Tourist Commission Releases Corrected Attendance Figures For Daynabrook

Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]

The Harrodsburg-Mercer County Tourist Commission has issued corrected figures for Daynabrook Farms after the owner complained that figures released last year were inaccurate.

According to figures released by the tourist commission, Daynabrook received more than 61,000 visits over the past year from 46,600 visitors. Visits year over year were up 22.1 percent and were up 39.9 percent.

The attendance figures come from Placer.ai, a location intelligence and foot traffic data software that provides location analytics, including trends, trade areas and visitor demographics, with 92–96 percent accuracy. Last year, the tourist commission voted to purchase a year’s subscription to Placer.ai at a cost of $22,000, which will provide the tourist commission with up to seven years’ worth of information, not just on Mercer County but on other counties.

The release of the first report drawn from Placer.ai in November of last year drew a lot of interest. While Placer.ai claims to have a 96 percent accuracy rate, some have criticized the data, which relies on cell phone data, saying children don’t carry cell phones. John Lyons, who owns Daynabrook, attended the tourist commission meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 10, to express his views.

“I think your numbers are way off,” Lyons said.

Placer.ai relies on geofencing, which establishes a virtual perimeter around a real-world geographic area to count whoever enters or exits the area. Lyons noted the geofence used in the initial report only included the showbarn, not around the whole farm.

“It still needs to be corrected a little bit,” Lyons said. “The numbers are different than what’s being reported.”

“We didn’t give them the Dunn Lane address,” said Daarik Gray, the executive director of the tourist commission. “We gave them the Louisville Road address.”

Gray said he hoped the correct figures would be printed in the next edition of the Harrodsburg Herald.

“I don’t feel like we need to post any numbers until we in the office can post our own circles and squares,” said Board member David Coleman, who had previously criticized the figures for, in his view, underreporting the number of children at events.

Lyons also questioned the attendance given for Oktoberfest, which drew 20,800 visitors last year, according to the software.

“You couldn’t park them in downtown Harrodsburg,” Lyons said..

“I wonder at the accuracy of the numbers you come up with,” Lyons said. “Verify before you report.”

“I think it’s a great discussion,” said Tiffany Yeast, the chairwoman of the tourist commission’s board of directors.

“If we missed out on drawing the total, then we need to take that into consideration before we post,” Yeast said. “We need to make sure that we’re verifying. We all know that data is not going to be necessarily 100 percent accurate.”

Lyons said the staff had done a good job of answering his questions.

While Coleman insisted the tourist commission needs to be able to draw their own geofences around properties, Gray and Assistant Director Connor Souder said they don’t have the ability to do that currently.

“We don’t even know how to draw our own,” Souder said.

Gray said he’s had six and a half hours of training. They’ve also had trouble loading the site on the computers at the tourist commission offices, which are older and struggle to handle the amount of information. They are currently in the process of purchasing new computers.

“I didn’t know exactly how specific it had to be,” Gray said. He said he has been working with Placer.ai on making it more accurate.

He said the information is meant to help local events and businesses by determining what draws people to the community. “I don’t have any intention of comparing spots,” Gray said.

“I’m a big supporter of this program,” Coleman said. “We need to be very careful of putting out any number.”

Lyons also complained that it’s taken 18 months for Daynabrook to be included on the tourist commission’s website for lodging.

“Was it being omitted?” Lyons said. “If so, why?”

“It needs to be on there,” said board member Joan Huffman.

Gray said Daynabrook was being added. He called it an “oversight.”

“The problem is, it’s taken 18 months to get on there,” Lyons said. “If you’re overlooking at that level, what else are you overlooking as a group?”.

“I think you’ve brought some valid things for us to consider and address,” Yeast said. “If you have been overlooked, what other locations have been overlooked?”

Board member Bob Gigliotti recommended doing an audit. Gigliotti, who serves as president and CEO of Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, also questioned the accuracy of the information on the website.

“I don’t think I’m driving customers to us through your website,” Gigliotti said. He said he still wants the visibility of being on the website.

Gray said he felt the tourist commission had pushed Daynabrook in other ways, including TV and social media posts.

“I will take full responsibility for it not being on the website,” Gray said.