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Record of Proceedings

Spokane Valley TPA Commission Meeting – September 17, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Thursday, September 17, 2026
BodySpokane Valley, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateThursday, September 17, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:03:22

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:07

Good morning.

0:09

Morning.

0:11

I think we're pretty close to 10 a.m.

0:14

to call me to you order.

0:19

Let's see if we have anybody online.

0:21

I did get a call or was contacted by um Commissioner Gwynn.

0:25

He did tell us he was going to be on vacation.

0:27

He was going to try and attend, but he will be absent today.

0:32

And that's it.

0:39

We have a quorum.

0:40

Okay, so just you three.

0:42

No Amanda, no public comment.

0:44

No Amanda, and no one has signed up for public comment.

0:51

I guess is it asked?

0:52

Any public comment in person?

0:55

No.

0:57

All right.

0:58

I think that throws us into the financial report then.

1:01

That does.

1:01

And Chelsea and Sarah weren't able to join us today.

1:05

The good news is we're still up for the year, and we're still up month over month.

1:11

And so right now we're looking at about 7.9% year over year.

1:16

So that's good news.

1:22

Oh, sorry, I just moved ahead on your agenda.

1:25

Went straight into admin report.

1:28

I hope that's okay.

1:29

Yeah.

1:30

No, um the my only question on the um financial part is we are we just attributing that to an increase in the occupancy.

1:39

That's what I am seeing.

1:41

In the between the co star data and the other data that we track, it looks like occupancy is up about one percent.

1:50

What I do find interesting is that um excuse me, not one percent, one tenth of a percent.

1:57

So it is a smaller number.

1:59

But one of the things I have noted is that the general overall um daily rate is still down for the year.

2:11

So I I know that doesn't affect our TPA dollars because those are just a strict line item, but it may not be equating into an increase in your revenues with the fact that the daily rate is down.

2:23

Uh that'd be something that I'd I'd look to you guys to tell me.

2:27

Are your revenues up?

2:32

Uh for year to date, uh no.

2:36

No, not necessarily.

2:38

Okay.

2:40

Pretty even.

2:40

Yeah, I was gonna say it it's not like a big change either way.

2:44

Okay.

2:44

Well, let's keep an eye on that.

2:48

So then moving into the admin report, if that's okay with you.

2:53

Uh, we've got discover the valley.

2:56

You've got the analytics in your packet.

2:58

116 and West will talk about that when they do their report at the end of the meeting.

3:03

CoStar analytics are in there again.

3:06

One of the things I noted is that the occupancy rate is holding steady at about 64.5%.

3:14

And the daily rate came down again just a little bit.

3:18

Uh went from 108 to 107 per day.

3:22

And that, but it is still down for the year about 2%.

3:28

And then in your packet, you also have your place or AI data.

3:33

One of the things that I called out that stood out to me in this report was um the visitor origins and the visitor origins.

3:41

I noted that Seattle, we're getting a lot of trips from Seattle residents.

3:47

Uh 233,000 visits or trips, rather.

3:53

And then uh to give you a little opportunity fund update on August 20th, we received one application from Spokane Sports for 134,000.

4:04

That is application is in your packet.

4:06

You will be reviewing that today.

4:08

But again, on uh September 8th, we received another application from Spokane Sports, and that application we need to set a special meeting for so that you guys can review it and be able to act on it and not have it collide with your budget meeting in October.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tourism Development█████████████████████████████████████████████76%
Data and Technology█████9%
Marketing████6%
Transportation Safety██4%
Fiscal Sustainability██3%
Procedural█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Spokane Valley TPA Commission Meeting – September 17, 2026

The Spokane Valley Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) Commission met on September 17, 2026, at approximately 10:00 a.m. Commissioners present included Chair Cameron, Commissioner Gwynn (absent on vacation), Commissioner Stripe, and Commissioner Hoffert (joined later). The meeting covered the financial report, administrative updates, an action item for an opportunity fund application from Spokane Sports, and a detailed marketing report from agency 116 & West. No public comments were received.

Financial Report

  • The commission reviewed financial performance, noting that year-to-date revenues remain up approximately 7.9% year-over-year and month-over-month.
  • Occupancy was reported to be up about one-tenth of a percent (0.1%), while the average daily rate (ADR) is down 2% for the year.
  • Revenues from the TPA (lodging tax) are described as "pretty even" year-to-date, with no significant change. Commissioners noted that the decline in ADR does not directly impact TPA dollars but asked staff to monitor the trend.

Admin Report

  • Discover the Valley Analytics: The packet included Placer AI data highlighting visitor origins, with Seattle leading at 233,000 trips.
  • CoStar Data: Occupancy steady at ~64.5%; ADR declined from $108 to $107 per day, down ~2% for the year.
  • Opportunity Fund Update:
    • August 20: Received application from Spokane Sports for $134,000 (reviewed later as action item).
    • September 8: Received another application from Spokane Sports, requiring a special meeting to avoid conflict with the October budget meeting.
    • The commission agreed to hold a special meeting on September 24, 2026, at the usual Thursday time.
  • Commissioner Hoffert noted a question about Placer AI data: whether Los Angeles appeared as a default location. Staff confirmed they would ask Placer in their bi-weekly meeting.

Discussion Items

Action Item: Opportunity Fund Application TPAOF 2026-001 (Spokane Sports – $134,000)

  • Ashley Blake, CEO of Spokane Sports, presented the application for transportation and parking solutions for eight tourism events at the Spokane Valley Cross Country Course in 2026.
  • Key details:
    • Primary parking at the Tisherly lot (Spokane County) with bus loops every 5 minutes; secondary shuttle from Mirabeau Park transit center every 20 minutes for high-profile Nike events.
    • The funding is necessary due to unexpected attendance growth (from projected 900 to 21,000 for cross-country running alone).
    • The events were relocated from Boise; competition for retention is intense.
    • Consultants identified transportation as a critical pain point for attendee experience and future event retention.
  • Commissioner Stripe stated the request "falls squarely in the intent of an opportunity fund" and noted the city would otherwise have to address parking.
  • Commissioner Cameron asked whether the funding is for recruitment or ongoing operations; Ms. Blake indicated it would be used this year and potentially ongoing until a permanent solution is found.
  • Motion: "I move to recommend the proposed opportunity fund application TPAOF 206-001 request for $134,000 to move this forward to the city council for their approval." Seconded. Vote: unanimous (3 ayes, none opposed).
  • The item will appear on the City Council's consent agenda the following Tuesday.

Non-Action Item: Marketing Report from 116 & West

  • Jessica, agency representative, presented a comprehensive update on year four of the five-year marketing plan.
  • Key points:
    • The brand (Discover Spokane Valley) is focusing on intentional evolution using performance data.
    • Paid media campaigns (Spring 2026) on TikTok (1M+ impressions, 5,200 clicks) and Meta (1.3M impressions, 19,800 clicks).
    • Shifted paid media traffic from the "places to stay" page to the "things to do" page, resulting in a 561% increase in sessions (Q2 vs Q1).
    • Audience insights: Multi-adult travelers (couples, singles) are a new target beyond families; new creative assets are being developed.
    • Hotel promotion via Expedia: $50k investment from April–August generated ~346,500 in gross bookings; after Expedia's 20% commission and media cost, net hotel revenue attributed was ~$22,700. Performance improved after optimization in July ($66k net) and August ($50k net).
    • Course marketing: Still in foundational phase; paid media dollars originally allocated for the course are being redirected to new photo/video assets that can be used across tourism marketing in 2027.
    • Coordination with Spokane Sports: The agency uses Spokane Sports' event list for geo-targeting; goal is to extend one-night stays to two-night stays by promoting regional experiences to spectators.
    • No formal action taken on this item; the presentation was informational.

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous approval of Opportunity Fund Application TPAOF 2026-001 ($134,000) for Spokane Sports, recommended to City Council for final approval (appears on consent agenda).
  • Special meeting scheduled for September 24, 2026, at the usual time to review a second application from Spokane Sports.
  • Meeting adjourned after the marketing report.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. Morning. I think we're pretty close to 10 a.m. to call me to you order. Let's see if we have anybody online. I did get a call or was contacted by um Commissioner Gwynn. He did tell us he was going to be on vacation. He was going to try and attend, but he will be absent today. And that's it. We have a quorum. Okay, so just you three. No Amanda, no public comment. No Amanda, and no one has signed up for public comment. I guess is it asked? Any public comment in person? No. All right. I think that throws us into the financial report then. That does. And Chelsea and Sarah weren't able to join us today. The good news is we're still up for the year, and we're still up month over month. And so right now we're looking at about 7.9% year over year. So that's good news. Oh, sorry, I just moved ahead on your agenda. Went straight into admin report. I hope that's okay. Yeah. No, um the my only question on the um financial part is we are we just attributing that to an increase in the occupancy. That's what I am seeing. In the between the co star data and the other data that we track, it looks like occupancy is up about one percent. What I do find interesting is that um excuse me, not one percent, one tenth of a percent. So it is a smaller number. But one of the things I have noted is that the general overall um daily rate is still down for the year. So I I know that doesn't affect our TPA dollars because those are just a strict line item, but it may not be equating into an increase in your revenues with the fact that the daily rate is down. Uh that'd be something that I'd I'd look to you guys to tell me. Are your revenues up? Uh for year to date, uh no. No, not necessarily. Okay. Pretty even. Yeah, I was gonna say it it's not like a big change either way. Okay. Well, let's keep an eye on that. So then moving into the admin report, if that's okay with you. Uh, we've got discover the valley. You've got the analytics in your packet. 116 and West will talk about that when they do their report at the end of the meeting. CoStar analytics are in there again. One of the things I noted is that the occupancy rate is holding steady at about 64.5%. And the daily rate came down again just a little bit.

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