Mark Eklund with the Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau presented the bureau's fiscal year 2025 annual report to the Council Bluffs City Council, reporting steady hotel-motel tax collections and increased digital marketing activity.

Eklund told the council the city collected $3,184,000 in hotel-motel tax from stays in roughly 2,600 hotel rooms in 2023 and said the CVB has leaned into digital marketing and winter promotion after the county's purchase of Crescent Hill at Hitchcock (formerly Mount Crescent).

Eklund said the bureau tracked double-digit year-over-year growth in several online engagement metrics (including a 20% increase in impressions and a 21% increase in clicks that led to unleashcb.com) and reported growth in events listed on the site. He also listed recent event wins, including hosting the US Open Badminton Championship for a second consecutive year and supporting about 10 tournaments that generated more than 8,400 hotel room nights and nearly $1 million in direct value tied to those room nights.

The presentation noted the CVB's marketing focus on a small set of message pillars'live music, railroad heritage, the Loess Hills and the Missouri River'and described a rebranding to the name and social handle "Unleash Council Bluffs." Eklund said the CVB will produce more video and b-roll assets to promote live music and other marketable attributes.

Eklund thanked the council for the city's financial support in FY2025 and invited questions; none were raised during the meeting.

The presentation was informational and no formal council action was taken on the CVB report during this meeting.