Coronado Tourism Improvement District (CTID)
Minutes from Advisory Board/Board of Directors Meeting
November 7, 2013, Council Chambers, Coronado, Ca.
1. Call to Order. The meeting of the CTID was called to order at 2 p.m. The following
CTID Advisory Board/Board of Directors were present: Brian Johnson, Claudia Ludlow,
Mary Ann Berta, Denise Schwab, Andre Zotoff, David Spatafore, Phil Monroe. Eddie
Warner was absent and there was no official representation for Coronado Island Marriott
Resort.
Also in attendance: Executive Director (ED) Todd Little, Assistant City Manager Tom
Ritter, Nusrat Mirza from Coronado Island Marriott Resort and Moki Martin from
Superfrog Inc.
2. Approval of Minutes from October 3, 2013. Motion for approval: Schwab. Second:
Spatafore. Unanimously approved 7-0.
3. Oral Communications. Moki Martin from Superfrog Inc. thanked the Board for the grant
his event received. The grant allowed them to make progress on the event so they can
continue to benefit military families and the programs of the Optimists Club of Coronado.
Moki said the event had more participants than ever because there was less demand for
complimentary or media passes. This year there were a greater number of groups
participating. The grand total was 575 triathletes. Brian Johnson voiced his appreciation
of what Superfrog does for local charities as well as his hotel, Loews Coronado Bay
Resort. Claudia Ludlow commented that her hotel, Glorietta Bay Inn booked 20 room
nights because of the event.
4. Staff Discussion and Updates. The ED referred to the Board packets that included an
updated assessment summary. In September, assessments came in at 1.8% higher than
projected. $43,273 was collected bringing the YTD total to $198,992. That total is 4.3%
over last year’s actuals.
Each quarter the CTID is required to summarize its scope of work and the ED mentioned
a draft copy of the FY14 Q1 report that was inside the Board packet.
The ED commented on the local marketing study for fall that is underway. It will
measure the success of the CTID advertising campaigns during October, November and
December. If all goes as planned over 70 Coronado businesses will be reporting their
revenue percentages. Adding more businesses to the sample improves the reliability of
the data.
The ED said the CTID’s responsive website for reaching tablet users has been delayed a
bit. The contracted developer is wrapping up the projects of others and the CTID’s
website should get back into production late this month.
The ED thanked Andre Zotoff or completing his ethics training, his form 700 and for
taking time to be officially sworn earlier as an Advisory Board member. He also thanked
Brian Johnson for completing his form 700 that is protocol when exiting a City
organization. The ED introduced Nusrat Mirza in the audience. He is the new General
Manager at Coronado Island Marriott Resort and will join the Board in December. He
comes to Coronado from the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, California.
Claudia Ludlow thanked Brian Johnson for his service to the CTID as he departs the
Board. He was presented with several gifts themed with his new position in Hollywood.
Brian thanked the Board for supporting him during his short tenure as Chair. He believes
2014 will be a great year for the CTID with many accomplishments. While sad to leave,
he added his departure invites fresh perspective from his replacement, also named Brian
Johnson.
5. PR Update from Robert Arends, San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA. Its been a busy
quarter as SDTA is bouncing back from staff layoffs and canceled advertising campaigns.
During Q1 the CTID realized $233,467 in media coverage stemming from Robert’s PR
efforts. Over 14 million impressions were received. Robert’s PR summary included
these highlights:
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Since July, 25 domestic and int’l media writers have been hosted
One TV program reached 200,000 viewers in Phoenix, Denver and Tucson
Int’l press received from Calgary Herald and Huffington Post UK
Media tours for group meeting organizers
Media visits planned for San Francisco and Texas
Recent trip to LA with Claudia Ludlow included AAA Westways, Advocate, LA
Parent, OC Register, Southland Golf and the LA Newspaper Group (9 dailies)
Met with SD media including Pacific, Performances, Ranch & Coast and Rivera
The Board packets included the two most recent press releases: fall/holiday events and
2014 calendar of events in Coronado.
6. Discuss Community Grant Program, Direct ED. The ED prepared a short presentation
that outlined the goal of the grant program to improve hotel occupancy and local
business. Recently the process of awarding grants has become daunting and unrewarding
because of the volume of work and uncertainty of its return on investment. Board
members have voiced doubt the program achieved its goal and failed to deliver the
intended goodwill.
The ED provided these thought starters to aid the conversation:
Refine:
Sharpen eligibility parameters, limit the eligibility of previous grantees
and discuss whether only non-profits should apply.
Retool:
Use grant dollars for adopting or mentoring one promising event,
reserve grant money for new events yet to be established or delegating the
grant approval process to the Local Marketing Subcommittee.
Replace:
Use grant funds to support other groups that deliver guests to Coronado,
move the grant budget to the Local Marketing line, utilize the money for
projects such as a Coronado Dining Guide or hold the funds in Long Term
Planning.
The ED invited the Board to first eliminate ideas that were not appealing then consider
whether hotel occupancy or local business was priority (instead of both.) The goal was to
provide direction so the ED could provide further data at the Annual Meeting.
Brian Johnson prefaced the discussion by saying this topic was added to the agenda so
the Board could review the program, evaluate its impact, define its intended goals and
start the process again in July 2014.
Andre Zotoff felt the funds should be used to further the brand of Coronado as a whole
because it impacts all businesses dependent on tourism. Because the impact of
advertising can sometimes be delayed he felt the grantees may not benefit from the grant
advertising. He felt the grants should perhaps be given to those who can best answer
“how would you use the grant to strengthen the Coronado brand?” He favored a bigger
agenda for the funds, one that had a greater good (than the attendance of a local event.)
He closed with “simply writing a check is dangerous.”
Phil Monroe said that during the grant evaluations he was surprised that some organizers
(such as Superfrog Inc.) have staff salaries or compensation plans. He’s unsure if it’s
right or wrong, just surprised some events (such as Superfrog) pay $10,000 in wages.
Yet, he recognized the overall positive impact of Superfrog on local hotels. He suggested
the Board consider whether applicants must be volunteer-based (such as Coronado Art
Walk.) Phil did not find the grant process unsatisfying. He doesn’t mind the volume of
work it demands.
David Spatafore has not been a fan of the grant program that was originally introduced as
a goodwill gesture to local businesses and residents. He feels the grants do not produce
the desired number of guests and preferred to move the funds to Local Marketing. He
suggested that Local Marketing Subcommittee use the funds for amplifying the Coronado
brand. He suggested asking local organizers to pitch having their event included in
existing CTID campaigns and PR strategies. In doing so, the event would receive a
greater impact that the current grant structure affords. He favored investing the funds in a
long-term strategy directed and managed by the CTID within the confines of the existing
brand campaign.
Mary Ann Berta felt the grant process was repetitive with the same applicants receiving
the same level of granting. She believes the typical $3,000 grant cannot make a big
difference in the attendance of the event. She favored moving the funds to Local
Marketing. She did like the idea to promote Coronado as an event destination by
including approved events within the current CTID advertising campaigns.
Claudia Ludlow voiced her concern with the volume of work associated with the grant
process. Finding time to review the applications was overwhelming during the heavy
season for tourism. She liked the idea of developing a campaign funded by the grant
dollars that would promote Coronado events under the CTID branding. She felt it was
important to focus on events that improve hotel occupancy. She liked the idea of having
local events vie to be included in the campaign.
Denise Schwab spoke about the sense of entitlement that previous grantees have
expressed. She liked the idea of using the funds for a campaign that promotes Coronado
as an event destination. She felt A Taste of Coronado would be an example of an event
that could benefit from being included in that strategy. She stated sticking to the CTID’s
mission was key. Hotel occupancy, she felt, should be the priority with all CTID
advertising.
Brian Johnson felt that events that improve both hotel occupancy and local business
should be included. He felt $3,000 does not really buy much and the funds should be
used elsewhere. He preferred the strategy being discussed because it gave the CTID
greater control. He suggested a community outreach program so more organization could
be engaged in this strategy.
Phil Monroe agreed the current grant budget should be used to embellish the Local
Marketing budget. He also felt the PR efforts of Robert Arends could improve the
awareness and attendance of local events without incurring additional expense.
Brian Johnson asked the ED to create a model based on the opinions expressed.
Discussing this matter, he felt, allowed the ED plenty of time to prepare options for the
Board and to communicate the re-direction to local organizations.
7. Nomination of Chair. With Brian Johnson leaving the Board the ED walked through the
process of nominating a new Chair to replace him. Brian Johnson nominated Claudia
Ludlow for Chair. Second: Monroe. Unanimously approved 7-0.
Because the Vice-Chair ascended to Chair, the ED called for a nomination to replace
Claudia Ludlow as Vice-Chair. Denise Schwab nominated Andre Zotoff. Second:
Monroe. Unanimously approved 7-0.
Claudia Ludlow closed the meeting by telling the Board the Glorietta Bay Inn was betatesting a program that could allow all Coronado hotels the ability to offer golf
packages to hotel guests. The program allows hoteliers to digitally reserve tee times at
Coronado Golf Course. In the past, hotels have had little or no access to tee times and the
pilot program hopes to bring new revenue to both the Golf Course and the partner hotels.
8. Adjournment: 2:55pm.