Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Visitor Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sedona council renews Uptown visitor center contract and approves pilot purchase of outdoor digital kiosks
Summary
The City Council approved a one-year, $351,440 contract with the Greater Sedona Chamber of Commerce to operate the Uptown Visitor Center and authorized a separate $115,000 purchase of up to three outdoor digital information kiosks and associated first-year software and connectivity costs.
The Sedona City Council approved a one-year contract with the Greater Sedona Chamber of Commerce to continue operating the Uptown Visitor Center for FY 2026 and separately authorized buying outdoor digital kiosks as a pilot for visitor services.
The action on the visitor center was unanimous. The council then authorized a $115,000 decision-package purchase for up to three outdoor kiosks with ongoing software, licensing and cellular costs; the kiosk motion passed with one dissenting vote.
Council and staff described the visitor center as one part of a broader ‘‘visitor life cycle’’ strategy that includes web-based content, the Sedona Shuttle, in-room videos, and in-market touch points. Staff and the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) recommended continuing the city’s 80/20 funding share of the Uptown center, preserving the chamber’s role in staffing and operating the facility, and testing technology to extend reach.
The Chamber’s new CEO, David Key, told the council the chamber operates the Uptown Visitor Center 57 hours a week, tracks volunteer hours and visitor contacts, and provided FY24 performance figures including volunteer hours (6,601, equal to about 3.17 full-time equivalents) and a 4.7-star average from 457 Google reviews. The TAB recommended testing digital kiosks (a technology package capped at $100,000 in their report) to provide curated trail maps, shuttle information, Red Rock Pass purchase links, restaurant and lodging information, and mobile-device handoffs.
Council members and public speakers from the lodging and business community supported keeping the physical center while piloting kiosks. Council discussion addressed kiosk durability in Sedona’s climate, whether kiosks should be single- or double-sided, cellular data plans, and the need for strong content architecture and ongoing staff ownership. Staff said the kiosks would be tied to the city’s Scenic Sedona content (Simpleview CRM) and to an evolving digital trail-mapping approach that can curate and, if needed, deprioritize social trails via map-provider tools.
Votes at a glance: the one-year visitor-center contract with the Greater Sedona Chamber of Commerce for $351,440 (with an FY27 option) passed unanimously; the council also approved purchasing digital kiosks and related first-year costs in a separate vote (motion passed; one councilor expressed opposition).
Council asked staff to continue refining kiosk locations and to bring kiosk implementation details and contract language through the procurement process and budget schedule. Staff said some kiosk hardware and first-year software could be accelerated into the current fiscal year using available salary savings; ongoing licensing and cellular costs would be budgeted annually.
The council and chamber agreed the kiosks are a pilot to measure visitor engagement and should not replace in-person services; staff said volunteer and staffing plans for the visitor center would continue while the city tests digital touch points.
