Table 1
Table 1 above shows the Friday and Saturday evening breakdown of room occupancy for race weekends (bolded font) as well as the weekends before and after, from 2017 to 2019, for the Best Western Plus and Holiday Inn Express hotels in Downtown Windsor. On average across the 3 years, race weekends have an occupancy rate of 88.2%, versus 78.3% and 68.3% for the weekends before and after respectively.
B. An outline of the process by which proposals for funding events such as the Grand Prix Sponsorship are brought to Council for approval
With respect to outlining the process for funding proposals for events such as the Grand Prix. The process is that funding proposals are brought to Council as part of the budget, unless Council has delegated the authority for these decisions to Administration.
Risk Analysis:
There are potential risks with not continuing sponsorship of the event. The main risk associated with ending the sponsorship of this important event is missing out on a valuable branding opportunity which can have benefits year round. Additionally, there is a risk of degrading the valuable "Two Nations Destination" strategy which is a key pillar of the City's tourism plan.
Financial Matters:
The sponsorship cost for this event amounts to $50,000. It is noted that it is a relatively small percentage (1.4%) of the amount that is budgeted by Council relative to tourism initiatives of approximately $3.7 million ($2.8 million from the Municipal Accommodations Tax, half of which goes to TWEPI, plus approximately $900 thousands representing the amount that was previously earmarked to fund TWEPI but is now retained by the City for tourism initiatives recommended by TWEPI and approved by City administration under Council Delegated Authority). It is further noted that the annual overall budget of TWEPI is approximately $2.2 million.