Visit Austin

Why now?

• FY2026-27 plan (July 2026): “Start new advertising agency of record contract, and develop new paid media strategies to launch in late 2026 and early 2027.” It also calls for new campaign creative aligned with the 2025 brand refresh.²⁸ THIRD EAR was paid $3,803,783 as advertising agency on the FY2025 990, up from $674,393 in FY2024.³²³³
• August 2026: a new five-year City agreement, 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2031, was approved by Council on 27 August on consent, 10-1; Council Member Duchen voted no, comparing the budget to New York City’s.²⁶⁵⁰⁵¹
• July 2026: the plan cuts its paid-media goal for hotel room-night searches from 180,000 to 135,000, citing “reduced budgets for FY 26/27”.²⁸
• Marketing leadership: Tiffany Kerr was quoted as SVP & CMO in November 2025.⁴¹ The July 2026 team list does not include her, and no CMO title appears on it. Shelley Hall, VP of Marketing, is the top marketing title listed.²⁸
• July 2026: launched the Austin Insider Pass on Bandwango, described as a first phase.⁴⁰
• 2026: the plan sets an objective to make organic content discoverable by LLMs and AI search engines.²⁸
• New leaders since September 2025: Tina Cannon (Partnerships and the Foundation), Arron Brooks (VP of Sales) and Nathan Kopp (Austin Sports Commission).³⁶³⁵³⁷

Is there money?

• Marketing and sales money, both pots: Visit Austin’s marketing program plus the TPID’s marketing and sales outreach line come to $23.7M in FY2027 ($7.08M + $16.60M), up from $18.3M in FY2026 ($7.52M + $10.80M). Visit Austin’s own budget is flat at about $22.5M.²⁷³⁰
• FY2025 revenue was $25,776,303 and expenses $21,821,672, almost all from “Gov’t contracts-Austin” ($24,485,421).³²
• The proposed City contract for FY2027 is $19,993,429: $12,493,429 of hotel occupancy tax and $7,500,000 from the Convention Center Department.²⁶ It was $24,485,421 in FY2025 and $20,313,215 in FY2026.²⁷
• Visit Austin’s marketing program budget is $10,425,042 (38%) in FY2025, $7,518,347 (33%) in FY2026 and $7,078,255 (31%) proposed for FY2027.²⁷
• The FY2027 advertising column is $3,348,584, all media production and placement. Media placement on the 990 was $4,475,210 in FY2024 and $3,485,761 in FY2025.²⁷³³³²
• Tourism Public Improvement District (TPID): a 2% assessment on hotels with 100+ rooms since April 2025. It reported $9.31M in 2024-25 actuals (stays from 1 April 2025 only), a $18.0M estimate for 2025-26 and a $27.7M projection for 2026-27, of which $16.6M is for marketing and additional sales outreach.¹⁹³⁰ The original plan projected $29.7M in its first year.²¹ The ATPID Management Corporation, a hotel-run board with Visit Austin’s CEO ex officio, spends it; it is not in Visit Austin’s 990 or budget. The plan says it lets Visit Austin have “a more evergreen marketing presence that is not possible with HOT funding alone.”³⁰²⁸
• If the City’s share falls below a “historic five-year average”, the hotel industry “reserves the right to seek termination of the ATPID”.²¹³⁰

Who decides?

Runs marketing

• Shelley Hall, Vice President of Marketing²⁸
• Christine Felton, Director of Digital & Content Marketing²⁸
• Wesley Lucas, Director of Communications²⁸
• Alison Lamell, Senior Tourism Marketing Manager²⁸
• Christine Cramer, Director of Market Analysis & Research (in Sales)²⁸

Leads the bureau

• Tom Noonan, President & CEO²⁸
• Stephen Genovesi, Executive Vice President²⁸
• Julie Hart, Vice President & CFO²⁸
• Joanna McCreary (W Austin), board chair, with 33 voting directors. The Mayor, the City Manager and a Council Member sit on the board.⁴³²²⁸
• Katy Zamesnik, Interim Director of the Austin Convention Center Department, which holds the contract, and a board member.²⁶²⁸
• Tim Sullivan, Austin TPID Executive Director.²⁰

The full team, 67 people, is listed in the plan filed with Council.²⁸ The website has no single staff page.⁷

Who do they work with?

• Advertising agency: THIRD EAR, $3,803,783 on the FY2025 990.³² A new agency of record contract starts in FY2026-27; the winner is not named in any source read, and THIRD EAR (Omnicom) still lists Visit Austin as a client in agency profiles, so it may be a re-sign.²⁸⁵² Orange 142 was paid $195,000 for advertising on the FY2024 990.³³
• Other 990 contractors, FY2025: Brand USA $450,000, Conde Nast $400,000, Cousins (property) $970,818, Rand Construction $362,328. 29 contractors were paid over $100,000.³²
• Measurement and research: SMARInsights (ad effectiveness), Adara Impact (media attribution), Zartico, Future Partners, Tourism Economics and Azira.²⁸
• Website: Simpleview, relaunched November 2025 with an AI chat bot in 11 languages (vendor not named).⁴⁵⁴¹
• Passes: Bandwango.⁴⁰
• Creators and press: a Sprout Social influencer portal and Barberstock for press images.¹³
• Ad sales: a Miles Partnership contact sells website, visitor guide and email ads.⁵
• International: in-market representation in the UK, Europe, Canada, Mexico and Latin America.²⁸
• “We do not do print media for leisure audiences,” Shelley Hall said.²³

When do they buy?

• The fiscal year ends 30 September.³²
• Each year the Convention Center Department brings the marketing plan and budget to Council after the City budget is adopted. These items appear between late July and late September.²⁶²⁵
• The TPID service plan goes to Council each July.²⁹
• The plan says new paid media strategies launch “in late 2026 and early 2027”.²⁸
• The Annual Meeting is in September (16 September 2026).⁶
• Board meetings are at noon at the Visit Austin office; 2026 dates did not render on the board page.⁴
• No vendor RFP or procurement page was found on the site.⁴⁹

What they’re running

• Convention center closure: the Austin Convention Center closed in April 2025 for a rebuild and is to reopen in 2029.²³²⁸ Noonan said “it’s clear our initial estimates were low” on the impact.⁴⁴ Sales run a “campus-style” model across hotels: 40 groups and 160,000 room nights booked for 2025-2029.²⁴²⁸
• New center pipeline: 27 groups definite for 2029-2039, with 92 tentative groups for 885,000 room nights.²⁸
• Summer 2025 campaign (“You’re in for a show”): won the ESTO 2026 Marketing Momentum Award, reporting 28,300 hotel bookings and a 374:1 ROI.²³
• Austin Insider Pass: day passes from $30 to $60 plus a free film trail (July 2026).⁴⁰
• Austin Film Commission, 40th year: a year-long marketing campaign from February 2026.³⁸
• Hire an Austin Musician: a database of 850+ Austin artists.²⁸
• More Austin/Fly-In: a site visit incentive from October 2025, with 13 groups and 18,000+ room nights for 2026-2028.²⁸
• TPID Hotel Industry Program: group incentives of up to $250 per room, paid to event organizers.²⁰

Worth knowing

• Visitors spent $11.4 billion in Greater Austin in 2025, “an increase of more than 2.5% since 2024”; 30.2 million domestic visitors, up 0.2% (Travel Texas, in the plan).²⁸
• In-house hotel group bookings for 2026 are 18% ahead of pace against 2025 and 29% against 2024.²⁸
• FY2024-25 sales room nights were 751,811 against a goal of 636,000.²⁸
• SMARInsights put advertising-influenced visitor spending at $1.72 billion for May 2025 to April 2026.²⁸
• Visit Austin has no annual report; the marketing plan filed with Council serves that role.²⁸
• Visit Austin is not on any 2026 Tourism Commission agenda.⁴⁷
• Visit Austin is not in the Destination Pulse staff scan yet.¹

Footnotes

1. 28

   Visit Austin FY2026-2027 Marketing Plan, proposed 2026-07-30, council backup, File 26-2163, pp. 3-41.

   Visit Austin FY2026-2027 Marketing Plan, proposed 2026-07-30 (council backup, File 26-2163, 43 pp.)

   Visit Austin / City of Austin · 2026-07-30

   ↩
2. 32

   Form 990, tax year ending 2025-09-30, Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, Parts I, VII, VIII, IX.

   Form 990, tax year ending 2025-09-30 (e-file object 202602229349302200, filed 2026-08-10)

   IRS e-file XML, batch 2026_TEOS_XML_08A · 2026-08-10

   ↩
3. 33

   Form 990, tax year ending 2024-09-30, Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, Parts VII, IX.

   Form 990, tax year ending 2024-09-30 (e-file object 202542249349302504, filed 2025-08-12)

   IRS e-file XML, batch 2025_TEOS_XML_08A · 2025-08-12

   ↩
4. 26

   Recommendation for Action, File 26-2163, City of Austin, council date 2026-08-27, pp. 1-2.

   Recommendation for Action, File 26-2163, Agenda Item 11 (Visit Austin agreement and FY2026-27 Marketing Plan)

   City of Austin · council date 2026-08-27, printed 2026-08-14

   ↩
5. 50

   City Council minutes, 2026-08-27 (approved 2026-09-24), p.4.

   City Council meeting minutes, 2026-08-27, approved 2026-09-24

   City of Austin · read 2026-10-15

   ↩
6. 51

   City Council transcript, 2026-08-27.

   City Council meeting transcript, 2026-08-27

   City of Austin · read 2026-10-15

   ↩
7. 41

   “Visit Austin Unveils Bold Digital Transformation, Launching New Website”, Visit Austin, 2025-11-05.

   "Visit Austin Unveils Bold Digital Transformation, Launching New Website"

   Visit Austin press release · 2025-11-05

   ↩
8. 40

   “Visit Austin Launches New Collection of Digital Passes”, Visit Austin, 2026-07-14.

   "Visit Austin Launches New Collection of Digital Passes" (Austin Insider Pass)

   Visit Austin press release · 2026-07-14

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9. 36

   “Visit Austin Appoints Tina Cannon”, Visit Austin, 2025-09-02.

   "Visit Austin Appoints Tina Cannon as Vice President, Strategic Alliances & Executive Director of the Visit Austin Foundation"

   Visit Austin press release · 2025-09-02

   ↩
10. 35

    “Visit Austin Names Arron Brooks Vice President Of Sales”, Visit Austin, 2025-12-18.

    "Visit Austin Names Arron Brooks Vice President Of Sales"

    Visit Austin press release · 2025-12-18

    ↩
11. 37

    “Visit Austin Names Nathan Kopp Executive Director of the Austin Sports Commission”, Visit Austin, 2026-03-13.

    "Visit Austin Names Nathan Kopp Executive Director of the Austin Sports Commission"

    Visit Austin press release · 2026-03-13

    ↩
12. 27

    Visit Austin Proposed Budget FY2026/2027, council backup, File 26-2163, pp. 1-2.

    Visit Austin Proposed Budget FY2026/2027 (council backup, File 26-2163)

    Visit Austin / City of Austin · 2026-08-27 backup

    ↩
13. 30

    ATPID FY2027 Service Plan, council backup, File 26-2020, pp. 1, 10.

    ATPID FY2027 Service Plan (council backup, File 26-2020)

    ATPID / City of Austin · 2026-07

    ↩
14. 19

    Austin TPID FAQ, Visit Austin, read 2026-10-12.

    Austin TPID FAQ

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
15. 21

    ATPID Service Plan (ten-year draft), Visit Austin / ATPID, 2024-08, pp. 1, 10.

    ATPID Service Plan (draft, ten-year)

    Visit Austin / ATPID · page says updated 2023-09-06; PDF modified 2024-08-13

    ↩
16. 4

    Board of Directors, Visit Austin, read 2026-10-12.

    Board of Directors

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
17. 20

    TPID Programs, Visit Austin, read 2026-10-12.

    TPID Programs (Hotel Industry Program)

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
18. 7

    Austin Meeting Contacts, Visit Austin, read 2026-10-12.

    Austin Meeting Contacts (Convention Sales staff)

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
19. 52

    THIRD EAR agency profile, Winmo, read 2026-10-15.

    THIRD EAR agency profile (client list includes Visit Austin; LinkedIn reported by the fact check, URL not confirmed)

    Winmo · read 2026-10-15

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20. 45

    austintexas.org page source and headers, read 2026-10-12.

    Visit Austin homepage HTML and response headers

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
21. 13

    Press Contacts, Visit Austin, read 2026-10-12.

    Press Contacts

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
22. 5

    Contact Visit Austin, read 2026-10-12.

    Contact Visit Austin

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
23. 23

    “How Visit Austin Turned a Convention Center Closure Into a $748M Marketing Win”, Informa Connect, 2026.

    "How Visit Austin Turned a Convention Center Closure Into a $748M Marketing Win"

    Informa Connect (eTourism Summit), Shannon Thaler Cherry · 2026, after ESTO 2026 (exact date not shown)

    ↩
24. 25

    City of Austin Legistar matters naming Visit Austin, 2017-2026.

    City of Austin Legistar matters naming Visit Austin / ACVB / ATPID (titles, intro dates)

    City of Austin (Legistar Web API) · 2017-2026

    ↩
25. 29

    Recommendation for Action, File 26-2020, City of Austin, council date 2026-07-23.

    Recommendation for Action, File 26-2020, Agenda Item 101 (ATPID FY2026-27 service plan and assessment)

    City of Austin · council date 2026-07-23, printed 2026-07-10

    ↩
26. 6

    Visit Austin Annual Meeting, read 2026-10-12.

    Visit Austin Annual Meeting (2026, "The Pulse of Austin")

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
27. 49

    austintexas.org sitemap, read 2026-10-12.

    Sitemap, austintexas.org (press `articles/post/` URLs with lastmod)

    Visit Austin · read 2026-10-12

    ↩
28. 44

    “Austin, Texas: A Year Without a Convention Center”, Northstar Meetings Group, 2026-06-16.

    "Austin, Texas: A Year Without a Convention Center"

    Northstar Meetings Group · 2026-06-16

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29. 24

    “Visit Austin’s marketing challenge”, The Drum, 2025-03-12.

    "Visit Austin's marketing challenge: how city is pivoting amid Convention Center closure"

    The Drum, Gordon Young · 2025-03-12

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30. 38

    “Austin Film Commission Kicks Off 40th Anniversary Celebration”, Visit Austin, 2026-02-10.

    "Austin Film Commission Kicks Off 40th Anniversary Celebration with New Video Campaign"

    Visit Austin press release · 2026-02-10

    ↩
31. 47

    Tourism Commission meeting documents, City of Austin, 2025-2026.

    Tourism Commission meeting documents, 2026 pages 1-2 and 2025 (agendas, minutes, backup PDFs)

    City of Austin · 2025-2026

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32. 1

    Destination Pulse org page for visit-austin, 404, read 2026-10-12.

    Destination Pulse org page

    Destination Pulse · read 2026-10-12

    ↩