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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTDC Apr 2025 MinutesST. LUCIE COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 21, 2025 ◊ 12:30 P.M. MINUTES Members present: Terissa Aronson, SLC Chamber of Commerce Gabriel Atkinson, Sailfish Brewing Company Lisa Cataline, Ocean Village Vacation Rentals Ryan Collins, CasaGo/Oceanfront Inn Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan, City of Port St. Lucie Donna Qvarnstrom, Cobbs Landing Marika Sexton, Sandpiper Bay Resort Commissioner James Taylor, City of Fort Pierce Chair Cathy Townsend, St. Lucie County Staff present: Katherine Barbieri, St. Lucie County Assistant Attorney Charlotte Bireley, St. Lucie County Tourism Katherine Cordero, St. Lucie County Tourism Also present: John Alvarez, Expedia Jessica Kadie Barclay, Manatee Center Yahn Bartelink, evok advertising Laurie Boyer, Florida All-Stars Melissa Brooks, VISIT FLORIDA Josh Brown, Sinclair Broadcasting Travis Burton, Florida Alliance of Vacation Rentals Kristy Byrick, Tru by Hilton Tradition Mella Caloia, Sheraton PGA Vacation Resort Craig Campbell, SLC Tax Collector Steve Crist, Ocean Properties/The Lucie Lara Currie, Ocean Village Kevin Greene, Play Treasure Coast Sports Laura Hamel, BBL Hospitality Rick Hatcher, Play Treasure Coast Sports Martine Lapointe, Courtyard Port St. Lucie Tradition Janet Moore-Caso, SLC Tax Collector Robin Moran, La Quinta Margaret Parrill, Hutchinson Island Hotel Charlene Robles, Homewood Suites PSL Jerome Stone, Florida All-Stars Kelsie Stickles, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Pierce Ryan Strickland, Play Treasure Coast Sports Larry Winter, Fort Pierce Vacation Rentals 1. CALL TO ORDER Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ April 21, 2025 Page 2 of 4 Chair Cathy Townsend called the meeting to order at 12:30 PM. 2. ROLL CALL 3. SELF-INTRODUCTIONS 4. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Donna Qvarnstrom made a motion to approve the minutes from February 12, 2025. Terissa Aronson seconded. Motion passed. 6. Reports from Municipalities Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan Commissioner reported the City of Port St. Lucie is celebrating its 64th Anniversary on Sunday, April 27 from 11 AM – 4 PM at the Port St. Lucie History Museum and Education Center. She also reported the grand opening of the Heart in the Park in Tradition will be May 22. Commissioner James Taylor reported that the City of Fort Pierce hired a new city manager, Richard D. Chess, on April 2, and there will be a meet and greet open to the public at Riverwalk on April 22. He also reported the city is underway with the information gathering phase of the Downtown Marina Square Park masterplan, and their Western Peninsula master plan was accepted by the city commission. However, the Seven Gables House RFP to rehab the house has been put on hold until the city reevaluates the long-term plan for the building. He also reported the city commission is currently looking at space design concepts to convert the fourth floor of the city’s parking garage into an event space. Craig Campbell from the St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s Office reported prior to 2020, the tax collector’s office was averaging 115 new short-term rental property registrations, and in 2021 they increased to 267, 2022 increased to 243, 2023 increased to 367, and in 2024 they increased to 376. Craig credits the increase the department implementing enforcement on short-term rental property registrations for vacation homes which started in 2020. 7. Reports from Tourism Staff a. Financial Report: Charlotte Bireley reported December TDT collection was $592,308, an 25.1% increase compared to December 2023. January 2025 collections were $722,368, a 7% increase compared to January 2024. Year-to- date, the TDT collections are up 22.2% compared to 2024. She also reported in December 71% of the TDT collected came from commercial properties and 23% Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ April 21, 2025 Page 3 of 4 from private vacation rentals, and the in January 66% of the TDT collected came from commercial properties and 34% from private vacation rentals. b. Hotel Performance Report: Charlotte Bireley reported that December occupancy was up 15.9%, ADR up 6.7%, and RevPar was up 23.6%. January occupancy was up 8.3%, ADR was down .2%, and RevPar was up just over 8.1%. Source: STR, LLC. c. Website, Social Media, and Email Marketing Report: Katherine Cordero reported conversions have gone 85.6% and stated although monthly user count compared to February and March of 2024 has decreased, it is expected to continue to increase as paid ads with EVOK began mid-February. The top pages visited continue to be the beach webcams pages in the top 5 with the general Beaches page at 6. The top states visiting the website are Florida, New York, Virginia, and Georgia, with Miami, Port St. Lucie, Orlando, and Fort Pierce being the top cities. She also reported that in February, their Facebook reach increased by 14.6% and content interactions increased by 13.8%, compared to February 2024. Instagram reach increased 15.5%, and link clicks increased by 248% compared to February 2024. In March, Facebook reach increased by 9.6%, and content interactions increased by 154.5%, compared to March 2024. Instagram reach increased by 15%, link clicks increased by 750%, and content interactions increased by 60% compared to March 2024. She also reported in February & March, Visit St. Lucie deployed 3 visitor emails and 2 industry related emails, which garnered a total of 562 clicks to the website and industry partners that were linked in the emails. The average open rate is 26% and the click rate is 1%. The top performing email for February was about celebrating Black History month in St. Lucie and the top email in March was about St. Lucie as a pet friendly destination. There were also 529 digital and physical guide requests received. d. Fiscal Year 2025 First & Second Quarter Arrivalist Report: Charlotte reported that in Quarter 1 (October-December 2024), 19.0% of visitors came from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, 10.8% of visitors came from West Palm Beach, 9.8% came from the Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne area, and 6.2% came from New York. In Quarter 2 (January-March 2025), 16.7% of visitors came from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, 10.8% came from the Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne area, 9.1% came from New York, and 7.5% of visitors came from West Palm Beach. She also reported in Quarter 1, the number one point of interest that was visited was Downtown Fort Pierce with 13.1%, two was Tradition Square with 6.5%, three was the St. Lucie County Fairgrounds with 5.2%. In Quarter 2, the number one point of interest was John B. Sports Complex with 12.7%, two was Clover Park with 10.7%, and three was a tie between Downtown Fort Pierce and Ocean Village Beachside, both with 7.7%. e. Earned Media: Katherine Cordero reported year to date, Visit St. Lucie’s earned media has increased by 541% from $77,000 dollars to $4.94 million and impressions have increased by 25,550% from 2.06 million to 528 million. She credits these increases to the subscription to Muck Rack which accurately tracks and analyzes all digital earned media which Visit St. Lucie did not have last year. She also reported Visit St. Lucie was contacted by Southern Living Magazine writer Tara McCay in late Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ April 21, 2025 Page 4 of 4 February for information on a digital article about the best 15 things to do in Port St. Lucie. The article was published on March 1st and garnered Visit St. Lucie over $96,000 dollars in earned media as well as 10.4 million impressions. Charlotte Bireley also reported Flamingo Magazine wrote and article “Falling in Love with Fort Pierce” in their latest print and digital magazine highlighting the things to do in the destination. 8. Regular Agenda a. Expedia Presentation – Q1 Updates & Market Insights John Alvarez, Expedia Account Manager for the Treasure Coast, presented Quarter 1 updates and market insights. b. Quarterly Digital Marketing Report Yahn Bartelink, Evok Advertising Account Manager presented Visit St. Lucie’s quarterly digital marketing report. c. Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism Quarterly Update Rick Hatcher, President & CEO of Play Treasure Coast Sports provided an update and presentation on Play Treasure Coast Sport’s first and second quarter performance and activities. d. Capital Projects: Funding Guidelines & Application for Municipalities Charlotte Bireley presented the proposed funding guidelines and application procedures for municipalities using 33% of the 5th cent for capital projects that promote tourism. A motion was made by Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan for the language enabling 501c3’s into to be eligible to submit an application be added back into the application After discussing and looking over the wording of the proposed guidelines and application, that the TDC add back in that applicants can be 501C3s located in St. Lucie County to apply for the 33% of the 5th cent. Marika Sexton seconded. Motion passed. e. Staff Updates Katherine informed the hoteliers in the room there are St. Lucie Travel Guides available to take for their lobbies and to reach out if they need more. 9. Other Business Commissioner Cathy Townsend informed the council she thinks a conference center and new resort is on the horizon for St. Lucie. She also let the council know the Board of County Commissioners’ meeting to vote on the Navy SEAL Museum’s expansion is April 22. Charlotte Bireley reported the RFP for the mobile visitor center is expecting proposals on May 7. Ryan Collins said Oceanfront Inn is doing the best it’s done in the history of the hotel. 10. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 2:08 PM.