Q: Are the proposed investment opportunities listed in the menu hard limits or just suggested costs?

Transcription

1 Questions and Answers Questions and answers regarding RFP and proceedings will be posted publicly on this web page within 1 business day of receipt. Please send questions to RFP@TravelOregon.com. 11/16/2018 Q: Pertaining to letters of support, If a business/entity/organization supplying the letter of support qualifies for multiple stakeholder categories does that business/entity/organization have to write multiple letters of support? A: No, a business/entity/organization qualifies for multiple stakeholder categories, need only one letter of support. It would be practical for the applicant or letter writer to identify the stakeholder category(ies) for which the letter of support applies. Q: On Page 7 of RCTP guidelines, under Leverage and Alignment of the RCTP Guidelines: Paragraph E is a description of 5% RCTP Allocation for an Immediate Opportunity Fund as well paragraph F minimum of 10% of regional allocation for strategic opportunity fund, in building out a biennial budget, where should these two allocations live? A: The Planning Template has been updated to reflect funding structures designated in the RCTP Guidelines. In the Budget Table on the template you will now see two additional rows that allocate funding toward a Regional Grant Program (10% or more) and Regional Immediate Opportunity Fund (5% or more). Please ensure applicant allocates appropriate funding for these two program areas. Q: Pertaining to letters of support, would staff of a DMO be considered the Tourism Studio Leads? Or is there someone else that would be a more ideal fit? A: Staff of the DMO or Organization leading the Tourism Studio efforts are the appropriate entities for letters of support. For a full list of Tourism Studios please consult the following page: /industryresources/destination-development/oregon-tourism-studio-communities/ 11/29/2018 Q: Are the proposed investment opportunities listed in the menu hard limits or just suggested costs? A: The recommended investment for each menu item is dependent upon the tactical opportunity provided by the Travel Oregon teams. Once RDMO designation occurs and actual budget for FY is determined, Travel Oregon teams will work with the RDMO to determine the actual investment amounts for all menu items. Q: If the applicant uses RCTP funds for ads in Travel Oregon s ad network, does the applicant have to use both the Regional logo and Travel Oregon logo (or at the least, the Travel Oregon logo)? A: Any ad placed using RCTP funds, including those within the Travel Oregon Ad Network (including the Travel Oregon Visitor Guide), require a Travel Oregon brand logo. Per statute: ORS (4) (c) (d) states: Requires advertising, publications, CD-ROMs, web- sites, videos and other tourism promotion materials funded through the regional cooperative tourism pro- gram to carry the Oregon Tourism Commission logo and marketing tag line; and

2 Q: Is the Travel Oregon logo required for ads paid for by RCTP funds and placed within Travel Oregon s own publications/outlets, for example, the Visitor s Guide A: The RDMO may use the Travel Oregon Regional Logo which acts as an extension of Travel Oregon s brand. If the Regional Logo is used, then the Travel Oregon agency logo is not required. Q: Can an applicant use the money received from ad sales as In-Kind towards showing that the applicant s budget is at least 25% of the RCTP resources? A: All revenues to the organization should appear on the organization budget as income. Sales of ad coops, sponsorships, registrations, membership dues, contract services that generate income (in short, all non-dues revenue) should be included in budget. If the ad sale or placement doesn t actually result in payment to the applicant that should nor be included in the budget, as that would be a source of revenue to the publisher. Q: Why is Travefy not included as an opportunity in the Menu of Investment Opportunities? A: Travefy was not included as an opportunity in the Menu of Investment Opportunities, because 3 licenses will be provided via Travel Oregon to RDMO partners. If a region wishes to have more licenses they are welcome to budget for them using RCTP resources. Q: If an applicant does not possess the skill set required to complete some of the core functions of the RDMO role (marketing, destination development, global sales) is the applicant allowed to contract out those functions to consultants and contractors? A: Yes, the applicant is able to contract out these functions. The RFP requires applicants to develop a 2 year tourism strategy for the region(s) that they are applying for, so it would behoove the applicant to have these details regarding contractors thoroughly outlined within their proposal. 12/7/2018 Q: Can you please differentiate the Destination Development tactics in the Menu of Investment Opportunities that are regionally based vs statewide? A: (27) The Oregon Tourism Studio Network Implementation Support is aimed at growing capacity specifically in tourism studio regions to develop a network of leaders that are tackling projects and issues addressed out of their workshop series. Travel Oregon would be leading on this effort in a region. (29) The Stipends for Convening of OTS SC/ATs is aimed at funding capacity in participating OTS regions to support sustainable leadership and engagement. Ideally this tactic is RDMO led. This allows the RDMO to ensure there s continued financial resource to back process.the investment would be catalytic to the momentum and longevity of these studio efforts. Q: If an applicant is using a tactic listed in the Menu of Opportunities can they just copy the description directly from the menu or is Travel Oregon looking for more regional specific detail? A: All tactics incorporated into the plan that are listed from Travel Oregon s Menu of Investment Opportunities can be copied directly from the Menu into the Regional Plan. There is no need for further clarification on these tactics as they have been vetted by Travel Oregon staff to be incorporated at the regional level. Please include how much you plan to budget for each tactic in addition to Start and End date. The applicant is encouraged to add region specific implementation details that could further clarify how the Menu of Investment item is leveraged, but is not required.

3 Q: Outside of the budget, there is not a space in the template for the applicant to elaborate on the details of their Strategic Investment Fund or Immediate Opportunistic Fund. Should the applicant create a section to detail these strategies? A: No, the applicant is not required to add detail to these strategies at this time, only budget. It is the preference of Travel Oregon to have RDMOs work with their stakeholder groups to determine the best strategies for their respective regions. Q: Is it possible for an RDMO to offer the Travel Oregon Menu of Investment Opportunities to communities and businesses through our designated Strategic Investment Fund? A: At this time, Travel Oregon s Menu of Investment Items are intended for RDMO partners. If an RDMO has the capacity to manage an opportunity for a smaller entity within their region, they are welcome to invest in that opportunity and manage it for that regional partner. 12/14/2018 Q: My questions about the Miles Media Partnership from the Menu of Investment Opportunities are: A: 1. Would it be okay for a local DMO to buy-in on their own as a DMO? 2. Is it possible for an RDMO to buy-in at a lower cost for a lower level of service, say 6 communities instead of 12? 1. Travel Oregon s Menu of Investment Items are intended for RDMO partners. If an RDMO has the capacity to manage an opportunity for a smaller entity within their region, they are welcome to invest in that opportunity and manage it for that regional partner. For this specific tactic in the Menu, RDMO Google Content Co-Op, there can only be one partner per region to invest. 2. For a region or sub-region to buy in at a lower cost would mean a re-negotiation of the terms of the Miles Media contract as it is not currently included in the partnership between Miles Media and Travel Oregon. At this time, no re-negotiation is set to occur. Q: All applicants to hold January 28-29th for a set of presentations to an internal Travel Oregon Review Committee. These meetings will take place at the World Forestry Center in Portland. More details will be given upon applicant submission in January. Is the review committee the tourism commission or staff or a mixture? A: The specific RCTP RFP Review Committee makeup is not being provided to respondents in advance. It will include Travel Oregon staff and may include members of the Oregon Tourism Commission and/or members of Oregon s Tourism Industry. Q: Relating to the required letters of support for the RDMO designation, the category of Key land management agency includes the following examples: USFS; BLM; Oregon Parks & Recreation; City and County Parks. The Oregon Department of Forestry is not included in this list or in any other category. Would a letter of support from ODF satisfy the requirement of this category? A: Yes, The Oregon Department of Forestry qualifies under the stakeholder category of Key Land Management Agency and, therefore, a letter of support satisfies the requirement of this category. We

4 encourage all respondents to engage with a variety of land management agencies to ensure they are in alignment with plan development. Q: I have a question about the menu of investment opportunity Economic Impact of Tourism Regional Collateral. The budget for investment is not clear. It says $0.90 per guide mailed. Budget is dependent on number $1,500 base collateral would be a 2 page leave behind and a rack card. Additional cost may be incurred if collateral needs are greater. How many prints do we get with this? And do they have to be mailed, or can we take the box of them to use among our stakeholders? Also, is there an estimated cost to update the 2 pager in Yr 2 of the biennium? A: The budget for this specific menu of investment opportunity has been updated. Please review the newly updated Menu of Investment Opportunities document above. The updates have been reflected on Page /20/2018 Q: The applicant would like to submit our response by December 19 th or 20 th. The applicant is concerned that there may be more RFP changes made by Travel Oregon after we submit our plan. Do you foresee last minute changes? A: Travel Oregon does not foresee any updates to the Menu of Investment Opportunities or RFP Planning Document. We ask that all applicants continue to monitor the RFP page. As a reminder, questions received prior to RFP closing and Travel Oregon responses to those questions will continue to be posted for any interested parties to see. Interested parties may submit their RFP anytime up to the published deadline. Q: The applicant wanted to confirm that for Travel Oregon Menu of Investment Opportunities do not need to specify KPI s/measurements or overall KPI goal as it is included in the TO menu summaries. A: Correct, when applicants are selecting programs and tactics from Travel Oregon s Menu of Investment Opportunities, applicants are NOT expected to specify the KPI s and program goals. With that said, applicants are encouraged to add KPI s that would provide more clarity and focus to the regional implementation of each Menu of Investment Opportunity program or tactic. Q: In the applicant s RCTP plan they are planning on using 30% administrative funding to pay a percentage of their staff. The applicant wanted clarification that they are able to bill tactics for labor to perform the tactic above the 30% administrative line item? A: RCTP guidelines stipulate that designated RDMOs may not exceed 30% of their annual disbursement on staffing and administrative costs. If RDMOs would like to utilize a contractor, agency, or consultant to augment, and or add capacity to their help achieve their overall body of work, or complete work on specific programming or tactics, they are welcome to develop those contracts. RDMOs are expected to abide by all city, county and state labor laws. 12/21/2018 Q: Do you have any suggestions on how applicants should address the Fall (Winter) 2019 and 2020 Menu of Invest Opportunity item if they want to buy-in to the campaign, but don t want to appear to disregard the mandated guidelines?

5 Fall (Winter) Campaign 2019 and 2020 (page 35 of the Menu) the phrasing of the intro sentence (below) is concerning considering the RCTP restrictions on marketing in-state. Intro sentence: Leverage Travel Oregon s Campaign media buy, targeting active adventurers in Portland and close-in drive markets. A: We apologize for any confusion that the introductory sentence related to the Fall (Winter) Campaign 2019 & 2020 Menu Item may have caused. The marketing co-op will target out-of-state close in drive markets and as such, RCTP dollars may be used for this investment. The specific details of any one tactic or another identified in the Menu of Investments have not yet been finalized and as such, following OTC designation, we will work with each designated RDMO on final plan specifics to ensure all plan elements are in keeping with RCTP guidelines.