The Selectmen say the money spent with the Berkshire Visitors Bureau has been well worth it.

LENOX, Mass. — Visitors coming to the Berkshires spent $403 million in 2013 and about 40 percent of that was spent in Lenox.

 

Berkshire Visitors Bureau President Lauri Klefos told the Board of Selectmen on Wednesday that the county has seen a 4 percent increase in visitor spending.

 

That percentage increase is similar to the preliminary numbers the town is seeing in meals, hotels and motels tax.

 

"Visitors are coming to Lenox and spending dollars," Klefos said.

 

The continual increase coincides with the town's expanded marketing efforts. In 2013, the town spent about $17,500 with advertising through the Berkshire Visitors Bureau — particularly in the New York and Boston market.

 

Concurrently, the town hired Studio Two to run a Google ad campaign at about $10,000.

 

The results are $161 million being spent in Lenox and the Berkshires having some of the highest hotel and motel occupancy rates in the state. 

 

"The news from the BVB is outstanding," said Selectman Dave Roche. "Their efforts seem to be increasing revenues each year."

 

The increased spending directly helps the town's tax base through business growth and additional tax revenue. Chairman Channing Gibson said the impact is huge for the town maintaining its level of service. The revenue pays for a lot more than the cost of the advertisements, he said.

 

The Selectmen are now being asked to grow that even more. The Visitors Bureau is asking the town to spend $3,000 more to boost the advertising. Currently, the town advertises on targeted months but the bureau is proposing year-round marketing.

 

"We looked at the results from the last two years and we really feel that it is time to make that message all 12 months," Klefos said. "I think it really is time to step up and talk about the 12 months of a year."

 

Director of Marketing Lindsey Schmid said the new proposal includes some changes beyond just expanding the length of time, such as a more focused campaign on Lenox. The advertisements were coupled with ads in eblasts for individual businesses through a shared cost. This time, the focus will be solely on Lenox.

 

"It is just a more consistent, solid Lenox message in those eblasts," Schmid said.

 

In other business, the Board of Selectmen are preparing for a discussion on new solar bylaws for commercial photovoltaic arrays. The Planning Board has crafted a bylaw and is expected to hold a joint meeting with the Selectmen to discussion the details. The bylaw is focused solely on larger-scale commercial arrays.

 

"This is a bylaw the Planning Board is developing to regulate large scale solar," Gibson said "This is for the purpose of generating power and selling to the grid."