Just when you were getting used to the idea that Canmore Business and Tourism was going to cease operations, the organizational structure of the destination marketing organization has been resurrected, with a new board of directors made up entirely o
Just when you were getting used to the idea that Canmore Business and Tourism was going to cease operations, the organizational structure of the destination marketing organization has been resurrected, with a new board of directors made up entirely of hotel sector representatives.
At an annual general meeting held last week, Canmore Business and Tourism board member and past chair Donna Trautman presented the new structure and direction that has resulted from meetings the Canmore Hotel and Lodging Association have been holding after CBT announced in July it would cease operations due to a sustainable funding crisis.
Trautman, manager of the Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge, has sat on both boards throughout the entire process and said the Hotel and Lodging Association met with the CBT board and made a formal request to re-establish the organization.
Members of the hotel industry were funding CBT's destination marketing operations through a destination-marketing fund (DMF), but when fewer and fewer hotels contributed to the voluntary funding group it collapsed earlier this year. The DMF funded CBT over eight years to the tune of $7 million and was the main source of funding for CBT.
It was the loss of funding from hotels, which are permitted in Alberta to charge a three per cent fee on hotel room nights for collective marketing efforts, that prompted CBT's board to announce in July it would shut down the organization.
Despite the choice to shut down CBT, Trautman said president Andrew Nickerson and the team working with him did a tremendous job strategically marketing Canmore, proven by the fact that every weekend in November has been busy for the business community.
Trautman said since July all hotels have been meeting to discuss destination marketing and funding ideas, with the facilitation of Travel Alberta's Cam Spence.
“Despite the differences among hotels, we have found a level of consensus,” she said. “It is the intention of the group to start collections again in spring to fund destination marketing through the current vehicle, which is Canmore Business and Tourism - an entity in good standing.”
Trautman said the new CBT would work on marketing that focuses on hotel-driven and measureable return on investment, transparency and community.
“We may or may not be ready to be up and running for late spring or early summer,” she said. “However, we are working in that direction.”
As for the needs of other business or industry sectors that CBT used to represent, Trautman said the new board would be focused on the needs of hotels into the foreseeable future while it revives the organization.
“We are optimistic that other sectors, such as restaurants, attractions and retailers, will organize their own associations and come to the table with ideas for funding marketing for their sectors as part of the overall destination marketing organization,” she said.
The new board of CBT includes Chris Kern from the Lodges at Canmore as chair; Clique's Jim Muir as vice-chair; Beth Van Der Voort from Canmore Creek House as treasurer; Barb Scott with Waymarker Hospitality as secretary; Don Blackett with Blackett Law as legal representative; Mark Bohnet from Collins Barrow as financial representative; Councillor Sean Krausert as council representative; Oscar Pacheko from the Holiday Inn; Scott Stevens from the Georgetown Inn; Vijay Domingo with Spring Creek Vacations; Andrew Shepherd with Blackstone Mountain Lodge (Clique) and Trautman.
