY WERE, UM, PRETTY SIMILAR.

UM, WE WERE UP FROM THE PREVIOUS QUARTER, UM, FROM HOUSTON AND DALLAS.

THAT'S NOT ON HERE, BUT I HAVE NOTES JUST IN CASE YOU'RE CURIOUS.

UM, AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, THE, THE PREVIOUS QUARTER, UM, OR SORRY, CHANGE FROM THE PREVIOUS QUARTER ON OUR DESTINATIONS WHERE WE WERE, UM, SEEING PEOPLE COMING FROM THERE ACTUALLY WASN'T A CHANGE.

SO ALBUQUERQUE AND SANTA FE STILL SORT OF STANDS TO BE OUR, OUR OUT OF STATE AND OF COURSE HOUSTON.

QUICK QUESTION ON THAT.

CERTAINLY.

UH, ON, I GUESS ON THE HARLEEN, UH, WE SEE A FAIR AMOUNT OF WHAT WE COMMONLY REFER TO AS NATIONALS MM-HMM .

COME THROUGH AND I, AND IT, IT'S, IT'S A PRETTY HEALTHY AMOUNT.

YEAH.

AND I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING ON HERE THAT WOULD REFLECT THAT EXCEPT POSSIBLY HARLINGEN.

BUT, SO THEY WOULD NEED TO HAVE THEIR HOME BASE BE HARLING.

THAT'S ACTUALLY HARLINGEN AND WEST LA CO NOT OUT OF THE COUNTRY.

OKAY.

NOT, NOT MEXICO ITSELF.

YEAH.

THIS IS ALL UNI, UNITED STATES TRAVEL IS WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE.

SO WE'RE NOT ABLE TO CAPTURE ANYBODY COMING IN FROM MEXICO AT ALL.

I'D NEED TO TALK TO DATA.

I, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY, YOU KNOW, TOGGLES THAT CAN BE TOGGLED TO SHOW ME INTERNATIONAL, BUT WE TEND TO BE A DRIVE MARKET, SO, BUT WE ARE GONNA BE DOING SOME THINGS THAT IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO SEE THAT.

SO I'LL SEE WHAT OUR INTERNATIONAL OPTIONS LOOK LIKE.

[00:10:01]

YEAH.

IT, IT IT'S A FAIR AMOUNT.

YEAH.

OKAY.

AND IS IT PRIMARILY MEXICO FOR Y'ALL OR ARE YOU SEEING OTHER, OTHER COUNTRIES PRIMARILY AROUND MEXICO? YEAH.

YEAH, I'D BE WILLING TO BET IT'S MEXICO MOSTLY.

OKAY.

THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW.

RIGHT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS BEFORE WE GO? OKAY.

ALRIGHTYY DEMOGRAPHICS.

UM, SEE NOT A WHOLE WHOLE LOT OF CHANGES AS, AS USUAL.

UM, OUR INCOME LEVEL DID, UH, INCREASE A LITTLE BIT FOR OUR HOTEL STAYS, UM, AND OUR HOUSEHOLD INCOME OR YEAH, HOUSEHOLD SIZE DID INCREASE, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS REALLY QUITE SIMILAR.

UM, AND THEN IN THE, THE PREVIOUS QUARTER, I DO HAVE SOME NOTES ON IT.

IT WAS BASICALLY ALL THE SAME WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR TOP INCOME LEVEL IN THE PREVIOUS QUARTER IT WAS ACTUALLY THE ZERO TO 49,000 TOOK THE, THE TOP DEMOGRAPHIC.

SO WE'VE SEEN SOME FLUCTUATION WITHIN OUR INCOME LEVELS FOR OUR HOTEL STAYS, WHICH IS KIND OF INTERESTING.

ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS BEFORE WE KEEP GOING? 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO HILL COUNTRY MILE DATA.

UM, OKAY.

SO YOU'LL SEE, AND I'M GONNA POINT OUT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE 'CAUSE WE SEE A LOT OF DECREASE.

THIS WAS IN THAT PERIOD WHERE WE WERE HAVING ALL THOSE HIGHWAY CLOSURES.

SO THAT DEFINITELY, AS OUR, OUR DOWNTOWN FOLKS CAN DEFINITELY ATTRIBUTE TO THAT IMPACTED OUR TRAFFIC IN THAT PERIOD, NOTABLY.

SO I WASN'T WILDLY SURPRISED TO SEE THAT DECREASE FOR THIS JULY TO SEPTEMBER PERIOD.

UM, BUT I WILL SAY COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS QUARTER, WE ACTUALLY WERE UP FOR TOTAL TRIPS AND TOTAL VISITOR DAYS.

UM, SO IT GOT A LITTLE BETTER BUT NOT MUCH IN THAT PERIOD.

HOW DOES THAT JIVE WITH THE HOTEL DATA GOING UP? SO TRAFFIC TO THE HILL COUNTRY MILE, JUST BECAUSE YOU STAY IN A HOTEL DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU'RE GOING TO THE HILL COUNTRY MILE.

UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT SOME OF THESE OTHER STATISTICS HERE IN THE NEXT SLIDE WHERE WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM, YOU'LL SEE THE, THE BULK OF OUR TRAFFIC TO THE HILL COUNTRY MILE IS AT THE SAN ANTONIO DMA, WHICH DOES INCLUDE BERNIE.

UM, WHICH WE CAN GO TO SCOOCH TO THAT.

SO HILL COUNTRY MILE TRAFFIC, YOU SEE EVERYTHING'S GOING DOWN.

SAN ANTONIO WAS DOWN, WHICH WASN'T DOWN AS MUCH AS I WOULD'VE THOUGHT, UM, AFTER LOOKING AT THAT PREVIOUS SLIDE.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE BULK OF OUR HILL COUNTRY MILE TRAFFIC, UM, WHEN I PULL THE REPORTS FOR HILL COUNTRY MILE TRAFFIC, IT DOES INCLUDE OUR LOCALS.

SO THAT'S INCLUDING YOUR EMPLOYEES', EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM.

UM, SO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.

THESE ARE TRAFFIC REPORTS, SO IT'S INCLUDING OUR, OUR LOCAL TRAFFIC.

UM, IF THEY GET OUT OF THEIR CARS, IT'S NOT PICKING 'EM UP AS THEY DRIVE DOWN MAIN STREET, BUT IF YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WALKING AND POPPING IN AND HAVING LUNCH AND YOU KNOW YOU HAVE LUNCH EVERY DAY THAT'S COUNTING YOU, IS THIS YEAR OVER YEAR OR FROM LAST QUARTER, UM, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING, UM, IN THIS, YOU KNOW, RIGHT HAND COLUMN THAT IS YEAR OVER YEAR.

OKAY.

UM, AND THEN JUST SIDE NOTE, LAST QUARTER OUR TOP DMA WAS LA OVER DENVER.

JUST IF YOU'RE CURIOUS 'CAUSE I HAVE THAT LITTLE NOTE.

UM, SO I PULLED SOME SPENDING DATA, WHICH I THOUGHT WHEN THEY LAST TIME WE MET, UM, I HAD JUST LIKE ONE LITTLE CHART, BUT THEY HAVE EXPANDED THIS PORTION OF THE DASHBOARD, WHICH I THINK IS KIND OF COOL TO SEE WHERE THE SPENDING IS COMING FROM AND ANY PATTERNS, UM, THAT WE'RE SEEING.

SO WE MAY HAVE BEEN DOWN IN BURN TRAFFIC OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR, UM, BUT WE WERE UP IN SPENDING FROM BERNIE PEOPLE.

SO FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE SHOPS IN BERNIE, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A WHOLE WHOLE LOT BUT IT'S STILL AN UPTICK.

UM, SO, AND NO BIG WILD SURPRISES WITH TOP CITY BEING BERNIE SECOND SAN ANTONIO.

UM, BUT MAKING NOTE THAT KERRVILLE, BANDERA AND SPRING BRANCH.

UM, SO WE ARE GETTING SOME LOCAL TRAFFIC, UM, AND REGIONAL TRAFFIC TO THE HILL COUNTRY MILE.

ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS? ALRIGHT, UM, THESE ARE OUR DEMOGRAPHICS.

UM, THEY'RE ALL VERY, VERY SIMILAR TO LAST YEAR AND LAST QUARTER.

ALL OF MY LITTLE NOTES THAT I HAVE FOR MYSELF SAY SAME, SAME, SAME, SAME, SAME, SAME, SAME.

SO OUR, OUR HILL COUNTRY MILE VISITOR HAS NOT CHANGED MUCH OVER THE YEAR, UM, OR FOR THE QUARTER, SO WE KNOW WHO WE'RE BEAUTIFUL TO.

ANY QUESTIONS?

[00:15:01]

WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO SOME ADVERTISING.

UM, SO I DID NOT

[a. Current/Recent Advertising Creative]

LAST, AND THIS IS EVERYTHING SINCE WE SAW Y'ALL LAST.

THIS IS NOT JULY TO SEPTEMBER.

UM, SO THIS IS WHAT HAS LAUNCHED AND WE WERE MOVING INTO CHRISTMAS TIME, SO YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF RED AND GREEN AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

UM, SO WE DID GET, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA BONUS LOVE FROM TOUR TEXAS.

THEY GAVE US, UM, THIS HOMEPAGE FEATURE AT THE TOP OF THEIR WEBSITE, UM, WHICH WAS VERY SWEET OF THEM.

IN ADDITION TO THE AD THAT WE PAID FOR, WHICH IS ON THAT RIGHT HAND SIDE, THAT SAME ADVERTISING SHOWED UP IN TOUR TEXAS AS WELL AS TEXAS HIGHWAYS WAYS.

UM, I GOT TO BE ON TV IN HOUSTON AND I TURNED BRIGHT RED BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I DO.

UM, BUT THE GREAT DAY, UH, HOUSTON PEOPLE WERE SO VERY SWEET AND WE GAVE, WE GOT SOME REALLY GOOD VISIBILITY FROM THEM.

UM, AND THEY DID END UP AIRING THIS, UH, WE SIGNED UP FOR THEM TO AIR IT TWICE AND THEY ACTUALLY AIRED IT THREE TIMES, RIGHT? UM, SO THEY WERE TOOTING OUR HORN FOR THE HOLIDAYS IN BERNIE AND ALL OF THE FESTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE, NOT JUST DICKENS, BUT ALL OF THE SUBSEQUENT WEEKENDS AS WELL.

UM, AND THERE WERE SOME SOCIAL MEDIA COMPONENTS AS WELL, UM, AS SOME BANNER ADS.

SO IT WAS A, A FUN ONE.

UM, I'M GONNA SEE WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE WITH THEM IN THE FUTURE, UM, AND SORT OF EVALUATE THOSE COSTS BECAUSE TV'S NOT NECESSARILY CHEAP.

, THE VIEWERSHIP IS SURPRISINGLY SMALL, ESPECIALLY NOWADAYS.

HMM.

FEWER PEOPLE WATCH TV NOW THAN LIKE, WHEN I WAS YOUNG.

TELL THAT TO MY WIFE.

.

UM, ALRIGHTYY, ANY QUESTIONS ON THERE? THAT'S AWESOME, TORI, THAT YOU DID THAT? YEAH.

YEAH, WELL DONE.

I I LIKE THE BRANDED SHIRT TOO.

ALL THAT DROVE TO HOUSTON DOWN ON TV.

SHE LOOKS LIKE FOR HAIR NOW.

.

YEAH.

Y'ALL DON'T SEE THAT VERY OFTEN.

WHERE IS SHE? , I'M IN THE WHITE SHIRT THERE.

THERE YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.

YEAH.

GOOD WORK.

THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, LONG DRIVE TO HOUSTON BACK IN ONE DAY.

YES IT IS.

YES, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S GOOD PODCASTS.

ALL RIGHTY.

SO OUR FRIENDS OVER AT A JR MEDIA, WE DO A HANDFUL OF THINGS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND

[b. Influencer Status Report]

UM, SEARCH, WE WERE UNDER THE, THE PRICE BENCHMARK BY, UH, ABOUT 85 TO 89%.

SO THAT MEANS WE WERE WINNING OUT ON THOSE CLICKS.

UM, I WILL SAY WE LOVE IT WHEN WE WIN THE CLICK BID IS WHAT THEY CALL THAT ON THINGS LIKE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY THINGS TO DO.

THAT MEANS THEY GOT SERVED UP THAT SEARCH AD AND THEY COULD HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR ANYTHING TO DO AND THEY CHOSE THAT, CHOSE TO CHOOSE BERNIE.

SO PICK US, WE WIN.

UM, SO THAT'S A REALLY COOL THING.

AND THAT HAPPENS PRETTY REGULARLY WHERE OUR HILL COUNTRY THINGS TO DO WE'LL, WE'LL BE A TOP CLICK FOR US.

SO THAT WAS REALLY NICE TO SEE.

UM, SOCIAL MEDIA.

WE WERE OVER CLICK BENCHMARK, UM, BY 217%.

UM, I WILL SAY WE, WE RAN SOME, UM, HOLIDAY ADVERTISING IN HERE AND OUR, OUR VISUALS WITH, YOU KNOW, DICKENS ON MAIN AND THINGS TO DO, ALWAYS PERFORM WELL ON SOCIAL.

UM, I WILL SAY THE PICTURE THAT WE USED IN THAT WAS THE COUPLE WALKING BY THE CHRISTMAS SHOP AND YOU GOT A LOT OF LOVE BY THE WAY, .

A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE RESPONDING.

LOVE BERNIE.

I LOVE THE CHRISTMAS SHOP.

I'VE HAD COMMENTS THIS YEAR.

LIKE I SAW THE PICTURE OF THE, AND I'M LIKE, I THINK I KNOW EXACTLY WHICH PICTURE YOU, OH YEAH, WE'VE BEEN USING IT FOR YEARS.

UH, YEAH, IT'S LIKE, I REMEMBER LIKE THAT WAS LIKE, YEAH, WE NEED ANOTHER, ANOTHER IMAGE THAT'S, UM, THAT'S JUST AS POWERFUL AS THAT ONE.

AND THEN CONNECTED, CONNECTED TV, THAT STUFF THAT'S LIKE STREAMING, LIKE HULU AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.

UM, AND WE ARE OVER BENCHMARK ON THAT ONE AS WELL.

34%.

SO COMPLETION RATE IS WHAT, UM, WHAT, WHAT'S BEING MEASURED THERE.

SO ANY QUESTIONS ON THOSE BEFORE WE MOVE? ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHTY.

WE HAD SOME NEWSLETTER THINGS IN THE WORKS.

UM, I THINK THAT THE, THE, THE ONE FOR ROD RUN MUST HAVE HAPPENED, LIKE RIGHT AS WE WERE PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.

SO IT DIDN'T MAKE IT IN LAST GO AROUND SINCE WE MET IN OCTOBER.

UM, BUT WE HAD A, A LITTLE IN

[00:20:01]

NEXT GO AROUND AS WELL.

UH, AND I WILL SAY CONCERTS IN THE CAVE, PEOPLE ARE REALLY, REALLY GETTING EXCITED ABOUT CONCERTS IN THE CAVE AS OF LATE.

I GUESS.

THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF PLACES IN THE STATE DOING THAT IN THEIR CAVES.

THAT'S A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM.

BUT ANYTIME WE RUN ANY ADVERTISING ABOUT THAT, PEOPLE THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY COOL AND UNIQUE.

SO FINDING COOL AND, AND UNIQUE THINGS DOES WELL.

UM, SO WE ARE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON SOME CULINARY INITIATIVES.

UM, THAT'S MY, MY TOURISM COLLEGE CAPSTONE PROJECT.

UM, AND ONE OF MY GOALS FOR THIS YEAR IS TO PUT TOGETHER A CULINARY STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY.

AND I'VE, I'VE, WE'VE MADE SOME PURCHASES AND TRAVEL TASTING TOUR, UM, WAS ONE THAT WE LAUNCHED, UM, IN THE FALL.

AND THEN I'VE GOT ANOTHER ONE FROM, UM, THE WINTER SEASON.

SO, BUT THIS IS, UH, THIS IS OUR FALL ONE, I DO BELIEVE.

UM, AND WE GOT SOME GOOD SOCIAL COVERAGE AS WELL AS A PRESENCE IN THE PRINT PUBLICATION AS WELL.

UM, AND THEN FOOD AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE, UM, THAT WAS ANOTHER ONE THAT WE DID AS WELL.

THE WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, ARE YET TO GO LIVE, BUT THEY WILL BE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.

UM, BUT WE, WE PAID FOR A SPREAD IN FOOD AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE AND LO AND BEHOLD, WE SHOWED UP ON THE TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE.

WE DID NOT KNOW THAT THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN.

SO THAT WAS A HAPPY SURPRISE.

UM, AND WE TALKED ABOUT A HANDFUL OF DIFFERENT RESTAURANTS AND WE'LL ALTERNATE RESTAURANTS AS WE DO DIFFERENT CAMPAIGNS.

UM, BUT WE ENDED UP WITH, UM, FOUR PAGES OF TEXT AND THEN, UM, A SPREAD WITH THIS VISUAL RIGHT HERE.

AND THEN WE TALKED BRIEFLY ABOUT, UH, MY CURLY ADVENTURES VISITS.

'CAUSE SHE HAD JUST GOTTEN HERE AND LEFT WHEN WE WERE MEETING LAST, SO I SHOWED Y'ALL A LITTLE OF WHAT SHE POSTED.

BUT SHE HAS CONTINUED POSTING, UM, A LOT ACTUALLY SINCE SHE LEFT.

UM, AND I KNOW THAT SHE'S GOT A HANDFUL OF OTHER THINGS THAT SHE'S STILL, UM, TEEING UP.

WE DECIDED LET'S, SINCE SHE GOT SO MUCH CONTENT WHILE SHE WAS HERE, WE'RE GONNA SPREAD THAT OUT THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE YEAR.

UM, AND THAT'S SORT OF A MODEL THAT I'M TEEING UP WITH A COUPLE OTHER FOLKS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH IN THE SPRING FOR VISITS, BUT THEY'LL COLLECT CONTENT AND THEN POST IT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

SO WE'LL GET MORE VISIBILITY OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.

THAT WAS GONNA BE MY QUESTION.

I, I KNOW SHE'S BEEN A GREAT PARTNER AND HAS DONE WELL, BUT YOU KNOW, HOW MANY MORE OUT, OUT THERE ARE SIMILAR TO WHAT SHE'S DOING.

SHE'S, SHE WENT TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES THAT SHE'S NOT EVER BEEN WHILE SHE WAS ON THIS TRIP.

UM, SO SHE'S, SHE'S GOT CONTENT THAT'S DIFFERENT THAT SHE HASN'T POSTED YET.

LIKE I DON'T THINK SHE'S POSTED ABOUT FLYING OR GLIDING.

SHE DID A GLIDER RIDE AT BERNIE AIRFIELD.

UM, SHE'S BEEN TO, UH, INDULGE.

THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER THINGS STILL IN HER POCKET THAT HAVEN'T COME OUT.

AND SHE'S CREATED A LOT OF, UM, ONLINE CONTENT FOR HER, HER HER WEBSITE.

AND THAT'S GETTING A LOT OF MILEAGE ON FACEBOOK AS WELL.

SO SHE'S KIND OF HODGE, NOT HODGEPODGE IS THE WRONG WORD, SHE'S COLLECTING CONTENT IN THEMES AND THEN CREATING, CREATING DIGITAL CONTENT TO THEN SHARE.

UM, SOMETHING THAT SHE STARTED DOING JUST IN THE LAST YEAR THAT I THINK IS A REALLY GREAT VALUE FOR THE DESTINATIONS IS WHEN SHE POSTS LIKE THIS ON INSTAGRAM, SHE'LL END THE POST WITH, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUR ITINERARY OR IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE MORE ABOUT BERNIE, YOU KNOW, SAY LINK IN THE COMMENTS.

AND THEN SHE SENDS THEM A DIRECT MESSAGE WITH THE LINK TO THAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

SO SHE'S KEEPING HER PEOPLE CLUED TO BERNIE LONGER BY ENGAGING WITH THEM IN A MORE DIRECT WAY IN PROVIDING THEM QUALITY INFORMATION BEYOND JUST THE POST.

UM, THAT'S VERY TIME CONSUMING.

UH, SHE'S GOT A TEAM OF PEOPLE, SO SHE'S REALLY EXPANDED HER BUSINESS OF, SINCE OUR RELATIONSHIP HAS BEGUN.

AND I KNOW SHE'S GOT AT LEAST TWO OR THREE OTHER PEOPLE ON HER TEAM EXECUTING THOSE THINGS AND CREATING MORE VALUE FOR THE DESTINATIONS.

SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT, WHAT ELSE COMES OF THAT RELATIONSHIP.

UM, AND THEN HERE'S SOME OTHER EXAMPLES OF OTHER ITEMS THAT SHE'S POSTED ABOUT.

SHE HAS OTHER ACCOUNTS AS WELL.

HUSBAND IS MY CULINARY ADVENTURES, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE OUR TEXAS HILL COUNTRY ADVENTURES,

[00:25:01]

THERE'S A THEME HERE.

UM, SO SHE'S REALLY SORT OF, EACH REGION GETS ITS OWN LITTLE BIT OF LOVE AS WELL AS THEIR OVERALL ARCHING TEXAS BRAND.

TORI, ARE THERE OTHER INFLUENCERS THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH OR? YES, SO I'VE GOT IN THE WORKS, UM, EXPLORER WITH WESLEY, WHOM WE'VE WORKED WITH YEARS AGO.

WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH HIM IN THE NEAR FUTURE, UM, FOR MULTIPLE POSTS THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR.

UM, HE'S ALSO GONNA BE PROVIDING, UM, VIDEO AND PHOTO CONTENT FOR US TO USE, UM, JUST FOR OUR OWN USES AS WELL.

UM, AND I'M IN CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, SA FOODIE AND TEXAS EXPLORER AS WELL.

THERE ARE A BUNCH OF 'EM ABOUT THE, IT TAKES, TORY IS VERY GOOD ABOUT VETTING AND MAKING SURE THEY ARE WHO THEY ARE.

WE TALK TO PEOPLE THAT HAVE USED THEM IN THE PAST, MAKE SURE THEY DELIVER WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

SO IT'S A PROCESS TO GO THROUGH AND FIND OUT IF THEY REALLY ARE.

THEY'RE JUST A FREE WEEKEND AND A LOT OF THEM ARE JUST LOOKING FOR A FREE WEEKEND.

SO I, I DON'T JUST JUMP INTO BED WITH ANYONE THAT SAYS HI, I WANNA COME PLAY.

SO WAIT, I, I LIKE TO AT LEAST FOLLOW THEM FOR A WHILE AS WELL AS GET SOME REALLY GOOD ANALYTICS FROM THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE A GOOD FIT FOR THE BRAND.

UM, 'CAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS A LOT OF THEM ARE JOINING THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION VISITORS BUREAU AND THEN BECOMING MEMBERS.

SO WE'LL SEE THEM A LOT AT THE CONVENTIONS AND TALK TO THEM.

SO MORE AND MORE GETTING INVOLVED IN THE INDUSTRY.

WE'RE GETTING TO KNOW HIM SO WELL IN TEXAS.

EAT EATS WAS HERE TOO.

I SAW HIM HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE AND THEY DID YOU'RE BIG HOUSE.

YEAH, HE'S BASED OUTTA SAN ANTONIO.

YEAH.

UM, SO HE, SO HE IS OUT ON TV.

I WAS LIKE, OKAY.

HE'S, HE'S COME, UM, THE LAST TWO YEARS FOR DICKENS.

UM, AND I THINK THAT HE'S GOT A RELATIONSHIP, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S PAID OR UNPAID, UH, WITH SUBO CREEK GR COMPANY.

I KNOW HE'S COME OUT AND DONE STUFF WITH THEM.

AND HE'S COME TO YOUR PLACE TOO AT SOME POINT, DIDN'T HE? YEAH, HE'S ALREADY BEEN THROUGH.

YEAH, HE WENT AND DID.

YEAH.

UM, ANOTHER ONE THAT'S COMING INTO TOWN HERE PRETTY QUICK IS, UH, BUCKET LIST, TEXAS BUCKET LIST.

OH, YEAH.

WELL, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP ON THAT, ON THAT VISIT, JUST LET ME KNOW.

WELL, WHENEVER WE GET UNKNOWN SOLICITATIONS THAT WE'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH, I, I BOUNCED 'EM TO YOU, SO, YEAH, SORRY ABOUT THAT.

NO, NO, THAT'S FINE.

NO .

YEAH, HE'S, NO, HE IS.

YEAH.

WELL, AND IF HE WANTS TO EXPAND HIS VISIT, AND SO THERE MAY BE A, A PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY TO EX, YOU KNOW, BUILD UPON IT.

YEAH.

I, WE HAVEN'T, THERE'S NOTHING THAT'S BEEN SET YET, BUT HE'S JUST, HE'S JUST TOUCHED BASE AND HE'S INTERESTED IN COMING INTO TOWN.

YEAH.

YEAH.

WE'D BE WILLING TO DO LIKE A STAY LIKE WE YEAH.

HAVE DONE IN THE PAST.

YEAH.

LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP.

ABSOLUTELY.

AWESOME.

AND HERE'S SOME OTHER EXAMPLES OF SOME OTHER VISITS.

UM, SOME OF THESE FOLKS ARE ACTUALLY LOCAL AND WE'RE SORT OF BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE CREATORS.

UM, THE BERNIE LIFE HAS JUST EXPLODED IN THE LAST, YOU KNOW, SIX TO NINE MONTHS.

UM, I'M SURE HE'S PROBABLY REACHED OUT TO SOMEBODY ALL IN REGARDS TO PAID OPPORTUNITIES.

UM, HE'S, HE'S BEEN, HE, LIKE, HE GAVE US LIKE SOME FREE SHOUT OUTS JUST TO LIKE SHOW HOW EFFECTIVE IT WOULD BE, WHICH IS REALLY NICE OF HIM.

YEAH.

BUT YEAH, HE'S, HE HAS A BACKGROUND IN MEDIA MM-HMM .

UM, I WORKED WITH HIM BEFORE THE BERNIE LIFE EVEN BECAME A THING.

MM-HMM .

UM, HE HAD LIKE A SAN ANTONIO THINGS TO DO WEBSITE.

UM, AND HE DID A, A GUEST BLOG POST WITH US.

UM, AND I THINK HE'S GOT A COUPLE OTHER DESTINATION THINGS TO DO THINGS, UM, BUT HE LIVES IN BERNIE, SO HE IS LIKE, WELL, LET'S TRY IT OUT AT A, AT A LOCAL LEVEL AND SEE HOW IT GOES.

MM-HMM .

UM, AND I WOULD SAY HE'S SEEING A LOT OF REALLY GREAT GROWTH.

UM, SO WE'LL, AND ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE, I GUESS INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK BASED.

UH, SO THESE ARE ALL INSTAGRAM.

UM, I SEEM TO GET A LOT MORE MILEAGE WHEN IT COMES TO INSTAGRAM THAN FACEBOOK.

UM, AND THERE'S A LOT MORE PEOPLE IN THE INSTAGRAM SPHERE THAT, THAT ARE DOING SORT OF THE INFLUENCER THING.

FACEBOOK DOESN'T GET THE, THE VISIBILITY THAT IT ONCE DID.

UM, SO TYPICALLY YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE IN THESE REPORTS THAT IT'S PRIMARILY IN INSTAGRAM, NO TIKTOK.

SO NO .

WE, WE ACTUALLY CAN'T HAVE TIKTOK.

WE HAD IT FOR A SECOND.

WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO IN GENERAL WITH TIKTOK.

BUT WE HAD ONE FOR A HOT SECOND AND THEN IT WAS NO MORE.

SO , UM, AND JUST HEAR SOME OTHERS, UH, THAT ON THE FAR RIGHT HAND SIDE, THAT WAS WHEN, UM, ELDER EATS WAS, WAS WITH Y'ALL .

UM, AND THEN I'M GONNA PASS THE TORCH.

[00:30:02]

YEAH.

THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU.

GOOD JOB.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? GOOD.

UH, TEXAS ASSOCIATION CONVENTION VISITORS BUREAU.

I WAS, UH, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, JUST RELINQUISHED

[a. Tourism Industry Update]

UH, THE MAIN THING, UH, THAT WE WORKED ON, THAT I WORKED ON WHEN I WAS WITH T-A-C-V-B WAS A NAME CHANGE.

WE ARE CHANGING OUR NAME.

WE'RE, THEY'RE GONNA ANNOUNCE THAT NEXT WEEK.

IT'S NOW GONNA BECOME DESTINATIONS, TEXAS AND, UH, TORI AND JEANETTE WILL BE LEAVING TUESDAY TO GO TO THE WINTER CONFERENCE IN WACO.

UH, I'M GONNA BACK OFF AND, AND QUIT GOING TO SOME OF THESE THINGS.

UH, AND I WANT JEANETTE TO BE THE, THE FACE OF THE CBB FOR A LITTLE BIT.

AND TORI, THERE ARE SOME REALLY GOOD EDUCATIONAL COMPONENTS THERE FOR AI AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL THINGS THAT SHE'S, SHE'S REAL EXCITED TO BE GOING.

SO, UH, THERE'LL BE THE WINTER CONFERENCE, UH, NEXT WEEK AND I'LL BE STAYING HOME AND WATCHING THE FORT, UH, TEXAS TRAVEL ALLIANCE.

UH, USED TO BE THE TEXAS TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION.

THEIR CONFERENCE WILL BE IN HOUSTON.

UH, I WILL PROBABLY GO TO THAT ONE.

UH, TEXAS HILL COUNTRY TRAIL REGION.

TORY IS VERY ACTIVE AND ON THE BOARD.

SHE HAD A MEETING TODAY, ZOOM, ZOOM MEETING, AND THE TEXAS HOTEL LODGING ASSOCIATION.

I STILL AM ON THAT BOARD.

ONE THING I WAS JUST TELLING BRAD IS, UH, BEING ON THE BOARD AND HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT IN A ROOM WITH 50 OR 60 HOTEL OWNERS, UH, I, I REALLY STARTED WATCHING THEIR WEBSITE.

YOU CAN GO TO THE HOTEL LODGING ASSOCIATION WEBSITE AND GO TO THE STATE OF TEXAS AND PICK OUT A REGION.

AND IF YOU GO TO THE CENTRAL TEXAS HILL COUNTRY REGION, ALL THE HOTELS IN BERNIE WILL COME UP.

IF YOU ARE A HOTEL HERE, I PAY FOR YOUR MEMBERSHIP.

YOU CAN GET ON THERE.

YOU, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A A, A PASSCODE TO GET IN, YOU CAN GET ONE FROM THEM.

YOU CAN GO IN THERE AND CHANGE YOUR RATES, YOUR PHOTOS, YOU CAN RUN SPECIALS, YOU COULD DO ALL KIND OF THINGS.

IT REACH ABOUT 40 MILLION PEOPLE A YEAR.

AND I STARTED TALKING TO THEM ABOUT THE SHORT TERM RENTALS.

SO FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF, I'VE BEEN WORKING ON GETTING SHORT TERM RENTALS ON THEIR WEBSITE.

WE ARE GONNA BE THE FIRST CITY TO DO THAT, AND WE'RE REALLY, REALLY CLOSE TO MAKING THAT HAPPEN.

AND WE'RE GONNA PUT BRAD'S ON THERE TO BEGIN WITH.

AND THEN, WE'LL, WE WILL RUN IT FOR A FEW WEEKS AND THEN WE'LL LET THE OTHER SHORT TERM RENTAL KNOW FOLKS KNOW THAT THEY CAN, THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT THEIRS ON AS WELL.

AND AGAIN, I'M PAYING FOR THEIR MEMBERSHIP.

UH, IT, YOU KNOW, IT COSTS ME $5,000 A YEAR TO DO THAT, AND IT'S VERY WELL WORTH IT.

I WISH THE HOTELS TOOK BETTER ADVANTAGE OF THAT BECAUSE YOU CAN REALLY GET TO A LOT OF PEOPLE VERY QUICKLY.

NEXT GROUP UPDATES.

[b. Groups/Collaboration Update]

I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO THE BEVY WHEN THEY CAME TO TOWN AND WERE DOING A SITE VISIT.

AND I JUMPED IN AND TORY WAS WITH WITH ME.

AND, UH, WE GOT IT SOLD AND THEY CAME HERE AND, UH, THEY LOVED IT.

AND THEY'RE ALREADY COMING BACK NEXT YEAR.

IT'S A REALLY, REALLY, REALLY GOOD, THEY WERE JUST ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY.

CORVETTE SHOW AGAIN, IS, IS GONNA DO REALLY WELL.

THE WEDDING IS, OR WE'RE GETTING MORE AND MORE WEDDINGS.

NEXT X UH, WE GOT NORTH AMERICA, THE BANK DEVELOPMENT COMING, UH, DAUGHTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW, LIVING CHURCH OF GOD HAD BEEN THERE, BEEN COMING HERE FOR ABOUT EIGHT YEARS.

AND WE STARTED WITH THEM A WHILE BACK WHEN WE HAD THE COMMUNITY CENTER.

WE STOLE THIS PIECE OF BUSINESS FROM NEW BRAUNFELS.

I LOVE STEALING BUSINESS AND THEY LOVE IT HERE.

WHEN THE BEVY CAME ON BOARD, THEY STARTED GOING TO THE BEVY, UH, TO NO FAULT OF THE BEVY.

THEY LOST THE CONFERENCE FOR THIS YEAR, 2025.

THEY HAD A NEW GENTLEMAN COME IN TO OVERSEE OUR SECTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

AND HE HAD SOME BIG ASKS AND THE BEVY COULDN'T MEET HIS WANTS.

AND, AND THEY WERE RIDICULOUS.

AND THE PEOPLE THAT HAD BEEN IN CHARGE, WE BECAME REALLY GOOD FRIENDS.

AND I TOLD THEM, I'M NOT LETTING THEM LEAVE TOWN WITHOUT HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT DOWN WITH THEM.

SO WE HAVE 'EM BOOKED FOR 26 AND 27.

WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE 'EM THIS YEAR, BUT THEY ARE COMING BACK.

AND I'M GONNA TRY AND GET 'EM, SIGN ANOTHER TWO YEAR CONTRACT BEFORE THEY LEAVE AGAIN.

THEY PICK UP 1300, 1400 HOTEL ROOMS IN A WEEK.

THEY'RE REALLY, REALLY GREAT GROUPS.

SO THEY'RE BACK ON BOARD WITH BERNIE NEXT.

WHERE DID LARRY, WHERE ARE THEY FOR 2025? WHERE ARE THEY GONNA BE? WE HAVE, UH, OH MY GOSH.

YOU'RE GOING WAY AT NORTH TEXAS, UH, TO A RESORT I'VE NEVER, EVER HELD HEARD OF.

THE NEAREST GROCERY STORE IS 15 MILES AWAY.

.

YEAH.

THE NEAREST RESTAURANTS WERE LIKE 10 MILES AWAY.

HUH? WE HAD , BUT THEY ALREADY KNOW THAT.

THEY KNOW THEY MADE A MISTAKE AND I TRIED TO GET 'EM OUT OF CONTRACT.

I WAS EVEN GONNA HELP THEM GET OUTTA THE CONTRACT.

BEING ON THE HOTEL LOING BOARD.

WE CAN GET OUR ATTORNEYS INVOLVED AND GET EM OUTTA THAT CONTRACT.

BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT.

THEY DIDN'T WANT BE THOSE PEOPLE UP THERE HIGH AT ALL.

YEAH.

SO WE

[00:35:01]

AND I'M ALREADY WORKING ON THE NEXT TWO YEARS.

OKAY.

YEP.

UH, COLLABORATION AND, UH, PARTNERSHIPS.

UH, WE WE'RE WORKING WITH A BUNCO GROUP RIGHT NOW TO GET THEM IN HERE.

UH, VISIT BERNIE, COLLABORATING WITH LADIES GROUPS FROM BARTON CREEK.

THESE LADIES CAME, UH, THEY CALLED US, THEY'RE CALLED VAL.

AND SO WE HAVE A LADY, A BUNCH OF LADIES FROM BARTON CREEK COUNTRY CLUB IN AUSTIN.

WE WANNA COME SHOPPING.

THEY CAME DOWN ON A REALLY FANCY BUS.

IT WAS ABOUT 40 OF THEM.

AND UH, THERE THEY ARE.

LOOK AT ALL THE BAGS THEY HAVE.

THEY HAD A BLAST.

AND THEY SAID, WE'RE COMING BACK.

AND, UH, NOW WE'RE TRYING TO GET 'EM TO COME BACK AND STAY OVERNIGHT.

AND THEN, UH, GEOLOGIC SOCIETY, WE, WE WORKED WITH THEM QUITE A BIT.

WE WERE COMING BACK FROM ANOTHER GROUP, UH, VOLKSWAGEN.

WE GOT A CALL PROBABLY THREE MONTHS AGO FROM VOLKSWAGEN.

AND THEY SAID, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BIG VOLKSWAGEN, UH, ROLLOUT IN SAN ANTONIO.

WE'RE STAYING IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO HOTELS, CAR AND DRIVER, AND ALL THE CAR MAGAZINE.

PEOPLE ARE COMING AND THEY'RE GONNA FOR TWO DAYS, THREE DAYS, THEY'RE GONNA GET BRAND NEW VOLKSWAGENS AND NEW MODEL THAT THEY HAVE ABOUT, AND THEY GO DRIVE THROUGH THE HILL COUNTRY AND WE NEED A PLACE FOR THEM TO STOP, GO TO THE BATHROOM, EAT LUNCH, AND WHAT HAVE YOU.

SO WE MADE OUR BUILDING AVAILABLE AND THEY HAD CLIENTS CATER LUNCH IN OUR BOARDROOM.

WE BLOCKED OFF PART OF OUR PARKING LOT.

THEY BROUGHT THEIR CARS IN AND PEOPLE DROVE AROUND FOR TWO DAYS.

AND ON THE LAST DAY, IT WAS INFLUENCERS THAT, THAT CAME FROM DIFFERENT CITIES TO COME TO SAN ANTONIO, DRIVE THE HILL COUNTRY.

AND THEY HAD A BLAST.

THEY, THEY, THEY SAID, WE BY FAR AS A CVB, WE'RE THE BEST TO EVER WORK WITH.

AND, UH, THEY SAID THEY'LL BE BACK.

SO, UH, NEXT THING WE WANNA DO IS GET THEM BACK HERE TO STAY OVERNIGHT.

BUT CAR AND DRIVER MAGAZINE, MOTOR TREE MAGAZINE WAS HERE.

IT WAS JUST A REALLY GOOD THREE DAYS.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE CARS IN THE PARKING LOT.

AND THAT'S THE PICTURE OF THE GROUP UNDERNEATH OUR CHRISTMAS TREE.

THE LADY SITTING IN THE CHAIR IS THE HEAD LADY FROM, UH, VOLKSWAGEN.

AND THEY JUST HAD A BUS.

THEY JUST HAD A REALLY, REALLY GOOD TIME.

SO WE GOT A LOT OF REALLY GOOD PRESS FROM THEM.

NEXT.

AND THEN, UH, UH, CORVETTE SHOW THE, THIS IS JEANETTE'S GONNA KIND OF TAKE OVER HERE.

LET ME, BEFORE WE, WE GO TO THIS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT THINGS TO DO AND, AND DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH ON WHAT WE CAN GET INVOLVED IN AND HOW WE CAN CONTINUALLY TRAIN, UH, ALL OF US AND THE CITY HAS COME UP WITH A REALLY NEAT PROGRAM.

IT'S A UNIVERSITY THAT THE CITY HAS PUT TOGETHER.

THEY GOT THE CURRICULUM FROM SEVERAL OTHER CITIES AND PUT A CURRICULUM FOR TOGETHER FOR THE CITY OF BERNIE.

AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY'RE TAKING, UH, I'M, I'M A DIRECTOR, THEY'RE TAKING A NUMBER TWO IF I HAVE IT, WHICH WOULD BE JEANETTE AND SOME OTHERS.

AND THEY WERE LOOKING FOR 10 PEOPLE TO GO IN FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF THIS UNIVERSITY.

YOU'D BE TWICE A MONTH.

AND YOU GOTTA LEARN HOW CITIES OPERATE, HOW GOVERNMENT OPERATES, HOW ALL THE DYNAMICS OF HOW A CITY WORKS, HOW TO BECOME A BETTER LEADER AND BECOME A DIRECTOR, WHAT HAVE YOU.

THEY SELECTED 10 PEOPLE OUT OF THE CITY EMPLOYEES AND JEANETTE WAS, UH, SELECTED.

SO ON, ON THE JANUARY 30TH, SHE STARTS GOING TO SCHOOL.

THAT'S GONNA BE FUN TO WATCH .

SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED YOU DO THAT FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL PICTURE.

I KNOW WE'RE, BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED THAT THE CITY'S DOING THIS.

WE'RE REAL EXCITED THAT JEANETTE WAS SELECTED TO BE IN THE FIRST CLASS.

UH, THEY'RE SELECTING 10 MENTORS.

I PUT MY APPLICATION IN.

I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GETTING PICKED YET OR NOT, BUT, UH, I WON'T BE ABLE TO, IF I DO, I WON'T BE ABLE TO MENTOR HER.

I GOTTA MENTOR SOMEBODY ELSE.

BUT IT'S A REALLY, REALLY NEAT PROGRAM.

I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT, UH, THEY'RE DOING THIS AND WE'RE PROUD OF HER FOR DOING IT.

SO, JEANETTE, THIS IS YOURS.

OKAY.

SHE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT OUR NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING.

SO I JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY, UM, I HAVE FOUR SLIDES.

ONE FOR EACH OF THESE ARE THE FOLKS THAT RECEIVED HOT TAX

[a. Texas Corvette Association Annual Open Car Show - April 20, 2024]

SO IT WAS APPROVED IN 2023.

SO THESE WERE AWARDED IN 2023.

SOME OF YOU WERE ON YOUR BOARD, UH, SOME OF YOU WERE NOT.

UH, AND THESE WERE THE FUNDS THAT WERE GIVEN IN.

AND I HAVE RECEIVED ALL OF THEIR POST REPORTS.

AS YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO TURN IN A POST REPORT.

UM, HOW DO I ADVANCE THIS? SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

SO THIS IS BASED ON THE POST REPORT.

YOU GUYS WILL RECEIVE THE ENTIRE PACKET POST REPORT BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING.

UM, I DIDN'T WANT TO INUNDATE YOU WITH EVERYTHING JUST YET, BUT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE NUGGET TO THINK ABOUT.

'CAUSE IN APRIL MOST OF THESE GROUPS ARE GONNA COME BACK BEFORE YOU AND BE ASKING FOR MORE MONEY.

SO BASED ON THEIR POST REPORT THAT THEY TURNED IN, UM, WANTED YOU TO SEE THAT.

SO IN 2023, WE GAVE TEXAS CORVETTE ASSOCIATION $7,000.

AND THIS IS WHAT THEY SAID, UM, WAS THE RESULT OF THEIR EVENT IN 2024.

AS YOU KNOW, THE APPLICATION IS ALWAYS

[00:40:01]

SO YOU GUYS WERE ON THE BOARD IN APRIL OF 2024.

THESE FOLKS ARE RECEIVING GRANTS THAT WERE AWARDED IN 2025.

AND THEN IN APRIL, THIS YEAR, 25, WE'LL BE AWARDING GRANTS FOR 2026.

SO WE'RE ALWAYS ONE YEAR AHEAD.

UM, THEY GOT 7,000 IN, IN, UH, HOT GRANT.

AND BASED ON THEIR POST REPORT, THEY BROUGHT IN ABOUT 5,300.

UM, THE ECLIPSE WAS ON MONDAY.

THAT MIGHT HAVE AFFECTED THEIR WEEKEND.

UH, I INCLUDED THE WEATHER IN HERE SO THAT IF THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO IN THIS MEETING TO, TO KIND OF SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENED.

UH, WEATHER AFFECTS THESE EVENTS.

SO I INCLUDED IN THERE THAT WEATHER WAS NOT A PROBLEM FOR THIS EVENT.

UM, SO THAT'S, UM, THAT'S WHAT THE CORVETTE SHOW SAID THEY DID 380 HOTEL ROOMS WITH A $200 A NIGHT AVERAGE RATE.

UH, WHEN YOU MULTIPLY THAT OUT, THE HOT FUNDS AT 7% COMES OUT AT 5,300 TOWARD A