Tourism Commission Meeting December 14, 2020 Tourism Commission to be held December 14, 2020 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance (Sunday, December 13, 2020 by noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the December 14, 2020 Tourism Commission Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at 512.404.4022 or felicia.ojeda@austintexas.gov no later than noon, (the day before the meeting). The following information is required: speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, email address and telephone number (must be the same number that will be used to call into the meeting). •Once a request to speak has been made to the board liaison, the information to call on the day of the scheduled meeting will be provided either by email or phone call. • Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start time in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to felicia.ojeda@austintexas.gov by noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. • If the meeting is broadcast live, it may be viewed here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch- atxn-live Reunión del Tourism Commission FECHA de la reunion (December 14. 2020) La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (Sunday, December 13, 2020 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de la junta en 512.404.4022 or felicia.ojeda@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión). Se requiere la siguiente información: nombre del orador, número (s) de artículo sobre el que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutral, dirección de correo electrónico (opcional) y un número de teléfono (debe ser el número que se utilizará para llamar ). • Una vez que se haya realizado una solicitud …
What is Austin Detours? ● We are a tour company that offers tours to locals, visitors, and corporate groups. ● Our offerings include city tours, food tours, brewery / distillery tours / wine tours, live music tours, and more. ● Our corporate events range from small local teams to visiting convention groups in the 1000s. We offer social, teambuilding and charity events. ● Our team is made up of local musicians, artists, and creators. Austin Detours Pre-Pandemic ● We grew from 1 employee in 2013 to 27 employees in 2020. We also had a 2nd location in San Antonio with 8 employees. ● In 2019, we were recognized as a nominee for “Best CEO,” “Fast 50,” “Best Family Business,” and ranked as “#2 Best Place to Work in Austin” (micro-category). These awards are given out by the Austin Business Journal and highly respected in our city. ● In 2019, we hosted over 27,000 public tour guests and 14,000 corporate guests. ● In 2019, we were the largest tour company in Austin. We have been featured in Lonely Planet, National Geographic Travel, the Washington Post, USA Today, Forbes, and countless blogs / online publications. ● Austin Detours directly supported hundreds of small businesses in Austin, featuring food trucks, musicians and artists on our tours. Many of these creative entrepreneurs have told us that we were the sole reason they were in business, or that we were integral in the launching of their small business. Austin Detours Post-Pandemic ● Austin Detours has been 100% closed since March 11, 2020. ● We have laid off 26 employees. We have one remaining. ● We have completely closed our 2nd operation in San Antonio. ● Many of our key partners have also been forced to close indefinitely. Other Tour Companies in Austin ● AO Tours has continued to operate 1-2 private tours / week. ● Austin Tour Company closed in March and has not reopened. ● Twisted Texas Tours was closed from March - September. They have reopened for private groups only, and have had 12 small private tours to date. Austin Detours Recovery In order for Austin Detours to recover, we will need: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● A vaccine that is available to the general public Financial assistance to help with start-up costs (basically starting the business from new again) Depending on timing, the ability to bring my staff …
Travel & Tourism Update STR 2020 Week Over Week March 7 - December 5 Adam Sacks President Tourism Economics Cindy Lo CEO RED VELVET Billy Carter President & General Manager Carter Transportation (Formerly Super Shuttle/ Execucar) Elizabeth Alderson Owner Austin Detours Dennis Randolph Owner Strong Events 9
RESOLUTION NO. WHEREAS, iconic venues and other local tourist destinations have been forever lost resulting in the tourist destinations; and economy and real estate boom, and WHEREAS, iconic venues and local tourist destinati ible for launching WHEREAS, a recent Billboard List (And Why It Matters) speaks to oss the country and struggling without revenue and insufficient nce due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic; and WHEREAS, the Billboard artic l list of permanently closed venues by state, listing fif l exas, eight of which are in Austin and being the city ures; and WHE ssfully provided a means to save these resulting in the loss of such places as the iconic Thre dquarters and Shady Grove, Barracuda, Plush, Scratchouse, -2-One Bar, and North Door; and WHE -19 public health crisis continues to negatively impact our tourist related economies due to the general public limiting their travel, public health limitations on the ability to gather, and subsequent requirements of social distancing; and 1 of 9 WHEREAS, businesses that promote tourism and the hotel and convention industry are faced with nearly complete loss of operating income due to COVID-19 precautions on top of the pre-COVID conditions of rising rents; and WHEREAS, despite best efforts by the City Council and staff, relief funds to assist with expenses have fallen significantly short to meet the need and to date have been unable to address the loss of iconic venues and tourist destinations that serve WHEREAS may be possible federal fun uch as SAVES funding, could be utilized to stabilize WHEREAS, from around the world; and reputation for live musi attracts visitors WHEREAS, culin venues founded in Austin, and unique to Austin, pr nd convention industry by defining tha e filled with distinctive experiences for visitors foun of those contributing essential talents and businesses thrive upon r and WHE Council Resolution No. 20200326-091 directed City Management to prioritize all necessary resources available to address the public health and economic crises connected to the emergency declaration related to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, Austin City Council Resolution No. 20200326-091 further directed the City Manager to consider possible options for reassessing other uses of and repurposing of existing Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT); and 2 of 9 WHEREAS, Texas Attorneys General have affirmed that cities must determine in the first instance whether an expenditure of hotel occupancy tax revenue is proper under Texas Tax Code Section 351.101 and have discretion in …
PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE FOR HOT FUNDING Tourism-Promoting Advertising, Solicitations, and Promotional Programs : Tax Code Sec. 351.101(a)(3) (“(a) Revenue from the municipal hotel Statutory Basis occupancy tax may be used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry, and that use is limited to … (3) advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs municipality or its vicinity”). to attract tourists and convention delegates or registrants to the Geographic Limitation : None Maintenance and Operation Funding : No Statutory Cap : None. : According to “What Cities Need to Know to Administer Municipal Hotel Statutory Minimum Occupancy Taxes,” state law requires that, for cities with a seven percent local hotel tax rate, at least one-seventh of the hotel tax proceeds must be spent advertising and promoting the city to directly impact tourism and the hotel and convention industry. Tax Code §§ 351.103, 351.1035, 351.104(d), 351.105(b), and 351.106(a). this assertion is unclear. Statutory basis for Real World Examples promotional programs, including paying musicians to promote Austin tourism. : Visit Austin expends HOT on tourism advertising, solicitations, and Proposed Project Description public art in parkland. Funding for a promotional guide to area parks, such as an expanded version of SBCA’s “Explorer’s Guide to the Hill Country Oasis.” : Hiring musicians to play in our parks. Paying artists for Additional “advertising” and “promotional programs” funding could be applied to parks or park projects that are featured in documentary, tv series, social media, or other tourism promotion efforts, such as "lifeguards of Austin," "park rangers of Austin," "restoring the historic Victory Grill," "trailbuilders of Austin," "restoring the neglected neighborhood pools of East Austin," "rowing racers of Lady Bird Lake," "Nature schools of Austin," "eel hunters of the Colorado", "community farms of Boggy Creek," "reversing climate change in Austin," "restoring habitat of endangered wildlife of Central Texas," etc. In addition to funding filmmakers and social media producers that feature Austin parks and environmental settings, “advertising” and “promotional programs” funding could be applied to the work or activities being filmed, such performers and musicians in such promotional projects, thereby employing the Austin creative community while also protecting our environment, improving our parks, etc. Texas Municipal League historic/cultural arts projects. Cultural Arts and Commercial Music : Allowable use unless used to improperly avoid funding caps for : Tax Code Sec. 351.101(a)(4) (“(a) Revenue …
1 BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION City of Austin Tourism Commission Recommendation Number: 20201203-?: HOT Funding for Parks and Environment Projects WHEREAS, Texas state law imposes significant restrictions on how hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds can be used, including but not limited to Texas Tax Code, Chapters 334 and 351; and WHEREAS, the City of Austin has numerous parks and environmental features which are some of the strongest tourist attractions in our city and which are prominently featured in local tourism promotion campaigns, including Visit Austin’s promotion of “9 Reasons to Explore Austin’s Outdoors” (https://www.austintexas.org/austin-insider-blog/post/explore-austins-outdoors); and WHEREAS, the Parks and Environment Working Group was appointed at the February 20, 2020 Tourism Commission meeting to investigate possible uses of HOT funding for parks and environment projects, including (1) Chapter 351 funding options for using hotel occupancy tax funds to benefit parks and/or environment, (2) Chapter 334 funding options for using hotel occupancy tax funds to benefit parks/environment, (3) park amenities to leverage tourism funding for park-specific projects, and (4) Palm Park HOT funding options; and WHEREAS, it was recognized that economic turmoil and tourism impacts from Covid-19 could impact how the city handles hotel occupancy tax dollars in the future; and WHEREAS, the Parks and Environment Working Group has assembled the attached report and recommendation to help City Council envision possible uses of HOT funds to benefit our parks and environment; and WHEREAS, the attached report and recommendation from the Parks and Environment Working Group includes a listing of parks and environment projects/activities that are eligible for HOT funding by identifying specific categories of allowable HOT funded projects (e.g., “Tourism-Promoting Advertising, Solicitations, and Promotional Programs,” “Cultural Arts and Commercial Music,” “Visitor Information Centers,” etc.) along with a description of the statutory basis, limitations, allowed uses, and descriptions of real world examples and parks/environment projects for using HOT funds. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Tourism Commission encourages the Austin City Council to consider the attached report and recommendation from the Parks and Environment Working Group on allowable HOT funding to benefit parks and environment projects in any future decision to allocate HOT funds. Date of Approval: _____________________________ Record of the vote: Attest: _____________________________________________ (Staff or board member can sign) 2
