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Tourism director proposes Placer AI subscription, budgets $8,000 share
Summary
Tourism Director O'Malley recommended exploring a Placer AI visitor-tracking subscription and asked the committee to join a vendor Zoom demo; she said a one-year subscription could cost the city about $8,000 if shared with the building department.
Tourism Director O'Malley told the Pacific Tourism Committee she wants the committee to evaluate Placer AI, a visitor-tracking and foot-traffic research platform, and asked members to attend a vendor demonstration before the 2026 budget cycle.
O'Malley said Placer AI “is really good for research” and described it as “a tracking device” that can show where people move through downtown and where they go afterwards. She said the vendor can deliver data with a roughly two-day turnaround and demonstrated an example showing about 6,000 people at a recent car show and distinct peaks around awards and fireworks times.
The proposal she outlined would split a subscription cost with the building department; O'Malley said the city’s share would be $8,000 for the proposed year. Committee members asked technical and privacy questions: one member asked whether the product determines location via phones or cell towers; O'Malley said that would be a good question for the vendor on the Zoom call. She also noted Placer AI does not capture people without cell phones and that location estimates can be “skewed” because the product counts devices near storefronts rather than exact indoor capacities.
Committee discussion included clarification requests about current services and cost. During the conversation there were inconsistent references: one remark suggested the committee currently pays $8,000 for the existing service, while O'Malley later said “we currently don't pay anything, so then we would pay $8,000 to get this information.” The committee agreed members should attend a 30-minute vendor demonstration; O'Malley offered to email vendor contact information and to schedule one or two sessions so members who avoid forming a quorum could attend.
No formal motion or vote was recorded on purchasing Placer AI. O'Malley said she plans to bring the subscription request to the FY2026 budget process for formal consideration if the committee wishes to proceed following the demonstration.
The committee did not adopt a procurement decision during this meeting; members requested the vendor demonstration and additional technical answers before any budget request is finalized.
