HomeMy WebLinkAboutLTAC 2026-02-20 Agenda Packet (Special Meeting)SPECIAL MEETING
AGENDA
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee
Noon, Friday, February 20, 2026
Hybrid Meeting
The public can view and listen to the meeting with the information below or attend the meeting in person at
Tukwila City Hall (6200 Southcenter Blvd.), Hazelnut conference room.
CALL IN INSTRUCTIONS:
25
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1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Review of Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes
4. Special Presentations
5. General Business
a. World Cup Update (Mark Everton, Brandon Miles, and LTAC Members)
6. Pending Funding Requests
a. Experience Tukwila ($200,000)
7. Announcements
a. 100 Day World Cup Event
b. New Business Openings
8. Roundtable
9. Adjourn
Next Scheduled Meeting: When: TBD
Location: Hybrid
City of Tukwila
6200 Southcenter Blvd.
Tukwila, WA 98188
Staff Memorandum
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Funding Request
Name of Applicant:
City of Tukwila, Experience Tukwila
Address:
6200 Southcenter Blvd.
Tukwila, WA 98188
Total Funds Requested:
$215,000 for 2026.
About the Applicant:
The Department of Strategic Initiatives and Government Relations oversees the City of Tukwila's
Experience Tukwila initiative, which had previously been under the Office of Economic Development.
The City of Tukwila has extensive experience in managing marketing and communications initiative,
including social media, special events, and third party sponsorships.
Funds Previously Awarded:
$215,000 has been awarded in 2025 to promote the City of Tukwila within the greater Seattle region.
Funding Request Narrative:
In 2020 the City of Tukwila launched the Experience Tukwila digital initiative. The initiative includes a
dedicated website, ExperienceTukwila.com and social media. The goal is to promote the City of
Tukwila to consumers, primarily within 50 miles of the City, including hotel guests who are already in
the area. The City is seeking funding to continue to contract with a third party to run the day-to-day
operations of Experience Tukwila and to expand content development.
Experience Tukwila was in full operation in spring of 2021, with the website, ExperienceTukwila.com
going live. Experience Tukwila has provided the City and the Tukwila community a much needed
marketing tool to promote the City. Through Experience Tukwila the City has been able to:
1. Promote special events, such as the Juneteenth, on a website dedicated to promoting the City
versus using the City's government website.
City of Tukwila
6200 Southcenter Blvd.
Tukwila, WA 98188
2. The ability to push positive social media stories out to people about Tukwila, such as the news
that the OL Reign will move their training facility to Starfire Sports. Special events and
activities coming to the City and new business openings.
3. Social media interactions with local media, specifically sports reporters, sports teams and has
started to engage with local influencers.
4. Pushing out videos by the City and third parties to promote the City.
The City contracts with a marketing agency to manage the day-to-day operations of Experience
Tukwila, which includes maintaining the website, strategy development, project management,
special projects and content creation. The current firm is True Blue Strategies and they have
provided great, timely work to build out the Tukwila brand.
The 2026 funding request will provide the following:
1. Monthly operations of Experience Tukwila, including social media content creation, website
maintenance, and project management.
2. One-time items, including a website update, video photo shoot, and other special projects.
3. Creative ways to generate content with high school students and community members
through a paid partnership.
4. Sponsorships.
Experience Tukwila digital assets will be an essential element of the City's World Cup marketing
efforts. While we will build out a microsite for the World Cup, we will also have links to
Experience Tukwila to provide information about things to do in the City.
Staff is also research a data tool that will assist the City with social media targeting for tourism
promotion.
Staff Comments:
Experience Tukwila has provided the city with a dedicated avenue to promote the City, community
and businesses. Overtime it has grown to help the City tell its story and has been used as a resources
for events in the City, such as the City's Juneteenth event and other events within the City.
Consistency with Six Year Financial Model:
For 2025 and 2026, the Six Year Financial Plan shows the City spending $200,000 for Experience
Tukwila and another $175,000 for sponsorships. This funding request will be funded using both
buckets.
City of Tukwila
6200 Southcenter Blvd.
Tukwila, WA 98188
2026 Tourism Six -Year Financial Plan Allocation
Experience Tukwila:
$200,000
Pending Funding Request:
($200,000)
Remaining Experience
Tukwila Funds:
$0
Sponsorships:
$175,000
Experience Tukwila Pending
Funding Request:
($15,000)
PacNW Pending Request
(Approved):
($20,000)
General Operations
Sponsorship (Approved)
($15,000)
Seattle Seawolves
(Approved)
($90,000)
Remaining Sponsorship
Funds:
$35,000
City of Tukwila Staff
Recommendation to LTAC: Approval
Tiktivik
City of Tukwila
6200 Southcenter Blvd.
Tukwila, WA 98188
Application to the City of Tukwila for Use of 2026 Lodging Tax Funds
Event or Activity Name (if applicable):
Experience Tukwila
Amount of Lodging Tax Requested:
$200,000
Applicant Organization:
City of Tukwila
Federal Tax ID Number:
91-600159
Mailing Address:
Office of the Mayor
6200 Southcenter Blvd
Tukwila, WA 98188
Primary Contact Name:
Brandon Miles
Primary Contact Phone:
(206) 731-9071
Primary Contact Email Address:
Brandon.Miles@Tukwilawa.gov
Check all the service categories that apply to this application:
Tourism promotion or marketing.
Operation of a special event or festival designed to attract tourists.
Operation of a tourism -related facility owned or operated by a non-profit organization.
Operation and/or capital costs of a tourism -related facility owned by a municipality or a public
facilities district.
Check which one of the following applies to your agency:
Non -Profit (Note: Attach a copy of your current non-profit corporate registration from the
Washington Secretary of State Office)
Municipality
For Profit Corporation
I am an authorized agent of the organization/agency applying for funding. I understand that:
• I am proposing a tourism -related service for 2026. If awarded, my organization intends to enter
into a services contract with the City; provide liability insurance for the duration of the contract
naming the City as additional insured and in an amount determined by the City; and file for a
permit for use of City property, if applicable.
• My agency will be required to submit a report documenting economic impact results in a
format determined by the City.
Signature: /s/ Date: 2/17/2026
1. Describe your tourism -related activity or event.
In 2020 the City of Tukwila launched the Experience Tukwila digital initiative. The initiative includes
a dedicated website, ExperienceTukwila.com and social media. The goal is to promote the City of
Tukwila to consumers, primarily within 50 miles of the City, including hotel guests who are already
in the area. The City is seeking funding to continue to contract with a third party to run the day-to-
day operations of Experience Tukwila and to expand content development.
Experience Tukwila was in full operation in spring of 2021, with the website,
ExperienceTukwila.com going live. Experience Tukwila has provided the City and the Tukwila
community a much needed marketing tool to promote the City. Through Experience Tukwila the
City has been able to:
1. Promote special events, such as the Juneteenth, on a website dedicated to promoting the City
versus using the City's government website.
2. The ability to push positive social media stories out to people about Tukwila, such as the news
that the OL Reign will move their training facility to Starfire Sports. Special events and activities
coming to the City and new business openings.
3. Social media interactions with local media, specifically sports reporters, sports teams and has
started to engage with local influencers.
4. Pushing out videos by the City and third parties to promote the City.
The City contracts with a marketing agency to manage the day-to-day operations of Experience
Tukwila, which includes maintaining the website, strategy development, project management,
special projects and content creation. The current firm is True Blue Strategies and they have
provided great, timely work to build out the Tukwila brand.
The 2026 funding request will provide the following:
1. Monthly operations of Experience Tukwila, including social media content creation, website
maintenance, and project management.
2. One-time items, including a website update, video photo shoot, and other special projects.
3. Creative ways to generate content with high school students and community members through
a paid partnership.
4. Sponsorships.
Experience Tukwila digital assets will be an essential element of the City's World Cup marketing
efforts. While we will build out a microsite for the World Cup, we will also have links to Experience
Tukwila to provide information about things to do in the City.
2. Tf an event, list the event name, date(s), and projected overall attendance.
Page 2 of 9
N/A
3. Is your event/activity/facility focusing on attracting overnight tourists, day tourists, or both?
This is a pure branding and marketing initiative. The geographic focus are consumers within 50
miles of the City. This could include household, employees, and overnight guests who are
already in the area. For outside the 50-mile radius the City partners with the cities of SeaTac
and Des Moines through Seattle Southside RTA. Experience Tukwila provides another source of
content for SSRTA, Visit Seattle, and other partners to share on their social media and digital
platforms.
4. Describe why visitors will travel to Tukwila to attend your event/activity/facility.
Tukwila's central location, its transportation connections, and mass transit makes Tukwila a
great and easily accessible destination to get away for a day or an overnight trip. The City is
home to nearly 200 restaurants, the largest mall in the Pacific NW, Starfire Sports, and the
Museum of Flight. The City has had success is bringing people to the City. The goal of
Experience Tukwila is to get people to come more often, stay longer, and realize they are in
Tukwila (versus other cities).
5. Describe the geographic target of the visitors you hope to attract (locally, regionally,
nationally, and/or internationally).
Primary within 50 miles of the City; however, hotel guests throughout the region are part of the
target audience.
6. Describe the prior success of your event/activity/facility in attracting tourists.
2023 Targets
2023 Actuals
2024 Actuals
(through
November)
Website Visitors
10,000
11,200
9,500
Page Views
30,000
33,900
41,800
Total Social
Media Followers
10,000
3,400
Total Social
Media
Impressions
1,000,000
500,000
163,278
Page 3 of 9
The website continues to grow in usage. This is likely a reflection of the content on the page and that
we use it to set up event specific pages. One of our strongest performances has been in organic search,
which is likely a reflection of the regular updates, including a blog that we post on the page. Over 50%
of users to the webpage are coming from organic search.
The City has had success in social media posts regarding specific events, such as Juneteenth, the
Seattle Seawolves, and Seattle Chocolate Haunted Factory Tour.
7. If this your first time holding the event/activity/facility provide background on why you think
it will be successful.
In 2020 and 2021 our goal for Experience Tukwila was to get the social media and website up and
running. In 2022/23 the goal was to improve the operations and get a year of operation on hopefully
the downside of the pandemic. One of goals was to create more authentic content for Experience
Tukwila, which we have done with blog posts about the Seawolves and Sounders and utilizing
influencers to promote Experience Tukwila on third party sites.
Our goals for 2024/25 were to:
1. Building out more authentic content.
2. Creating more reels and videos for social media use.
3. Engaging with more third parties to help promote the City.
We have largely been successful with our goal for 2024. Some examples of the work we did in 2024:
1. We hired "Broccoli Guy" to be our reporter at the Major League Rugby (MLR) Finals and
allowed him to takeover our Instagram account. This resulted in fun engagement and
impressions for Experience Tukwila.
2. We created a hype video to promote the City with various groups and online.
3. Our biggest success has been third parties adding Experience Tukwila as a collaborator on
Instagram reels. This was organic, with third parties promoting themselves and Tukwila when
they dined out our had an experience in Tukwila. The best part is that this was totally free for
the City.
In 2025 we began to better integrate Experience Tukwila content with the City's main social media
page content. This has allowed the City to amplify our messaging and post relevant contact on the
best social media page. The City's main page is funded 100% by the City's general fund. In 2025, we
also expand with more third -party promotions and partnerships.
We also used our Experience Tukwila social media in partnership with partners, such as Westfield
Southcenter, Seattle Seawolves, and other partners in the region.
8. Describe how you will promote lodging establishments, restaurants, retailers, and
entertainment establishments in the City of Tukwila.
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Experience Tukwila promotes the City's various lodging, restaurants, retailers, and entertainment
establishments. ExperienceTukwila.com features pages for each specific category mentioned
above.
9. Is the City able to use your digital and print media for collaborative marketing?
Yes.
10. Describe how you will use the name, "Tukwila" in publications, promotions, and for your
event?
Experience Tukwila is all about Tukwila. The brand focuses on the Tukwila name.
11. Measurements and Metrics (Note: You will be required to report these metrics as part of the
close out of the agreement between your organization and the City.)
As a direct result of your proposed tourism -related service, provide an estimate of:
a.
Overall attendance at your proposed event/activity/facility.
100,000 social
media
impressions.
b.
Number of people who will travel fewer than 50 miles for your
event/activity.
90%
However,
hotel guests
in the
Greater
Seattle area
are also a
focus of
Experience
Tukwila.
c.
Number of people who will travel more than 50 miles for your
event/activity.
10%
(see note
above)
d.
Of the people who travel more than 50 miles, the number of people
who will travel from another country or state.
5%
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e.
Of the people who travel more than 50 miles, the number of people
who will stay overnight in Tukwila.
5%
f.
Of the people staying overnight, the number of people who will stay in
PAID accommodations (hotel/motel/bed-breakfast) in Tukwila.
1,000
g.
Number of paid lodging room nights resulting from your proposed
event/ activity/facility (for example: 25 paid rooms on Friday and 50
paid rooms on Saturday = 75 paid lodging room nights)
3,000
12. What methodologies did you use to calculate the estimates and what methodologies will you
use to track outcomes, such as total participants, estimated visitor spending, etc.?
The impressions outlined above are a forecasted amount for 2025. The forecast is built on
the limited historical data we currently have for 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
It is important to remember that Experience Tukwila is a pure marketing and branding
effort. Tracking actual hotel stays and visitors spending through such efforts can be difficult
and at best can only show a caution, not causation.
For overall success of Experience Tukwila, we intend on tracking the following metrics:
2023
Actuals
2024
Actuals
2025
Actuals
2026 Goals
Website
Visitors
11,200
10,200
14,600
20,000
Page Views
33,900
42,900
41,900
50,000
Pages Per
Session
X
4.2
2.9
3.0
Average
Session
Duration
X
2:06
2:38
2:40
Total Social
Media
Followers
3,400
5,000 (was
estimated)
Facebook:
1,524
Instagram:
5,000 total.
Page 6 of 9
1,681
Linkedln:
621:
Total:
3,826
Total Social
Media
Impressions
500,000
500,000
155,932
(we did
not run a
significant
number of
ads in 2025
as we did n
previous
years)
The heat map for Experience Tukwila visitors shows most website visits are coming
from the Seattle metro area and Washington State. However, we also have website
visits from throughout the United States.
One of the key points of success with the Experience Tukwila digital initiative is that we
have been able to push good stories about Tukwila and push down negative stories
when people search "Tukwila." The way people find the website is also interesting,
with 40% of people using direct search (entering ExperienceTukwilawa.com to go the
site) and another 40% of people are coming to the site via organic search. For example,
if you search "Things to do in Tukwila," Experience Tukwila is the first site suggested on
google. Searching "Things to in Southcenter" results in Experience Tukwila being the
second link shown on a Google search, with Westfield Southcenter having the top spot.
Another opportunity this year is the World Cup and our marketing efforts under that
initiative. A separate microsite will be set up to promote the City to visitors in the
region and will include links to Experience Tukwila.
13. Are you applying for lodging tax funds from another community? If so, which communities
and in what amounts?
No.
Page 7 of 9
14. Are you applying funding from Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority (SSRTA)? If so, in
what amount?
No.
15. What is the overall budget for your event/activity/facility? What percent of the budget are
you requesting from the City of Tukwila?
The following outlines the draft budgeted items for Experience Tukwila for 2026. The final numbers are
still subject to negotiation with the contractor.
2026 Experience Tukwila
DRAFT Budget
2026 Estimated Costs (Monthly)
2026 Estimated Costs (10
months)
Project Management, Social
Media Content, and Creation,
Website Content Update
$11,000 (no rate increase from
2025).
$110,000
Email Marketing
$1,080
$12,960
Ad Buys
$415
$12,040
Subtotal Ongoing Expenses:
$135,000
Special Projects
Video Creation
$15,000
Photoshoot
$5,000
Website refresh
$5,000
SEO
$5,000
Email Template Update
$0
Sponsorship
$15,000
Data Research
$15,000
Extra Labor, Influencer, and community member
social media production
$25,000
Subtotal:
$80,000
*Note: Funds may be moved between categories, but the total spend will not exceed $215,000
Annual Ongoing Costs:
$135,000
Page 8 of 9
Onetime Items:
$80,000
Contingency and Ad Buys
$0.00
Total Costs:
$215,000
*Note: Funds may be moved between categories, but the total spend will not exceed $200,000
16. What will you cut from your proposal or do differently if full funding for your request is not
available or recommended?
We would likely eliminate the contract with the third party to manage the day-to-day activities of
Experience Tukwila. This would likely reduce our posts and updates of the pages impacting quality of
the media.
Completed applications should be submitted to:
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee
c/o Brandon Miles
City of Tukwila
6200 Southcenter Blvd
Tukwila, WA 98188
Or,
Brandon.Miles@Tukwilawa.gov
Questions?
LTAC Contact:
Brandon J. Miles
(206) 431-3684
Brandon.Miles@Tukwilawa.gov.
Updated: January 5, 2021
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