Door County Tourism Zone Commission : Meeting Minutes

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September 15, 2011 Door County Tourism Zone Executive Committee Minutes

DOOR COUNTY TOURISM ZONE COMMISSION
Executive Committee
Minutes of September 15, 2011 – 9:10 a.m.
Kerber Rose, 10568 Country Walk Lane, Sister Bay

ACTION ITEMS:
Starr moved and Skare seconded to move Bay Lake Systems to the first item of business on the Agenda. Motion passed unanimously.

Starr moved and Larson seconded to approve the August 18 Commission minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously.

Larson moved and Weddig seconded to approve Kerber Rose Reports, Payables, and Receipts to Date. Motion passed unanimously.

Kufrin moved and Larson seconded to convene into Closed Session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statutes, Section 19.85(1)(a)(f) or (g) to Consider Enforcement Action against Certain Businesses Regarding the Room Tax Permitting, Late Payments, and Reporting. Motion passed unanimously by roll call.

Kufrin moved and Weddig seconded to reconvene into Open Session. Motion passed unanimously by roll call.

Kufrin moved and Larson seconded that attorney Bill Vande Castle should proceed (1) to remove the LeClair Estate from pursuit on Lodge at Fish Creek and pursue Paul LeClair as an individual and (2) authorize Associated Collectors to pursue the Ephraim Inn in Door County Small Claims Court using Associate’s own attorney. Motion passed unanimously.

Kufrin moved and Larson seconded to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously.

Committee Members Present by Roll Call: Robert Kufrin, Jeff Larson (9:24), Dick Skare, Bob Starr, Bill Weddig,

Also in Attendance: Dianne Lensert/Kerber Rose, Kathy Kirkland/Administrative Assistant, Jack Moneypenny/DCVB

Excused: Dave Holtz, Bryan Nelson

Call to Order
Kufrin called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m.

Approval of the Agenda
Kufrin suggested changing the order of the agenda, moving Item 8 (Bay Lake Systems) first to accommodate Greg Swain and Justin Borkovetz. Starr so moved, Skare seconded. All ayes.

Discussion with Representatives of Bay Lake Systems Regarding Database Maintenance, Licensing, and Upgrades
Kufrin stated there has been some concern about security of the site, with permit holders and office staff receiving “unsecured site” notices. A permit holder said it was an IP problem/lack of space; Borkovetz replied that was on her own system, not Bay Lake’s. Swain stated that the new SSL certificate was just applied, which should take care of the warnings; there was never a real security issue. Borkovetz stated some browsers have a higher security level (e.g., Internet Explorer 9) and will react. Kirkland asked if using DC Computer was a factor since Borkovetz had said it took time upgrading the certificate. Greg Swain explained the process of certification and getting the proper key number. Bay Lake has its own server at DC Computer, but DC Computer’s staff must physically install certificate information, and they had problems: They had to go through the process three times before it accepted the key. The certificate is good for two years, so they won’t have an issue until then. Kirkland noted that some sites that deal in financial transactions have a seal or logo (VeriSign, etc.) to show they’re secure, which reassures users; Swain said they do have those logos on file and will put them on the site. The URL already shows a secure (green) URL.

Kufrin asked Bay Lake that whenever they know something that might affect operations, such as a new browser, to give us a heads-up so we can anticipate questions from users. Kufrin discussed the Dutch security certificate system recently hacked; when people read those stories, they’re concerned. Swain said that was a credit card security issue, and that type of hacking is a major problem. The Zone has a third-party (Official Payments) for credit cards, so that is not a concern.

Kerber Rose had initially brought up the idea of saving bank routing/account numbers in the system (XXXXX1234) so people wouldn’t have to type it each time; that would be a good service to add now if it’s secure. Swain said it would be; the numbers are well encrypted. Borkovetz asked if The Zone wanted to offer a choice of account from which to debit; Lensert said one account is sufficient, with the option of inputting a new account if desired. Swain said they‘d give the user the option of whether or not to save bank information. Weddig encouraged Bay Lake to look at the updated State Department of Revenue online filing site for how the accounts are listed and how they’ve set it up.

Kufrin asked if Bay Lake has best practices for security for both the physical server and software. Swain said the database has two-fold authentication using encryption with two separate keys onsite and with the server. They scrub/purge data even when encrypted as soon as they process it. Last year, Bay Lake spent $120,000 for compliancy measures and budgeted for $80,000 in 2012. The newest technology is working with end-to-end encryption, which happens even before it leaves the wire when swiping a card. They have spoken with a few companies about products. In five years, hacking might be a moot issue as credit cards are processed through outsourced vendors. Larson arrived at the meeting.

Weddig feels the state tax could be routed directly to the Department of Revenue rather than going through his own account; computer technology should be able to split it into various accounts. That would avoid his having to pay 3% to credit card companies. Swain noted that Canada is ahead of us; they use chips and no swiping, so you never give the credit card to anyone. Justin added card companies might soon require pin numbers for all cards, not just debit cards. Swain mentioned a one-time-use card: If you’re going to do an online purchase, you can request a one-time number from your bank. You enter the number and it expires. The amount goes on your regular credit card statement; all banks/card companies have this now.

Kufrin said all software and operating systems evolve, and migrating the data from one system to the next is problematic and expensive. Is the software for our applications current? What is the end-of-life on what we’re running? Swain said everything is current; the software and sequel-based database are using current languages. However, Lodgical Solutions is past its life, and they’re updating it. Justin said for every new browser or platform (iPad, Android Zoom, etc.), they have to check the look of the site because the user has to go through a browser; Bay Lake doesn’t have an app. Kirkland asked if they could add the security logo right away but wait a month to change the “saving bank numbers” option after the season calms down. Justin said Sharon Gulley at Kerber Rose has problems a few times a month with the wrong ACH number; Lensert concurred; it’s often a wrong routing number. Justin will put the image of a check, as many sites do, online that show where to locate the routing and account numbers on the check face. Kirkland noted that most errors are human error, adding extra space after the password, etc., but these updates will catch some errors.

Kufrin asked if people could make duplicate payments. Lensert said it’s possible if someone refreshes the screen. Bay Lake did prevent people from using the “back” button. Kirkland noted that Bay Lake fixed a loophole that allowed a permit holder to file on an Inactive (“0”) property; now, inactive properties will be read-only for permit holders but still available live for Kerber Rose and The Zone. Lensert said there are only a handful of people using credit cards each month but we’re getting more online filing. Lensert asked Borkovetz about archiving past years’ data because the database gets bigger each month. He said he could do that and also compact data. Swain and Borkovetz left the meeting.

Approval of the Minutes of the August 18 Commission Meeting
Larson noted on pg 2, li 10, it should be “staff” instead of “meeting.” On pg 3, li 1, “key” instead of “keying,” and li 46−47, “utilizing reader service cards.” On pg 4, the sense is that once a set of measures is agreed upon, the Commission shouldn’t change it every few months. Li. 21, some pages don’t “show” exact numbers (missing word). Lensert noted on pg 4, li 38, months now adjusted and won’t be “updated” until year end. Starr moved to approve the minutes as amended; Larson seconded. All ayes.

Report from Kathy Kirkland on Current Activities, Projects, and Issues Associated with Permitting New Members
Kirkland said that among the 84 “no report” notices, there were some agents’ properties and a couple of larger properties (30+ units). A few people paid penalties/taxes, bringing down the outstanding total by about $700 from last month. The mailing to permit holders (new permit, Change of Information form) is complete for e-mailing. She will snail-mail those without e-mail addresses and give agents their permits. People are responding with updated information. Kerber Rose is getting a new phone system so The Zone will, too ($350). Starr asked about the VOIP phone; Lensert said you can access the Internet through the phone, which has advantages for companies with long-distance branches. Moneypenny said their VOIP phones haven’t saved money; there’s no support for the phones themselves, and they go down. Kufrin said a power surge or brownout could cut the phones, which require a battery backup.

Associated Bank is revising its ACH alert system, and Kirkland will have online access only to that section of the account (Nelson will sign the authorization). To date, there have been no ACH breaches.

With the number of late reports, Kufrin was concerned about the 6% decline in units available, corresponding with a drop in units filled. Lensert reiterated there are a couple major properties, particularly last month, and there’s always a lag before lates are entered. June units on Kufrin’s chart are down 5,000 nights; July, down 8,000 nights, but Weddig noted that going back to May, where it’s updated, it’s only down 2,000 nights. The number of units available is down throughout the entire year; occupancy percentages are up, and Kufrin said ADR is up. Starr asked if it’s a reaction of demand. Weddig said July’s units filled were down by 5,000 but June shows we’re ahead of last year in terms of filled units; that’s where the discrepancy comes in 44.1% (2011) compared to 42.5% (2010). Kufrin said if the total number of units are declining, a lodging owner could keep rates higher. Weddig said looking at numbers by community; you can see what communities are below average or above average. The Island is 58% or so, even in July; Southern Door is also lower. Starr said it began with the evolution of condominium hotels; it changed occupancy numbers. Moneypenny said a challenge with the Island is higher ferry rates; a family of four is $73 with a car now. Recent guests realized there was no way to go back and forth from the Island inexpensive; in the future, they’ll stay on the peninsula and go to the Island for one day only. Washington Island visitors are pretty much captive. Weddig stated the Island should package trips with the ferry line; others felt people don’t cooperate enough to put packages together efficiently.

Lensert said the units filled/ADR is updated monthly this year, but if look at July, there’s nothing to pull yet. June has been updated. Starr asked if there are rumbles of people renting who aren’t permitted. People can understate their income, but what can we do about the properties that are operating and not even permitted? Weddig said that would be more common in single homes; Kirkland said that’s especially true with renting to friends or relatives, but she does catch people who run online ads. Starr said that Sturgeon Bay residents know they can’t rent unless they’re in a commercial district; they know there’s enforcement now.

Consideration of Approving Reports and Payables plus Receipts to Date
Lensert said that July, even before lates are added, is 0.7% ahead, so that will be better when lates come in. YTD is up 0.4%. Weddig said Kufrin’s sheet shows how the lates figure in: between July 2010 and 2011, there’s a big discrepancy because people haven’t reported; going back to May, it evened out. Moneypenny said he’s keeping a close eye because only 0.4% in one of the bigger months is a concern; the DCVB budgeted a 3% increase and can’t spend money it’s not collecting. It has money in the Opportunity Fund but can’t use it until they know tax collections are up 2% to 2.5%. Weddig pointed out that ADR is up considerably; he has been able to raise rates, and that’s where the money will come up, not with units. Lensert said that ADR doesn’t change with lates; it’s an average on dollars collected. Weddig said July went from $146 in 2010 to $150 in 2011; August won’t be less than $155, he predicted.

Moneypenny is looking at a book-it-now button on every website page, giving users the option to book immediately. The DCVB will pay Bay Lake $55,000 to develop it rather than have innkeepers share in the cost. The proposal is in and ready to go, but they have to be assured about income.

No one present knew if county sales tax is up or down for the season. Kufrin asked the Sister Bay Board about tourist activities; consensus was that the people are here but not spending as much. Skare concurred that his business is up but fluctuates more; people aren’t spending freely. Moneypenny said he’ll hear that July and August were the best since 2003 and then others say they were the worst in 10 years. Starr said the golf courses are a good barometer: You have the wealthy, well-to-do, and average people out golfing; with the economy, you’ve lost a lot of that. Weddig felt golf courses are like housing; there are too many right now. Kufrin asked if the DCVB could do a Survey Monkey to see anecdotally, “How was your season? If retailer, hotelier, restaurant, answer different questions if they’re up, down, to get a real-time feel. Starr felt the best measure is revenues collected; year-end, we’ll know what it is. Larson felt they’d answer by hunch or by the recent week, not actually looking at the books. He’d be hesitant about accuracy. Weddig can go to Lodgical and pull up exactly how he’s doing on income/rooms compared to last year, advanced reservations comparatively and going forward. Kufrin said the best indicator for hotel occupancy would be the amount of discounting or whether owners project higher rates for October compared to 2010. Weddig feels it’s higher, and they probably discounted where didn’t have to in 2010. He said return guests come anyway, but they do tend to bargain and want last year’s rates. About 25% to 30% of his business is return traffic.

Moneypenny said the Visitor Center traffic is down about 1,400 through August, but last year was a record. Currently, it’s all older visitors, no kids, interested in the “So Delicious” campaign. Many new people are still coming in. Larson concurred that many Landmark guests are first time to the county. Moneypenny said lodging owners have to cultivate the next crop of people; a motel owner called and said his first quarter was down, and his longtime people didn’t come back. Moneypenny asked, “Did you contact them?” You have to keep in touch. Some people have become too old to travel, etc. Starr said with the newer, younger tourists, technology has to be cutting edge. Lodgings are also seeing tourists returning after a hiatus of four or five years. Moneypenny said you have to be careful about “me-search,” using your immediate circle to make assessments. Kirkland’s “me-search” includes her cousins’ kids who are so highly scheduled they can’t leave home to get up here. Moneypenny noted that high school sports training starts a month before school opens. His Board members have told him the website pictures don’t reflect the beauty of Door County; they’ll change to a bigger home page window with revolving pictures.

Lensert noted she added the DCVB at the bottom of the Checks to be Issued list, so that may help Moneypenny keep track. Larson moved to approve the reports; Weddig seconded. All ayes.

Report by the Door County Visitor Bureau on Marketing Efforts and Quarterly Report
Moneypenny read in the last Executive Committee (July) minutes that Nelson raised a concern about the website visits and the relationship of eBrains to the number of web visits because numbers were down. It’s a misconception that eBrains is responsible for website visits. The contract has three parts: $93,000 for PI leads. They’ve cleaned the database and taken out 95,000 inactive and will replace with 93,000 new people. That’s one portion and eBrains has fulfilled it 100% plus. It’s $1 per PI lead. The second part is pay-per-click, an $80,000 contract for 80,000. YTD, eBrains has delivered 54,800, so they’ll hit the target by year-end. The third part is $42,000 in the contract for sending nine e-mails to the database, then re-mailing to those who don’t open it. eBrains sent about 3 million YTD (1.5 million and then resent). There’s an additional contract for $35,000 for seasonal campaign mailings: opt-in, welcome, e-mail postcard, then going through a third party of hotel databases where another e-mail postcard looks like it comes directly from the hotel. There are about five or six mailings for each promotion.

Starr asked if the DCVB creates mailings or just provides content. Moneypenny said eBrains writes the newsletter based on information provided; the newsletter comes back to the DCVB to proof, but eBrains does content build and design. They’re considering a new interest-specific look: five hot-key bars that will take the reader to that portion of the newsletter to gives them in-depth quickly. Moneypenny said eBrains monitors open rates, who hasn’t opened it, re-mail. In response to Starr’s question, the first contract with eBrains was in 2007, $450,000 for 18 months. Moneypenny is happy with their performance, but, as due diligence, an RFP will go out to two or three companies for bids. The same with Geiger; the DCVB will be asking other companies for input. Geiger’s relationship with airlines means the DCVB doesn’t pay airfare for journalists, so they need comparable services. They’ll do the same with the advertising agency, Noise, in a year or so. They’re happy with all vendors but need to ensure they have the best relationships/results possible. The vendors have gone above and beyond and not charged DCVB for many services. Door County looks good on their resumes, so building relationships is key.

Kufrin felt something changed in July/August for both unique visits and website visits. Page per view and length of time remained down. What does Moneypenny think happened? Moneypenny said the PI leads are a big part of it; they purged people who’d lost interest. Now there are new people in PI, driving to the website. However, they discovered that prior to May and the website redesign, it counted page views differently; with the redesign, you can now click directly to the property’s website rather than going to the Innline page first. While it’s a quicker option, it means people aren’t on the DCVB site as long, and the DCVB is deciding whether that’s good or bad. They’ve asked Noise that when Google Analytics is looking at referrals, does a web search referral look different from an Innline referral? Noise said yes, it’d be referred from two different places. Therefore, if referrals are down, you can’t look just look at Innline referrals. Noise has a list of 12 properties to analyze; it will ask about the properties on Google Analytics and see what referrals line up with DCVB stats. It may mean changes in the numbers but not the outcomes. Moneypenny said they want to do what’s best for the customer. Facebook is up dramatically, with click-thrus pushing more people to the site. It may not be in the Top 10 Sources but it could be #11. Main Street Motel is still high on the list of referrals; a mystery, but Larson said they might’ve copied pages that keep the footprint, and that would account for false referrals. Moneypenny will call Deb Krause to explore what’s happening.

Kufrin asked if website visits include site unique visits. Moneypenny said yes, but if it’s a unique (first-time) visit, the IP address will register as a new user. Kufrin asked if it’s better or worse if unique goes up. Moneypenny felt its better, with new people and new interest. Kufrin asked if the DCVB has compared it as a line graph and noted a change in ratio (with eBrains). Larson switched away from Google Analytics because whenever you open a new frame, GA records it as different and cuts off the visit time.

Kufrin recognized that social media is up 5000% from a year ago. He assumes if you were carrying on conversation, back and forth on the same issue five times, it’d be five posts. Is there any way to track someone from Facebook to the website? Moneypenny said yes, in Google Analytics; he has month over month, year over year, from Mary Denis and saw Facebook listed. He’ll make sure it’s included in the report next month regarding its rank. Kufrin said they’re starting to pick up mobile links on Sister Bay sites. Larson noted that Google will pick up those, too.

Weddig said advance reservations through October are good, slightly up. Moneypenny has found that some lodgings have long cancellation policies; people don’t want that, so they’re calling closer to the time they’re coming. The DCVB has a research project they have to decide on soon: four seasonal surveys; e.g., for winter: pick out X people and send a survey about Door County. (Kufrin thought the Texas A&M person did that with Geiger; Moneypenny said this is different.) Moneypenny said that we always say we know our customer, but we haven’t confirmed it in five years. It would be a three-pronged attack: get demographics, their impressions of Door County, and their buying habits. All of that will aid in looking at where to place marketing dollars by season. It has changed in the five years when they did a brand study with Believable Brands, but that survey didn’t go deep enough. DK Shifflit is a nationally known company. The contract would be $20,000 this year and $58,000 next year.

Kufrin asked Moneypenny about results from the Strategic Community Partnership, if communications/ activities are improving. There was only one attempt at a co-op ad this June. Moneypenny said the biggest challenge is the associations’ budgeting in the fall, already committing their dollars, and not having a slush fund. Larson concurs. For 2012, the DCVB will release the schedule of co-op marketing this October. The DCVB will make visits with presentations and Q&A so the associations can budget 2012. The biggest thing this year was a grassroots effort for the Winter Guide, 60 pages, 95% advertising, totally paid for with ad money. It lists all businesses open over winter (members) and will be delivered September 27, with 30,000 total: 10,000 going to state welcome centers, 20,000 through fall festivals locally. Businesses converted their ads to a winter look, and it cost $460/ad. It will be in the co-op plan for next year, too, and they’ll also ask associations what co-op changes they might want. Kirkland felt it would be vital to have businesses commit to staying open; this is mostly an issue with retailers, since lodging have found guests wanting something to do in the winter but everything’s closed. Weddig noted that midweek, it’s hard to coax people up in the winter, and Skare said the biggest winter issue is staffing. Starr left the meeting (11:15).

Kufrin asked if DCVB Board members have started going to communities; it was supposed to begin in the fall. He’d like someone to call to be put on the Sister Bay agenda for October. Moneypenny will push people to make appointments. Kufrin said they should make a pitch for becoming members, leave applications so people can budget for it. Moneypenny said its Board has the same challenges as The Zone: 6 to 8 really involved people and the remainder are conscious but not immersed. The core people are mobilized; the Board has to understand its responsibilities now that there are only 24 members. In addition, a Southern Door business association is necessary to help programs/events go. They have to push the initiative down there.

Consider Motion to Convene into Closed Session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statutes, Section 19.85(1)(a)(f) or (g) to Consider Enforcement Action against Certain Businesses Regarding the Room Tax Permitting, Late Payments, and Reporting
Kufrin moved to convene into Closed Session; Larson seconded. All ayes by roll call.

CLOSED SESSION

Consider a Motion to Reconvene into Open Session
Kufrin moved to reconvene into Open Session; Weddig seconded. All ayes by roll call.

Consider a Motion to Take Action, if Required
Kufrin moved to have attorney Bill Vande Castle proceed to (1) remove the LeClair Estate from pursuit on the Lodge at Fish Creek and (2) pursue Paul LeClair as an individual. He further moved to authorize Associated Collectors to pursue the Ephraim Inn in Door County Small Claims Court using Associate’s own attorney. Larson seconded All ayes by roll call.

Adjournment
Kufrin moved and Larson seconded to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathy Kirkland
Administrative Assistant

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