Don't Even Bother

#27: Why Boise Is a Braggable Destination — With Andrew Heidt

• Katiuscia + Megan • Episode 27

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0:00 | 1:08:38

What makes a city worth visiting — and worth living in?

We sat down with Andrew Heidt, Vice President of Sales at Visit Boise, to break down how tourism, conventions, and city branding help drive economic growth in Boise.

Andrew explains how cities attract major events, conferences, and visitors — and why those decisions matter for local jobs, small businesses, and long-term economic development. We also dig into Boise’s “Braggable Destination” campaign, how tourism marketing works behind the scenes, and why livability is one of the biggest factors in a city’s success.

From convention sales and destination branding to quality of life and rapid population growth, this conversation pulls back the curtain on how cities compete for attention — and why Boise continues to show up on national “best places to live” lists.

If you’ve ever wondered how tourism actually impacts a city’s economy, what makes Boise unique, or how cities balance growth with livability, this episode offers an insider perspective on the strategy behind it all.

Connect with Andrew at aheidt@visitboise.com, and on LinkedIn. Check out Visit Boise on YouTube, all the socials @VisitBoise, and learn more by visiting VisitBoise.com.

00:00 Introduction: Boise as a Braggable Destination
02:30 Meet Andrew from Visit Boise
06:10 How Andrew Got Into the Tourism Industry
10:20 What Visit Boise Actually Does
15:40 How Cities Attract Conventions and Events
21:10 Tourism as an Economic Driver
27:00 Why Boise Is Growing So Fast
33:40 Livability vs Rapid Growth
40:10 What Makes Boise Unique
46:30 Misconceptions About Tourism
52:15 Behind the “Braggable Destination” Campaign
59:30 The Future of Boise Tourism
01:05:00 Final Thoughts on Boise’s Growth

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Don't even bother.

Katiuscia:

who doesn't wanna hear everything that you have to say?

Andrew:

Um, well, I definitely, uh, uh, have a lot to say about the tourism industry so.

Katiuscia:

Okay. So on that note, Andrew Heidt, Vice President of Sales at Visit Boise. Welcome.

Andrew:

Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Uh, never done one of these before, so, uh, excited to give it a shot.

Katiuscia:

Those are our favorite people.

Megan:

Yeah.

Katiuscia:

The ones that have never done it before. This is, it's just a conversation.

Andrew:

Oh, this is, uh, this is fun. Love it.

Katiuscia:

So I'm gonna invite you to please tell us about you and your background first. Like, who's, who are you? Who's Andrew?

Andrew:

Oh, that's a great question. Um, so, uh, well first of all, uh, hopefully everybody can understand me 'cause uh, I am from Southern Virginia, so. My friends told me to, uh, try to pronunciate on this, uh, podcast here. I'll start with that. But yeah, grew up in Virginia and, um, grew up skiing. Um, that was my, uh, passion still is. And, uh, my father worked for Coors Brewing Company for 20 years, and, he took me out to Golden Colorado, a couple times. I got to ski out in Colorado when I was a teenager and, uh, always wanted to move out there. So after, uh, after college and all, I, packed up my, uh, truck and headed to Denver, Colorado. So, uh, it was, uh, it was pretty wild. I didn't, didn't know anybody out there and, uh, yeah, settled in and, uh, became, actually quit my job. I didn't, um, well backtrack. I was living on a sailboat in Annapolis, Maryland, um, for six years working at the, Annapolis Convention and Visitors Bureau. So I've been doing this, uh, tourism deal for a long time. But, um, yeah, left the, the sailboat life, but I didn't watch tv, so I didn't know we were in a, uh, the 0 8, 0 9 recession.

Katiuscia:

Mm.

Andrew:

So I, quit my job and, uh, and did the drive out to Denver and, uh, but I had a few connections through the trade show industry and, uh, I was able to get a cool, uh, cool gig, uh, doing, uh, sports, tourism marketing out there in Denver. so that worked out great. But the, uh, long story short, that company got bought and so I got to become a ski bum for, uh, for about a year, um, in Denver. And, it was amazing. Yeah, I, I wouldn't trade it for anything, but, uh. Then a, position came open in Boulder, Colorado, uh, working for the Convention and Visitors Bureau there. And so that's where I ended up living in downtown Denver and working for, uh, for Boulder Tourism for, eight years. And, uh, love that amazing town and kind of got the big city life in Denver and the, outdoor recreational city of Boulder. And back then it was better. 30 minute drive. Now it's a little, uh, a little more brutal, but, um, but yeah, that was amazing, representing Boulder. But, uh, after a while I got, I was ready to change it up and, uh, did a big camping trip through, uh, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, looking at different cities to move to. came through Boise and, was just gonna stay here for a day and ended up staying here for, I think four days. I stayed in a little, I don't know if it's still there, I need to check, but over by the Hawks Baseball stadium, there was a, uh, a little tiny house right on the river that, uh, somebody had told me about, and it was, uh, 50 bucks a night and, uh, at the RV park there. Mm-hmm. So I'll have to check that out, see if it's still, uh, still available. But it was great. It was right on the river. I had my mountain bike, so I took the green belt down to, uh, alive after five. I tell people that was my biggest thing that I loved on. I, uh, alive after five was going on on a nice summer day summer there was

Megan:

nothing better.

Andrew:

Yeah. Summer, evening, and, yeah, I fell in love with, uh, I fell in love with Boise and, the whole, the whole deal. So decided to, uh, pick up and leave Colorado about. Eight years ago, almost to the day. So here I am. So

Katiuscia:

did you wait for a position to be open in Boise before you moved out or did you just wing it?

Andrew:

No, I think I came through here in 2016 and, uh. I ended up, I knew I wanted to move here and there and, uh, there wasn't a opening in the, at the convention of Visitors Bureau at the time, but I knew, uh, I kind of saw what happened at Denver with, uh, with how, the housing went. And, at the time, Boise in 2017, uh, was, uh, was, uh, you know, not, not too expensive. So, uh. I bought a house here in fall of 17 and I was just gonna take my time, uh, moving up here. And, then, sure enough. A couple months later, Carrie, my executive director to this day, uh, called and said, Hey, we have an opening if you're, still interested in Boise. And I said, I'm moving there, regardless, which, isn't a great negotiating tactic, but, uh, but no, I knew, I, uh, knew I wanted to live here, so, I was gonna do it, and figure something out. but I'm glad this opened up a visit Boise.'cause it is a dream job.

Katiuscia:

Nice. So tell us a little bit about, explain Visit Boise.

Andrew:

So, Visit Boise and every city has a similar organization, um, and we compete against them on a, on a daily basis. But, uh, we all have a tourism organization that is, uh, you know, the main objectives are bringing, uh, attracting visitors here. I've always been on the, uh, the meeting convention and sports, sporting events side of things. So you kinda have those two segments. We do the marketing out for, to bring visitors in here that you all get, you know, things from Expedia and all those different, but you also get 'em from cities doing the marketing. And then we do a big, uh, a lot of campaigns for the median convention and sporting, industry. So the goal is to, really drive economic impact. And, I always tell people at the end of the day, it's really making sure our hotels, uh, our hotels throughout the city of Boise, uh, are doing well with, occupancy and, rates that they can drive. So really Visit Boise economic, driver for, uh, for the city. Produces, a lot of tax dollars that go back into, the businesses and cities here. So that's what we say is we're really a economic driver for the city.

Katiuscia:

Okay. And we appreciate that as now we have a, we have a thriving city, which is so great to see Boise on the map where it hasn't been, I mean, I think especially since 20 20, 20 19, I'd say more 20, 20, 21 when it really blew up to have a city that's. Also taken care of. It's really nice. I think that was one of the first things I realized when I came here. Oh my gosh, I can walk downtown and it's safe, it's clean. There's purposeful graffiti, like it's for a reason in Freak Alley, and we love that because it just gives that. Appeal of the safety and why people love Boise so much. So it's a, it's a really cool thing.

Andrew:

Yeah. And the, one of the cool things we get to do is bring, uh, you know, we get to bring in the people who are making decisions for these conventions. and so we bring in probably about 75 potential clients a year that are considering bringing their, their events to Boise and. Most of 'em have never been here. And we always say, uh, Boise, really, uh, you know, we all know about it and people in the west know a little bit about it. But people back East Washington, DC is one of our huge markets. Um, they have no idea. They're about Boise. They, uh, they're some of 'em, you know. Think it's just the wild, wild west out here. So part of our job is to, make sure they, uh, know what's happening out here and that we can, uh, host things. So the coolest thing is to fly 'em in here. any decision makers, we'll fly 'em in and, put 'em up in, one of our hotels here and. Get to showcase the city for two to three days while they make a decision. it's so cool. They're just blown away by, you know, when you get to Boise or, most cities, you're not, uh, you know, 10 minutes from the airport to, uh, to downtown. So we've got a very unique, situation here and the city. Uh. I mean, the city is just, they all leave saying, you know, we, we thought it'd be, you know, a nice kind of quaint city out west. And it really is, I mean, talking about Tree Fort a minute ago, it's just this hip, vibrant city that, uh, that's why I love it. It's like, I, I do, uh, I love Denver where I'm from, but I do so much more here than I did in living downtown Denver because there's just, there's literally something going on every weekend here in Boise, and it's so close. Everything's, Close and accessible. So yeah, people are, uh, are blown away. We're bringing in 10 clients for the Tree Fort Music Fest. it's just a fun way to, to showcase the city and kind of change their perception from neutral. Most people just have a neutral perception of Boise. If they haven't been here, it's, you know, we don't think it's good. We don't think it's bad, but, our job's to, to change it to, man, this place is amazing and, we're gonna bring our event

Katiuscia:

So when you travel,'cause you do a lot of traveling for work, what do you go do? What? You go and you speak to people and to events. What is that role like? What is that job like?

Andrew:

Yes, we have a team of four on our, uh, on our, um, convention and sports sales team. So we go to about 16 trade shows, throughout the year, throughout the country, and our main objectives. So they'll be, you know, every other destination in the country will be there, you know, our, our top competitors that are there, the Salt Lakes, the Spokanes, Portland, Seattle. We obviously, uh, go up against the Pacific Northwest cities quite a bit. so all those cities are there with their representatives and we have a chance to meet with, anywhere from, you know, 20 to 500, uh, decision makers who are deciding where to bring their conventions and sporting events. Have a, uh, have a massive, uh, impact on the city. I actually brought some, uh, quick stat on that. Sure, please. But, uh, because I just wanted to run an example of what, so say you bring a convention here of 300 people for three days. Um, the economic impact of direct sales to, our city is, over $400,000 just for that one event hotel sales, restaurant sales, transportation. The meeting expenses, audio visual, like we have right here, um, all these pieces combined for a massive economic impact. And that's why all these cities invest in, invest in what we do. And, uh, just a little more about Visit Boise to give you an idea of how we're funded.'cause that's obviously important. So we're a nonprofit, organization, and we're funded by, the hotels in the Greater Boise Auditorium district. Collect a, uh, if you stay in a room, you know they collect a 5%, you're gonna see a 5%, tax on and that goes, straight to the Greater Boise Auditorium District, which is the convention center and the aquatic center. and then the state of Idaho collects a 2% tax. that goes to the, goes to visit Idaho, Idaho tourism, organization. So we get a grant, uh, we go to the, go to both those entities each year and, Carrie does, our executive director, which, has to put a grant together each year for, for funding. And, we get a grant from each of them for marketing administration fees to cover all of our expenses. But it's, uh, it's all driven by tourism tax, for the most part. the hotels, uh, the hotels, You know, see a, a benefit in, the destination, doing the marketing as, one entity really get 'em into the destination. And then, uh, we'll battle it out. who gets the business when they're, when they're here that's how the funding piece works on

Katiuscia:

Okay. And then when people are coming to host their events here, everything is direct sales, but you're facil, are you facilitating all of it, your

Andrew:

team? so the, uh. The process for, say you wanted to bring a sporting event here. So I'll take a, a real example. Uh, we started talking to Ironman, uh, Ironman triathlon that we hosted. we've got a three year deal with them, but, um, we were talking to them and they said, Hey, we haven't been here. They were here about 10 years ago, 2015. And they said, we'd love to, we'd love to bring something back to Boise. So they've got a whole, uh, RFP request for proposal, uh, process, all the things that they require from a city to, to bring this and, and what's needed from a funding standpoint because, they know the value of, their events, uh, that they're bringing to these cities. Um, so there is a lot of competition between cities on who gets to host what, so Ironman, for example. Yeah. we go through their whole RFP, uh, package on what they need. And then we work with, uh, you know, the city and all the, uh, special event entities, parks and recreation, lucky Peak. So we make those connections and, talk to 'em about, you know, is this even feasible, uh, to bring this here? Do we want this here and, in Boise? And, uh, talk to all those major entities that are involved. The hotels make sure they're on board.'cause it's a massive impact for them as well. we'll get a, uh, you know, information from all of those entities to put together into, one bid for, for Boise. So basically it's putting together a package of all these different pieces that are needed for the event, putting it into a, you know, a clean package, that we can present to Ironman and say, this is what, uh, this is what Boise brings to the table for you. Here's all the partners, uh, letters of support say the mayor or, uh. Other folks that, that are on board to help us bring this here. so that's what we do is put that package together and make it easy. Our goal is to make it easy for the client, to just say, yes. these guys have a, have a great package, compared to. Say, uh, a Salem, Oregon. Sure. who also hosts a, a great event. So, um, so yeah, that's what we do is try to make it easy for the client, to do business Here is the end goal. And we work on all those, uh, all those event and tourism pieces to put 'em in one, one easy package.

Katiuscia:

Okay. And then they make decisions from there. So that's like hotels, all the bids for hotels and everything. Yep. In terms of rates. Everyone's had, has the special rates or

Andrew:

Yep. Yes.

Katiuscia:

The corporate rate, I guess, at that point. Right.

Andrew:

So the, yeah, we worked to negotiate the rates that are needed, for all the hotels it's a, it's a pretty comprehensive, uh, package that, that you put together, but it's, yeah, all the hotels that are interested, can bid on that and be a part of it. you know, if the, if we need the Boise Center for event space, they'll be part it's pulling a lot of different pieces together, for these events. And it's the same, same, kind of process for large conventions here in Boise. Uh, they come to us with what they need as far as event specs and, space needs and hotel needs. And we take it from there and, uh, put it together. Uh. A nice, uh, package that, uh, is easy for them to bring their convention here and 'cause it's a lot of work for them to, to put these things on. So we've got a lot of convention services to try to make it as easy as possible.

Katiuscia:

A beautiful

Andrew:

Yeah.

Katiuscia:

Is what

Andrew:

You got it. We make it, uh, make it look sharp and, uh, 'cause like I said, yeah, the competition out there is, uh, and we're, we're, you know, on the, we're considered a tier two, tier three city, which, um, based on the space that we event space and hotels that we have here, room wise. Um, so we're up, but we're going up against the Salt Lakes and the Denvers and, uh, some of these in the, the Portlands. So, uh, it's fun and we win a lot.

Katiuscia:

The beautiful bonus though, is that. Once you submit this, you know, you package it up, propose it with a bow, they agree to come here. The economic factor is driven also when they're now supporting all of the local things, the restaurants, the, this, everything That's not considered event that then they have to go offsite and do. It's putting money into our dollars.

Andrew:

Yeah. It's the reason, simulating our economy. It's, it's a big reason why you'll see a lot of restaurants. I mean, when a, when a city is doing well and restaurants are opening. A huge part of that is the, um, you know, a lot of restaurants, their, um, 30% of their revenue can come from the, the visitor, the convention attendee. So, um, when you have a healthy tourism community, you're gonna see more restaurants, and, you know, can support, events like Tree Fort you know, any type of events happening. they're out and about. Taking advantage of these and spending money. And, I know we talked a little bit about it. We always say, uh, you know, we try to get them in here to Boise and, uh, spend their money for, you know, 3, 4, 5 days. And then, then we, send them back to, uh, to their hometown. So they really, I love that

Megan:

part.

Andrew:

So yeah, as our, growth continues, but we have had, uh, just had, I was at a dinner, uh. A tourism dinner the other night, and one of our new members, just moved here. And, he said, I was here for, an event that I put on and he put on a golf event here, that we helped out with. And, uh, sure enough, two years, three years later, he, uh, him and his wife, moved here. So I will say, some people, uh, some people will move here because they came here for an event, which is uh, which is pretty wild. and that's the greatest part of representing Boise 'cause he could represent any, not to knock any towns in the country, but, it's pretty cool when you get to represent a, a city that you're really proud of. And, and it's, the reason, uh, I chose to live here is it's just, I honestly don't, uh, don't see another city out there that has everything going on that from all aspects of quality of life here.

Katiuscia:

Quality of life is huge. Accessibility is huge. I do love it when people, you know, there's so many restaurants opening down, uh, downtown, I was gonna say downstairs, but also downtown, uh, but a lot of steakhouses. Right. Well, do we really need another steakhouse? Yes. Well, you bring in enough events and conventions and a big draw for a lot of people. Absolutely. Because those places will get funded by all of that tourism. So I'm totally for it, but I know that there's a lot of people, can we even afford this? I'm like, maybe, maybe you're not. Maybe you're not the demographic all the time. Right. Maybe they want the outsiders from the east coast with the big pockets to come in and spend a lot of money, because if you're on a convention or here for an event,

Megan:

yeah,

Katiuscia:

money is not an option. Typically, those people, I mean, I've been to enough of them that I'm just amazed at, oh, this is just, okay, who's picking up dinner for who? Da, da da. Mm-hmm. I mean, it's a wild. Thing. Yeah. But it's really cool. So I'm, I'm for the, I love the options. I love restaurant options. Give me steak anywhere, but I don't like, I don't care that there's a million steak houses. I love it. Just put 'em there. Yeah. People will go.

Andrew:

It's, uh, yeah, to have options is, not a bad thing. But yeah. From the tourism side, we get requests all the time from the groups coming in. Uh. You know, if, if they're here for a convention, they've, you know, somebody wants to take out 20 people or 30 people for a client dinner, that's when they're gonna be going to these, you know, these, new restaurants and, and supporting 'em. So it's pretty cool to be able to, uh, yeah, send that business.'cause yeah, the convention is one thing, but if you think about the trickle down effect of all the money that's spent, even, uh, you know. Just shopping around town, the gas stations going in there for whatever. It's a, it's a, uh, it's a huge, a huge impact people

Katiuscia:

Do you think that every time you've been, I guess, what's your success rate in when you've been up against another city? Like I'm, I'm sure, listen, I know you, I have

Andrew:

this, I have this stat actually.

Katiuscia:

Okay. Oh, good. Oh, I love it. I was gonna say, as dynamic as you are. I know that you could sell like ketchup to the woman in white gloves. Tell us, like you gimme some stats. I like the stats.

Andrew:

I don't know what that means, but just kidding.

Katiuscia:

Catch up. Two of them in my clubs.

Andrew:

Um, I, we just ran, it was actually a good question that the Boise Center had was, 'cause we bring in, we call 'em site visits. Um, that would be when Ironman, before they've decided, uh, after they've gotten our proposal, before they make a decision, you know, they're gonna review our proposal. Then they're gonna say, all right, we have to, you know, come see how this is gonna work. So we call that a site visit and we do, uh. We do those throughout the year. Uh, several of them a month for conventions and sporting events. But, that's where we, uh, bring 'em in If we're competing against another city and we cover the cost for that'cause we know it's gonna be a, an impact if it's a win. But for a convention center business, last year when people came here, just, hadn't made a decision yet and were going up against other cities. We had 78% win rate, of, site visits, when they actually came here and, experienced Boise.'cause we get, we get a lot of on paper. Uh, Boise has some challenges from a convention aspect. Um, the convention center center's amazing. It's in much better shape than most of our competitors as our, our hotels are too. I mean, I think we have. At least eight new hotels in the last decade here, which is, which is pretty wild. Um, but yeah, going up against these other cities, we have great product, but in Spokane, for example, they have a, they have a 700 room, Davenport Hotel that's also very nice. It's

Katiuscia:

nice.

Andrew:

And they have 700 rooms there, so. from a client perspective, somebody planning something that's a lot easier than using four hotels, having four hotel contracts. so that's why we have to bring people into Boise and they can see, uh. They can see how close everything is.'cause every city out there is talking about how walkable and great they are. But when people get here, it's truly a, you know, a walking experience in Boise is different than the blocks in Salt Lake City.

Megan:

Yep.

Andrew:

Um, so once people get here and can see the different, options that are right around, the convention center, it's, uh, it's a pretty, pretty good situation for a, for a win. But, and we don't just focus on convention business. We are, the sporting events are huge for helping out all the hotels. Um, we've got a lot of youth soccer events here that are, that are massive, that, uh, help fill our hotels that are, you know, we represent out to basically Eagle Road, are all the hotels that we represent. So we're also always looking for business that will, you know, impact all of those hotels as well. And the sports has success driver just a couple of the big ones that are coming in this year. I mentioned Iron Man already. It's a three year deal with them, but we've got, the Banana Ball World tour coming here. I don't know if y'all saw that.

Katiuscia:

What is that?

Megan:

I'm in the lottery for it. I'm so excited. What is that? I should've made you sign up for me too.

Katiuscia:

What is it?

Andrew:

Oh, you missed the, you missed the cutoff, but, um, I'm sure we get to try to figure some tickets out for you. But, what's

Katiuscia:

the Banana Bowl? What is this?

Andrew:

Have you heard of the Savannah Bananas?

Katiuscia:

Yeah.

Andrew:

Okay. So it's the, uh, they've created a whole world tour because they're, I mean, they're selling out NFL uh, stadiums right now. Um, the popularity is through the roof. And, um, my colleague, our sports, uh, sports director met them, uh, Lucas at a show and, uh. Talk to Boise State and, uh, Boise State was on board. they've been, uh, Boise State's been an amazing partner, to bring in while you've seen some of the concerts and all they're doing. So they're, uh, they're really, uh, open and, doing a great job bringing in these, these cool events that have a massive impact. So, yeah, that'll, uh, be two sold out nights in July for, uh, for the, baseball game. So That'll be fun.

Katiuscia:

Oh, that's very cool. Okay, so hold on with you mentioning Boise State. Anytime a comedian concerts, are they going through you or are they going through Boise State?

Andrew:

those are generally going through Boise State. if it has a, you know, people, our goal is to bring people in from outside Sure. Of the, uh, you know, our valley here. so you won't see, you know, we've got a lot of, uh, marketing going out, uh, to outside of Boise. So you, you'll rarely see any of our, visit Boise Marketing because, you know, we're looking to bring people in here from outside.

Katiuscia:

Sure.

Andrew:

but we do have some really cool campaigns going on. So check out, uh. Visit boise.com. we're calling it the most braggable city. And, uh, we've got some cool, uh, cool videos on there, working with a local, uh, ad agency here. So, check out the site. You think? We'll, we'll, like, you'll like

Katiuscia:

it. Love that. I'll for sure. Tag that in the description. Uh, it's funny, when I moved here, I don't even remember how long I was here, and immediately I started getting the ads on my TV for Visit California. And I would yell at my tv 'cause I'm like, dude, I just left that place. It does not all look like that. It is not like that. And some people love it. But for me, I love it here. So seeing, I imagine when I came here for the first time to check it out to see if I felt comfortable moving here and living here. If I saw an ad that encompassed everything, there was no BS to what I saw on the ground versus what I had just seen online. I didn't even see any tourism ads. It was just what you're seeing online versus boots on the ground. And it holds so true in so many ways, especially the downtown walkability, comfort, everything. And then you have the accessibility aspect of you could ski. You could be on the river, you could do everything in the matter of 45 minutes. I mean, river obviously closer, but ski 45 minutes. So it's just to be that connected to a community and to have it be so livable and have all the activities at your fingertips is a huge thing. Yeah. So I would imagine once people get here, they love that. I mean, you can extend your trip from your convention a couple days and go up to, you know, if it's summer, go up to the music on the mountain at Bogus, whatever it is. There's always something. Or I guess come for Tree Fort

Andrew:

and when we, uh, we do a big, uh, big client event every summer. we call 'em, uh, all the, all the other competitors do'em, they're called, uh, FAM trips, familiarization trips. And so we will bring in probably 15 potential clients in July. And, uh, the cool thing is, they are totally unaware of our wine country here. You know, the Sunny Slope region is, amazing. very few of our potential clients have any idea that that's out there, 45 minutes from, downtown Boise. And then we always do, the highlight of the trip that people will come up to you at trade shows years later is we take 'em, uh, up to, do whitewater rafting. And again, if you go during the middle of the day, we take'em up there during the day. It's 45, 50 minutes up there and then we have a nice, catered dinner on the river. And, I mean, it's pretty special to be able to do that outside of a, uh, right outside of a, amazing city here it's, it's just cool to be able to, I mean, I'm glad I get to do it. I'm, I, like I said, it is a, a dream job to be able to bring people in here and show 'em what we have

Katiuscia:

And you're so genuine about it too. And I mean, you can tell that you really do love it. So I'm sure that. Number one, energy is contagious, right? Whether it's good or bad. So when you go to other states and you're talking to people, it's, you can't help but get excited to visit a place where you just, even everything you just explained, like in a day, we can go up here and everything is so close that you're not talking about five hours in the car or having to get, you know, mass transport to go on a whole day trip somewhere You can just get there and experience it. And that's, that's really cool that it's so close by.

Andrew:

That's what I love, about, you know, when I worked in Boulder, I actually lived in Denver. So you weren't really living the uh, I wasn't really living the Boulder life every day. And that's what I think you really, I think it's important if you're gonna be out there Yeah. Marketing and selling a destination and yeah. Know what's going on. So that was, I mean, I still love that, but I didn't have the same exp here. I've got the, you know, I live, uh, I'm up on the bench. Uh, I can ride my bike to work. I mean, it's, uh, it's incredible. So there's, uh, yeah, so many cool things about, but I do believe, yeah, living in the city man, I try to go to as many, uh, as many cool events as I can here. like, we've got the, uh, we've got some amazing stuff going on at the Egyptian theater this weekend. I just bought tickets today to see the Mountain Film tour. so just some of these venues that are really unique here in Boise and again, always something

Katiuscia:

There is. Uh,

Andrew:

so yeah. What about you guys?

Katiuscia:

So

Andrew:

what do you love about this place?

Katiuscia:

Well, I moved here because of guns and freedom,'cause that's all I wanted. And when I started looking, it reminded me a lot of Italy, not Boise so much, but the outskirts. So I live in Star. And there was, it was more of a country feel. It's not like that anymore. Five years later for sure. Not because development, reasons. So it happens,

Andrew:

but it's still not Major C City like,

Katiuscia:

you know? But it's not, no, it's not major city. And I do really enjoy living out there because, and I've had a lot of people tell me, oh, for your work, you're everywhere. Why don't you live downtown? Because I've always been used to being a little removed where I live. So it always took me, even in San Diego. It took me 45 minutes to get downtown. Took me 20, 15, 20 minutes to get to the beach. I was a little more removed and I like that. I think it gives me process time when I drive home, but I love that Boise's so clean and everyone's so friendly. Boise nice is a real thing. It's from the Idahoans, you know? Then you start getting every, all the transplants here, and you have to. Reiterate, Hey, this is Boise. Nice. And if you don't play by the rules, you gotta go back. That's true. Like it, it should be in the state charter. If you don't play by the rules, you gotta go back.

Andrew:

Yeah. We need to keep that, uh, we need to keep that, yeah, nice, feel

Katiuscia:

driving around and especially in the neighborhood even. I mean, there's a lot of houses in my neighborhood. I don't know everyone, but throwing up your hand to say hi. Or whatever it is. It's such a, you could tell that people are way less stressed, especially when they come from places like where I came from and may probably even Denver. There's, when you're too big city and too congested, that stress just carries on with you. You carry it everywhere. So when you come and took me a while to kind of get used to, why aren't contractors calling me back to fix something on my house? Why? Why are they skiing today? Like there's work that needs to be done. They said they'd come today. You just kind of have to, and that honestly reminds me more of Italy because everything is a little more lackadaisical in that regard when it comes to work. In terms of my work, right? My work, it's, we're on it because we have to be contractually, but if it's someone coming to fix. My light switch that didn't go, you know, didn't work properly. Yeah, just relax. We'll they're gonna, we'll get it done. And I'm like, oh my gosh, this is, you're so Italian. So I just love it for that. I feel like it's a mode of peace. Driving here isn't, I mean it's obviously with the more people now there's road construction's always a season. But I think I love it because you can get somewhere and yeah, it might take you a little longer, but the whole point of the mentality being a little more chill. Is there's not a rush. I mean, you have to, yeah. Obviously you have to get some more on time, but you don't stress out and give yourself anxiety and, you know, like heartburn because you're gonna be two minutes late like it happens. Yeah, it's Eagle Road.

Andrew:

We have a, um, we have a, one of the best things we've done, uh, visit Boise. We have a customer advisory board and it's, uh, we bring in eight, uh, top industry professionals each, uh, September. And basically, we sit down with a facilitator for a couple days and they tell us what they're seeing out in other cities how can we improve on, you know, what we're doing, from a marketing and sales perspective. which is, I mean, incredible'cause they're just so open and, very, uh, you know, we say, you know, give it to us. Uh. frankly, and, that's one of the huge things that always comes out of it. Speaking of like, you know, neighbors waving at people, it's like that makes an impact on, uh, on our visitors and everybody that's coming here. and that's why, these convention planners, they get off the plane and, that's why you gotta check out our Braggable video. It starts out, ah, Boise because it does give you this nice, uh, nice feel here. And the customer advisory board, what'd they say? They said, uh, you need to promote this Boise vibe that it's a Boise vibe we call it. it's really true when you're, just cruising down up. Walking here and walking to the coffee shops, and it's, it's very unique. You know, we go to Washington, DC a lot for work trips and it's, uh, that's a different experience, uh, Sitting in the Starbucks, downtown DC versus, you sitting in the district, uh, around the corner here, having a coffee. So that is one of the huge selling points. it's a different feel here. Yeah. Less stress. You're a little more relaxed and, uh. uh, yeah. Well, you've heard me. I can't say anything

Katiuscia:

about it. Megan's more of a native than us. What's your

Megan:

It's an all-weather city. It doesn't matter. Spring, summer, fall, winter. There's something to do outside. Like, I don't ski, but if I did, it's right there, you know? And you can mountain bike, you can hike, you can float the river. You can, I'm fishing. The camping. It's all right here.

Katiuscia:

All weather. We might wanna put the disclaimer that, that also means in spring it could be all weather. So you should have every type of clothing in your vehicle.'cause you could change rapid fire in 10 minutes. You don't

Megan:

like the weather. Wait 15 minutes.

Katiuscia:

Yeah, exactly. But I love the seasons too. The seasons are great. I mean, I had sun forever.

Megan:

Yeah. Well, yeah. When I lived in Phoenix, it was like, I just wanna go home. I'm tired of it just being hot and hotter all the time. I like all the, yeah. Having all the seasons.

Andrew:

Well and I don't, uh. Yeah, I don't know if we're ever gonna get over that. Uh, the perception.'cause even when I didn't know anything about Idaho and I was like, uh, that has to be a cold And I think that's what, uh, you know, a lot of people think that are. Uh, I, I go back to back east 'cause we bring a lot of people here from the, a lot of people were learning about it back east, about Idaho. yeah, you kind of picture it, uh. Being a, you know, kind of a Montana cold type place, you know, and, you're totally right. Like I was in the, having coffee at the, the Renegade the other day, and somebody had their golf clubs out and, uh, this is, you know, end of February, and I know this is a little unique year, but he was going to play golf. And so it is pretty neat, uh, what you can do here, year round.

Megan:

Yep.

Andrew:

No question

Katiuscia:

it. It's wild that. We're now in the beginning of March and this has been our winter and we're gonna knock on everything we can, but I'm okay with it. Like you lived through Snowmageddon.

Megan:

Yeah,

Katiuscia:

I didn't, I don't want to. I was told it was a one in hundred year

Megan:

storm. I was not a fan of that, but I would like it a true winter.

Katiuscia:

No, no, no. True winter yet, but it's a little late now. Oh no. I don't

Megan:

want it now.

Katiuscia:

Yeah, now we don't want it.

Megan:

On in

Katiuscia:

December next year.

Andrew:

Yeah. I miss the, uh, I miss the snow again. I still haven't bought a shovel here Boise yet.

Katiuscia:

Oh, wow.

Andrew:

yeah, I miss the, uh. The big snowstorm. uh, but yeah, we've got another cool thing is the, is Lucky Peak. I mentioned I lived on a sailboat, so when I was moving to Idaho, I figured, you know, that's the end of my sailing days. But, uh, but I got uh, a little 1315. We have have a

Megan:

Seaport,

Andrew:

14 foot sailboat and, uh, keep it up there at Lucky Peak. Nice. And, uh, have a blast. So there's a handful of us that, uh. Still get our sailing fix here in Boise. But

Katiuscia:

fix, what you, okay, you've mentioned Iron Man a couple times. Is that now on the docket, officially three year coming to Boise,

Andrew:

three year deal? Yeah, so we, uh, we hosted it last summer and, uh, had close to 2000 athletes, register for that. this year it's actually gonna be, we got, they do about 120 events throughout the world and, They selected, I think it was 16 cities that will be on their, pro tour, pro series tour. So, that event will have, all the top, uh, triathlete. Send the world. Uh, a lot of 'em will be coming here to Boise this summer. So, definitely get out and check, uh, check it out. It's, uh, it's a fun, fun scene downtown in Julia Davis Park, takes place, for the So, yeah, that was pretty, pretty cool that they, selected Boise And we have Danielle Lewis, who, one of the top 10 females in the, uh, in the world that So. Oh,

Megan:

cool.

Andrew:

She's been a huge, uh, proponent for us. that's a cool too thing, too. Our, our local, uh, our local heroes here in the, kind of in the outdoor sports, uh, world mm-hmm. With, uh, Kristen Armstrong. Uh, I mean, where else can you, uh, where else can you go, uh, to a gym? And, I go to Pivot over there that she owns and she actually teaches spin classes. So you're taking a spin class from a, uh, a three time gold medalist cyclist. So that's a little daunting, but, she takes it easy on you once in a while, but that's pretty cool. And then, uh, yeah, we just have some, some pretty cool athletes here that, uh, people aren't aware of as And we haven't talked about Bogus Basin at all.

Katiuscia:

So. Let's talk about Bogus Basin. Tell us about it.

Andrew:

Um, well, as a avid skier, I, wasn't sure what to expect about, skiing here in Idaho. I'd been to Sun Valley and obviously that's a very cool mountain. But, uh, then learned about Bogus Basin, um, which again adds to our quality of life. that's through the roof. So when I got here in 2018, um, yeah, I got up here right at the end of ski season and I was blown away. I mean, the, uh, it's, I was looking it up and, uh, and, uh, don't quote me, but. I think Bogus has more skiable acreage, the actual where you can ski than, uh, copper Mountain, Colorado. Wow. Which is a pretty major resort out in, in, uh, in Colorado. So I was, uh, I was blown away by, uh, the, mountain up there and it's, uh, it's done nothing, but, uh, they've done nothing but amazing improvements and, and it's non-profit, which is, uh, which is wild.

Megan:

Oh, I didn't know that.

Andrew:

Brad Wilson, uh. Who's a general manager up there, has been on, was on our board, uh, chair of our board for a little bit. And, pretty cool just to hear how they're, you know, for a non-profit. And we've had this amazing growth here and getting new skiers into the market up there. So they, um, they've been able to, you know, we've got snow making now for the first time. I think that happened. Four or five years ago maybe. But, that gets us up open earlier and be able to stay later when we have seasons like this. So, the improvements they've done up there is, is pretty incredible changing out chair lifts and, huge, huge investments and, yeah, and also making it a summer, uh, a summer spot as well listening to music on the mountain up there. So, yeah.

Megan:

Well, and the, you know, the things for kids like the, the coaster and the. Just the mountain biking and the hiking and

Andrew:

yeah. To have that, 16 miles up the road is, uh, yeah. Is pretty special. Have you used it?

Katiuscia:

Have I been to Bocas? Yeah. Yeah, I've been there. I went last summer. That on the mountain.

Andrew:

Okay.

Katiuscia:

And I thought that was really cool. I don't snow. I mean, I don't, I obviously don't snow, but I don't ski or snowboard was the rest of that one. I would like to learn how to snowboard. I think that skiing will I'm convinced that I'm not, I'm not made for skiing, but I think I could be made for snowboarding, but I just need to learn lessons.

Andrew:

Well, they have, um, snowshoeing trails up there as well, which, uh,

Megan:

snowshoeing is a blast.

Katiuscia:

I could probably, I was gonna say, I could probably snowshoe

Andrew:

talk about Yeah. Getting away from, uh, stress.

Katiuscia:

Yeah.

Andrew:

Like, uh, get some snowshoes and go up to Bogus and, uh, there's nobody out on the trails, a lot of the time on, where you can go back there. beautiful views, uh. Overlooking the city and, the backside there. So, yep. Highly recommend. Uh,

Katiuscia:

okay.

Andrew:

When you're feeling stressed out mm-hmm. When I'm, put on the snow shoes.

Katiuscia:

Okay. And go up. So have you been there a lot this season?

Andrew:

Um, I've been up there probably, I dunno, handful of times. Six, seven times. Okay. So we always do a, uh, a chamber ski day that, uh Chamber 'cause visit. Boise I didn't mention is, uh, we're. We're part of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and, we're the basically the tourism of, uh, of the chamber. But back in the day they started, I think, I think it's been going on 20 years now. They said it's, uh, chamber ski day and I think some of the other chambers are doing it now, which is cool. but basically it was to help out, uh, Bogus was trying to figure out, um, how do we get more skiers up here? And, uh, they've since figured it out.'cause yeah, it's tough to get a parking spot on Saturday, but, um, but yeah, back in the day, this was before I was here, uh, they were trying to figure out how do we get more people up here skiing, snowboarding, So the Chamber and partnered with Bogus to, to bring business professionals up there and, hopefully get them invested in the, uh, you know, getting their employees up there. So kind of a whole of that cool community approach to help out the, this nonprofit, uh, resort that's kind of built and for the community. so yeah, we always do that, which, uh, highly recommend as well. You get like 50, 75 people up there in the business community. Uh. Skiing and snowboarding and, kind of a fun way to, uh, you know, not sit in a board boardroom and, uh, and network.

Katiuscia:

I feel that that's always been kind of a big thing. As long as, I mean, as much as I've been involved with the Chamber over the past five years as an ambassador, and it's, uh, it's always been a big thing Chamber day at Bogus. And just because you are, you're getting out of the office, you're getting either a company, but it's also a way for members. Chamber members to just hang out together. Yeah. In a very low pressure environment.

Andrew:

Yeah. I think we should, uh, yeah. Along that line, I think we need to do more of that, uh, more of those types of events for, 'cause that's when you really, uh, get to build those relationships and, you know, people do business with, uh, with people they like, let's be honest, you know? Mm-hmm. And, uh, so yeah, it is, uh, we should do more of these. I guess so maybe I'll start the, uh, the chamber running club.

Katiuscia:

There you go.

Andrew:

So that'll be my idea to take away from here as long as you guys join first members

Katiuscia:

of your hair. So I would do like a, I don't run, I would do like a cycling, like it's

Andrew:

already going downhill.

Katiuscia:

Like, like I would do a stationary cycle chamber club.

Andrew:

Chamber spin class,

Katiuscia:

chamber spin. I do chamber spin. All right. But I won't do chamber run.

Andrew:

We'll, we'll brainstorm it.

Katiuscia:

Okay. I'll, we can, we can talk and figure this out, but I do think

Andrew:

it is, it's so much more fun 'cause we've had companies, uh, we had this company that, the Boise Center works with on their technology over there. people from all over, uh. All over the world. We had some international momentous is the, technology company, but they wanted to do a hike. And, we said, all right, um, no problem. They were, staying, uh, staying downtown. And they, uh, we said, all right, how many people did you get signed up? And they said, we have, about a hundred. we hadn't had that circumstance yet where we had that many people from one company. And, uh, but it was, uh, it was a blast. We, uh, we actually walked from a downtown hotel. And where else can you, uh, can you say this for a convention? Uh. Uh, maybe Boulder. Boulder, he could do this, but, uh, you can walk right from, uh, right from the hotel and we walked through Hyde Park. Mm-hmm. Which is awesome to walk through too. And they're all, you know, everybody wants to stop in there, but we, uh, got to camel's back. And, did a, you know, an hour hike broke into some, uh, some smaller groups. but it was, it was great. And then what another great way to just get to know your coworkers, you know, rather than being at another, nothing against, uh, you know, our happy hour functions that we do at every convention, but. How cool was it for them to just, you know, be able to go out and do something totally different and, go hiking with their, with their teammates. And then we ended up at, lost Grove in Hyde Park, and, uh, that was, uh, one of my favorite events last year.

Katiuscia:

There is something to be said about when you take people out of the business, whether it's a happy hour networking event, if it's a convention, when you take them out and just put them in real life. It's, that's where Genuine Connections are built, because you're not. Thinking of what you're saying, you're not so on. Yeah. You're able to just kind of let loose and you already have to get over the fact. If you're one of those, a little more uppity corporate people that I wanna, I have to go hiking, people have to see me in workout clothes without makeup, not in professional attire. You have to put that to the back of your mind already because it just makes you more real and it makes the connection more real.'cause you can laugh about things, you can struggle together, you can bitch about it, whatever it is you have to do. It's gonna be a bonding experience in either way. So I love that kind of stuff. So Chamber spin, I'm in chamber run no..

Andrew:

Chamber spin. I think it does have a good ring too.

Katiuscia:

Chamber spin. I'm in.

Andrew:

We'll do it at Pivot. Have it led by go.

Katiuscia:

Oh no, go wait, hold on, hold on.

Andrew:

Led by Kristen Armstrong.

Katiuscia:

She's gotta go easy on us though.

Andrew:

But no, I think, and it's a huge trend in our industry, especially with the, uh, the, uh, new generations coming up. they do not want the same experience that I've had personally at conventions where it's, it was kind of, it's always been kind of a cookie cutter type thing with the, you know, you got your sessions all day, your keynote speaker, and then you got your, uh, reception and it's like, okay, can we, uh, can we think outside the boxes new, uh, the new generations are like, you know, we need. We need different things other than, just, uh, sitting in a room.'cause really people aren't making great connections sometimes especially if you're introverted, you know? Yeah. I don't know what you guys are, but, I think I'm kind of, you know, that ambi you

Katiuscia:

ambivert, you're an ambivert. Yeah, I'm

Andrew:

ambiverts. but, you know, there's a lot of, uh, introverts that that's the last thing they want to do. so if you could make it more fun and maybe break into smaller groups, it's a lot easier for a lot of people for the, networking and actually doing business. So we're seeing that we have to find ways and, uh, to, uh, to do these events differently now.

Katiuscia:

And when you have different opportunities also presented at a bigger op, at a larger scale opportunity, then people have the option to do things. So I go on, I go to real estate conventions.

Andrew:

Yeah.

Katiuscia:

There's the whole thing. There's the speakers, there's the reception, there's the this, there's the welcome, and then there's a million people doing side events, whether it's coffee, dinner, a workout, and you get to kind of pick and choose what you do. And I thrive in the smaller events because I'm not so overwhelmed of I can't talk to this many people. And even though I'm not planning on talking to a hundred, gosh, even talking to 15 is really daunting when you are a natural introvert. You need the smaller scale so people need that. Yeah. I will say the new generation, not just for conventions, the new generation in most things is all about the experience. We see it even in home buying. They want and they want something with experience. So whether it's where the house is located, it's not so much about the structure at this point, unless they also want the, I want all of the amenities inside. Like, I need the sauna and I need this, and I need, so they're geared at that. They're geared at destinations where that is accessible. Probably why Boise is so hot right now, but it always is since it became hot.

Megan:

But I feel like those little, like, I don't know, breakout sessions or whatever are nice.'cause you can find your people.'cause if you wanna go to the workout, you go to the workout. If you don't wanna go to the workout, those aren't your people. You know? You find your,

Andrew:

yeah.

Megan:

Your people.

Andrew:

Yeah. So it's, uh, you know, for the planner, the reason we just haven't done it is it's, it's, at the end of the day, it's more work for the planner. So we've actually, our customer advisory board said if Visit Boise should be the, uh, basically the, uh, one of your services could be creating the networking experiences for the planner. And so that's what we started doing. like that hike. We, uh, you know, they didn't have to do a thing. We said, we got this. You know, so, how can we promote those and come up with more cool ideas? And that's why the rafting is cool. Speaking of, like being in the smaller, uh, the smaller groups, 'cause you're on a raft with, uh, you know what? Seven other people.

Megan:

Yeah.

Andrew:

And, uh, so then you see those people hanging out more at the convention mm-hmm. later on. So it's kind of cool. It really is that bonding in the smaller groups that Yeah. I think we need to lean into and yeah. Is it gonna be a little more work? Yeah. But are they gonna have a much better experience at the event and come back? Yes.

Katiuscia:

Rafting for sure though, because you're dependent on other people to literally pull weight. And if they,

Andrew:

that's a true bonding experience.

Katiuscia:

And if they don't then they're, that's probably where they get isolated from work also. And that's where all the talk comes behind. I still

Megan:

resent people I've been on rafting trips with

Katiuscia:

really?

Megan:

But we have such great outfitters, you know, and sometimes they'll get water fights going between the boats and, you know, it's just, we have really good River outfitters here.

Andrew:

And it's perfect. It's 'cause people are, when we bring that up, people are, initially, 'cause most of these people have never. Gone whitewater rafting. And so, uh, very, uh, hesitant, to do this. So, uh, but we've got the perfect, uh, the perfect little float there on the main, you know? Mm-hmm. That's what mm-hmm. Class three. Yep. So it's like you get some excitement, but, you know, we're not gonna lose a client. Uh, well, we haven't lost a client yet. Uh, shouldn't, shouldn't jinx myself, but you're not gonna, but it's like the perfect, uh, perfect speed for everybody, you know? Yeah. So. and then, I also think you have to touch on the 200. Uh, we have what, over 200 miles of trail system here. And, there's not that many cities that, can say that. So the whole Ridge Rivers program is, uh, is unbelievable. I probably broke the rules bringing a hundred clients out there, that day. But, we'll, uh, we'll check into that. But, um. Because I could see doing that in the future. It was so successful. for them to be able to take a picture up there at the top overlooking the city.

Megan:

Yeah.

Andrew:

But yeah, our trail system, uh, is just insane for, and it's,

Megan:

it's phenomenal

Andrew:

and it's for, you know, kids can be up there. It's, uh mm-hmm. The cool thing is it's, all different skill levels I think, you know, Boulder was, uh, Boulder has an amazing trail system, but it's, mainly, uh, for, you know, experts. So here it's like any age can do It's hard to find,

Megan:

and they're really well maintained.

Andrew:

That's another thing going on this weekend I think I saw is, uh, I can volunteer to get up there and, help, uh, help rebuild and clean the trails. So, yeah, always something going on.

Katiuscia:

I love it. I love that everything is just here, that, you know, it's not so overwhelming where, oh, if I can't make it to the, forget it unless it's tree fort. And then that gives me anxiety because I just think I'm in a grid. I'm in a grid, where am I gonna go? So that gives me a little bit, but. One day maybe, maybe no promises, but one day maybe if there's someone really phenomenal. I think last year Sofi Tukker was here, like she was performing and I'm like, oh, I wanna go see.

Andrew:

Yeah. You, you, you guys have No question.

Katiuscia:

I know about this year. It's like real close call right now. Tickets were bought last year, weren't they?

Andrew:

Um, I

Katiuscia:

know there's a lot of venues that do it for

Andrew:

you. I'm sure you could still get

Katiuscia:

I'm sure you could still get some tickets. Is

Megan:

it like spring break or is it like the last week of March?

Andrew:

It's

Katiuscia:

the last, it's the last week of March. Oh, okay.

Andrew:

So, but yeah. But yeah, it's a fun industry and, every, uh, like I said, every city has it. So how can we keep Boise, in a position to compete against, uh, um, the Spokanes and Renos? uh, it goes back to, yeah, the people and the community and, Yeah, keeping it a, uh, a cool spot that people, want to come to because we do have, uh, developments, uh, continuing. We've got a, uh, AC element Marriott Hotel opening, downtown in April next month.

Katiuscia:

Nice.

Megan:

Wow.

Andrew:

that brings, uh, I think it's 296 hotel rooms, in one building. Uh. Right on front street there. So, that's a, a massive, uh, project coming in. So, I definitely, uh, recommend doing some, uh, staycations for people here in the valley. Uh, 'cause uh, we could use your support as we open all these new rooms in, uh, in Boise, Idaho. And, I know the Riverside is huge into that. I don't know if you guys have ever stayed at the, at the Riverside.

Megan:

The Riverside's coming back. It was a big deal when I was a kid and then it's coming back now.

Andrew:

Yeah, you gotta put a staycation on the books over there. They got the, what was it? The other general just said the pool is, uh, I think sitting at sits at close to a hundred degrees, uh,

Megan:

oh my gosh.

Andrew:

Year round. So, uh, yeah. If you wanna stick around and, not go on, uh, these other vacations, there's uh, kind of some cool staycations, right around here

Katiuscia:

on, uh, you're so outdoorsy. Okay, so you said warm water, and I'm you would probably be someone who takes advantage of the hot springs.

Andrew:

Oh, yeah, no question.

Katiuscia:

Okay. Talk about those a little bit. I know it's not like in the Visit Boise element, but it is in the, that's what we also have here.

Andrew:

yeah, well, we haven't, uh, haven't had any group excursions to Hot Springs yet,

Katiuscia:

but I wouldn't recommend that one. No, no, no, no. Maybe that'll

Andrew:

be,

Katiuscia:

I'm talking about like,

Andrew:

maybe that'll be the small group experience, but No, we have, uh, I mean, one of my favorite spots is whenever people visit to take 'em up to Idaho City. And, uh, I love Idaho City. It feels like you're kind of stepping back in, uh, stepping back in time there. But they've got, you know, the Springs, which is a beautiful, facility up there. Then you've got, uh, yeah, the natural hot springs, that people want to experience too. but we gotta figure out a way to hit these. Uh, you have to hit 'em during the week, you know? Mm-hmm. Because, uh, that's the key. We've got a, we're in the weekend warrior, uh, situation here in Idaho for sure. So

Katiuscia:

Idaho City from downtown Boise is how far on a weekday with no traffic?

Andrew:

say 40 minutes.

Megan:

Yeah. It's not bad.

Katiuscia:

That's not bad.

Megan:

It's a, it's a fun place. That's

Andrew:

no problem. That's some cool, uh, some cool restaurants up there as well. Yeah. So

Megan:

good huckleberry ice cream.

Andrew:

And you get that? Yeah. Kind of, uh, yeah, stepping back in time, uh, feeling, of Idaho. but yeah. And we're also, one of the things that we, you know. Don't promote a whole lot as we are the, uh, we have the most buildings, um, of any city heated by geothermal here in, uh, in Boise. It's a massive, uh, massive geothermal system. And, I learned this when I, when I first got here. And, uh. And I think we might be like either one, one or a few capital buildings. Mm-hmm. heated by geothermal. But when I got here and started, I didn't have my role, but I was working on this convention. Um, it was a geothermal convention. Huge. Uh, you know, I think it was like 700 people that would be coming And this is how cool Idaho is.'cause this never would've happened in other places where I work. But, I said, do you think we could get, uh, so they were hosting the previous one in Reno and I said, do you think, uh, how could we, uh, get Boise, uh, better potential to win this business? Somebody said, well, uh, why don't you ask the governor if, uh, he would, uh. S maybe go speak at the, uh, previous convention that's gonna be in Reno. And uh, I was like, you want me to go ask the governor if he'll go do this? And sure enough, he actually went down there and spoke at this convention on behalf of Boise. and that's something we haven't touched on. It is like, oh my goodness. Like everybody is so, open and accessible here. You can get the governor to go speak at a convention to help you win a piece of business. And, uh, I thought, I mean, that blew me away, when I got here. And it's just, uh, yeah, everybody is just willing to, and they're, you know, has open door policy here. Uh, you don't see that in, other places where I've been, not, not that accessible. So

Katiuscia:

I think it's a beautiful thing bringing, and it is. I'm glad you brought it up because it's. It's kind of overlooked because especially with the locals, they've always had it. They've always had this accessibility to the capitol right here. And then politicians, you'll see them everywhere, whoever works for the cabinet, everywhere. But to be able to just send an email to the, to the correct person, we're not advocating everyone writing into the governor right now. But just to have that and, and they do the, you know, all of, I mean, from Secretary of State to the governor, to everyone that works in between. It's so much collaboration. Yeah. And I think that that's really cool that it does make you feel number one, oh, I'm, I'm actually heard here a little bit, right? They actually are doing things for the state and not just saying it, there's a lot of different elements that go with that, but I think overall it's such a positive thing to have it right here. That geothermal thing. You did the tour when you were in Leadership Boise, right? Yeah, yeah. I did it. It was amazing. So cool. Gotta,

Andrew:

I gotta plug Leadership Boise here too.

Katiuscia:

We love Leadership Boise. Um, but I think it's just, that was probably the coolest thing was to get to go under into that tunnel and see how it all just kind of functions wild. And then you hear all the stats and I forgot them because I don't retain infrastructure information very easily, but really cool. All the paintings downstairs in that little tunnel.

Andrew:

yeah, it's, uh, it's amazing. So, and one of the ways that I did want to put this out there, that, the local community could, um, help, with this, I mean the economic impact, uh, and helping businesses, local businesses thrive, that we've talked about, through. This, uh, through the event business, the conventions and sporting events. I mean, all those families coming for sporting events that are supporting, uh, these restaurants and, different, different businesses here. Um, what we're, you'll see hopefully some campaigns coming out, called Bring Your Conference. Hm. And, um, you know, it's really a push for, uh, say you belong to an association and you've been going to their real estate convention or a marketing convention in, uh, in, you know, wherever Salt Lake City. Um, talk to those people. And a lot of people here that live in Boise are on boards of these associations or have some influence on 'em. So, um, think about bringing 'em back, uh, talking to 'em about bringing these back to Boise, Idaho, and we're, we're booking, you know, the convention center, we've got groups that are booking 20 30, 20 31. So it takes a while, that, you know. Some of these plan a ways out, but as you're at events or thinking about it, uh, we would love to help to, uh, have that in, you know, we'll do all the legwork. Uh, we just need, uh, the connections to, uh, to make it happen. And I mean, it's about 30% of the conventions we bring in here are tied to a local person that wanted to bring this to Boise. So, um, didn't wanna miss the opportunity to mention our, bring your conference home program that will have a huge impact on, uh, on local business throughout the valley. And Boise State is a, uh, we're working with them to really, uh. Work with their professors because, uh, they've brought some really cool, uh, just the, I mean, we don't know half the things that are happening over at Boise State, but, uh, but they've got some really cool, uh, programs going on. There's some massive, uh, computing, conferences that they've, uh, brought the last couple years. So, uh, we're working with Boise State quite a bit 'cause that's a huge asset to have here in, uh, here in a city for, uh, for the industry that I'm in.'cause they, they love to bring people in and showcase what they're doing at Boise State to to their peers. So, uh, sure that's a huge initiative this year to really, uh, work with the professors bringing back, uh, you know, engineering conventions, um, any type of education conventions. So, um, yeah, we've got a lot of resources here and, we're looking to tap more into the community and the locals to, uh, to help us bring things uh, from a. Convention and sporting event, perspective,

Katiuscia:

what is your max capacity of a convention at the center? Co center?

Andrew:

It's a good question.

Katiuscia:

Or like the largest. Yeah.

Andrew:

Um, so our, our, uh, our sweet spot for a convention is, uh, anywhere from 300 to 800 attendees, typically based on how their set up is. so that's kinda our sweet spot. 300 to 800 people. However, the convention, you know, if you've been to a gale over there, if they don't have other functions and trade shows, um, you know. They can go up to I think 1500. Uh, so, and we did host a massive convention. It was right before my time, but I think it was the largest convention we did. And it was around, around that 14, 1500 attendees. we have to get real creative in situations like that, but we do have funds to do, um, transportation. We pay for motor coaches if we need to use hotels outside of, uh, of downtown. So we've got a lot of convention resources that. People aren't aware of, um, free, free to the meeting convention so we, uh, but yeah, I'd say the sweet spot if you're looking to bring something here is 300 to 800. But sporting events, those could be all over the board. I don't know if you're familiar with the Far West, uh, US youth soccer, far West regionals, which is changing up how they do things. But that, that would bring in, Over 10,000 hotel room nights in, uh, over the course of a week. So, these things are, are incredibly important to the hotels and uh, and to the restaurants. so anything, you wanna look at from a sports perspective, we love to take a look at and see what, uh, what else we

Katiuscia:

So what is off the clock, Andrew? Love the most. Where are we finding you if you're not promoting and plugging and selling Boise?

Andrew:

Um, I love triathlons, so that's why, uh, yeah. Ironman, uh, coming here is, uh, I love that 'cause I did the race last year and, uh, so yeah, that's my, uh, kinda my big passion. I'm, uh, running and biking quite a bit and, uh, summertime. For Lucky Peak. I don't know if you know this, but, you don't just get to have a slip up there because there's only so many of them. And so, uh, I was on the waiting list for six years before, uh, they called and said, we have an opening. So it's pretty wild. Wow. But summertime now, uh, now that I can have the, uh, the little sailboat up there, I'll, uh, I'll be up there, uh, quite a bit. And the cool thing is what you can, uh, go sailing till like. Nine o'clock at night, uh, in light is, uh, another crazy thing about that took some getting used to. Yeah. But yeah, running, biking, skiing, and sailing.

Katiuscia:

You're just the ultimate outdoors man.

Andrew:

Well, I think there's a lot of people like me that are, uh, here for a reason because, yeah, I truly did. Uh, man, I chose Boise and, I couldn't, uh, I honestly just couldn't find another place. I mean, I love the Bozeman's and the Missoula and the Coe d'Alene and, they're all great cities, but to have what we have, to have an airport where you can get outta here and go, uh, to a lot of places very easily. and to have, you know, the nightlife and the restaurants. Uh, I mean, there's still restaurants that I, I'm sure I haven't gotten to yet. It's, uh,

Katiuscia:

of course

Andrew:

it's uh, so make a hit list to the restaurants. Yeah. Um, everybody needs to do that 'cause it's new things coming all the time. And these other cities are awesome, but they don't have that kind of situation and where we're not. A major, Denver. I loved it. I loved it to death, but it's, uh, you know, it's becoming a, you know, the next Chicago and, uh, we're just in this, I feel a great spot with our size and, uh, everything we have the size of and the Valley,

Katiuscia:

So how can people learn more? I will put it at the show notes, but give, if you wanna share the website that people can go to or any kind of info, visit

Andrew:

boise.com. Check it out the most braggable city. Um, check out the new campaign and, uh, give us your feedback. So, uh, but yeah, I, uh, I love it and you can find everything there from, I mean there we have an events calendar that, uh, I know a lot of locals use, so, um, definitely check that out

Katiuscia:

as well. I use it, which is, it's very user friendly, um, to, to connect with you for all the decision makers that wanna connect with you.

Andrew:

Mm-hmm.

Katiuscia:

Do you want us to include your email or something? Yeah, that would be great. Your, or whatever kind of socials you want plugged. You want any socials? Yeah, definitely. Okay.

Andrew:

Please do.

Katiuscia:

Okay. I'll include those all.

Andrew:

All right.

Katiuscia:

Okay. Thank you for coming on. Anything else, words of wisdom you wanna share as besides bring your conference home, which we love. Bring your conference home. Everyone.

Andrew:

Um, man, I think we just, uh. I think we need to really, uh, take care of, uh, of Boise and, remember, why it's such a special place, because, uh, it's not gonna stop growing, but if we can keep the same Boise vibe through the growth and, uh, a lot of cities, uh, have, have, uh, you know, kinda lost themselves in that. Translation. And, I hope as a, you know, living here, I hope we can keep that Boise vibe as we, uh, because growth is good as we continue to grow. Uh, keep the vibe.

Katiuscia:

Keep the vibe. All right. Thank you for coming on.

Andrew:

You're welcome. Thanks for having me.

Katiuscia:

And have a good day to everyone. you like to, would you like to close us out?

Andrew:

Um, yes. Have a great day, everyone. Except for. Those who, uh, do not tip the housekeeper at hotels.

Katiuscia:

Okay.

Andrew:

I want to tie it back to the industry. Mm-hmm. They're the hardest working people in the hotel, so make sure you tip your housekeepers at the hotel.

Katiuscia:

Have a good day. All but you okay.

Andrew:

Have a great day.

Megan:

Bye

Katiuscia:

bye.