Travel and tourism meeting

At the August Travel and Tourism meeting, due to a vacancy on the board, acting Chairman Mike Sinclair nominated William Robinson to become the next acting Chairman and that Ryan Shaffer be Secretary until November. The board voted and passed the approval of the nominations. When that time comes, they will officially vote for the election of officers for the next year. 

Director Angie Guyon and the board discussed their training compliance with the State Department of Audit. They are almost completely done with the training.

Guyon also discussed they recently had their self-audit, which was performed by Cheryl Markillie, a CPA and Ronda Valiente, a bookkeeper. There were a few discrepancies with three checks that did not clear from June 2023. Other than those errors, the books were cleared. The board discussed having their own board members, specifically the treasurer and another board member, to do the self audit along with outside individuals working together. This would allow them to review their accounting and grasp their workflow better. 

The board discussed their insurance and how an agent is doing an investigation of what policies they need. The board also discussed their bonding. Director Guyon will be looking into these matters.

Guyon then discussed their digital sign project and said they received the additional $80,000 from the Destination Development Funds. There was discussion about the land use designation of the property where the sign would be placed. Guyon said that instead of getting a contract with John Herron for the digital sign, they instead were granted an easement. This would allow long-term use of the digital sign beyond if the property owner passes the land to his children or elsewhere. 

There were some requirements for the easement, which included landscaping with plants and flowers, only active service clubs to be featured on medallions, and a plaque for their family. Guyon added that they need to get insurance for the sign and that she was looking into it with Mark Whitt.

Guyon and the board discussed their contract with the Chamber of Commerce. The chamber provided their monthly report of “Where do you call home?” and showed some photos of pins put into a map of the United States and the world. 

The board discussed their contract with Herrmann Global or sign up with the Wyoming COOP. One of the features of the COOP was a 50% match and the cost would be $14,750 versus $16,500 with Herrmann Global. The COOP term is for 12 months and can be paused when needed. After a lengthy discussion where they weighed the positives and negatives of each, the board voted and passed the approval to go forward with the Wyoming COOP. 

In new business, the board made a motion and seconded putting a full-page ad in the official Wyoming Travel Guide and new signature cards were signed at their bank. 

The board also discussed state lodging statistics and information. The handouts reported that the state’s lodging and hospitality sales tax revenues, year to date, were $35,926,505. The lodging and hospitality share of all state sales tax was 8.9%. Hot Springs County’s lodging and hospitality sales tax revenue was $147,675, with its county state sales tax of 0.7%.

The top three origin states of visitors to Hot Springs County are Colorado, 18.3%, Montana, 15.4%, and Utah, 8.3%. For 2024, Hot Springs County’s hotel and short-term rental revenue were $2.1 million and $4.1 million, Quarters 1 and 2, respectively. 

The next Travel & Tourism board meeting will be on September 17 at 1 p.m. at Big Horn Federal.