Travel & Tourism board welcomes Robinson & Shaffer

At the July Hot Springs County Travel and Tourism meeting, Chairman Carl Leyba and the board welcomed newly appointed members Dr. William Robinson and Ryan Shaffer. Robinson is the owner of Owl Creek Graphics, a retail store in downtown Thermopolis. Shaffer owns P6 Station, a pizza restaurant. Both of their businesses are related to the tourism industry and therefore they qualify to be board members. Robinson and Shaffer were not able to attend the meeting, however. These two new appointments make a full board.

In new business, Thermopolis-Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce CEO Meri Ann Rush and president Howie Samelson held a discussion with the tourism board over the language of a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The tourism board provides some funding to the chamber that helps with the wages of the chamber’s staff. A new MOU was being proposed that would show an increase in funds due to inflation. At the end of the discussion, the chamber and the tourism board agreed to re-examine the MOU’s language in a letter and then later create an MOU once all the details are worked out.

In the financial report, Treasure Audra Dominguez presented lodging tax revenue collected in June in the amount of $15,193.53. This was an 8% drop from 2019, but still above the average of $10,002.61 from over the past 10 years. The June statement completed the fiscal year of 2021-2022. Last year, the tourism board estimated that they would receive $190,000 but, due to an increase in tourism, actually received a total of $221,770.89 in lodging tax.

Based on these numbers, for the fiscal year 2022/23, the board has budgeted $221,000 that they estimate the County will receive from lodging tax based on travel projections. However, the final budget total is $320,555, which includes funds from the CARES Act and estimated ad sales revenue from their tourism magazine. The board voted and passed the approval of the new budget.

In the director’s report, Jackie Dorothy said the Wyoming Office of Tourism will hold their board meeting in Thermopolis on August 30-31. They want to host a reception with details forthcoming.

Dorothy also said, “A goal I would like to set would be to have all our hotels and many of our vacation rentals registered with the Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours. They work with foreign individual travelers (FIT) rather than groups, so they would be a great fit for our town.”

Dorothy continued her report and said, “RMI sent us an advertising opportunity to be on their map. We have done this in the past and it does reach international travelers.” The cost for this opportunity is $600 and Dorothy said they do have the funds. 

Additionally, Dorothy reported that the Wyoming Office of Tourism is hosting a tour on August 24 in Thermopolis. She added, “These are tour operators who get a personal look at the ‘product’ they are selling.”

In new business, the board discussed and reviewed billboard locations and their costs. Board member Mike Sinclair brought the Wyoming Office of Tourism’s “What’s New” handout. There was discussion as to a new version of the handout they can create for Hot Springs County. To add clarity to the discussion, ‘What’s New’ is better understood by the tourist or reader as “What’s new to you.” This would be an introduction of the county’s features to new tourists. Some of the items they highlighted were the new connections of trails between T-Hill and Roundtop, new trails for biking or hiking, horseback riding, and also a QR code that would lead the user to more information.

Regarding the digital signage and its MOU with the Fair Board, the details are being finalized. The board’s October retreat in Cody was tabled, but they plan to go over their strategic plan when they do meet.