April 2025 Board Meeting Minutes and Recording

The audio recording and the director's presentation of the April 2025 Board Meeting can be accessed here:

April 2025 Board Meeting Recording.mp3

April 2025 Board Meeting Presentation - Director's Report

Resolution to Adopt an Internet Privacy Policy & Exhibit

Please find the meeting minutes below:
Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
Board of Directors Meeting
April 28, 2025 – 1:00 PM
CACVB Administrative Office

PRESENT: Francois Abadie, Olivia Branch, Andrea Copeland, Russ Cronberg, Athena Eastwood, Chris Engel, Emily Kilroy, Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Jennifer Lyon, Jaruchan Palakawongs, Danny Shea, Amber Smith, Brad Uhl, Darcie Wiegand (Presence of Andrea Copeland and Amber Smith not reflected in the recording)

ABSENT: Juandiego Wade

ALSO ATTENDING: Courtney Cacatian, Lauren Bohdan, Roy Van Doorn, Chris White

1. CALL TO ORDER

Chair Bea LaPisto-Kirtley called the meeting to order at 1:01 PM.

a. Roll Call: Bea invited Lauren Bohdan to perform the roll call.

b. Industry Presentation: Bea invited Chris White from the Charlottesville/Albemarle Airport Authority (CHO) to present. Chris provided updates on the airport including multiple investments in infrastructure. Planes are trending larger, and this requires updates and changes to accommodate. Following the "leak" of flyers from the Charlottesville area to other airports to fly out of, noting they have found that price does not commonly deter, but the opportunity for a direct flight is very much sought after. Also, boarding experience at CHO can be an unpleasant experience in bad weather, with goals to improve and enclose this experience in the future.

c. Consent Agenda & Financial Statement: Bea asked if all members had seen the minutes and financial statement. A motion was made to approve the December meeting minutes and financial statement. The minutes and financial statement were approved, and the consent agenda was passed.

d. Discussion on Website Privacy Policy: Courtney presented the Website Privacy Policy for Visit Charlottesville.org and spoke on how these acknowledgments align with current requirements of disclosure. A motion was made to adopt the resolution approving the internet privacy policy as set forth in the document attached. All present board members approved, the motion passed.

e. Discussion on FY2026 Budget: Courtney presented an updated FY2026 budget with the inclusion of the health insurance adjustment. A motion was made to pass the FY2026 budget. The motion passed.

f. Director's Report: Courtney presented the Director's Report with highlights including the Tourism for All Conference, Virginia Tourism Corporation Drive+ workshop, CACVB staff retreat, PVCC curriculum moving forward, VADMO conference, and the opening of the BEACON Kitchen. Coming soon is the search for a new Director of Public Relations and Marketing, onboarding of a marketing agency for the rebrand, finalizing metrics tracking for strategic plan, CACVB performance reviews, CACVB by-laws update, and booking of future industry speakers. Due to scheduling conflicts and the requirement for the Executive Director's review, a motion was made to move the next CACVB board meeting to Monday, June 16th, 2025 at 1:00 PM. The motion passed.

1. Hotel performance metrics were presented including occupancy, average daily rate, and revenue per available room through the month of March, 2025. Occupancy rates are down as compared to the last 5 years, the average daily rate is slightly up, and the revenue per available room is tracking similar to what it was in 2024. Courtney reached out to the Virginia Tourism Corporation to compare the Charlottesville area growth in ADR as compared to the rest of the state of Virginia since 2019, with a growth in the Charlottesville area of 32.4% as compared to a 17.5% growth across the state. Courtney provided an opportunity for Russ and Francois to speak on what they are seeing on the ground. Both see steady numbers currently, but are seeing a softening looking forward into the summer months.

2. Marketing and PR updates included the continued procurement/interview process for rebranding services, updates to the meetings and groups page on the CACVB website, media buys for upcoming seasonal advertising push, a kickoff meeting to discuss the history and museums page as well as the partner portal, VA250 marketing support for the upcoming podcast series, and more. Spring content updates and highlights included the ultimate spring bucket list blog, fishing and paddling blogs, VA Festival of the Book, and Runner's guide blog. There were also multiple highlights in publications including World Atlas, Southern Living, and Leisure Group Travel.

3. Sales updates included attending multiple meetings and conferences such as the VSAE Special Interest Groups meeting, Select Traveler Conference, SGMP Chapter Conference, and the VADMO MPI Sales Mission. Teresa also completed the CVENT training and updated the Charlottesville destination page in the CVENT System. Site visits and partner meetings included the Roanoke Tours with Mr. Ernie Dale, The Doyle Hotel, Three Notch'd Brewing and the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont. Teresa also assisted with or distributed 20 RFP's.

4. Visitor Services returned to their regular schedule with the Mobile Visitor Centers on March 19th and is working to expand their special event attendance. Brochure requests are up compared to last year during this time with the top 5 requesting VA cities being: Charlottesville, Alexandria, Virginia Beach, and Midlothian. The top 5 requesting states were: North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, and Ohio. Visitor Services also collaborated with other departments to create a tool that provides guidance on the route between the Downtown Mall and UVA, and write a blog on the "Top Pizza Places in Cville" for National Pizza Day. Visitor Services is also working on an out-of-area distribution plan and ways to measure visitor satisfaction with the services they provide.

5. Destination Development continues to work with partners on grants and applications including for the VA250 mobile museum at Highland, successful grant submission for the VA250 podcast with 10 episodes, and assistance in the partner grant workshop to develop and promote more accessible visitor experiences. Destination Development will look to increase partner engagement with expanded functionality of the Partner Portal. This feature is currently where partners can log-in and make updates to their listing including new photos, copy, and links. The team is working on a new calendar where events can be submitted and track through the partner portal, as well as a resource library for training, tools, and research. Additional functionality such as media mentions in blogs and social media posts will be on the horizon to approach in the coming fiscal year. Destination Development also partnered with ACPS, The Equity Center, PVCC, and UVA Pipelines and Pathways to attend Senior Stay Day. This was an opportunity for almost 400 local high school students and community members to discuss future career opportunities in the area.

g. Public Comment: No Public Comment.

h. Board Announcements: Andrea noted that the State of the Chamber Member Meeting will be coming up on May 1st at 11:30 AM at the Hillsdale Conference Center. Jaruchan highlighted that May is Bike Month and the area has a bunch of fun cycling events that will be taking place including bike valet at Fridays After Five, a Family Bike Day at the McIntire Skatepark, E-bike Demo and kids bike safety lessons, and more. Information on these events can be found at bikecville.com. Russ noted that the Boar's Head Resort will be hosting the D1 NCAA Women's Golf Championship Regional Tournament at Birdwood. This will take place May 5 - 7. UVA will also host the men's and women's NCAA Tennis Regionals at the Virginia Tennis Facility at Boar's Head Resort on May 2 - 4. Jennifer spoke on the full list of events that will be taking place at Monticello during the Civic Season, including a preview of the Ken Burns film "The American Revolution", as well as a panel to follow. Ken Burns will also be onsite on July 4th as part of the Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony. Jennifer gave a brief description of the Civic Season with multiple events taking place between Juneteenth and Independence Day. Russ made a final note that the Virginia Guesthouse is coming along and that a loose date for opening is the end of January, 2026.

Chair Bea LaPisto-Kirtley adjourned the meeting at 2:38 PM.