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  • 8% Discount – Thrifty Car Rentals.  Contact Carla Ulschak (406) 259-0106

  • Like Cynroc on Facebook
    and get 1 hour free photography, and choice of 3 photographs free! Good through August  18, 2012 – Cynroc, Business
    Development. Contact
    Cindy Henderson,
    (406) 325-2768



  • Furniture, beds, other hotel necessaries.   Rimrock Inn has 69 rooms of furniture plus more to liquidate. For information please contact Becky at
    bstinger@billingsrimrockinn.com

  • Office Space For Lease Close to Airport and Downtown. 
    The Rimrock Inn at 1203 North 27th Street in Billings is converting its hotel into professional office space combined with a new Rock Pile Restaurant.  A great location!  For information, please contact Jay Doucette
    at 406-670-6097.

  • 26.8% - percentage of increase in RevPAR, year to date, 2012 over 2011, in Billings, Montana (STR May 2012)

  • 22.7% - percentage of increase in RevPAR, May 2012 over May 2011, in Billings, Montana (STR May 2012)

    • 57.46 – Billings RevPAR  May 2012  (STR May 2012)

    • 53.52 – Bozeman RevPAR May 2012  (STR May 2012)

    • 52.26 – Helena RevPAR May 2012  (STR May 2012)

    • 49.24 – Missoula RevPAR May 2012  (STR May 2012)

    • 45.08 – Great Falls RevPAR May 2012  (STR May 2012)

  • 39,000 – the number of Montana jobs that exist due to out-of-state travel (Voices)

  • $2.8 billion – Amount of money spent by non-resident travelers in Montana in 2011 (Voices)

  • $14.9 million – estimated amount that lodging taxes will add to the state general fund in fiscal 2012 (Voices)

  • $687 – Amount that each household would pay in additional taxes without traveler tax revenues (Voices)

  • 11,430 - Total room nights booked through May by CVB/TBID 2011-2012 fiscal year

 

BREAKING NEWS

LETTER FROM TBID
07-02-12
YCLA Members:
Re: TBID and Montana High School Association Tournaments

I’m sure most of you have been reading the headlines regarding the Commissioners’ desire for the Capital Improvement Fee (CIF) and various alternatives. For the past year we’ve talked with the Commissioners at length about various alternatives to make up for the CIF shortfall. In our discussions, Commissioners Reno and Ostlund have been against any alternative pricing and have made comments that Big Sky EDA/EDC should fund the CIF or the Commissioners would deduct it from their budget. Commissioner Kennedy was in favor of looking at alternative pricing and really did recognize the value of the high school tournaments.

Shelli Mann, John Brewer, and I made a presentation at the Commissioners’ meeting about allowing the staff of Metra to look at alternative pricing of coke, popcorn, etc. Our goal has always been to ensure the tournaments remain in Billings, especially the larger events.










 

 


Steve Wahrlich
President, TBID
Courtesy of Billings Gazette


Basically, our argument was if a person pays $10.00 for a ticket, $1.50 for CIF and $5.00 in soda and food for a total of $16.50 does it make a difference if the person pays $10.00 for a ticket and $6.50 in soda and food?

Well, Reno and Ostlund think it does and they, as your County Commissioners, want to be able to set the prices and not allow a very capable staff to at least look at it. In the end, Reno and Ostlund voted no, and our proposal was killed. With that vote, the Commissioners basically said, “We don’t want any outside input into our operations.”

Therefore, the TBID Board has decided we will not provide Metra any operational dollars and, in turn, we will pay the CIF. Net cost to the TBID will be an increase in the dollars we provide for Montana High School Association tournaments to the tune of $10-$20,000 more per year.

The TBID Board believes high school tournaments similar to the All State Wrestling Tournament are extremely valuable to Yellowstone County – I wish Reno and Ostlund felt the same way.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me or Shelli Mann.

Steve Wahrlich
President, TBID

 

ACT NOW!  HOTELS WILL LOSE IF GSA IS ALLOWED TO CHANGE METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINING PER DIEM RATES  

The General Services Administration (GSA) is the government agency that sets hotel per diem rates for the federal government.  Current per diem methodology was established in 2003 following an 8-month study by the Government-wide Per Diem Advisory Board. This procedure involves determining the average daily rate (ADR) by location using a formula that omits the too low and the too high, determines an average of the rest, then deducts 5% to establish a government per diem. 

GSA wants to reduce travel costs by changing that formula to include only lower hotel rates (this includes significantly discounted rates like those offered by Expedia and others) in the mid-price range when calculating ADR.  If GSA does this, it will be intentionally reducing room rates rather than reflecting average room rates.  This new methodology creates artificially low room rate data and unrealistic per diem rates. 

Contact our Congressional Delegates and the Montana Regional Administrator for GSA.  Don’t let GSA change methodology for determining government per diem rates. 


Susan Damour, Regional Administrator: (303) 236-7329 : susan.damour@gsa.gov

Please click here for the complete story, GSA contact information, and bulleted
talking points.

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • YCLA Meeting – JULY 18, 12:30, Big Horn Resort, Cost of lunch will be $10 

    • Jeff & Friend at YCLA's June Meeting at ZooMontana


    Watch out Becky!

  • MetraPark
    • The Dirty Dash – July 14
    • TressPass America Tour – July 15
    • The Band Perry & Gloriana – July 22
    • MontanaFair – August 10-18
    • Bob Dylan – August 15
    • Burn The Point – September 1
    • Billings Market Association – September 14-16
    • Wrangler Team Roping Finals – October 2-8
    • NILE – October 17-20
    • Southern Classic Tournament – Boys & Girls High School – December 7-8
  • From CVB/TBID - Scheduled
    • Native American Gaming Commission - 150 rooms in August 2012 at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center.
    • MT WY Coyote Hunters Association - 100 rooms for November 2012 at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center.
    • AAU Grand Nationals - 1500 rooms for June 2013, primary location TBD. The rooms for this booking will be citywide.
    • AAU Annual Meeting - 150 rooms for May 2013, location TBD.
  • From CVB/TBID – Pending
    • Sage Consulting Board Training:  100 room nights for late 2012.
    • Vietnam Vets Leadership Conference:  1500 room nights for 2016.


YCLA NEWS

  • New YCLA Officers Elected – President: Erin Kennedy, Residence Inn by Marriott; Vice President: Ginny Hart, Big Horn Resort; Secretary: Shelli Mann, Boothill Inn & Suites; Treasurer: LaRell Baldwin, Crowne Plaza; Allied: Carla Ulschak, Thrifty Car Rental.

BAKKEN BUSINESS

How Far Would You Go for a Comeback?
Ann Carrns, published March 21, 2012, New York Times

Because of the fast pace of oil well development to tap the Bakken shale field, the men often are on call around the clock and are away from their families for extended periods. A typical schedule might be to work 15 days straight, followed by six days off to go home. Airfare out of Williston can be steep, though, so many workers drive or take an Amtrak train, which adds travel time that cuts into their visits. (Some companies occasionally offer to put family members up in local hotels for visits.)

Story from the New York Times.  Click here for the rest of the story

 

 
   
   
 

 

General Area Information:
Billings Chamber of Commerce
815 South 27th Street Billings, MT 59101 (406) 245-4111