Coppell Chamber reports DMO progress, plans to hire hotel liaison to boost weekend hotel stays

Coppell — Eli Braxton, president and CEO of the Coppell Chamber of Commerce, told council on March 11 that Discover Coppell — the city’s Destination Marketing Organization funded by hotel occupancy tax — is shifting tactics to attract more weekend hotel stays.

“It's called a Destination Marketing Organization,” Braxton said, describing the program the Chamber launched in 2021 to promote hotels, restaurants and events to day‑trippers and visitors. The program is supported by a Discover Coppell advisory council made up of hotel representatives, Chamber staff and volunteers.

In 2024 the DMO used an outside advertising firm, Belmont Advertising, for programmatic digital campaigns and ran a telemarketing contract with Hotel Resources to pursue conventions and group business. Braxton said Belmont produced broad reach — the presentation cited "54,000,000 impressions" and "4,433,000 clicks" from 2024 advertising — but that the telemarketing contractor did not deliver the expected weekend room nights for hotels.

Braxton said the advisory council and the five hotels representing the city’s lodging sector asked the Chamber to provide a dedicated staff liaison who can cultivate relationships with large employers, tournament organizers and other event promoters to generate weekend bookings. The Chamber plans to end the Hotel Resources contract (cost cited at about $48,000 for one year) and hire a Discover Coppell staff person, initially part time, to act as that liaison.

Why it matters: hotel occupancy tax revenues fund Discover Coppell. The Chamber said its primary objective for the hire is to increase weekend "heads on beds" so the program becomes self‑sustaining through increased hotel occupancy tax collections.

Details from the presentation

- Funding and setup: Braxton said Discover Coppell began in 2021 and is funded through hotel occupancy tax. The advisory council includes representation from the five hotels in Coppell, Chamber staff, and volunteers. - Marketing mix: The DMO uses Belmont Advertising for programmatic and paid search campaigns and an organic social presence across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn (Braxton cited roughly 2,300 followers and 94,000 reaches in 2024 for organic social activity). - Telemarketing trial: The Chamber contracted Hotel Resources for telemarketing; Braxton said the contract booked about $60,000 in business against roughly $48,000 in costs and that hotels reported they did not see sufficient benefit from the service. - Gap funds and hotel incentives: Discover Coppell operates a "gap fund" program that can subsidize small per‑room discounts to secure events that benefit Coppell, provided hotels apply and meet qualifying criteria.

Questions and council discussion

Councilmembers asked whether the DMO’s marketing could be used to promote Coppell as a place to live; staff reminded the council that hotel occupancy tax revenue must be used for tourism‑related activities and cannot legally be spent directly to promote residential relocation. Braxton said the Chamber will work with Belmont to better target hotel ads and would place more emphasis on weekend visitation once a liaison is hired.

Speakers

- Eli Braxton, President and CEO, Coppell Chamber of Commerce (presentation) - Daniel Armbruster (advisory council volunteer mentioned by Braxton)

Clarifying details

- Advertising metrics cited by presenter Eli Braxton: 54,000,000 impressions and 4,433,000 clicks in 2024 (presented as Belmont Advertising report figures). - Hotel Resources contract: cited cost about $48,000 for one year and bookings attributed about $60,000; Chamber ended the contract and plans to hire a staff liaison instead. - Gap funds: programmatic subsidy that pays a small per‑room differential to make a hotel offer competitive for an event judged to benefit Coppell.

Provenance

Transcript coverage begins at s=2889.555 (Braxton introduction) and continues through s=4165.305 where the presentation closes and council members ask follow‑ups.

Topics: tourism marketing; hotels; local economic development

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