Five events receive funding from City of Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District
Five events received partial funding in a unanimous vote from the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Board. You likely recognize some annual favorites like the Rock Rumble Royale and Desert Rat Convention, but applications also included a film festival, music festival, and musical theater performance. Each event will take place some time between January and June of next year.
Overall, the board awarded $41,700 to these events out of $100,000 it is able to reward for this period. However, none of the events received the full amount that they requested, and a representative for the Rock Rumble Royale asked how the amounts were determined.
Chair Rakesh Mehta and Board Member Ben Uyeda explained extensively that their decision-making is based on projections of an industry term called “RevPAR.” Basically, it means how much money the hotel made in a given time versus how many rooms were available. It helps hotels calculate the average rate for their rooms based on how busy a given month has been in the past. A very large event expected to bring in a lot of people or events during very busy hotel times will have a higher chance of bringing in more money as long as they incentivize overnight stays.
The main focus of Board Member Uyeda was to get more people who want to hold events to attend workshops put on by the board. At a workshop, the event coordinators can ask board members about the application process and learn how to make their application stand out.
Some tips he provided at the meeting include holding multiple smaller events if a big event is too expensive and starting up a social media or marketing presence before applying so you’re not starting from square one after the event is approved.
The board also heard a request from the fiscal sponsor of Mojaveland requesting a $50,000 gift to help continue the project.
Board Member Uyeda motioned to add discussion of the request as a future action item.
