New Tourism Advisory Board for Sedona

After outsourcing the city’s tourism program to the regional chamber, the Sedona City Council voted to bring the tourism program in house. The Sedona City Council is doing the right thing again by moving forward with a new Tourism Advisory Board (TAB). This moves our community forward in the most positive way and follows the state guidelines for municipalities.

Learn more about tourism programs

• Understand More Arizona’s Complex Tourism Policy
• ARIZONA DMOs rules of engagement
• City Launches New Tourism Program
• Defining Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO)

In 2013 the Sedona Chamber of Commerce employee Donna R. came into our family business and demanded we support the chamber-lodging proposal to raise taxes in order for them to get marketing dollars to promote the chamber members. My husband and I both heard Donna R. pitch. Both reacted in similar ways to this insane proposal. This is the exact moment I got involved in this city issue, 2013.

Donna R.’s chamber proposal poked a redhead and pricked me to get involved to stop this insane idea. I along with others reached out to City Hall. I personally wrote, called, and had dozens of meetings. I had never really slowed it down and thought through the point that the Sedona Chamber had been receiving public money from the City of Sedona to market the Sedona Chamber members only.

The taxes imposed on our family business was being used to market those outside the city’s jurisdiction, our competitors who didn’t contribute to the city’s-tax base.
I publicly quit the Sedona Chamber, never joined another group, and would never give my voice to anyone.

Here is one email I sent to the Sedona City Council, the CEO of the Chamber, and the head of the lodging affinity group of the chamber.
Please read, this was sent on July 28, 2013. I have hundreds of this kind of emails.

4/26/23, 8:42 AM City Doing The Right Thing With Destination Marketing was published on Sedona.biz learn more on why the city is doing the right thing here.

After ten years we all see the impacts of the Chamber 2013 proposal. The City Council voted to give 55% of City-bed-taxes to the Chamber. Confusion, mayhem, misuse of terms, city bed taxes being called a lodging tax, the chamber claiming ownership of city taxes, businesses believing the Chamber’s false narratives, and the destruction it has caused. The Sedona Chamber marketed their members only, in all industries and throughout the state. Sedona Chamber Structure, Membership

The presentation of City Manager Karen Osborn and Heather Herman, Consultant, Front Burner Media was on point bringing the responsible back to the City of Sedona by creating a TAB Tourism advisory board. Research proves this is the model that Arizona Cities follow. Tourism Government Models DMO Benchmark
This is the place where it should have always been. Throughout the last ten years, many have worked hard to correct this.
Thank you to Heather Herman, your expert explanations, every one of them was great and matched line for line what the research proves.

Heather Herman is a Consultant, Front Burner Media Heather is under contract with the City of Willams, the City of Prescott, and the City of Cottonwood. Tourism Government Models DMO Benchmark

Below card was attached to emails sent to everyone on the council after the April 12, 2023 meeting

This model puts checks and balances in place, creates transparency, balances the community, removes conflicts of interest, and involves the residents and businesses creating the balance we need all can move forward with. Fair, transparent, and balanced. Crafting a tourism policy for Sedona is a wonderful opportunity for Sedona.
We are in this together, a learning experience, our Sedona needs you.
If you can volunteer to serve the eleven-member Tourism Advisory Board, it will be fun, it bonds us all together, Council, city staff, businesses, and residents together with the same mission.
What Model Fits a Municipality DMO?
Local Government Benchmarking

It was suggested during yesterday’s meeting that Sedona formulate a new policy from the ground level, that is EXACTLY how Sedona tourism policy got hijacked in 2013.
Sedona doesn’t need to formulate a policy from the ground level. Sedona needs to craft a Tourism policy that works for Sedona, one that provides checks and balances, and transparency, brings our community together, and works for the same causes.

Over the years many have written on this subject.
Visit www.SedonaEye.com Eddie Maddock articles are informative and accurate.
Sedona.biz had a series from a Sedona Concerned Resident
Below is an excellent article “What City “DMO” Status Means For Business and Residents”
By Brian Fultz, Kathy Kinsella, Holli Ploog, the City Council Tourism Work Group.