Lodgers' Tax Advisory Board Meeting - May 19, 2026
Lodgers' Tax Advisory Board Meeting - May 19, 2026
The Lodgers' Tax Advisory Board (LTAB) met on May 19, 2026, at 12:00 PM in the Boards & Commissions Room at 1000 Central Avenue, Los Alamos. Chair Jennifer Olson called the meeting to order. Members present: Jennifer Olson (Chair), Conner Tharp (Vice Chair), Dana Even, Sonia Ruiz, and Brandi Engemen (agenda spelling; also referred to as Brandy Ingman in the transcript). Ellen Felton served as the liaison. Representatives from DestinationiQ and Discover Los Alamos presented reports. The meeting included updates on tourism marketing analytics, visitor data, lodger's tax revenues, and discussions on visitor experience improvements.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Today's Agenda: Motion made and seconded; passed unanimously.
- Approval of March 17, 2026 Meeting Minutes: Motion made and seconded; passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public provided comment on items not on the agenda.
Discussion Items
DestinationiQ Report (Presented by Kristen)
- Website Traffic: Overall traffic tripled year-over-year, driven by paid ads and the Oppenheimer campaign. Direct traffic accounted for 39.75% of visits, indicating strong brand recognition.
- Google Search Ads: Click-through rate (CTR) reached a high of 8% due to improved targeting. The Bradbury ad had an exceptionally high CTR of 19% (reported as "1918" in the transcript, likely a typographical error). The Manhattan Project ad achieved a 10% CTR.
- Meta Ads: Record performance with a cost per landing page view of $0.12 (target was $0.20). The Oppenheimer creative drove 90% of spend. Campaigns targeted Albuquerque, Santa Fe, DFW, and Colorado, with balanced performance.
- Placer AI Data: El Paso identified as a potential new target market for day trips.
- Upcoming Promotions: Digital gratis ads in the Visit Santa Fe e-newsletter will promote the 4th of July in June, and the Summer Concert Series in July and August. Marketing for Science Fest, Chamberfest, and other events is pending information from organizers.
- Outdoor Recreation: Emphasis on hiking keywords; suggestion to create a monthly outdoor activity calendar similar to Santa Fe’s. The team will develop a plan to drive more traffic for outdoor recreation.
- Google Ad Grant: Clarified that Lodgers’ Tax funds cannot use Google’s free ad credits because they are government funds. A suggestion was made to create a business toolkit to help local businesses access such co-ops.
Discover Los Alamos Report (Presented by Melanie)
- Draft Reports: January, February, and March reports were provided (April pending Bradbury numbers). January and February were quiet; March saw an uptick due to spring break.
- Bandelier National Monument: Attendance in March was near 2021 levels. Persistent issues with parking and the cessation of the mandatory shuttle from White Rock have caused visitor frustration and confusion. The board discussed improving online messaging to clarify that no shuttle leaves from White Rock, and that a shuttle operates only inside the park.
- Adventure Guide: Printed guide distribution decreased due to digital downloads; a physical stock from 2025 is still being used. Future editions will place the date on the back cover to extend shelf life.
- Visitor Data: The board also discussed the concierge calendar, which currently lists only major attractions. Some members questioned why local businesses (e.g., art centers) are not included. It was clarified that the calendar is a voluntary Discover Los Alamos product, not a contracted requirement.
Lodger's Tax Revenue Report (Presented by Ellen Felton)
- Year-to-date actuals are slightly lower than budgeted projections, attributed to the government shutdown last year affecting travel. Two months remain in the fiscal year; summer months may help close the gap.
- A double payment to LACDC in April was due to invoicing issues (multiple identical invoices sent by their email system).
Councilor Report
- No councilor was present; no report given.
Other Announcements
- Bradbury Science Museum announced temporary hour changes starting June 16: Tuesday–Saturday 9:00 AM–4:00 PM, Sunday 12:00–4:00 PM (previously 10:00 AM–5:00 PM). The change is to accommodate a bathroom remodel (first since the building opened in 1993). Porta-potties will be available.
- Discussion on weekend dining options: Melanie maintains an updated dining guide. Members noted that while some popular restaurants close on weekends, many alternatives are open (e.g., Beep 'n Leaf, China Palace, Pajarito Brewpub).
Business Data and Community Engagement
- Brandy (Brandi) raised concerns that the concierge calendar excludes local businesses and that the board lacks data on tourism’s economic impact on local businesses. She suggested collecting sales data from businesses during promoted events. Board members noted previous low turnout at outreach events, despite newsletters to all licensed businesses.
- Dana Even and Sonia Ruiz offered to provide hotel occupancy data (last 12–24 months) to help the board understand room availability. It was noted that weekends are often not fully booked, contrary to assumptions, and that midweek occupancy is higher.
- A food truck pad project in White Rock is moving forward; three pads will be installed to provide additional dining options for visitors and residents.
Key Outcomes
- Agenda and March 17, 2026, minutes approved unanimously.
- All reports were accepted as information; no formal votes were taken.
- DestinationiQ will expand targeting to El Paso, refine hiking keywords, and work on clarifying Bandelier shuttle information on the Visit Los Alamos website.
- Bradbury Science Museum will distribute a graphic with the new hours.
- Hotels (Wingate, Holiday Inn) will provide occupancy data for future marketing analysis.
- The next LTAB meeting is scheduled for July 21, 2026, at 12:00 PM in Council Chambers.
Meeting Transcript
Us to order them. We'll go around to do quick introductions. I'm Jennifer Olson. I'm chair of L TAV and I work at the Bradbury Science Museum. I'm Connor Tharp. I'm vice chair of LTAB, and I also work at the Bradford Science Museum. I'm Sonia. I am the general manager at the Wingate by Window. I am Dana Evan, and I'm general manager of Holiday Inn. I'm Ellen Felton. I'm the liaison to the Lodgers Tax Advisory Board, and we are doing introductions, Brandy. If you'd like to go. I'm on my work computer. And Brandy Ingman. Just making sure we've got all our decks up. Okay, so hopefully everybody has a copy of today's agenda. So if we can, can I get someone to approve to Mr. I'll motion to approve today's agenda? All in favor. All right. So that passed unanimously. So you should also uh in the packet there is the minutes from the last meeting, which we have from March 17th. If you have anything you need to add, um we could move to I move to approve you go first. I'm going to say for the last minutes. All right. All in favor. Any opposed? All right. So we are up to destination IQ. Oh, public comment. I missed it. I'm sorry. So is anyone here for public comment? Uh, should I just say hi to Brandy? Oh, hi, Jed, good to see you. All right, awesome. So now we'll move to the destination IQ report. I feel like I should like highlight that in the Lord. Skip it. Sounds good. Well, you move through that. I'll move through on my screen as well. So hi everyone, Kirsten with Destination IQ. I do apologize. My marketing director is out of the office this week, so I'm gonna run through your guys' analytics, but everything's looking phenomenal. Um, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I can also direct those to her. But we're gonna move straight through this slide always has your guys' reports in them for um, of course, me uh every other month, but this has the month prior as well as your accounting sheets. Thank you, Ellen. I think you're the one moving on moving the slides, so feel free to wonderful. Website user traffic.
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