BY REBEKAH ELLIS
MURPHY NEWS SERVICE
Edina City Council members this week approved an ordinance for a 3-percent lodging tax that will pay for a new visitors’ bureau.
The bureau has been dubbed “Explore Edina” and will be located in the Edina Chamber of Commerce building. It will have a website and is designed to be a one-stop resource for prospective visitors looking for information on dining, shopping, events and lodging.
Edina Chamber of Commerce President Lori Syverson will be president of Explore Edina. She said there has been a demand for the service and that she receives at least a dozen calls weekly from people planning to visit the area. In the past, she had to point them to other websites.
“We just don’t have one central location for any of this information. We don’t even have any brochures,” Syverson said. “When we heard it was a unanimous vote, we were so excited that now we’ll be able to not just help chamber members, but help the community overall.”
Syverson plans to collaborate with Edina hotels to put together packages for groups and events, such as family reunions, in addition to providing brochures and maps.
The committee originally heard a presentation on the proposal on April 1 and approved it on first reading. Now that the ordinance has been adopted, Edina’s two hotels will be taxed 3 percent, which will bring in an estimated $381,000 in 2015.
“This will be a completely separate entity, nonprofit organization. All of those funds will go toward marketing Edina,” Syverson said.
At Tuesday’s meeting council member Joni Bennett followed up on a previous recommendation by the council to avoid the name “Explore Edina” due to Edina, Mo.’s visitor website having the same name. Syverson said after careful review, “Explore Edina” will still be used and website domains have been purchased.
The next steps after final approval include setting up a process to collect the tax, establishing Explore Edina’s foundation and hiring a marketing director. Syverson said once Explore Edina is up and running, she will release information on how businesses can get involved.
Explore Edina and its website are expected to be ready by the end of summer.
Rebekah Ellis is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota