ROOST keeps a close eye on indicators such as Smith Travel Report data and occupancy tax collections to gauge our destinations’ economic health and to compare to our competitive set. Following is a snapshot of numbers to date! JAN-SEPT 2016 compared to JAN-SEPT 2015* Essex County Statewide Upstate New York Occupancy UP 2.4% 0.0% UP 0.2% Revenue UP 4.1% UP 2.4% UP 3.8% *Based on the Smith Travel Report (STR), which represents 67.9 percent of the rooms in Essex County. OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS - ESSEX COUNTY JAN-SEPT, 2016: $1,772,600 Based on these occupancy tax collections, which do not include day trips and other overnight visitation, we can estimate that taxable lodging sales were $59,075,000. Travel research indicates that lodging normally represents 1/3 of a traveler's expenses. That means that YTD in 2016: Estimated travel expenditures (tracked through occupancy tax only - which doesn't include day trips and other overnight visits) in Essex County = $177,225,000 SALES TAX determined via occupancy tax collections through September by travelers to Essex County = $7,089,000 Factors that played a part in this year's tourism activity include the largest conference year in North Elba's history, terrific weather for outdoor activities, events all over the county, including Ironman, the Lake Placid Horse Shows, Summit Lacrosse Tournaments, the Bike Fest in Wilmington, Adirondack Harvest Festival in Westport, a huge bass fishing tournament schedule on Lake Champlain, the Adirondack Distance Festival in Schroon Lake and a big push in leisure travel promotion. ROOST will post a year-end report in February!

Cool Globes, health insurance, and Ski & Stay Packages - lots of great stuff in this week's News! ROOST

Welcome to a new feature that we'll be including in each edition of ROOST News: the Staff Spotlight. Every other week, we'll introduce you to a different, randomly chosen member of the ROOST team. It's a fun, smart, eclectic bunch, so make sure not to miss this feature in each ROOST News! Name: Mary Elizabeth Gallagher Where do you live? Lake Placid Where are you from? Rouses Point How long have you worked at ROOST? Since August 2015 Job at ROOST? Operations and Service Coordinator - Assist with servicing conferences held at the Conference Center at Lake Placid, and maintain and tracks ROOST contracts. What do you like about working at ROOST? I find it enjoyable to work with my coworkers to continually market and assist in bettering our regions. It's easy to go to work everyday when your coworkers seem a little more like family. What are your three favorite things to do outside of work? 1) Spend time adventuring with my husband and dogs. 2) Hang out with family/friends. 3) I love to cook and try new recipes when I have free time. Tell us about your pets and/or children. I have two amazing rescue dogs, Hoagie and Frankie. They are both boxer lab mixes who enjoy the Adirondacks and all of the adventures. Who is your hero and why? My parents. They raised five children (who I think turned out pretty well). They taught us to love, live, and do unto others as you would like done unto you. They are selfless, and I hope to be half the person each of them is. What are you passionate about? I am very passionate about sports. I love watching and or partaking in anything competitive. What's the last movie you went to? What did you think of it? Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I loved the movie! The movie reminded me of Harry Potter of course which was one of my favorite series during my childhood.

LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid Village Holiday Decorating Contest Committee has announced details of the 2016 competition. Organizers are hoping local Lake Placid residents will deck the halls with their usual Lake Placid holiday creativity. One winner will be announced this year for each of the following commercial categories: Best of Show, Retail Windows, Civic Properties and Churches, Resorts, Hotel/Motel, B&Bs/Inns, Commercial (other than lodging). Residential winners will be selected from a variety of categories. Residential owners are encouraged to be creative this year. Traditionally the awards have included categories such as Most Elegant, Best Gingerbread Theme, Children’s Delight and others. The judging panel will look at these and create other categories to go along with the creativity they find while out selecting their favorites. A panel of judges annually selects the properties whose decorations, in their collective opinion, represent the best of Lake Placid. Judges are volunteer representatives from the community at large. The committee is supported by staff from the Lake Placid CVB/Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism. Residents and businesses who would like their property to be judged should ensure that decorative lights are on by 5 p.m. during each night between Dec. 9 to 15. Properties located outside the main village area, roughly bounded by Old Military Road, Route 73 to the ski jumps, Saranac Avenue to Price Chopper or past Cobble Hill Road. will need to contact the committee to be judged. Contact Sue Cameron at the Visitors Bureau at 518-621-3665 to be added to the list if you’re off the beaten path or outside the boundaries, or with any questions. Winners will be announced shortly after the final judging on Dec. 15.