Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTDC Feb 2024 MinutesST. LUCIE COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING Wednesday, February 14, 2024 ◊ 12:30 P.M. MINUTES Members present: Lisa Cataline, Ocean Village Vacation Rentals Lauren DeAcetis, New York Mets Chair Chris Dzadovsky, St. Lucie County Commissioner Jeremiah Johnson, City of Fort Pierce Cathy Matos, Homewood Suites Ronnie Nichols, Residence Inn by Marriott Port St. Lucie Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan, City of Port St. Lucie Members Absent: Terissa Aronson, SLC Chamber of Commerce Donna Qvarnstrom, Cobbs Landing Staff present: Rubi Dial, St. Lucie County Assistant Attorney Charlotte Bireley, St. Lucie County Tourism Katherine Cordero, St. Lucie County Tourism Tayler Hardison, St. Lucie County Tourism Also present: Carl Bailey, Hutchinson Island Plaza Hotel & Suites Travis Burton, iTrip Treasure Coast and Florida Alliance of Vacation Rentals Craig Campbell, SLC Tax Collector Shaun Deifault, Resident Kevin Greene, Play Treasure Coast Sports Rick Hatcher, Play Treasure Coast Sports Margaret Parrill, Hutchinson Island Plaza Hotel & Suites Emily Rappolt, Residence Inn by Marriott Ryan Strickland, Play Treasure Coast Sports Amy Trumble, Right Directions Rentals Larry Winter, Fort Pierce Vacation Rentals 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Chris Dzadovsky called the meeting to order at 12:37 PM. 2. ROLL CALL Katherine Cordero called roll. 3. SELF-INTRODUCTIONS 4. PUBLIC COMMENT Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ February 14, 2024 Page 2 of 4 No public comment. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Jeremiah Johnson made a motion to approve the minutes from December 13, 2023. Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan seconded. Motion passed, 6. Reports from Municipalities Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan reported that Port St. Lucie’s entertainment district is receiving a lot of LOI’s. She also reported that Cheney Brothers is officially open and has the express area open to the public to purchase select items. Commissioner Jeremiah Johnson reported the City of Fort Pierce is still waiting to hear if they have been chosen by Brightline as the Treasure Coast stop. He thanked the council for their letter of support as well as the letter of support to designate Fort Pierce a Coast Guard City. He also reported the city recently wrapped-up strategic planning and is moving into great endeavors for beautification, art in public places, and more. They are also working on the exterior façade of the old Anastasia building to hopefully bring more opportunities to the location. He also stated the city is currently moving forward with some of the Downtown master plan. 7. Reports from Tourism Staff a. Financial Report: Charlotte Bireley reported October 2023 TDT collection was $317,785, a 30% decrease compared to October 2022. November collections were $418,080, a 12% decrease compared to November 2022. Year-to-date, the TDT collections are down 20.7% compared to 2023. The normalization of tourism in Florida and Sandpiper being closed are two factors that have contributed to the decrease; however, the numbers are still higher than those of 2019. Charlotte also noted that in October 2023, 79% of the collections came from commercial properties, and 21% came from private vacation rentals, and in November 2023 76%, and 24% came from private vacation rentals. In October, our $63,500 collection was 33% below budget and we had a net income of just under $1,200, thanks to our carry forward balance. In November, bed tax revenue was $83,616, slightly above the budgeted $81,000. b. Hotel Performance Report: Charlotte Bireley reported that October occupancy was down 18.6%, ADR down 9.4%, and RevPar was down 26%. November, occupancy was down 12.7%, and ADR was down 8.9%, and RevPar was down just over 20%. Source: STR, LLC. c. Website, Social Media, and Email Marketing Report: Tayler Hardison reported webcams continue to be in our top 5 most visited pages. Tayler also reported that Miami, Port St. Lucie, and Atlanta are the top three cities that visit the site. Tayler noted that between December and January the Holiday Spirit Pass and Treasure Coast Kids Quest were promoted the most. Over 2,000 people downloaded the Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ February 14, 2024 Page 3 of 4 Holiday Spirit pass with over 500 check-ins. Tayler reported the most viewed and well-performing posts was a reel about the Holiday Spirit Pass and a reel on the dessert shop, Sugar’d Up. Tayler reported 15 emails were sent through December and January, and the open rate and click-thru rate are steady. d. Earned Media: Katherine Cordero reported there is almost $10,000 in earned media, with over almost 2 million results/clicks. She also reported St. Lucie has been featured on TheTravel.com twice which has an average of over 3.9 million visits per month, and Travel Awaits.com which has over 1.4 million visits per month. She noted that although these numbers are lower than last year, preparations have begun for upcoming FAM tours in this fiscal year. 8. Regular Agenda a. Visitor Tracking & Economic Impact Study – Final Report President of Downs & St. Germain Research, Joseph St. Germain, presented the final results of the visitor tracking and economic impact study. b. Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism – Quarterly Report Rick Hatcher, President & CEO of Play Treasure Coast Sports provided an update and presentation on Play Treasure Coast Sport’s fourth quarter performance and activities. c. Staff Updates Katherine reported the 5th annual Wine & Ale Trail Festival took place late last year and broke the attendance record with over 1,100 attendees, with 21 room nights generated through this event. Summer Crush Vineyard & Winery continue to host and manage the festival including ticket sales, which resulted in a $17,682.36 donation. She also reported the Wine & Ale Trail Partners chose to change the Trail’s name to the Treasure Coast Wine, Ale & Spirits Trail to include the 3 distilleries that joined in 2023, and as of February 2024, they have voted on a new logo for the rebranding. Tayler reminded the council about the Florida Highwaymen Heritage Trail and Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Trail in Fort Pierce, and Visit St. Lucie is currently promoting the trails and encouraging people to go on the trails, especially leading up to the Highwaymen Festival and throughout February. 9. Other Business Lauren DeAcetis told the council that New York Mets pitchers and catchers have reported and open workouts are free and open to the public until Spring Training begins on February 24th. Charlotte Bireley let the council know she would be reaching out to members individually to discuss some bills that have been filed in Tallahassee that would impact TDT. Emily Rappolt mentioned that the show Bar Rescue was in the area filming and stayed at the Residence Inn in Port St. Lucie and to look out for the episode in fall. 10. Adjournment Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ February 14, 2024 Page 4 of 4 The meeting adjourned at 1:53 PM.