HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecember 11, 2013Gn.r . t, c- ~~c=ce
Florida
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ST. LUCIE COUNTY
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
St. Lucie County Administration Building
3`d floor Conference Room
2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce
1:30 p.m.
(PLEASE NOTE MEETING TIi~1E AND LOCATION)
1. Call to Order ............................................................................................... ........ Commissioner Dzadovsky
2. Roll Call ...................................................................................................... .......................... Susan Bellamy
3. Self-Introductions ...................................................................................... .........CommissionerDzadovsky
4. Approval of Minutes from November 13, 2013 ........................................ ......... Commissioner Dzadovsky
5. Public Comment ...................................................................................... .... Commissioner Dzadovsky
6. Financial & Web Report ............................................................................ ........................Charlotte Bireley
a. October 2013 Revenue and P & L Report
b. Website Analytics
7. Treasure Coast Sports Commission Sport Tourism Analysis Report ........ .............................. Tom Colucci
8. Visitor CeYtification Scholarship Program ................................................ .................. Michelle MacNichol
9. Other Business ........................................................................................... ......... Commissioner Dzadovsky
10. Adjournment .............................................................................................. .........CommissionerDzadovsky
VISION STATEMENT
By 2017, the St. Lucie County Tourist Development Council will provide a greater impact in promoting
St. Lucie as a top Florida destination For Eco/Adventure/Agri Tourism; amateur/professional sports; and
other known assets, allowing for increased overnight stays.
Please note -Meetings are recorded.
Anyone with a disability requiring accommodation to attend this meeting should contact the St. Lucie
Tourism Office at (772) 462-2130 or TDD (772) 462-1428 at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the
meeting.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 01:30 P.M.
MINUTES
Members present: Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky, Chairman
Vice-Mayor Linda Bartz, City of Port St. Lucie
Marilyn Minix, Roadrunner Travel Resort
Linda Cox, St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce
Chris Egan, Vistana's Beach Club -Sheraton PGA
Michelle MacNichol, Perfect Drive Golf Villas
Clive Daem, Dockside Inn
Commissioner Rufus Alexander, City of Fort Pierce
Members absent: Paul Taglieri, St. Lucie Mets
Staff present: Katherine Barbieri, St. Lucie County Attorney
Charlotte Bireley, St. Lucie County
Susan Bellamy, St. Lucie County
Also present: Anne Satterlee, Sunrise Theatre
Richard Gable, Arts & Cultural Affairs
Kelsie Stickles, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Pierce
Melissa Goggans, Residence Inn PSL & Fairfield Inn Fort Pierce
Millie Feliciano, Holiday Inn Express Port St. Lucie
Joan Napler, Hampton Inn & Suites Fort Pierce
1. CALL TO ORDER:
Commissioner Dzadovsky called the meeting to order at 1:33 PM.
2. ROLL CALL:
Susan Bellamy called roll.
3. SELF INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS:
Attending guests identified themselves.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Anne Satterlee, Sunrise Theatre introduced herself and provided the TDC Board
Members with brochures from the Theatre.
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Tourist Development Council Meeting 0 November 13, 2013
The minutes from October 9, 2013 were approved.
6. FINANCIAL REPORT & WEB REPORT:
Charlotte Bireley reported that September 2013 revenue was up 11% compared to
September 2012. Year to date revenue is down 3%.
Charlotte Bireley provided the TDC with a report on the activity of the St. Lucie
County Tourism web site. Website activity report attached.
7. NAVY SEAL MUSEUM GRANT UPDATE & 5T" CENT CAPITAL FUND REPORT:
Charlotte Bireley informed the TDC Members of the update on the grant for the
expansion of the UDT-Naval SEAL Museum.
Charlotte Bireley reported the 5th Cent Capital fund to be allocated to the Navy SEAL
Museum until the Year 2020.
8. FENN CENTER SALES UPDATE & OPEN HOUSE EVENT:
Charlotte Bireley presented the Fenn Center revenue and sales update. Report
attached.
Charlotte Bireley spoke of the Fenn Center Open House on December 4, 2013 and
invited the TDC Members to attend. Open house agenda and invitation attached.
9. OTHER BUSINESS:
Commissioner Dzadovsky discussed the approaching reorganization meeting for the
Board of County Commissioners. The TDC Board Members requested
Commissioner Dzadovsky to remain as Chairman for the Tourist Development
Counsel.
Charlotte Bireley spoke of the update on the Webcams and of Indian River State
College approving the use of the old Coast Guard Tower for one of the sites of the
webcams.
Michelle MacNichol mentioned the Hotel & Motel Lodging Association meeting to be
held on Thursday.
10. PUBLIC COMMENT:
No public comment made at this time.
11. ADJOURNMENT:
Page 2 of 3
Tourist Development Council Meeting 0 November 13, 2013
Meeting adjourned at 2:08 PM.
Page 3 of 3
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TREASURE COAST SPORTS COMMISSION
SPORT TOURISM ANALYSIS
NOVEMBER 2013
Conducted by the Florida Sports Foundation as an Industry Partner service for Treasure
Coast Sports Commission.
FLORIDA SP{QRTS
Flo~•ida Sporty Foundation, Inc.,
rz rttvision of Enterprise Fdortrda, Inc.
2430 Kerry Forest Parkway, Suite 101
Tallaleassee, I+lorida 32309
~v4v4v,flasports.eo m
{~50} 48~-x347
FL~RIL)A ~l'ORT~ ?~L3 TR~AS~~~z~ COAST sr~RTS C4~~L1i~IISSION
Introduction
In 2013, the Treasure Coast Sports Commission (TCSC) requested that the Florida Sports Foundation
provide an analysis of TCSC business practices and its regional market of Indian River, Martin and St.
Lucie Counties. The purpose of the analysis is to assist TCSC efforts to promote sport tourism for its
regional market. The Florida Sports Foundation visited area facilities and sport leaders, as well as
reviewed data provided by TCSC that included the organization's finances, events hosted, facility
inventory and housing inventory in order to provide the observations and recommendations in this
document.
Industry of Sport Tourism
In July 2005, the Florida Sports Foundation commissioned a report through the Washington Economic
Group, Inc., to study the economic impact of sport in Florida. The study found that sport and recreation
activities contribute to the economic development of Florida in two critical areas: (1) generator of
economic output (gross state product, labor income, employment & fiscal revenues) (2) provider of
benefits such as improving quality of life, providing an attraction for overnight visitors and facilitation
of the recruitment, retention and expansion of business enterprises.
In 2005, this report found that the total economic impact of sport and recreation in Florida was an
estimated $32 billion, supporting 434,000 employment positions and providing for $12.9 billion in
annual labor compensation. Sport and recreation contributed $20 billion in gross state product to the
Florida economy and produces $2.1 billion in revenues to state and local governments. Now, the sport
and recreation industry in Florida is estimated at $36 billion.
FZOI~II~Ft. SPC?RTS Zola TI~F,n~c~lar c~:~sT src~IaT~ C{)iVIliIISSl~tir
At the time of the report, there were 18 sports commissions in Florida. The study reported that the
economic impact of events sponsored by the 18 sports commissions was an estimated $668 million,
supporting 9,700 positions. Labor compensation generated from these events was $245 million and
contributed $48 million in revenue for state and local governments.
Since that time, the number of sports commissions in Florida has increased to 27, creating more
competition to attract major events to communities in the state. 1n 2012, the 22 sports commissions in
Florida (another 5 joined in 2013) generated an estimated $1.7 billion of economic impact, 3.1 million
out of state visitors. In addition, there are almost 400 active sports commissions in the U.S., competing
to attract business to their communities. The market place will only continue to grow and become more
competitive in the years to come, as more communities begin to realize the positive impact of sport
tourism.
In the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the Florida Sports Foundation awarded 104 grants to events which
attracted out of state visitors. These 104 grants totaled $ l .8 million and produced an estimated $418
million in out of state economic impact alone, attracting almost 668,000 out of state visitors, thus
yielding a $232 return on investment.
In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, TCSC was directly involved with sporting events that generated 32,335
room nights and $22,228,572 in economic impact. With a three county investment of $392,244 for the
TCSC FY 2011-2012, TCSC is producing just over a $56 return on investment for the region.
Therefore, for every $1 spent on sports marketing, the Treasure Coast region is receiving an average of
$56 in economic impact, which is within the average ROI range for small -mid size market, local
-2-
FLOF~IDA SPORTS zo13 TItE.4SrRI ctkA~T sI?ORT~ CO~IMIS~IO~i
sporting event grant programs. Note: It is common for ROI to fluctuate from event to event and year to
year, depending upon several market factors.
Treasure Coast Sports Commission Data
2011-2012 FY (Oct. -Sept.)
TCSC Actual Expense = $519,590.78
• TCSC Actual Income=$494,107.16
• Indian River Funding = $131,500 /Bed Tax Collections (4%) _ $1,609,884
• Indian River Events = 21 events, 13,859 room nights, $8,146,453 Economic Impact
• Indian River ROI = $61
• Martin Funding = $86,400 /Bed Tax Collections (4%) _ $1,138,164
• Martin Events = 19 events, 3,322 room nights, $3,701,988 Economic Impact
• Martin ROI = $42
• St. Lucie Funding = $174,344 /Bed Tax Collections (5%) _ $2,678,874
• St. Lucie Events = 36 events, 15,154 room nights, $10,380,131
• St. Lucie ROI = $59
• Multi County Events held = 11 (17.5%); $6,292,057 Economic Impact (16.5%)
• Funds dedicated to Multi County Events = $58,673.40 (15%); $107 ROI
-3-
FLO~ZI~~ SPORTS ~~~s ~•u~ASC~z cc~~s~r ~rax-rs c~vnvrr~~rc~~
2011-2012 Economic Impact of
2011-2012 Funds Committed to
Events Hosted
Baseball
5~ 4~ 2% ~ Multi-Sport
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~ Aquatics
~ Mat Sports
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.-Sailing
Court Sports
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FL{)R.IDA SPQRT~ 2013 TRI;ASL=RIs CtBAST SPORTS covr~~s~I~i+~
Treasure Coast Area Information
• Indian River Room Inventory = 2,081
• Martin Room Inventory = 1,364
• St. Lucie Room Inventory = 3,521
• Total Treasure Coast Room Inventory = 6,966
• Orlando International Airport (MCO) = 99-134 miles
• Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) = 40-78 miles
Conclusions and Recommendations
Reeional Snorts Commission Model
The regional sports commission model provides many benefits for this area. Based on bed tax
collections and room nights alone, each County (Indian, Martin and St. Lucie) would be considered
small Florida markets. By combining marketing efforts and resources, the Treasure Coast regional area
becomes mid-size Florida market, providing much more opportunity to attract larger scale events. In
2011-2012, a total of 11 ofthe 63 events hosted involved multi-County venues. These events totaled
$6,292,057 of economic impact, yielding a $107 return on investment, much higher than the $56 overall
average return on investment for that year. Inmost instances, larger events yield a higher return on
investment, therefore becoming a better investment for communities.
Despite the differences in size, funding and venue/hotel inventory, the Treasure Coast Sports
Commission has managed a fair balance of events among communities. The $42 - $62 ROI range for
2011-2012 is reasonably balanced for a tri-County effort, taking into consideration the venue inventory
and size of each County.
Event SponsorshiU Model
In reviewing the events hosted and supported by TCSC over the past two fiscal years, many of the
events listed are non-bid events. In 2011-2012, six (6) of the 63 events hosted were bid events, which
accounted for $42,800 (26%) of funds awarded. Though the economic impact of established events is
important for the community, typically the percentage of dollars dedicated to bid events is 60%-70%. A
recommendation would be to re-evaluated established community events to determine if TCSC funding
is essential to keeping those events in the area. Therefore, more funding can be dedicated toward
attracting new events into the community. Another solution would be to identify /secure an additional
pool of funding dedicated to bid events.
-5-
FLtJ~~R.IDA SPORTS aof3 TRF.A~~~R~ caAST SPDI2TS c{l~'Lt~IIS sI€3N
Facility Inventorv & Snort Marketin
In reviewing facility inventory for each county provided by TCSC and conducting visits and interviews
with facility owners, the Foundation has provided a few initial observations. These observations do not
constitute a facility needs assessment, but are simply a listing of recommendations when the opportunity
arises to expand or construct new facilities in the Treasure Coast Region.
Individually, each County is limited in competition level facilities, with St. Lucie having the largest
inventory of the three. Combined, the region offers awell-rounded variety of competition facilities
showing strength in the areas of Aquatics and Baseball. Since a large part of the region's sport tourism
businesses is dependent on Baseball, it would be prudent to investigate the feasibility of investing into
expanding or adding auxiliary fields in close proximity to the Spring Training Home of the St. Lucie
Mets and/or Vero Beach Sports Village. Since the number of teams a tournament is able to
accommodate is directly related to the available number of fields, this consideration would allow current
tournaments to expand participation as well as open new tournament opportunities for the Treasure
Coast Region.
A common weakness of many Florida communities is the lack of large indoor field house facilities. An
indoor field house would be categorized as a facility with acceptable flooring, ceiling height,
scoreboards, nets and lighting to conduct Basketball and Volleyball (Note: Gymnasiums can also host a
number of other sports such as Badminton, Cheerleading, Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Table Tennis,
Wrestling, etc... depending on facility design and with the addition of sport specific flooring, lines or
equipment). The region could certainly support a smaller field house concept of 3 courts (regulation
basketball courts) or even a field house concept of this size in each County. Such a facility would allow
the region to diversify its event hosting capabilities.
As new facility construction projects arise in each County, it is important to include the input ofthe
TCSC when developing plans. In many instances, small modifications in design can help to turn a
recreation facility into a potential competition venue. The Foundation is available to work with TCSC to
provide input on future projects that would increase the Treasure Coast region's competition facility
inventory.
Lastly, each County has an excellent aquatics center. TCSC has done an excellent job of positioning the
region as a Baseball community, however there is a great marketing opportunity to showcase the region
as an Aquatics community as well, especially with the opening of the Sailfish Splash Aquatics Center in
Martin County. Developing an Aquatics related marketing campaign and attending the US Aquatics
Sports Convention to build awareness and identify new event opportunities would be a good 2-3 year
investment to consider.
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The Hospitality Industry-Explore all it has to offer (1 hoar)
Trends in Hospitality
o Tourism n
o Globalization db
o Growth & Career Opportunities
What's Required for a Career in Hospitality? ~
o Service orientation
o People service jobs
o Cheerful attitude/positive demeanor ~
o Flexibility ¢
o Adaptability ~
o Willingness to work when others are not
^ Hospitality 2417
^ Holidays ~
Treasuro Hunt (3 hours - *2 outside of class)
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• Identify the "Treasures" of the region -community assigmnent
~ Haw to be an ambassador to the community
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** • Role play
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~ Exceotional Customer Service "The Difference between Good and Exceptional" (3 hours
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• What is a customer?
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~ o Greeting {l~` point of contact -first impression)
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"e o Bidding farewell to your customer
0 o Role play service
e • Exceeding expectations
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$ • The importance of customer service to the business you are employed by
• Basic concepts fqr exceptional customer service
~ • Identifying customer expectations
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* • Ensuring consistent service value
• Job skills
~ • Walking the talk-knowing your businesses jargon and lingo
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• Building confidence through lonowledge
* • Handling customer complaints- the art of service recovery
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• Terminology
• Telephone etiquette ;
o Handling customer and answering the phones
• Upselling and responding to the customer n
• Reality based application
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Behaviors (4 hoursl
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Empathic listening skills
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The ability to act versus re-act
o Dealing with difficult behaviors
~ • Effective wrnmunications tools
*
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Body Language and "what exactly are you saying?"
~ . Looking the part and performing your role
~ • The customer iswatching-learning how to remain professional at all times
• Learning to read and anticipate customer needs
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drganization
¢ • Time management and prioritization
~ . What the customer sees from their point of view
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Sensitivity and Diversity -Understanding the differences of others and acceptance
~ o Religious Beliefs
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Engaging with the guest to create memorable experiences
* • Work habits
`~ o Personal hygiene
~ • Task performance
* • Confidentiality and direct conversation
*
Workshop classroom time is nine (9) hours over a four weeks:
o Week l: three hours of classroom instruction
o Week 2: three hours of classroom instruction
o Week 3: Treasure Hunt - out of classroom activity
o Week 4: three hour of classroom instruction
• Class meets at Indian River State College.
• Certificate of Completion from B3SC.
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TDC October 2013 Variance
P & L Report Actual Budget Budget
Bed Tax Revenue $ 37,747 $ 33,250 14%
Carry Forward $ 19,262 19,262 0%
Interest $ 125 $ 125 0%
Total Revenue $ 57,134 $ 52,637 9%
Direct Expenses
Salaries $ 3,366 $ 5,196 -36%
Benefits $ 1,765 $ 2,071 -16%
Other Contract Services $ 575 $ 1,667 -66%
Software Support $ 9,600 $ 9,600 0%
Travel $ - $ 583 -100%
Communications $ 137 $ 83 65%
Postage $ 47 $ 833 -94%
Printing $ 563 $ 1,833 -69%
Promotional Activities $ - $ 250 -100%
Promotional Entertainment $ - $ 250 -100%
Office Supplies $ - $ 83 -100%
Dues $ 632 $ 83 658%
Aid $ 27,500 $ 27,500 0%
G & A $ 5,156 $ 5,156 0%
Materials Center $ - $ 83 -100%
Promotional Advertising $ 9,350 $ 14,583 -36%
Tax Collector $ 1,218 $ 1,218 0%
Total Direct Expenses $ 59,908 $ 71,073 -16%
Net Income $ (2,775) -5%
TDC Year to Date 2014 YTD as of
10/31/2013 Annual Variance
P & L Report Actuals Budget Budget
Bed Tax Revenue $ 37,747 $ 475,000 -92%
Carry Forward $ 19,262 $ 231,138 -92%
Interest $ 125 $ 1,500 -92%
Total Revenue $ 57,134 $ 707,638 -92%
Direct Expenses
Salaries $ 3,366 $ 62,350 -95%
Benefits $ 1,765 $ 24,857 -93%
Other Contract Services $ 575 $ 20,000 -97%
Software Support $ 9,600 $ 10,000. -4%
Travel $ - $ 7,000 -100%
Communications $ 137 $ 1,000 -86%
Postage $ 47 $ 10,000 -100%
Printing $ 563 $ 22,000 -97%
Promotional Activities $ - $ 3,000 -100%
Promotional Entertainment $ - $ 3,000 -100%
Office Supplies $ - $ 1,000 -100%
Dues $ 632 $ 1,000 -37%
Aid $ 27,500 $ 150,000 -82%
G & A $ 5,156 $ 61,868 -92%
Materials Center $ - $ 1,000 -100%
Promotional Advertising $ 9,350 $ 175,000 -95%
Tax Collector $ 1,218 $ 14,610 -92%
Total Direct Expenses $ 59,908 $ 567,685 -89%
Net income $ (2,775) -5%