Spokane Valley TPA Commission Meeting on 2027 Budget and Annual Summary

The Spokane Valley Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) Commission met on October 16, 2026, at 6:45 PM to review the annual tourism summary, discuss the 2027 budget, and receive presentations from contracted service providers Spokane Sports (sports recruitment) and 116 & West (destination marketing). The commission ultimately approved a motion to allocate $700,000 for sports recruitment, $500,000 for destination marketing, and up to $170,000 to replenish the opportunity fund, with further adjustments to the 116 & West work plan to follow.

Annual Summary & Financial Report

• Terry Stripes presented tourism data for Spokane County and the 16 TPA properties: $1.55 billion in visitor spend, 10.2 million visitors, $2.44 billion in economic impact, $242 million in local and state taxes, $151 per person spending, and over 17,000 tourism-supported jobs.
• Hotel performance metrics (occupancy, average daily rate, revenue) were reviewed for the past year.
• TPA revenues are tracking 7% year-to-date over last year (up from 3.7% in June).
• The 2027 budget was presented: total available revenue approximately $1.3 million (later adjusted to $1.4 million to maintain a $325,000 fund balance). Key considerations included maintaining 25% reserves, $30,000 for Placer AI data (two-year contract), and a $170,000 opportunity fund.

Discussion Items

2027 Budget Framework

• Commissioners discussed the potential sunset of the additional $2 TPA tax (currently $4 per room night) in June 2027, which could cut funding in half. Options included a legislative fix or increasing the TPA to $5 per room night.
• The commission agreed to adjust the total budget to $1.4 million, keeping the fund balance above $325,000.

Spokane Sports Presentation (Ashley Blake)

• Spokane Sports requested $700,000 (flat commitment) for 2027 to deliver nine committed events at the cross-country venue in Spokane Valley, projecting 6,925 hotel room nights.
• Key costs: $420,000 in direct event commitments (timing, security, officials, etc.) and parking/transportation (a new challenge due to higher-than-expected attendance). The remaining $280,000 would support sustaining the calendar (pipeline building, site visits, hotel relations, third-party impact analysis).
• Discussion focused on the difficulty of converting one-night event stays to multi-night stays (only ~5% possible for youth/collegiate events), the need for multi-year funding stability, and potential for parking infrastructure investment through LTAC or state grants.
• Commissioners expressed concern that the parking/transportation costs may be ongoing and questioned whether some expenses should be covered by other city funds.

116 & West Presentation (Callie Mendoza and Jessica Jackson)

• 116 & West proposed a 2027 strategy shift from “win the booking” to “win the extra night,” requesting $1 million to fund a three-pronged campaign: Convert (maintain lower-funnel conversion), Extend (target audiences before trip length is set), and Inspire (creative assets showcasing Spokane Valley as a home base for regional exploration).
• They highlighted a pilot Expedia program that generated $227,100 in net hotel revenue from a $50,000 investment (April–August 2026), attributed directly to their ads.
• Discussion included concerns about sending travelers to OTAs (vs direct hotel bookings), the inability to separate attribution from hotel-owned marketing, and the value of AI/search platforms (e.g., ChatGPT) for future marketing.
• Commissioners questioned the $125,000 course event targeting component given that sports events largely generate one-night stays; higher priority was placed on AI and overall booking conversion.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comments were made; no attendees signed up for comment.

Key Outcomes

• Motion (made by Commissioner Stripes, seconded): Recommended that city council authorize contracts of $700,000 with Spokane Sports for 2027 sports recruitment, $500,000 with 116 & West for 2027 destination marketing, and replenishment of the 2027 opportunity fund with up to $170,000 from TPA revenues. The motion passed unanimously (all present in favor, none opposed).
• Next Steps: 116 & West will revise their work plan to align with the reduced budget ($500,000) and present revised priorities to the commission. The commission emphasized priorities: retaining lower-funnel conversion and AI marketing over course event targeting.
• The commission noted the possibility of increasing the TPA rate from $4 to $5 per room night, contingent on state legislative decisions on the $2 sunset, which is expected by June 2027.