The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutTDC 012018 Min BackupST. LUCIE COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING Wednesday, December 13, 2017 ◊ 12:30 P.M. MINUTES Members present: Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky, St. Lucie County Commissioner Rufus Alexander, City of Fort Pierce Michelle MacNichol, Perfect Drive Vacation Rentals Buzz Smith, The Beachfront Inn Mayor Oravec, City of Port St. Lucie Members absent: Paul Taglieri, St. Lucie Mets John Wilkes, The Sunrise Theater Terissa Aronson, St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce Karen Marrone, Hutchinson Island Plaza Hotel & Suites Staff present: Katherine Barbieri, St. Lucie County Attorney Charlotte Bireley, St. Lucie County Tourism Tayler Hardison, St. Lucie County Tourism Wren Underwood, St. Lucie County ERD Mark Satterlee, St. Lucie County Administration Nicole Fogarty, St. Lucie County BOCC Also present: Ryan Strickland, Treasure Coast Sports Commission Rick Hatcher, Treasure Coast Sports Commission Noreen Kruse, Hutchinson Island Plaza Hotel & Suites Brian Kruse, Hutchinson Island Plaza Hotel & Suites Rachael Anglin, Downs & St. Germain Joseph St. Germain, Downs & St. Germain Laura O’Brien, PSL Civic Center Billy Gibson, Motorized Kayak Adventures Cathy Gibson, Motorized Kayak Adventures Robin Moran, Club Med Sales Marshall Adams, A.E. Backus Museum 1. CALL TO ORDER: Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky called the meeting to order at 12:52 PM. 2. ROLL CALL: Tayler Hardison called roll. Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ December 13, 2017 Page 2 of 5 3. GUESTS INTRODUCED THEMSELVES: Guests introduced themselves. 4. AP PROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from November 8, 2017 were not approved, as there was not a quorum at the start of the meeting. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comments. 6. Financial & Web Report: Charlotte Bireley began the financial update by reporting that for the month of October the Tourism office brought in $56,433 in bed tax revenue, which was 25% higher than budgeted and 13.2% higher than October 2016. Mayor Oravec asked how long Tourism has been seeing record-breaking years in revenues, Charlotte said that this is the fourth year. Buzz Smyth inquired about the status of Air BNB taxing in St. Lucie County. Katherine Barbieri stated that the issue is being handled by the tax collector’s office and that Air BNB is starting to make more concessions as time goes on. Michelle MacNichol explained that Airbnb demographics aren’t as high in St. Lucie County, so there are fewer rentals in our area compared to other destinations. Mayor Oravec gave an update on the state of Port St. Lucie hotels. He said there is a new 114 room hotel coming to St. Lucie West and that the Springhill Suites renovation is almost complete. He also announced that he will be meeting the new owner of the Holiday Inn in Port St. Lucie soon for future partnerships. Web Report: Charlotte began the web report by stating that while November web visits were slightly down, many other key performance indicators were up significantly. She explained that the time being spent onsite had increased to 3:35 minutes from 1 minute and 45 seconds. She noted that the bounce rate had gone down from 64% to 47% which means more people are staying on the site after clicking. Tayler Hardison went over the top states visiting the site; which were, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Georgia and Michigan. She also stated that organic searched increased from 23% to 27% thanks to paid search engine marketing. Mayor Oravec asked to see the web data over the past year. Social Update: Tayler Hardison went over the paid Facebook campaigns that took place in November which included Golf & Holiday promotions. She also announced that in the next coming Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ December 13, 2017 Page 3 of 5 months the Tourism office was going to start paid ad campaigns to increase followers to the Visit St. Lucie profile on Instagram. 7. Canada Media Takeover Recap Charlotte began the presentation by giving a brief summary of the Canada Takeover that Visit St. Lucie partnered in with Visit Florida in October. Visit Florida came up with the approach and campaign to reenter the Canadian market in winter 2018 strong and to increase Canadian visitors to Florida. Through this partnership, St. Lucie joined the initiative as the Treasure Coast (in conjunction with Martin County & Indian River County). St. Lucie Investment: $6600 Media Received: • Collateral displayed that the Zoomer Consumer Show (Canada’s largest show) • Digital Ads in Yonge-Dondas Square (Compared to Times Sqaure) • Union Station Activation Station with Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice & Collateral • Union Station Video Ads • Union Station Ad Displays • Participation in media reception with Canadian travel writers and journalists • News Coverage from local channels Media Valued at $175,730 8. Tourism Legislative Update Nicole Fogarty began the presentation by explaining that she would be going over the new proposed changes to House Bill 3 and House Bill 585 & State Bill 658. She stated that the proposed changes of House Bill 3 changes the definition of the tourism promotion agency. Proposed changes to note for the St. Lucie TDC: • Requiring board members to file a financial disclosure if they benefit from the promotion. • Board members and employees are subject to Code of Ethics standards • Must post all contracts of $5,000 or more on website • Prohibits the promotion which will directly benefit a single entity. • Allows use of TDT funds to acquire, construct, extend, enlarge, remodel, repair, improve, maintain, operate, or finance public facilities Nicole stated that the goal is for the St. Lucie Tourist Development Council to be exempt from these proposed changes. Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ December 13, 2017 Page 4 of 5 9. Visitor Study-Final Results Joseph St. Germain & Rachael Anglin presented the economic impact report, which summarized the year-long visitor study which was conducted Oct. 1, 2016-Sep. 30, 2017. Major highlights included: • Economic Impact: $801,665,800 • 1,195,560 Visitors • 1,173,424 room nights generated • 7,965 jobs • $225,763,010 in wages • $3,923,390 in TDT They announced that the TDC members would be getting their marketing insights emailed after the email. Buzz Smyth & Mayor Oravec suggested that the Tourism office do more targeted promotions to friends and family to encourage them to visit St. Lucie, since “word of mouth” is the most common way people hear about the destination. Charlotte stated that the Tourism Office has already been implementing several of the marketing insights as recommended by the research firm such as working with Palm Beach International Airport, the destination’s most frequented airport. 10. Tourism Activity Update a. Treasure Coast Sports Commission Ryan Strickland passed out a summary of the Treasure Coast Sports Commission events and budget for Fiscal year 2016/2017. b. Ecotourism Update Wren Underwood explained that she just wrapped up a Master Naturalist module for the year. She said that she is working with the Tourism Office on the new Nature Guide to come out next year which will cover all of the parks and nature preserves in the county that include a walking or hiking trail. 11. Other Business Robin Moran from Club Med announced that they will be hosting many events for the upcoming holidays at the resort and that they are encouraging residents of St. Lucie County to visit with a day-pass. Marshall Adams announced that the new Salvador Dali exhibit had just opened to the public at the A.E. Backus Museum. Laura O’Brien from the Port St. Lucie Civic Center stated that the center hired a new caterer which will allow future events’ to be able to select their own vendor. Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ December 13, 2017 Page 5 of 5 Mayor Oravec announced that they are beginning to break ground on the new McCarty Ranch water improvement project which will increase fresh drinking water for residents. 12. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 2:40 PM. TDC November 2017 Variance P & L Report Actual Budget Budget Bed Tax Revenue 56,787$ $38,700 47% Carry Forward 37,486$ 37,486$ 0% Interest 42$ 42.00$ 0% Total Revenue 94,315$ 76,228$ 24% Direct Expenses Salaries/Benefits 15,903$ 17,395$ -9% Other Contract Services 5,702$ 5,000$ 14% Software Support 6,595$ 2,500$ 164% Travel 1,906$ 708$ 169% Communications 78$ 150$ -48% Postage 752$ 750$ 0% Printing -$ 1,458$ -100% Promotional Items 629$ 333$ 89% Promotional Entertainmen 265$ 1,308$ -80% Office Supplies 125$ 125$ 0% Dues 15$ 333$ -95% Training & Seminars -$ Aid 9,500$ 9,500$ 0% G & A 5,155$ 5,155$ 0% Materials Center 20$ 83$ -76% Promotional Advertising 4,947$ 18,750$ -74% Equipment -$ -$ 0% Tax Collector 1,218$ 1,218$ 0% Total Direct Expenses 52,810$ 64,766$ -18% Net Income 41,505$ 44%7% TDC Year to Date 17/18 YTD as of 10/2017 Annual Variance P & L Report Actuals Budget Budget Bed Tax Revenue $113,220 $645,000 -82% Carry Forward 74,972$ $449,830 -83% Interest 84$ $500 -83% Total Revenue $188,276 $1,095,330 -83% Direct Expenses Personnel 34,660$ $208,742 -83% Contract Services 22,830$ $60,000 -62% Software Support 6,595$ $30,000 -78% Travel 1,906$ $8,500 -78% Communications 78$ $1,800 -96% Postage 752$ $9,000 -92% Printing -$ $17,500 -100% Materials Center 20$ $1,000 -98% Promo Items 629$ $4,000 -84% Promo Activites/Entertainment 265$ $17,000 -98% Promo Advertising 7,761$ $225,000 -97% Office Supplies 125$ $1,500 -92% Dues & Memberships 3,140$ $4,000 -22% Aid (TCSC)59,000$ $215,000 -73% Training & Seminars 245$ $2,000 -88% Equipment -$ $0 0% G & A 5,155$ $61,868 -92% Tax Collector 2,436$ $14,616 -83% Total Direct Expenses 145,597$ $881,526 -83% Net income 42,679$ 23% REVENUE VS. EXPENSE COMPARISON REPORT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 A B C D E F G H I J K L FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 Revenue/Expenses Revenue/Expenses Revenue/Expenses Revenue/Expenses Oct 36,505/26,241 Oct 38,190/68,910 Oct $49,813/$89,284 Oct $56,433/$97,941 Nov 40,217/69,602 Nov 45,677/35,981 Nov $48,793/$34,578 Nov $56,787/$52,810 Dec 50,417/38,845 Dec 60,421/37,675 Dec $53,209/$63,456 Dec Jan 74,046/104,150 Jan 84,832/66,124 Jan $79,044/$87,085 Jan Feb 97,234/43,806 Feb 96,839/91,967 Feb $96,610/$78,371 Feb Mar 109,221/51,665 Mar 115,858/58,382 Mar $115,320/$65,749 Mar Apr 59,760/47,839 Apr 57,049/56,421 Apr $75,166/$94,748 Apr May 45,070/44,247 May 48,445/39,469 May $56,693/ $67,053 May Jun 42,301/45,680 Jun 49,530/52,614 Jun $50,181/$75,735 Jun Jul 46,827/40,112 Jul 53,175/73,314 Jul $55,335/$56,966 Jul Aug 44,255/25,105 Aug 46,295/35,178 Aug $48,667/$50,119 Aug Sep 34,153/46,309 Sep 41,906.41/78,244 Sep $55,749/$70,288 Sep TOTAL 680,005/583,614 TOTAL 738,211/706,209 TOTAL $734,536/$833,563 TOTAL $113,220/$150,751 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Visits 15,433 14,475 15,109 13,008 13,391 18,662 18,088 15,139 13,896 57,074 10,457 11,012 215,744 Bounce Rate 55%55%57%56%55%64%63%52%52%47%57%57%56% Average Time 1:59 1:57 1:47 1:55 2:08 1:29 1:26 1:40 1:29 2:13 1:43 1:41 1:47 New Visits 69%68%68%64%60%68%71%64%61%60%56%57%64% Social Sessions 143 49 81 177 148 183 984 280 427 15496 199 172 18339 Mobile Usage 29%29%33%34%32%32%30%33%33%44%31%33%33% Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Visits 13,532 12,169 12,262 9,722 10,803 9,011 13,935 11,949 29,025 10,765 9,538 10,217 152,928 Bounce Rate 57%57%51%51%55%57%70%73%70%64%47%46%61% Average Time 7%7%7%1:28 1:37 1:36 1:10 1:07 1:12 1:45 3:25 3:08 1:48 New Visits 61%62%66%72%70%69%73%73%62%72%63%64%67% Social Sessions 292 276 264 879 492 302 659 2,740 4,263 2,450 1,500 1,719 15836 Mobile Usage 32%34%37%41%40%39%32%47%51%55%48%48%42% Acquisition-November 2017 Top 5 States 1. Florida 57% 2. New Jersey 5% 3. New York 5% 4. Georgia 4% 5. Connecticut 3% Organic Search: Users who searched for something that led them to the site Direct: Users who typed in the URL or had a bookedmarked page Referral: Users who clicked on a link to the site via source site Social: A user who visited our website via a social platform Other: Paid marketing that directed users to the website (i.e. SEM) December 2017 Web Report 2016 2017 2017 State Visitors to Website: Month by Month March April May July August September October November December Social Media Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Totals Facebook New Likes 1,570 82 34 126 97 118 72 163 138 131 70 85 16,609 Total Reach 39,270 28,702 88,395 44,061 66,312 18,867 22,708 33,218 122,154 27,027 259649 99837 228233 490,714 Post Engagement 6,828 4,607 8,358 9,500 11,042 4,549 6,512 4,063 11,562 3,697 7,542 3,772 5,156 87,188 Video Views 8,383 7,625 911 1,814 747 5,032 16,734 35,269 11,105 33,278 22,387 59,481 202,766 Instagram Engagement 1,400 1,970 2,100 2,589 3,411 1,940 2,723 1,952 1,970 3,039 1,250 1,310 2,615 28269 New Followers 67 55 328 200 207 166 179 55 205 95 111 56 80 1804 Twitter Mentions 85 54 54 101 97 72 112 152 136 122 110 104 64 1263 New Followers 30 64 41 53 47 36 42 75 38 66 25 55 98 1,618 Impressions 33,000 39,000 40,400 60,400 58,900 47,600 55,600 47,800 121,000 44,800 58,800 39,000 73,000 719,300 Profile Visits 1,739 1,703 1,828 2,539 2,459 600 1,497 1,163 1,744 1,161 1,109 1,219 1,901 20,662 Reach/Impression Number of how many people viewed our posts Enagagement Likes/favorites, comments and/or shares New Follower A new user that can see all Visit St. Lucie posts on their feed Tweet A status posted on Twitter via text, photo or video in 140 characters Mention Someone tagged @VisitStLucie in their own post Page Likes Someone on Facebook has liked the Visit St. Lucie page