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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-09-2020 TBID AgendaCity of San Luis Obispo, Agenda, Planning Commission Agenda TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD Wednesday, September 9, 2020 10:00 a.m. REGULAR MEETING Teleconference Based on the threat of COVID-19 as reflected in the Proclamations of Emergency issued by both the Governor of the State of California, the San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services Director and the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as well as the Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20 issued on March 17, 2020, relating to the convening of public meetings in response to the COVID -19 pandemic, the City of San Luis Obispo will be holding all public meetings via teleconference. There will be no physical location for the Public to view the meeting. Below are instructions on how to view the meeting remotely and how to leave public comment. Additionally, members of the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Board are allowed to attend the meeting via teleconference and to participate in the meeting to the same extent as if they were present. Using the most rapid means of communication available at this time, members of the public are encouraged to participate in TBID meetings in the following ways: 1. Remote Viewing - Members of the public who wish to watch the meeting can view: • Go to Webinar: o Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/799355256346438926 o Webinar ID: 471-982-411 o You must register to view via Webinar. 2. Public Comment - The TBID will still be accepting public comment for only items on the agenda. Public comment can be submitted in the following ways: • Mail or Email Public Comment o Received by 10:00 AM on the day of meeting - Can be submitted via email to: (advisorybodies@slocity.org ) or U.S. Mail to City Clerk at: 990 Palm St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 o Emails sent after 10:00 AM up until public comment is opened on the item – Limited to one page emailed to cityclerk@slocity.org will be read aloud during the public comment period. • Verbal Public Comment - Call (805) 781-7164; state and spell your name, mention the agenda item number you are calling about and leave your comment. The verbal comments must be received by 10:00 AM on the morning of the noticed meeting and will be limited to 3 minutes. All voicemails will be forwarded to the TBID members and saved as Agenda Correspondence. All comments submitted will be placed into the administrative record of the meeting. Tourism Business Improvement District Board Agenda for September 9, 2020 Page 2 CALL TO ORDER Chair John Conner ROLL CALL : Chair John Conner, Pragna Patel-Mueller, Clint Pearce, LeBren Harris, Natalie Ward and John Byrns PUBLIC COMMENT: At this time, people may address the Committee about items not on the agenda. Persons wishing to speak should come forward and state their name and address. Comment s are limited to three minutes per person. Items raised at this time are generally referred to staff and, if action by the Committee is necessary, may be scheduled for a future meeting. CONSENT ITEMS C.1 Minutes of Meeting on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 C.2 Smith Travel Report C.3 Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Report C.4 Chamber Public Relations Monthly Report C.5 Chamber Visitor Center Monthly Report C.6 Noble Studios & DCI Marketing Monthly Report C.7 Notice of Unscheduled Vacancy PRESENTATIONS 1. NEW BOARD MEMBER INTRODUCTIONS 10 mins The Board will do a brief introduction with the new committee members Natalie Ward and John Byrns. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. 2019-20 TBID ANNUAL REPORT 20 mins The Board will review the draft FY 2019-20 TBID annual report for recommendation to City Council on October 6, 2020. Pending the City Council’s approval of the report, the annual public hearing for the TBID will be scheduled for the October 20, 2020 City Council meeting. 2. APPOINTMENT OF TBID BOARD VICE CHAIRPERSON 5 mins The Board will appoint a Vice Chairperson for the remainder of the term through March 2021 due to the unscheduled vacancy of the previously elected Vice Chairperson. 3. 2020-21 BOARD LIAISON & COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS 15 mins The Board will establish the 2020-21 TBID Board property liaison assignments and discuss the roles and responsibilities of the TBID Board members relating to the property liaison program. The Board will also revise the Marketing and Management committee assignmen ts. TBID LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION 1. HOTELIER UPDATE – Liaison Reports Tourism Business Improvement District Board Agenda for September 9, 2020 Page 3 2. MARKETING COMMITTEE UPDATE – Meeting Minutes: September 2, 2020 3. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE UPDATE – Meeting Minutes: September 3, 2020 4. PCC UPDATE – Meeting Minutes: August 12, 2020 and August 20, 2020 5. VISIT SLO CAL UPDATE – Liaison Reports 6. TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – Staff Report ADJOURNMENT The next Regular Meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board is scheduled for Wednesday , October 14 , 2020 at 10:00 a.m. held remotely and via teleconference. The City of San Luis Obispo wishes to make all of its public meet ings accessible to the public. Upon request, this agenda will be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with disabilities. Any person with a disability who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting should direct such request to the City Clerk’s Office at (805) 781-7100 at least 48 hours before the meeting, if possible. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (805) 781-7107. Meeting audio recordings can be found at the following web address: http://opengov.slocity.org/WebLink/1/fol/61016/Row1.aspx DRAFT Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of 08/12/20 Pg. 1 Minutes - DRAFT TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD Wednesday, August 12, 2020 Regular Teleconference Meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board CALL TO ORDER The regular teleconference meeting of the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District Board was called to order on August 12, 2020 at 10:09 a.m. held via GoToWebinar by Chair John Conner. ROLL CALL Present: Chair John Conner and Board Members Bruce Skidmore, LeBren Young-Harris, Clint Pearce and Pragna Patel-Mueller (departed at 10:50 a.m.) Absent: none Staff: Tourism Manager Molly Cano and Tourism Coordinator Chantal Burns PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. --End of Public Comment-- CONSENT ITEMS ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER SKIDMORE SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER PEAREC, CARRIED 5-0, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS 1 THRU 6. C.1 Minutes of Meeting on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 C.2 Smith Travel Report C.3 Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Report C.4 Chamber Public Relations Monthly Report C.5 Chamber Visitor Center Monthly Report C.6 Noble Studios & DCI Marketing Monthly Report Public Comment None. --End of Public Comment-- DRAFT Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of 08/12/20 Pg. 2 BUSINESS ITEMS 1. SLO TBID FY 20-21 COVID-19 Plan Tourism Manager Cano reviewed the SLO TBID FY 20-21 COVID-19 Plan that was created with the marketing agency and recommended by the Marketing Committee. Board members had no questions or additional feedback on the guiding document. Public Comments: None ---End of Public Comments--- ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER SKIDMORE, SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER HARRIS, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the plan as presented and as recommended by the Marketing Committee 2. SLO TBID Digital Audit Tourism Manager Cano with input from Noble’s Client Success Manager Shyla Lindner presented the digital audit conducted by Noble Studios including the SEO and SEM approach for the Board’s review and approval as recommended by the Marketing Committee. Public Comments: None ---End of Public Comments--- ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER SKIDMORE, SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER PEARCE, CARRIED 4-0-1, to approve the plan including the SEO strategy and KPI model with proposed timeline, as well as the proposed paid search timeline, channels and budget as presented and as recommended by the Marketing Committee. Additionally, the motion includes approval for the Marketing Committee to use discretion and to pre-approve expenditures for the plan in September. 3. Marketing Contract Ad Hoc Hours Management Tourism Manager Cano presented allocation and guidelines for utilizing ad hoc hours within the Marketing Service contract as recommended by the Marketing Committee. The recommendation includes providing authorization to staff for approval and direction to the marketing agency for ad hoc hours under 5 hours and to provide authorization to the Marketing Committee to oversee and approve any ad hoc hours for projects over 5 hours. Public Comments: None. ---End of Public Comments--- ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER HARRIS, SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER PEARCE, CARRIED 4-0-1, to authorize staff to approve and direct the use of ad hoc hours for general requests under five hours and to approve the Marketing Committee to oversee and approve any ad hoc hours for projects over five hours. DRAFT Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of 08/12/20 Pg. 3 4. #SLOready Campaign Staff reviewed the #SLOready Challenge that launched at the beginning of August along with updates to the film shoot now proposed to take place at the end of August. Marketing Committee discussed the hosted room component for the video production team including five rooms needed for three nights. Staff suggested ear marking $1,500 . Board member volunteered hosted room nights leading to a d ead motion to earmark any funds for hosting rooms. Volunteered comp room nights as follows for the week of August 31, 2020 (Mon.-Wed. or Tues.-Thurs.): John Conner with Petit Soleil = two rooms for three nights LeBren Harris with Hampton Inn & Suites = one room comp rooms for three nights Clint Pearce with Madonna Inn = two rooms comp for three nights Public Comments: None. ---End of Public Comments--- ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER SKIDMORE to earmark $600 for unfulfilled comp room nights. The motion died for a lack of second and motion was retracted by member Skidmore. 5. 2019-20 TBID Annual Report Preparation Staff reviewed the TBID Annual Report process and timeline. Tourism Manager asked for direction to staff on any changes to the development of the TBID’s written annual report to the City Council to be presented on October 6, 2020 from the reviewed 2018-29 report. The Board had no discussion or changes to the 2018- 19 report format. Staff and the marketing agency will move forward with creating the 2019 -20 TBID Annual Report using the previous year’s template. Public Comments: None. ---End of Public Comments--- ACTION: None. TBID LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION 1. HOTELIER UPDATE – Liaison Reports a. Member Harris – reported on having guests that had a hard time finding transportation to the beach and downtown from the Hampton Inn. b. Recommendations for new TBID board members will be going to City Council at the August 18th, 2020 meeting to approve Natalie Ward and John Byrns 2. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE UPDATE – Meeting Minutes: No meeting 3. MARKETING COMMITTEE UPDATE – Meeting Minutes: August 5, 2020 4. PCC UPDATE – Chair Conner reported that the PCC has a new member, Lori Lerian 5. VISIT SLO CAL UPDATE – Member Pearce and Tourism Manager Cano reported that Visit SLO CAL: a. Has been working on their marketing plan b. Completed their diversity statement c. VSC Marketing Committee is working on the Events and Festival Strategy DRAFT Minutes – Tourism Business Improvement District Board Meeting of 08/12/20 Pg. 4 d. VSC is going to go through the RFP Process 6. TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – Tourism Manager Cano reported: a. Remitted TOT payments are due by August 31, 2020. About 14 of the 42 properties took advantage of this. b. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion taskforce will be scheduled soon and will be working on a statement as a destination. Staff is currently working with DCI and Noble on a plan. c. Participation in a virtual Cal Poly SLO Days has started. d. Dates to remember review: ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:36 a.m. The next Tourism Business Improvement District Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. held remotely and via teleconference. APPROVED BY THE TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD : XX/XX/XXXX August 2020 WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total City of Paso Robles 49.8 67.4 54.8 112.31 171.26 133.38 64.49 136.71 85.12 -36.4 -25.3 -32.9 -10.0 -20.8 -13.0 -35.2 -29.8 -32.8 City of Pismo Beach 71.1 85.9 75.3 216.96 303.32 244.31 167.55 271.38 197.21 -16.7 -9.1 -14.4 10.1 7.3 9.5 1.1 4.5 2.4 City of San Luis Obispo 54.6 78.1 61.3 140.46 199.70 161.69 85.60 169.84 109.67 -32.3 -16.4 -27.3 -9.2 -11.8 -8.9 -29.2 -17.3 -24.4 City of Morro Bay 62.8 81.1 68.1 145.53 214.25 168.63 98.06 182.80 122.27 -20.9 -11.8 -18.1 -1.3 -3.0 -1.2 -14.0 -7.9 -11.5 WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total City of Paso Robles 46.1 79.3 55.6 112.32 177.82 139.03 51.77 141.07 77.28 -35.2 -3.3 -25.1 -7.1 -11.1 -4.7 -39.8 -14.0 -28.6 City of Pismo Beach 68.3 91.7 75.0 207.65 302.62 240.81 141.91 277.36 180.61 -12.9 5.3 -7.3 13.7 12.1 15.0 -0.9 18.0 6.6 City of San Luis Obispo 57.1 90.4 66.6 144.25 206.22 168.29 82.31 186.46 112.07 -23.2 7.1 -13.8 -3.0 -5.3 -1.2 -25.5 1.4 -14.7 City of Morro Bay 62.3 89.2 70.0 140.19 215.02 167.44 87.30 191.72 117.13 -15.8 4.3 -9.5 0.3 2.2 3.3 -15.6 6.5 -6.5 WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total City of Paso Robles 50.6 61.4 53.7 110.71 165.60 128.65 55.99 101.63 69.03 -27.3 -21.3 -25.4 -6.4 -11.8 -8.0 -31.9 -30.6 -31.4 City of Pismo Beach 72.7 86.6 76.7 200.37 295.14 230.95 145.67 255.54 177.06 -4.3 -3.4 -4.0 20.3 23.3 21.6 15.1 19.1 16.7 City of San Luis Obispo 59.4 80.8 65.5 141.99 201.55 162.96 84.40 162.80 106.80 -17.8 -1.8 -12.8 -0.7 0.6 1.3 -18.3 -1.2 -11.7 City of Morro Bay 65.6 81.9 70.3 138.22 213.22 163.18 90.73 174.59 114.69 -5.1 0.3 -3.4 5.3 12.2 8.7 0.0 12.5 5.1 WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total City of Paso Robles 48.0 76.0 56.0 110.97 178.34 137.09 53.30 135.61 76.82 -22.3 -10.9 -18.2 0.2 -14.7 -5.9 -22.2 -23.9 -23.1 City of Pismo Beach 60.9 87.7 68.5 188.70 295.16 227.62 114.87 258.79 155.99 -1.6 -2.9 -2.1 22.9 8.7 15.5 20.9 5.5 13.1 City of San Luis Obispo 50.9 83.1 60.1 139.98 199.57 163.52 71.22 165.80 98.24 -18.5 -4.1 -13.4 5.3 -11.1 -1.3 -14.2 -14.8 -14.5 City of Morro Bay 53.5 81.0 61.4 132.36 207.03 160.51 70.82 167.62 98.48 -9.7 -7.7 -8.9 12.3 -3.0 4.7 1.4 -10.4 -4.7 Week of August 23, 2020 to August 29, 2020 Week of August 16, 2020 to August 23, 2020 Week of August 9, 2020 to August 15, 2020 Week of August 2, 2020 to August 8, 2020 RevPar Current Week Totals Percent Change Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Current Week Totals Percent Change Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Occupancy (%)ADR Current Week Totals Percent Change Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Current Week Totals Percent Change Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 Change +/- July 508,195$ 541,806$ 591,184$ 636,778$ 699,845$ 761,346$ 844,845$ 877,391$ 861,241$ 884,317$ 913,019$ 530,040$ -41.9% August 511,564$ 542,194$ 574,395$ 623,655$ 674,244$ 732,271$ 774,501$ 765,232$ 728,932$ 775,513$ 826,465$ -100.0% September 400,023$ 437,543$ 490,524$ 508,583$ 505,954$ 557,002$ 643,127$ 650,117$ 693,704$ 682,810$ 720,414$ -100.0% October 414,870$ 442,586$ 437,805$ 469,977$ 509,435$ 594,032$ 642,221$ 628,049$ 601,208$ 650,101$ 711,393$ -100.0% November 280,913$ 330,924$ 347,437$ 359,163$ 425,769$ 475,360$ 468,016$ 497,162$ 513,487$ 556,885$ 593,403$ -100.0% December 246,684$ 274,417$ 314,784$ 319,451$ 355,315$ 391,132$ 429,600$ 434,836$ 473,701$ 488,296$ 488,757$ -100.0% January 230,279$ 256,351$ 276,165$ 302,153$ 331,853$ 400,239$ 387,304$ 396,559$ 415,690$ 465,547$ 520,813$ -100.0% February 273,373$ 302,246$ 323,359$ 344,160$ 366,980$ 431,510$ 466,915$ 439,735$ 503,451$ 524,327$ 596,021$ -100.0% March 326,099$ 333,783$ 392,266$ 426,879$ 448,103$ 520,795$ 559,235$ 549,642$ 577,285$ 602,781$ 268,458$ -100.0% April 423,158$ 451,133$ 475,913$ 486,850$ 564,617$ 610,894$ 609,439$ 708,724$ 641,919$ 741,364$ 69,184$ -100.0% May 372,997$ 433,874$ 447,116$ 489,862$ 546,916$ 601,614$ 598,093$ 645,114$ 630,820$ 665,603$ 174,982$ -100.0% June 490,326$ 512,543$ 578,234$ 610,948$ 630,729$ 727,028$ 731,038$ 765,362$ 796,899$ 835,727$ 409,945$ -100.0% Total/Average 4,478,481$ 4,859,400$ 5,249,181$ 5,578,460$ 6,059,758$ 6,803,224$ 7,154,334$ 7,357,923$ 7,438,338$ 7,873,272$ 6,292,853$ -100.0% 2019-20 2020-21 Change +/-2019-20 2020-21 Change +/-2019-20 2020-21 Change +/- July 80.0 54.5 -31.9 184.4 165.96 -10.0 147.59 90.53 -38.7 August 77.4 177.34 137.27 September 73.3 161.48 118.33 October 73.0 156.39 114.24 November 67.4 147.11 99.17 December 57.7 134.41 77.59 January 62.3 130.45 81.27 February 65.4 145.83 95.42 March 34.6 131.11 45.39 April 17.7 95.53 16.95 May 34.5 119.15 41.15 June 49.3 152.80 75.39 Total/Average 57.74 144.67 87.48 Updated: 9/3/2020 TOT Comparison *Figures from Smith Travel Occupancy ADR RevPAR Report to City of SLO – TBID and PCC Public Relations Contract August 2020 PR Activity Implementation 1)Helped coordinate first ​‘Meet Your Neighbor’ ​business feature and began planning future features 2)Drafted ‘Meet Your Neighborhood Toy Store’ Q&A for ​VisitSLO.com 3)Continued outreach to SLO businesses for ​Tuesday Giveaway 4)Helped coordinate ​#SLOready​ businesses and models for TBID video campaign 5)Continued working with Michelle Barrera of​ @EnjoySLO​ to promote ​#SLOready Challenge 6)Continued working with DCI to finalize 2020-21 ​Key Messages​ and ​Most Wanted Media List 7)Continued working with ​Verdin​ on Support Local Campaign and implementation 8)Continued working with the ​City​ and ​Noble Studios​ on overall tourism marketing campaign Proactive work 1)Pitched​ #SLOready Social Media Challenge Responsive leads 1)Pitched SLO to ​Travelocity​ for “The best weekend getaway in all 50 states” HARO lead 2)Connected with Corey Marshall ​@missfoodieproblems​ on a visit to SLO 3)Began talks with ​DCI​ for freelancer Melissa Curtain’s trip to SLO Partnerships 1)Met with ​Visit SLO CAL​ to sync messaging efforts 2)Attended ​Post Paralysis ​webinar – ‘Being a Smarter, Faster, Quicker DMO’ 3)Provided recommendations and coordinated part of LA influencer @AdventureswithPollin’s stay at ​Hotel Cerro 4)Pitched the following content to ​CCTC a.Outdoor Activities i.Mountain bike on Cerro San Luis Obispo ii.Historic San Luis Obispo by Bike iii.Hiking in San Luis Obispo iv.Murals, sculptures, and paintings in San Luis Obispo v.San Luis Obispo Wineries are Open & Safe vi.Support Small Businesses with Open SLO b. 2020 Fall Events in San Luis Obispo vii.Digital Exhibition: “Terminally Realistic: The Prints of Rachel Winn” viii.Central Coast Writers Conference ix.6th Annual Wine Women and Shoes 5) Pitched the following content to ​Visit California a.California Wine Month i.San Luis Obispo Wineries are Open & Safe b.Where to Go in 2021 i.Concerts in the Plaza 2021 ii.Support Local in San Luis Obispo c.Californians Continuing to do Good i.Souza Construction in San Luis Obispo Provides Barricades for Parklet Program ii.Support Local Economic Recovery Program in San Luis Obispo iii.Blackwater Leading Philanthropic Effort for Racial Injustice Report to City of SLO – TBID and PCC Public Relations Contract August 2020 August 2020-21 YTD UVPM 295,665,700 649,941,700 AD VALUE 119,435.38 230,786.64 PLACEMENTS 18 36 Media Placements 1.KSBY​,​ San Luis Obispo creates social media challenge to help local businesses RESULT: Proactive pitching PILLAR: Support Local PUBLICITY $: 31.97 MENTIONS: Hotel Cerro, Brasserie SLO, Luna Red, Granada Hotel & Bistro, SLO Yoga Center UVPM: 139K 2.NEW TIMES SLO​, ​SLO launches social media competition to help local businesses RESULT: Proactive pitching PILLAR: Support Local MENTIONS: Hotel Cerro, Brasserie SLO, Luna Red, Granada Hotel & Bistro, SLO Yoga Center UVPM: 40.5K 3.VISIT SLO​, ​8 Ways EnjoySLO gets #SLOready RESULT: Proactive pitching PILLAR: Support Local MENTIONS: Hotel Cerro, Brasserie SLO, Luna Red, Granada Hotel & Bistro, SLO Yoga Center 4.BAY AREA FAMILY TRAVEL​, ​Hidden Charms of the Central Coast RESULT: Additional placement from responsive lead PILLAR: Family, Culinary, Outdoor adventure MENTIONS: VisitSLO.com, Farmers’ Market Report to City of SLO – TBID and PCC Public Relations Contract August 2020 5.VISIT CALIFORNIA​, ​Art Outside the Gallery RESULT: Partnership pitching PILLAR: Culture UVPM: 1K 6.VISIT CALIFORNIA​, ​Californians Continuing to Do Good RESULT: Partnership pitching PILLAR: Culture MENTIONS: Blackwater UVPM: 1K 7.CENTRAL COAST TOURISM COUNCIL​, ​Central Coast Outdoors RESULT: Partnership pitching PILLAR: Outdoor adventure, Culture, Wine MENTIONS: Creamery Marketplace, Malene, Stephen Ross, Tolosa, Madonna Inn 8.CONDE NAST TRAVELER​, ​9 West Coast Road Trips to Take This Year PILLAR: Culture PUBLICITY $: 860.66 MENTIONS: Madonna Inn UVPM: 1.07M 9.LEISURE + TRAVEL, ​The Best Girlfriend Getaways Around the World for a Weekend Escape PILLAR: Outdoor adventure, Culture PUBLICITY $: 17,100.00 MENTIONS: Amtrak Coast Starlight UVPM: 69.2M 10.SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE​, ​Will America’s Roadside Attractions Survive COVID-19? PILLAR: Culture PUBLICITY $: 640.89 MENTIONS: Madonna Inn UVPM: 2.79M 11.DELISH​, ​Florida's Hard Rock Football Stadium Turned Itself Into A Drive-In Movie Theater PILLAR: Family, Culture PUBLICITY $: 17,200.00 MENTIONS: Sunset Drive-In UVPM: 74.8M 12.CHEAPISM​, ​The most underrated town in each state PILLAR: Cal Poly, Culture, Wine, Outdoor adventure PUBLICITY $: 15,444.86 MENTIONS: Cal Poly Report to City of SLO – TBID and PCC Public Relations Contract August 2020 UVPM: 67.15M 13.INSIDEHOOK​, ​A Reinvigorating California Road Trip Amid the Pandemic PILLAR: Culture, Culinary, Outdoor adventure PUBLICITY $: 14,100.00 MENTIONS: Hotel San Luis Obispo, High Street Deli UVPM: 13.3M 14.GETTING ON TRAVEL​, ​California Highway 1 Road Trip: In Search of the New Normal PILLAR: Culture MENTIONS: Hotel Cerro, Brasserie SLO UVPM: 1.2K 15.BON TRAVELER​, ​How To Spend 48 Hours In San Luis Obispo PILLAR: Support Local, Culinary, Wine, Outdoor adventure, Culture MENTIONS: Madonna Inn, Hotel SLO, Scout Coffee, Gus’s Grocery, High Street Deli, Lincoln Market, Luna Red, Buona Tavola, Sidecar, Sally Loo’s, Firestone Grill, Novo UVPM: 7K 16.OUR MAN ON THE GROUND TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE​, ​Hotel Cerro PILLAR: Culture, Culinary MENTIONS: Hotel Cerro, Brasserie SLO, SLO Brew Rock UVPM: 1K 17.MSN/ SAN LUIS OBISPO TRIBUNE​, ​When COVID hit, this historic SLO hotel turned inn workers into renovators PILLAR: Culture PUBLICITY $: 54,057.00 MENTIONS: Garden Street Inn UVPM: 67.15M 18.LODGING MAGAZINE​, ​Kirkwood Collection Completes Garden Street Inn Renovation Amid Lockdown PILLAR: Culture MENTIONS: Garden Street Inn UVPM: 15K Report to City of SLO – TBID Phone Line and Availability Contract August 2020 Response to TBID Advertising Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 August 2019 August 2020 Calls to 1-877-SLO-TOWN 31 25 18 24 80 98 Hotel Availability Tracker Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 August 2019 August 2020 Email Response 21 23 23 19 64 86 Phone Calls to Hotels 81 72 71 74 293 298 Hotel Referrals Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 August 2019 August 2020 Visitors Served (walk-ins) 1,099 977 1,104 1,213 6,097 4,393 Guests Served (via phone and digitally) 662 543 568 528 1,135 2,301 Hotel Rooms Referred 341 297 315 369 1,223 1,322                               Agency Report · August 2020  SLO-TBID              Agency Report  August Activity  Brand & Creative  ●Finalized the 2019-2020 annual report and sizzle reel  ●Finalized brand tone and voice document  ●SLO Ready video shoot in destination  Blog & Email   Blog Post (2 per month)  ●Completed: Two blog posts for the month of August 2020 ○24 Hours In SLO ○Make SLO Your Backyard Classroom   Website & Content  ●Monthly Web Maintenance Items  ○WordPress Updates  ○Built and published 2 monthly blog posts  ●Ad Hoc Items  ○Built the PCC Support Local page and built reusable mix and match website patterns  ○Completed site speed project - look for performance specifics in the August monthly  performance report  ○Created mock-ups for the homepage and site navigation refresh  ○Blog Posts:  ■Enjoy SLO  ■Meet Your Neighborhood Store Owner  Social Media  Social Media Posting  ●Created and posted social posts as well as engaged every day during the months of July  and August. Posts aligned with daily themes and brand messaging across all three social  platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter    2          ●Revised the social content calendar for September and continues to create, post and engage  on behalf of @shareSLO on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter  ●Developed IG story templates   ●Re-posted and re-shared @enjoySLO and @adventureswithpollin partnerships. Posted SLO  Stills/USAToday 10Best voting link on Facebook.     PR, Media, And Influencer Relations  Key Message & MWM List  ●Finalized the 2020-21 key message and Most Wanted Media List    DCI’s All Client Pitch Initiative (4-6 pitches throughout 2020-21)  ●California Roadtrip -- San Luis Obispo wineries   ○Resulting Coverage: Business Insider  ●Drive-in Movie Theaters -- Sunset Drive-in  ○Resulting Coverage: Culture Trip, Forbes (2x), Travel Noire, Delish     Ongoing Media Conversations:  ●AAA ​Westways (Sept issue): Juliet Rylah, ​Cities in California with closed streets to auto traffic  to allow for expanded outdoor dining  ●Budget Travel: ​Laura Brown, ​Rediscover America series  ●Martha Stewart Living (November issue): Erica Sloan, Drive-in Movie Theaters  ●Travel & Leisure: Deanna Taylor, Travel news  ●Travelocity: ​Aly Walansky,​The best weekend getaway road trip  ●USA Today: Erica Lamberg, Social distancing trips  ●USA Today, Christopher Elliot, European style domestic vacations - RAN, NO MENTION  ●WeLikeLA: Juiet Rylah, San Luis Obispo feature - ON HOLD  ●Kelsey Ogltree: US cities with European vibes  ●Melissa Curtain: LaLaScoop, Lonely Planet, Roadtrippers - MEDIA VISIT     Influencer Partnerships (5 partnerships in 2020-21)  ●On hold   Digital Performance Marketing  ●Launch paid search advertising - look for performance specifics in the August monthly  performance report  ●Finalized and presented website and content discovery findings and strategy  ● SEO technical projects & Google Analytic fixes & updates    3      NOTICE OFRECRUITMENT CITYOFSANLUISOBISPO TOURISM BUSINESSIMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an unscheduled vacancy exists on the Tourism Business Improvement District Board (TBID) for a term to expire on March 31, 2021. The TBID Board advises the Council in the administration and use of the TBID assessment funds. The Board recommends projects to promote tourism to the City of San Luis Obispo to benefit directly the City’s lodging industry. All applicants and members must be operators of hotels within the district or employed by the operator of such hotel. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California. If you are a member of the San Luis Obispo City lodging industry and a registered voter, you are encouraged to apply. Applications may be submitted online on the City’s website at www.slocity.org/volunteer. STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO ) SS. CITY Of SAN LUIS OBISPO ) I declare under the penalty of perjury that this notice was posted on the bulletin board outside City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California and on the City’s website www.slocity.org on September 2, 2020. Kevin Christian Deputy City Clerk City of San Luis Obispo Keep posted until 9/16 or until position is filled September 1, 2020 Kevin Christian City Clerk City of San Luis Obispo 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 RE: TBID Board Resignation Dear Kevin; Effective today, Tuesday, September 1, 2020, I have resigned my position at the Embassy Suites by Hilton San Luis Obispo so in turn, am no longer eligible to represent the hotel on the TBID Board. It has been a pleasure to serve and have the chance to work with you, Molly, Chantal, and the rest of the board over these last three years. Thanks for the opportunity. I wish you all the best of luck rebounding from this pandemic. Be safe. Sincerely, Bruce Bruce Skidmore Area Director of Sales & Marketing Embassy Suites by Hilton San Luis Obispo SLO TBID ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020 DRAFT 2 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Impact of COVID-19 IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE 2019-20 FISCAL YEAR The 2019-20 fiscal year was severely impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus) starting in March 2020. In response to the pandemic, the TBID approved and adopted a COVID-19 Marketing Plan in March 2020 including steps for immediate actions, actions for large-scale outbreaks or a citywide shutdown, and actions for a recovery plan. Elements of this plan included additional guest services such as an added Live Chat widget for VisitSLO.com and creating the #SLOtogether campaign for social outreach. Additionally, in May 2020 the TBID approved a COVID-19 PR Communications Strategy to keep San Luis Obispo top of mind for when people are ready and able to travel again. During the months of March through June 2020 the TBID focused strongly on constituent outreach and education to keep San Luis Obispo’s tourism community informed and prepared for direct pandemic impacts. Through the TBID’s membership with the California Hotel and Lodging Association (CHLA) a variety of safety and regulation resources and educational webinar series were shared with all lodging constituents while Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was provided to all hotel properties in San Luis Obispo. The TBID’s quick responses to the pandemic allowed swift and actionable pivots to maneuver through both positive and negative news with an end goal of recovery. However, the impacts were not solely felt in programming, financially the TBID braced for a significant revenue shortfall. Following the activation of the City’s Fiscal Health Contingency Plan, the TBID began instituting budget reductions in the form of contract reductions and a purchasing chill. COVID-19 has made massive impacts across all TBID activities. Throughout this report, COVID-19 will be referenced and descriptions on the specific impacts will be provided in each of the TBID’s programs areas. DRAFT 3 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Table of Contents Background on TBID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Advisory Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 2019-20 Advisory Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Advisory Body Bylaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 2019-20 Year By the Numbers (TOT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Strategic Plan Implementation Year & Program Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Constituent Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 TBID Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Branding & Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Paid Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Paid Social . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Search Engine Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Print Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Email Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Shareslo Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Influencer Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Travel & Tradeshows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Special Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Guest Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Strategic Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Industry Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 2019-20 Financial Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Expenditures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Looking Ahead to 2019–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 TOT Chart 2019-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 TOT Month-to-Month 2019-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 OCC Month-to-Month 2019-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 ADR Month-to-Month 2019-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 RevPar Month-to-Month 2019-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Visitor Personas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 DRAFT 4 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Background on TBID SLO TBID OPERATIONS SUMMARY BACKGROUND In June 2008 the City Council adopted Ordinance 1517 establishing the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) in the City of San Luis Obispo as requested by the local lodging industry. The assessment of two percent of gross receipts for the district became effective on October 1, 2008 and the use of funds was defined in Section 12.42.030 of the Municipal Code as follow: “This ordinance is made and enacted pursuant to the provisions of the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989 (Sections 36500 et. seq., of the California Streets and Highways Code). The purpose of forming the district as a business improvement area under the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989 is to provide revenue to defray the costs of services, activities and programs promoting tourism which will benefit the operators of hotels in the district through the promotion of scenic, recreational, cultural and other attractions in the district as a tourist destination.” ADVISORY BODY The use of the assessment fund is based on the recommendation of the Tourism Business Improvement District advisory board that is staffed by City of San Luis Obispo hotel owners, operators, and/or managers. The board members are appointed by the City Council and serve for an initial term of four years with the opportunity to serve a second term for a maximum of eight years. 2019-20 ADVISORY BOARD NAME PROPERTY STATUS TERM Dean Hutton Apple Farm Inn Resigned Bruce Skidmore (Vice Chair) Embassy Suites by Hilton San Luis Obispo 3/31/21 LeBren Harris Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton 3/31/21 Pragna Patel-Mueller Hotel Buena Vista 3/31/23 Nipool Patel Lamplighter Inn & Suites Completed Clint Pearce Madonna Inn Appointed 3/31/21 John Conner (Chair)Petit Soleil Appointed 3/31/24 Kristin Battaglia The Kinney SLO Resigned DRAFT 5 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Background on TBID ADVISORY BODY BYLAWS In addition to the governing City ordinance, the TBID Board established its advisory body bylaws and further defined its role and functions as: The functions and duties of the TBID Board shall include, but not be limited to, the following: A. Planning a comprehensive program to promote tourism to the City of San Luis Obispo and prepare an annual marketing program consistent with industry goals and objectives. B. Develop advertising and promotional programs and projects to benefit the lodging industry in San Luis Obispo. C. Present an annual assessment report to the City Council regarding the implemented promotional programs and projects. D. Perform any other lawful tasks as directed by the Council. The Board meets monthly on the second Wednesday at 10 a.m. for its regular board meeting. In 2019-20, the Board met a total of 16 times for regularly scheduled Monthly Board Meetings and Special Board Meetings. They held 11 regularly scheduled Monthly Board Meetings, one rescheduled Special Board Meeting due to staff’s TBID related travel, one Special Board meeting related to timely TBID action, and three Special Board Meetings related to the Marketing Service Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Additionally, the Board utilized the two standing committees (composed of board members) - the Management Committee and the Marketing Committee, to execute detailed work and form thoroughly considered recommendations to the Board. In 2019-20, the TBID also formed an RFP taskforce to work with staff in establishing the RFP document and terms which was executed in winter 2020. DRAFT 6 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Background on TBID 2019-20 YEAR BY THE NUMBERS (TOT) The 2019-20 year proved to be the most extreme year for tourism in the City of San Luis Obispo in recent history. This fiscal year brought the much-anticipated opening of three new lodging properties in the City – La Quinta Inn & Suites, Hotel SLO and Hotel Cerro – which combined added more than 245 new rooms into the city’s lodging inventory. This increase of more than 10% was monumental and while the market expected to feel an impact from this new availability nothing prepared the TBID of the severe and immediate impact that COVID-19 would make on our tourism industry. As a result, in the 2019-20 fiscal year, the City collected less than $X million dollars (x%) in transient occupancy tax (TOT) -- $X below the original projected budget. Occupancy too was dramatically impacted this year with a steep decline of 18.2% which equates to an average annual occupancy rate slightly under 58% for the year. Prior to COVID-19 the occupancy for the City has down about 1% which was in line with expectations resulting from the increased new inventory. However, the most negatively impacted occupancy months began in March and carried through the end of the fiscal year. Over that four-month period alone, the City saw a decline of more than 52% in occupancy – with April being the lowest month reporting less than 18% in total occupancy – nearly a 77% decrease from the same month the prior year. In terms of Average Daily Rate (ADR), the City saw a less drastic decline in the annual results. In 2019-20 ADR was down 5.4% to $144.86 which is nearly the rate achieved in 2017-18. Fortunately, while in total the decline in ADR was not as severe as the occupancy figures, it was a very disappointing end to a productive year. Prior to COVID-19 the city was showing a strong growth year of over 3% which was a stellar trajectory for the value of stays in San Luis Obispo. The last key indicator used by the TBID to gauge impact is RevPAR, defined as Revenue Per Available Room and in the 2019-20 fiscal year RevPAR was down 19.2% to $87.64. Finally, the downtown Visitor Center served nearly 63,000 in-person guests – which was down most dramatically beginning in March while the in-person Visitor Center was closed for operation in accordance with the Statewide Stay at Home order. Prior to March 2020, the San Luis Obispo lodging properties achieved twenty-two impacted or near sellout weekends, which was slightly up from the summer, fall and early-winter the prior year. 2019-20 YEAR BY THE NUMBERS See the appendix for complete graphs. MEASUREMENT FY 2019-20 RESULT % CHANGE FROM FY 2019-20 TOT $6,318,927 7.4 % Occupancy 57.74%-18.2% ADR $144.86 -5.4% RevPAR $87.64 -19.2% DRAFT 7 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Strategic Plan Implementation Year & Program Approach STRATEGIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION The 2019-20 fiscal year was the first implementation year for the newly adopted 2019‐24 TBID Strategic Plan. This document serves as one piece of the framework for the direction and decisions made by the TBID Board for the tourism program this fiscal year. As defined within the plan, the TBID focused on fulfillment of four Strategic Imperatives: • Elevate the SLO Brand and Experience • Deliver Smart Growth • Build Meaningful Partnerships • Ensure Organizational Excellence Each of these imperatives contain objectives and initiatives that the TBID Board strives to achieve in the life of the plan. During fiscal year 2019-20, the TBID established and adopted a corresponding workplan that prioritized and assigned each initiative to aid in its pending completion.San Luis Obispo TBID Strategic Direction 2019—2024 VISION MISSION VALUES REPUTATION POSITION A welcoming community with a vibrant economy that enriches the lives of visitors and residents alike We share the abundance of SLO, driving the lodging economy and serving as the voice of our stakeholders •Service •Leadership •Adaptability •Collaboration •Essential •Approachable •Strategic •Driven •Effective The SLO TBID stewards the brand of San Luis Obispo and represents its lodging partners, driving overnight stays by: • Telling the San Luis Obispo story via targeted marketing content and activities • Serving as a convener and subject matter expert for tourism conversations impacting the destination •Advancing strategic partnerships that extend the reach and influence of the SLO TBID IMPERATIVES OBJECTIVES INITIATIVES Elevate the SLO Brand and Experience •Increase visitor awareness in target markets •Increase positive visitor perception • Identify the core SLO identity and develop a plan to market it • Establish a TBID social responsibility program •Identify opportunities to influence community placemaking and destination management efforts Deliver Smart Growth •Grow RevPAR by 4% year-over-year, adjusted for inflation •Year-over-year growth in TOT, adjusted for inflation • Year-over-year growth in ratio of weekday to weekend occupancy • Develop a group sales strategy • Develop a mid-week promotion program • Develop a local business travel program to drive visitation •Influence the SLO conference center development plan and effort • Develop an approach to monitoring local sentiment related to tourism Build Meaningful Partnerships •Increase year-over-year average Earned Partnership Value score •Grow economic impact of tourism in SLO, adjusted for inflation • Identify and develop BOLD partnerships that generate overnight stays • Create a partnership management plan using measurable goals that are in line with our TBID Mission Ensure Organizational Excellence • Growth in member newsletter open rates • Growth in stakeholder satisfaction score on survey • Develop an organizational resilience plan • Establish and document a process to execute, evaluate and track strategic plan • Identify opportunities to streamline governance and leverage constituency of TBID DRAFT 8 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Constituent Relations CONSTITUENT RELATIONS As an important commitment to the imperative to “Ensure Organizational Excellence” the TBID Board continued to expand their constituent relations efforts in 2019-20. The TBID Board continued the quarterly constituent newsletter that provides all interested constituents with information including updates on Board activities, opportunities for seasonal promotions, and items impacting their industry. Additionally, in 2019-20 the SLO TBID welcomed new hotel properties in San Luis Obispo. To connect to the new lodging properties, the Board invited representatives to present at a monthly Board meeting to meet their colleagues and learn about each other. To keep the lodging constituency abreast of all TBID business, the Board was assigned properties to laisse. Each board member was responsible for communication with his/her respective group of hotels and then asked to report out on their findings during the “Hotel Update” portion of each Board meeting agenda. Lastly, for the eighth year the TBID leveraged the outreach support of the SLO Chamber’s contracted services to perform weekly lodging call arounds and quarterly hotel visits. This resulted in 4,243 touch points with San Luis Obispo hotels through phone calls and emails, and four quarterly visits to distribute downtown maps and other import visitor serving collateral. In addition, to aid in COVID-19 efforts the Visitor Center team expanded the weekly lodging call arounds to include survey questions and outreach information to inform our City response team on impacts, concerns and trends reported directly by the hotels. Through this response effort, the Visitor Center team also supported the TBID in the personal delivery of complementary PPE including hand sanitizer and masks to all lodging properties in the City of SLO. DRAFT 9 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities SLO TBID MARKETING ACTIVITIES IN 2019-20 THE TBID BOARD FOCUSED ON THE FOLLOWING KEY MARKETING ACTIVITIES: • 2019-2020 Campaign Production - Produced 8 videos for digital campaign and social - Developed a new “Be Here” creative for print and digital • Executed new Sip Stay & Save fall promotion w/ Uber vouchers • Google Destination partnership with Visit SLO CAL • Updated all assets to VisitSLO.com • Successful Money for a Rainy Day promotion and Raincheck extension • Successful Denver Tradeshow with new partnerships • Expanded Influencer Marketing with SLO Chamber • Gathered new photography and videography assets • Prompt COVID-19 pandemic response and planning In order to implement the complex marketing programs, the TBID Board and staff worked closely with the team of contractors including AMF Media Group and Matchfire as the final year serving as the marketing agencies on record, and the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce for Public Relations and Guest Service initiatives. DRAFT 10 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities BRANDING & CAMPAIGN The TBID manages the tourism brand for the destination of San Luis Obispo, delivering balanced growth of tourism, with creativity and integrity. The TBID uses the brand messaging pillars outlined below to showcase the unique offerings in San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo Brand Messaging Pillars: • Cultural • Culinary • Outdoor • Family The campaign messaging and aesthetic was meant to inspire visitors to feel like their true self in San Luis Obispo, and the evolution of the “Be Here” campaign meant to inspire the emotions connected to why people love visiting San Luis Obispo. To tell this story, new promotional assets were produced to keep the message fresh and inspiring. This included: the production of new photo and video assets featuring a variety of new landscapes, activities and people captured, and refreshed creative ads that were continually being rolled out for the print placements and digital campaigns. DRAFT 11 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities WEBSITE SanLuisObispoVacations .com to VisitSLO .com The City’s official tourism website got a new name in 2019-20. The URL transitioned from SanLuisObispoVacations.com to the newly acquired VisitSLO.com. This website is the primary marketing tool used to represent the destination. It is designed mainly for consumers, but also serves the travel trade, meeting planners, TBID members and media. It features robust content including a detailed calendar of events integrated with SLO Happenings, lodging property listings for all TBID constituents including hotels and permitted homestay properties, itinerary suggestions and features, the ShareSLO blog, and featured press coverage. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ensures the relevancy and success of the TBID’s website. Organic search traffic to the site continues to stand as the top traffic channel, making up 40% of site sessions in 2019-20 or nearly 76,000 sessions. The work is done monthly to optimize pages with top keywords, meta tags and meta descriptions. Additionally, the ShareSLO blog posts and social content were created based on forecasted keyword and search trends. Overall, regardless of the effort put into the site this fiscal year to ensure its searchability and relevancy, due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacts in consumer travel intent and trip planning behaviors, the website saw a significant decrease in all key metrics across the chart. KEY METRICS YEAR END TOTALS YOY % CHANGE Sessions 190,417 -14% Pageviews 348,661 -15% Users 160,029 -10% PAGES YEAR END TOTALS (PAGEVIEWS)YOY % CHANGE Find a Hotel 51,586 -7% Find a Homestay 3,099 -13% GOAL CONVERSIONS YEAR END TOTALS (CLICKS)YOY % CHANGE Book Now 3,334 -32% Visit Website 2,145 -22% Website 6,353 -32% Key Website Activities: • Relaunch of VisitSLO.com • Redesign to add over 500 business listings • New search feature by location & category • Addition of annual events page • Media section rebuild • Groups sales form implementation • #ShareSLO blog update • COVID traveler alerts throughout pandemic DRAFT 12 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities PAID MEDIA The TBID paid media focus remained targeted in 2019-20 to dedicated geographic markets including Los Angeles, Bay Area and San Diego. In addition, the TBID expanded into new flight markets in Denver, Colorado, Seattle, Washington and Dallas, Texas through dedicated campaigns corresponding to seasonal promotions. The 2019-20 paid media strategy included: • Video focus (move away from static ads) • Target Seattle/West Coast fly zone for the fall promotion • Geofence tradeshows • Realign social spend on channels Online programmatic campaigns are the most effective marketing and advertising tool to target the drive markets in California for leisure travelers to San Luis Obispo. The TBID continues to use branded advertising to maximize online reach for the promotion of San Luis Obispo through strategic placement on top travel and lifestyle sites through a programmatic digital advertising program. Paid media was heavily dedicated toward digital display, mobile, email targeting and SEM. The 2019-20 paid media strategy tactics included: • Programmatic Retargeting • Native Video • Gmail Promotional Tab Targeting • Search Engine Marketing (SEM) • Social: Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest • Geofencing the Denver Tradeshow The targeted paid media campaign for the TBID was scheduled to run from September – May, however due to the onset of COVID-19 the TBID paused and eventually cancelled all paid media mid-March. 5,601,447 TOTAL IMPRESSIONS 856,217 TOTAL CLICKS 15% TOTAL CTR DRAFT 13 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING - SEM Search Engine Marketing is one portion of the TBID’s “always-on” adverting tactics. However, in 2019-20 the TBID “turned-off” this channel at the beginning of April due to the impacts of COVID-19. From July 2019-March 2020, SEM delivered 606,000 impressions and 13,558 direct clicks to the TBID’s website. The refined messaging in key word phrases and terms zeroed in on top performers that allowed the marketing agency to adjust the campaign accordingly to ensure a very high click through rate was achieved. The top performing areas were for the SEM campaign were Los Angeles, San Jose, San Diego, San Francisco, and Ventura. SEM Highlights: • Total Impressions: 606,080 • Total Clicks: 13,558 • CTR: 2.24% • Top searched phrases -Cheap weekend getaway -Things to do in San Luis Obispo PAID SOCIAL In 2019-20 the TBID realigned the invest in paid social media as a means of advertising. The tactics were shifted back to that of prior years with reallocating the investment back into Facebook as well as Instagram and Pinterest. The strategy was performing very well for the TBID, however as all aspects of the TBID program, paid social was cancelled in March 2020. 13,163,614 TOTAL IMPRESSIONS 34,224 TOTAL CLICKS .26% TOTAL CTR PRINT ADVERTISING Limited print advertising placements were continued in the TBID’s media mix for the 2019-20 fiscal year. Traditional print campaigns are an important tool to reach niche market visitors primarily in the mature demographic and to reinforce travel inspiration while building brand awareness for the destination. In general, the TBID placed print ads only in cooperative advertising campaigns with regional partners like SLO Coast Wine Collective and the Central Coast Tourism Council (CCTC). Placements Included: • Visit SLO CAL Visitors Guide • SLO Chamber Visitors Guide • Cal Poly Program Ad & Visiting Teams Guide • USA Today • Alaska Air • CCTC Map & Co-op Ad DRAFT 14 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities EMAIL MARKETING The TBID continued to utilize email marketing activities through the newsletter to communicate regularly with potential visitors on activities in SLO to build brand loyalty and encourage repeat visitation and an extended length of stay. The newsletter promotes upcoming events and special promotions as well as compliments our seasonal advertising campaigns and public relations outreach. In 2019-20, the TBID continued their focused attention on enhancing their email marketing efforts beyond the monthly newsletter. Their investment in marketing automation continued to garner new email subscribers through the TBID site with over 3,000 new subscribers in 2019-20. Although during COVID-19 response efforts, the TBID paused promotional emails, the TBID continued the Welcome Series to acknowledge new subscribers and continued the nurture campaign series which sent visitors a personalized email if they left hotel pages without taking action. Email Activities Include: • Welcome Series • Hotel & Homestay page nurture series • Monthly SLO Happenings • Bi-monthly consumer email • Quarterly member email • Ongoing promotional emails 3,069 NEW LEADS 46% AVG . OPEN RATE 2 .2 5% AVG . CTR DRAFT 15 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities SHARESLO PROGRAM - SOCIAL, BLOG & INFLUENCER MARKETING The ShareSLO program is an evergreen content campaign created and used by the TBID to tell the unique and interesting stories about San Luis Obispo. The program encompasses the TBID’s owned content channels which includes social media platforms and the #ShareSLO blog. Throughout 2019-20, the TBID continued to captivate ShareSLO fans and grow the social media footprint through great, engaging content. ShareSLO leveraged user-generated content coupled with engaging social storytelling to drive organic social traffic to VisitSLO.com, especially through to the blog. The ShareSLO blog continues to perform exceptionally well as a source of organic traffic to VisitSLO.com Amongst other content, every Tuesday on Instagram the TBID featured #TicketTuesday. This campaign was originally created by the Promotional Coordinating Committee to promote special events or SLO Happenings in our community, but in 2019-20 the TBID absorbed the campaign into #ShareSLO. However, unlike so many other programs implemented in 2019-20 by the TBID, the COVID-19 pandemic shinned a bright light on the TBID’s owned content channels and #ShareSLO became the focus. While the TBID reduced the overall amount of weekly posts to avoid information fatigue, the community continued to look to #ShareSLO for uplifting stories. Through the direct work of the TBID, the familiar #SLOtogether movement was created which gave a voice and a platform to share the positive community stories happening in San Luis Obispo during the time of crisis. The #SLOtogether moniker was quickly adopted by the City and embraced by the community. ShareSLO Highlights: • ShareSLO Blog -#2 most visited page -Published 50 new blogs -Top blogs: SLO Happy Hours; Top 15 Iconic Views in SLO; Top Things to Do in Downtown SLO • Ticket Tuesday -4,538 entries -216,250 total reach • #SLOTogether – COVID-19 Response -1,578 total blog reads -1,000+ uses of #SLOTogether 127,832 TOTAL AUDIENCE 18,494,117 TOTAL REACH 67,880 TOTAL ENGAGEMENTS DRAFT 16 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities INFLUENCER MARKETING Building from the success of the hosted Influencer Strategy & Program in the year prior, in 2019-20 the TBID returned to a paid Influencer Marketing campaign. Word of mouth is one of the most trusted forms of advertising for a tourism brand as it relates to influencing the behaviors of potential customers. While the concept of word of mouth marketing is not a new tactic, it has been greatly empowered with the rise of social media. Social Media has introduced a new level of individual influence that is changing how consumers research and plan their next vacation. Individual influence becomes powerful with engaging, polished content and distribution that aligns with the destination’s brand values. The TBID’s paid approach in 2019-20 was to source highly influential, inspirational influencers that fall within the key geographic destinations to support the larger TBID marketing initiatives. Each activation was unique to the influencer’s brand with hand selected SLO itineraries. The majority of the paid Influencer activations in 2019-20 were used to promote and build awareness of the TBID’s seasonal promotional campaigns – Sip, Stay & Save and Money for a Rainy Day. Influencer Highlights: • Total Days in Market 47 • Total Newsfeed Posts 50 • Total IG Stories 465 • Total Blogs 12 • Over 1,504 new @ShareSLO followers 12 TOTAL INFLUENCERS 6,912,801 TOTAL REACH 187,812 TOTAL ENGAGEMENTS DRAFT 17 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities PUBLIC RELATIONS In 2019-20, the TBID and PCC continued to jointly hold a dedicated contract with the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce for Public Relations efforts. On behalf of the City’s Community Promotions program, the SLO Chamber is responsible for establishing professional relationships with media outlets and journalists in various markets to build and maintain awareness of San Luis Obispo as a travel destination. The contract elements included: pitching to media, bringing in media, coordinating media trips, sending out media releases, responding to natural media inquiries, use of the Chamber’s photography library for editorial requests and press releases, planning and executing press trips and developing media kits. However, to further refine and develop the destination Public Relations efforts, the TBID and PCC invested in the development of a Destination Promotion Public Relations Strategic Plan. This plan laid the foundation for the year’s earned media success for the Public Relations activities for the City of San Luis Obispo. Additionally, coordinated media visits or press trips were secured to promote the destination with the goal of earning valuable editorial coverage. In fiscal year 2019-20, over 50 journalists were hosted in San Luis Obispo through individual press visits. A new work effort in Public Relations in 2019-20 was the coordination of a group media familiarization trip also known as a FAM. While the TBID participates in many cooperative group FAMs annually, this was the first time the TBID has served as the lead agency for a group FAM in many years. The group FAM, themed as Unpretentious Luxury, was used a destination outreach tactic to highlight the undeniably luxurious yet irresistibly easy-going lifestyle of San Luis Obispo through showcasing the destination in this new space. In a shared partnership with the two new luxury boutique properties in downtown, six writers for luxury segment publications were hosted in SLO in exchange for media coverage. Publications represented included: AFAR; The Points Guy; VIA; The San Francisco Chronicle; and Haute Living. This focused PR effort continued to prove success for San Luis Obispo. During the 2019-20 fiscal year, the PR activities generated at over 200 mentions or media placements that highlighted San Luis Obispo in international, national, regional and even local publications. Top media coverage included: Travel + Leisure; National Geographic; Sunset Magazine; Forbes; Business Insider; and The Los Angeles Times. San Luis Obispo topped the list once again including: • The Winners of Our Readers’ Choice 2019 Travel Awards • Here are 13 of the world’s best new green hotels • The Best Online Film Festivals of 2020 • 18 Best Drive-In Movie Theaters in the U.S. • These Eight Towns Are Exceptionally Committed to Sustainability • 2020 America’s Best Small Cities • The Very Best Places to Live (and visit) in the West This Year • The Best Cities for Bikes • Where to Go In 2020: 10 of the Best Places to Travel in the United States • 11 Scenic American Road Trips to Take This Spring • America’s 5 Greatest Drives PUBLIC RELATIONS MEASUREMENTS Number of Mentions 202 Potential Reach 1,045,698,300 DRAFT 18 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities TRAVEL & TRADESHOWS Consumer Travel Shows The TBID continued to maximize the consumer travel show strategy but pivoted with a new focus on one event in a fly market to not oversaturate the drive market shows each year. Consumer shows provide the TBID an opportunity to take San Luis Obispo on the road to key markets. Annual shows are selected based on their anticipated attendance, quality of attendees, and target drive and fly market location. In 2019-20 the TBID solely focused on the Denver Travel & Adventure Show which is a consumer focused tradeshow. This show was unique for the TBID due to the newly formed partnership with MINBDODY and Malene Wines to create a larger impact. The booth featured the Mini-Malene Airstream, Malene Rose wine, logoed photo opportunities and key information on San Luis Obispo including lodging information, maps, and more. Booth visitors were also presented with the opportunity to enter to win a SLO Getaways sweepstakes however, the winner of this sweepstake was delayed in claiming their trip due to COVID-19. Through the partnership with MINDBODY the TBID was able to receive additional exposure through sponsoring a travel seminar speaker on the second day of the tradeshow and participate in additional branding throughout the entire tradeshow marketing efforts. The TBID also ran a special promotion for tradeshow attendees to claim an Uber voucher for a future visit to San Luis Obispo to build visitation after the show. Due to the new partnership and efforts, an influencer event was added to the roadshow which provided additional coverage on San Luis Obispo to a key fly market. CONSUMER TRADE SHOW MEASUREMENTS Number of Shows Attended 1 Newsletter Registrations Collected 1482 Industry Tradeshows The TBID traditionally participates in the industry tradeshow IPW annually. The U.S. Travel Association’s IPW is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and the largest generator of travel to the U.S. Unfortunately, due to the impacts of COVID-19 this show was cancelled for the first time in its history. DRAFT 19 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities SPECIAL PROMOTIONS Sip, Stay & Save – Fall Promotion In 2019-20, the TBID added a new seasonal promotion to their offerings. This promotion ran from October 1 – November 30, 2019 to promote the fall harvest season and was called “Sip, Stay & Save”. It offered $100 in Uber credits and a welcoming wine bag tote to new guests that booked two or more consecutive nights in a SLO hotel. This promotion was a pilot for a new seasonal promotion including a partnership with SLO Coast Wine Collective to increase overnight stays after the Summer months and to encourage safe rides around San Luis Obispo while wine tasting. It garnered 95 room nights booked with a 2.5 average night stay. In addition to the new type of incentive of Uber credits, the TBID focused on awareness and promotion through influencers and public relations. The result of hosting influencers provided reach to 941,000 viewers and new advertising impressions served 1.55 million potential visitors. Money for a Rainy Day – Winter Promotion In light of the previous four years of success, the TBID Board offered the “Money for a Rainy Day” special promotion again with a new increase to 750 total entries available for additional visitor opportunities instead of the traditional 500 available entries. It was intended to drive overnight stays in the City of San Luis Obispo during the traditional slowest months of the year between January - March. Through the promotion, visitors were required to book and stay for a minimum of two consecutive nights at a lodging property in the City of San Luis Obispo and they would receive a $100 cash to spend how they choose. As a result, the promotion garnered 1,270 qualified room nights during January through March even with the impacts of COVID-19. A new element to this year’s campaign was partnering five influencers to further promote San Luis Obispo as a whole and generating new blog content, video, photography, and social posts. This increased @ShareSLO’s new followers by 801. Although the campaign did officially sell out on March 7, 2020 those qualified stays scheduled to arrive in March 2020 were impacted due to COVID-19 and statewide Stay at Home order. A “Raincheck” was offered to those 144 qualified entries who were unable to visit and claim their $100. Those 144 guests were provided the opportunity to rebook a two-night stay from June 29, 2020 to December 31, 2020. DRAFT 20 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities GUEST SERVICES Through a dedicated contract with the TBID, the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce provides a suite of guest services to the TBID. In 2019-20 this included:: • Provide dedicated customer service for San Luis Obispo City hotels at the Downtown Visitor Center. • Provide an 1-800-number separate phone line exclusively for the TBID. Only SLO TBID properties will be recommended through this phone line. Provide staff to respond to a TBID-only phone line during Visitor Center Hours and return afterhours phone calls. The SLO Chamber is contracted for the Visitor Center to answer each call made to the TBID’s 1-877-SLO- TOWN number, which serves as a response tool to the TBID’s advertising efforts and digital presence. This creates the option for a ‘real person’ to assist in trip planning, ensuring that travelers seeking personal guidance have a friendly, live voice to shape their experience of San Luis Obispo before even arriving. The telephone number, 1-877-SLO-TOWN, is a separate line that rings in the Chamber and is used solely to refer TBID properties and promote San Luis Obispo as a destination. During fiscal year 2019-20 over 1,300 calls were answered on the 1-877-SLO-TOWN line, an increase of 17% over the prior year. Much of this is attributed to the seasonal promotions, new connections made with Cal Poly Parents & Supporters and phone calls related to visitor inquiries related to COVID-19. Although the Visitor Center was closed between March and June due to the statewide Stay at Home order, the communication line was continuously staffed through the closure and added accommodations were made for Guest Services including the Live Chat widget on VisitSLO.com that received over 100 conversations during the Visitor Center closure. DRAFT 21 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS The TBID collaborates with numerous community partners and industry nonprofit organizations in marketing San Luis Obispo as a destination which makes the TBID more efficient in promotional activities. The TBID’s strategic partnerships allow the marketing agencies to build relationships with the organizations below, elevating the destination as a whole. Promotional opportunities with each organization give the TBID new platforms and audiences to build brand awareness. Top partnerships include: • Cal Poly Athletics • SLO Coast Wine Collective • Cal Poly’s Office of Student Affairs –New Student & Transition Programs & Parent Program • MINDBODY Event Promotion In fiscal year 2019-20, the TBID sponsored, promoted, and was represented at five large events in San Luis Obispo through a new piloted event promotion program called the SLO Happenings Sponsorship. Over the course of the year, the TBID continued to shape an event strategy to ensure all SLO TBID-sponsored events are well-aligned with the brand, and that expectations and best practices were clear while having an outward visitor facing approach. These guidelines allowed the TBID to reach visitors before, during, and after an event takes place, which in turn arms the TBID with the tools needed to leverage events and put heads in beds. In 2019-20, the TBID changed their approach to supporting events through two simple application options: hosted lodging sponsorship or marketing sponsorships. This helped save agency and staff hours to focus on TBID marketing efforts while also creating a process for event organizers to directly align the use of sponsorship dollars with the goal of increasing out of area visitor attendees. The application process also changed from an annual review to a quarterly application process to better serve high caliber events all year. The review of applications was completed by the Marketing Committee who created and used a successful matrix system to allocate sponsorship funds based on the goal of increasing out of area visitors to the event and into San Luis Obispo lodging properties. The program was a success but was suspended as of April due to COVID-19 and did not accept any Q4 applications. The 2019-20 sponsored events were not directly impacted by COVID-19 except for the 2020 San Luis Obispo Film Festival who was able to pivot and use any remaining marketing funds toward an online viewing festival. Unfortunately, their hosted rooms sponsorship was no longer needed and was forfeited. DRAFT 22 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS (CONT .) TBID Sponsored Events: • Sustainable Ag Expo & International Sustainable Winegrowing Summit • Mission Prep Christmas Classic • San Luis Obispo Symphony’s New Year’s Eve POPS: A Night at the Oscars • SLO Craft Beer Festival • San Luis Obispo International Film Festival EVENT SPONSORSHIP MEASUREMENTS Number of Events Sponsored 5 Estimated Total Number of Event Attendees Reached through Sponsorship 12,025 Total Sponsorship Investment $ 32,964 DRAFT 23 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 TBID Activities INDUSTRY RELATIONS California Hotel & Lodging Association (CHLA) The California Hotel & Lodging Association (CHLA) protects the rights and interests of the California lodging industry. Legislative advocacy, educational training, communication, and cost-saving programs are provided for all segments of the industry. Through the TBID, all lodging properties in the City of SLO are members of CHLA and can utilize the services offered. In 2019-20, CHLA provided an educational training for all TBID members regarding Human Trafficking. This training was provided complimentary and provided the access to meet the required staff certification. Additionally, during COVID-19 crisis response, CHLA was a key partner in industry education, outreach and communication. CHLA also partnered with the TBID to provide PPE for all lodging properties in the San Luis Obispo. Visit California The Visit California partnership has been critical in the growth of the TBID’s brand within the California Tourism product. San Luis Obispo has received coverage though the marketing activities performed by Visit California including travel trade, press, and industry outreach. Monthly submissions are uploaded to Visit California for media outreach, trade contacts, and newsletter content. Additionally, the TBID maintains ongoing coordination to keep City of San Luis Obispo destination page up to date. ShareSLO also participated in Visit California sponsored Twitter chats. The TBID attended the Visit California Outlook Forum educational event in the spring and was nominated for a prestigious California Poppy Award. Central Coast Tourism Council The Central Coast Tourism Council (CCTC) is an organization of tourism and hospitality professionals whose marketing efforts accomplish collectively what no single tourism entity can do alone—promote the entire California Central Coast as a destination and maximize our members’ tourism revenue. The CCTC serves as the Central Coast’s voice in Sacramento, and partners with California Tourism’s global marketing and advertising campaigns. The TBID is actively involved in CCTC with the Tourism Manager as the Past President and Regional Board Member. In 2019-20, the TBID leveraged the CCTC activities through media and trade leads, blog and social presence, and travel trade leads, as well as cooperative participation the new east coast marketing campaign. Visit SLO CAL The TBID maintains participation with Visit SLO CAL by having a representative on the Board of Directors and the Tourism Manager on the Marketing Committee. The TBID Board leverages the partnership with Visit SLO CAL to promote San Luis Obispo on a national and international level- beyond the local and state reach the TBID’s marketing plan focus to achieve. The TBID’s participation in Visit SLO CAL also encompasses group sales, film commission, countywide public relations, and countywide special events like Restaurant Month and Wine Month. Not to mention inclusion in countywide strategic planning efforts, Destination Management efforts, and the renewal of the Tourism Marketing District – to name a few. DRAFT 24 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 2019-20 Financial Analysis 2019-20 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS INCOME SOURCE 2019-20 2019-20 COVID TOT Revenue Assumption $8,033,000 $6,177,377 TBID Assessment Revenue Assumption (20% of TOT Revenue) $1,606,600 $1,134,371 2018-19 Carryover $66,000 $66,000 TBID Fund Reserve $100,000 $10,000 2019-20 TBID Program Budget $1,672,600 $1,200,371 INCOME DRAFT 25 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 2019-20 Financial Analysis EXPENDITURE ALLOCATED COVID ADJ . Operations/Staffing Administration Overhead (2% of TBID Assessment) $32,132 $22,687 Staffing (1 FTE & .75 FTE) $203,800 $203,800 Contracts & Marketing Projects AMF/Matchfire - Marketing Contract $916,000 $807,000 Chamber of Commerce - PR $51,000 $51,000 Communications Plan $3,000 $3,000 Chamber of Commerce - Guest Services $47,500 $47,500 Chamber of Commerce - Media Monitoring Service Fee $8,820 $8,400 CCTC UK co-op $3,000 $1,600 Website Acquisition - Chamber $47,500 $47,500 Website Acquisition - Matchfire $16,000 $16,000 Media & FAM Trip Hosting $5,000 $544 Partnerships Cal Poly Athletics $96,500 $83,300 SLO Wine $19,000 $19,000 SLO Wine Media Hosting $1,000 $- Cal Poly Student Affairs $20,000 $- Events Promotion General Events Promotion $60,000 $31,714 Tradeshows Tradeshows & Travel Shows $43,000 $32,686 Tourism Conferences $8,000 $3,500 Tourism Organizations/Research Central Coast Tourism Council Membership $1,000 $850 Smith Travel Report $3,000 $2,700 California Travel Association (Cal Travel) $1,000 $875 California Hotel & Lodging Association $26,566 $26,566 Strategic Plan Implementation & Research $25,000 $- Support/Meetings Tourism Program Expenses $4,000 $1,000 Total Allocated Expenditure $1,641,818 $1,411,222 Prior to COVID-19, the TBID Fund had a fund balance of approximately $456,000 including the TBID Fund Reserve. The deficit of approximately $211,000 from 2019-20 expenditures will be covered by the available fund balance. EXPENDITURES DRAFT 26 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Looking Ahead to 2020–21 LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020-21 In spring of 2020, the TBID Board completed the robust request for proposal (RFP) process for the 2020- 22 Tourism Marketing Services. Like most TBID programs in 2019-20, this process was severely impacted by COVID-19. Shortly after receiving the proposals the Board was forced to reduce the expected contract amount by half. All submitting agencies elected to continue in the process, and as a result in May 2020 the Board retained Noble Studios and DCI as the new agencies of record for fiscal 2020-22. As the TBID moves into 2020-21, there are three key issues that remain top of mind for the work of the Board in the next fiscal year: 1. COVID-19 and the continued impending impacts economically and socially 2. Onboarding of the new Tourism Marketing Agency contractor for the seamless transition and continuation of marketing efforts 3. Conscious approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in all TBID programs While these are not the only subjects that the TBID Board will be focused on, these three will influence the approach to all TBID related work efforts. In 2020-21, the Board is committed to the continued implementation of the 2019‐24 TBID Strategic Plan and eventually the development of a Destination Marketing Plan as we begin to recover from the pandemic. The Destination Marketing Plan coupled with the TBID Strategic Plan provides a foundation for building the City of SLO tourism brand and establishing real tactics for consistently improving tourism in the City of San Luis Obispo. DRAFT 27 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Appendix APPENDIX TOT CHART FOR 2019-20 TOT MONTH TO MONTH 2019-20 0 30 60 90 120 150 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 50 100 150 200 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 20 40 60 80 100 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 4000000 6000000 8000000 10000000 2019-202018-192017-18 2016-172015-162014-152013-142012-132011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2019-202018-19 0 30 60 90 120 150 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 50 100 150 200 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 20 40 60 80 100 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 4000000 6000000 8000000 10000000 2019-202018-192017-18 2016-172015-162014-152013-142012-132011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2019-202018-19 DRAFT 28 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Appendix OCC MONTH TO MONTH 2019-20 ADR MONTH TO MONTH 2019-20 0 30 60 90 120 150 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 50 100 150 200 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 20 40 60 80 100 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 2000004000006000008000001000000 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 40000006000000800000010000000 2019-202018-192017-18 2016-172015-162014-152013-142012-132011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2019-202018-19 0 30 60 90 120 150 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 50 100 150 200 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 20 40 60 80 100 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 0 200000 4000006000008000001000000 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 40000006000000800000010000000 2019-202018-192017-18 2016-172015-162014-152013-142012-132011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2019-202018-19 DRAFT 29 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Appendix REVPAR MONTH TO MONTH 2019-20 0 30 60 90 120 150 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 050100150200 2019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly 020406080100 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly020000040000060000080000010000002019-202018-19 JunMayAprMarFebJanDecNovOctSeptAugJuly400000060000008000000100000002019-202018-192017-18 2016-172015-162014-152013-142012-132011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2019-202018-19 DRAFT 30 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Appendix TRAVEL AS COUPLES The City of San Luis Obispo Visitor…VISITOR PERSONAS MEDIAN AGE 44.5 Age breakdown nearly even between U–35, 35–54, 55+ 73% COLLEGE GRADUATES 38% HAVE HHI OF $150K+ PER YEAR MAJORITY TRAVEL WITHOUT CHILDREN YOUNG DIGERATI UPPER CRUST The residents of Money & Brains seem to have it all—high incomes, advanced degrees, and sophisticated tastes to match their credentials. Many of these city dwellers are married couples with few children who live in fashionable homes on small, manicured lots with expensive cars in the driveway. Movers & Shakers are America's business class, a wealthy suburban world of dual income couples who are highly educated, typically between the ages of 45-64. Given its high percentage of executives and white collar professionals, there's a decided business bent to this segment as they enjoy reading business publications and visits to business oriented websites. Young Digerati are tech-savvy and live in fashionable neighborhoods on the urban fringe. Auent and highly educated, Young Digerati communities are typically filled with trend apartments and codos, fitness clubs and clothing boutiques, casual restaurants and all types of bars, from juice to coee to microbrew. Many have chosen to start families while remaining in an urban environment. The nation's most exclusive address, Upper Crust is a haven for wealthy empty-nesting couples over the age of 65. This segment has a high concentration of residents earning over $100k per year, and many posess a post-graduate degree. They have an oppulant standard of living—driving expensive cars and frequently eating out and traveling. Why Money & Brains matter for SLO… There are more Money & Brains residents in California than anywhere else in the United States, and they happen to live just a quick drive away in the Bay Area. They’re familiar with SLO and make up the largest portion of our interest list to-date. They may have attended Cal Poly, and perhaps their kids did, too. But now that they’re empty nesters, this group is ready to travel and has money to spend. They’re likely to put SLO on the list for its cultural and culinary experiences, and it’s just a short distance from home. Why Movers & Shakers matter for SLO… This business class has the most disposable income of SLO’s top 4 personas. They make up the second largest group in our interest database, and there’s good reason: Movers & Shakers are just a hop, skip, and a jump away in Marin County. They’re mostly empty nesters, but may have some older children in the house who aren’t likely to travel with them. Highly educated, the Movers & Shakers are looking for new experiences, and SLO has everything to oer them. Why Young Digerati matter for SLO… These auent 40-somethings lead busy lives, and want a getaway that’s quick, easy, and somewhat familiar. They’ll likely have kids in tow when they make their way from the Bay Area, and will need kid-friendly suggestions for restaurants, breweries, wineries, and other things to do. They travel to explore together, prioritizing experiences the whole family can enjoy over kids-only attractions. They’ll seek the outdoors, new and hip things to do, and photo-worthy moments with their loved ones. Why Upper Crust matter for SLO… Upper Crust residents have seen and done it all: they want to go where the crowds don’t go, and collect intimate moments, not Instagram photos. They’ll be looking for a laid back but sophisticated experience, which is just what SLO has to oer. Culinary, wine (specifically chardonnay), shopping and culture will appeal to this class. And if they come with friends, a round of golf may also be on the agenda. MONEY & BRAINS MOVERS & SHAKERS Reasons for Visiting… Family Trip or Getaway Weekend Relaxation, Weather, Restaurants, Scenery, Sightseeing, Outdoor Activities Attractions: Downtown, Mission Plaza, Creek Walk, Bubblegum Alley, Cal Poly, Hiking Biking Trails Proximity to the coast or visit new place Cross Visits… MORRO BAY Intercept interviews in City of SLO indicated that visitors may stay in Morro Bay, although visit SLO Of other destinations to visit, Morro Bay ranked highest, followed by Avila Beach and Pismo Beach Words/Phrases Used to Describe SLO… Beautiful 55%—Appears in Brand Intention Relaxing 10%—Appears in Brand Intention Friendly 8% Fun Peaceful Serene Online Survey: Beautiful, Picturesque, Relaxing, Fun, College Town, Quaint, Peaceful, Serene, Friendly Midlife success HHI $128k, 35-54, mostly with kids in household Highest index in San Francisco and Santa Clara Counties Listens to CBS radio Watches football and basketball Reads print edition New York Times and uses iPhone Auent, empty nests HHI $113k, mostly without kids in household Highest Index in Marin County Listens to news radio, classical, jazz Reads print edition of Wall Street Journal and New York Times Watches Fox Business Network and Golf Channel Auent, empty nests HHI $129k+, age 45-64, mostly without kids in household Highest index in Marin County Listens to news radio, CBS sports, adult alternative and talk/personality Reads newspaper on iPad Reads Wall Street Journal and New York Times Auent, empty nests HHI $105k, Age 55+, mostly without kids in household Highest index in San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara Listens to news radio, jazz and classical Reads New York Times, paper edition, and Wall Street Journal Watches basketball DRAFT 31 SLO TBID Annual Report 2019-20 Background on TBID TRAVEL AS COUPLES The City of San Luis Obispo Visitor…VISITOR PERSONAS MEDIAN AGE 44.5 Age breakdown nearly even between U–35, 35–54, 55+ 73% COLLEGE GRADUATES 38% HAVE HHI OF $150K+ PER YEAR MAJORITY TRAVEL WITHOUT CHILDREN YOUNG DIGERATI UPPER CRUST The residents of Money & Brains seem to have it all—high incomes, advanced degrees, and sophisticated tastes to match their credentials. Many of these city dwellers are married couples with few children who live in fashionable homes on small, manicured lots with expensive cars in the driveway. Movers & Shakers are America's business class, a wealthy suburban world of dual income couples who are highly educated, typically between the ages of 45-64. Given its high percentage of executives and white collar professionals, there's a decided business bent to this segment as they enjoy reading business publications and visits to business oriented websites. Young Digerati are tech-savvy and live in fashionable neighborhoods on the urban fringe. Auent and highly educated, Young Digerati communities are typically filled with trend apartments and codos, fitness clubs and clothing boutiques, casual restaurants and all types of bars, from juice to coee to microbrew. Many have chosen to start families while remaining in an urban environment. The nation's most exclusive address, Upper Crust is a haven for wealthy empty-nesting couples over the age of 65. This segment has a high concentration of residents earning over $100k per year, and many posess a post-graduate degree. They have an oppulant standard of living—driving expensive cars and frequently eating out and traveling. Why Money & Brains matter for SLO… There are more Money & Brains residents in California than anywhere else in the United States, and they happen to live just a quick drive away in the Bay Area. They’re familiar with SLO and make up the largest portion of our interest list to-date. They may have attended Cal Poly, and perhaps their kids did, too. But now that they’re empty nesters, this group is ready to travel and has money to spend. They’re likely to put SLO on the list for its cultural and culinary experiences, and it’s just a short distance from home. Why Movers & Shakers matter for SLO… This business class has the most disposable income of SLO’s top 4 personas. They make up the second largest group in our interest database, and there’s good reason: Movers & Shakers are just a hop, skip, and a jump away in Marin County. They’re mostly empty nesters, but may have some older children in the house who aren’t likely to travel with them. Highly educated, the Movers & Shakers are looking for new experiences, and SLO has everything to oer them. Why Young Digerati matter for SLO… These auent 40-somethings lead busy lives, and want a getaway that’s quick, easy, and somewhat familiar. They’ll likely have kids in tow when they make their way from the Bay Area, and will need kid-friendly suggestions for restaurants, breweries, wineries, and other things to do. They travel to explore together, prioritizing experiences the whole family can enjoy over kids-only attractions. They’ll seek the outdoors, new and hip things to do, and photo-worthy moments with their loved ones. Why Upper Crust matter for SLO… Upper Crust residents have seen and done it all: they want to go where the crowds don’t go, and collect intimate moments, not Instagram photos. They’ll be looking for a laid back but sophisticated experience, which is just what SLO has to oer. Culinary, wine (specifically chardonnay), shopping and culture will appeal to this class. And if they come with friends, a round of golf may also be on the agenda. MONEY & BRAINSMOVERS & SHAKERS Reasons for Visiting… Family Trip or Getaway Weekend Relaxation, Weather, Restaurants, Scenery, Sightseeing, Outdoor Activities Attractions: Downtown, Mission Plaza, Creek Walk, Bubblegum Alley, Cal Poly, Hiking Biking Trails Proximity to the coast or visit new place Cross Visits… MORRO BAY Intercept interviews in City of SLO indicated that visitors may stay in Morro Bay, although visit SLO Of other destinations to visit, Morro Bay ranked highest, followed by Avila Beach and Pismo Beach Words/Phrases Used to Describe SLO… Beautiful 55%—Appears in Brand Intention Relaxing 10%—Appears in Brand Intention Friendly 8% Fun Peaceful Serene Online Survey: Beautiful, Picturesque, Relaxing, Fun, College Town, Quaint, Peaceful, Serene, Friendly Midlife success HHI $128k, 35-54, mostly with kids in household Highest index in San Francisco and Santa Clara Counties Listens to CBS radio Watches football and basketball Reads print edition New York Times and uses iPhone Auent, empty nests HHI $113k, mostly without kids in household Highest Index in Marin County Listens to news radio, classical, jazz Reads print edition of Wall Street Journal and New York Times Watches Fox Business Network and Golf Channel Auent, empty nests HHI $129k+, age 45-64, mostly without kids in household Highest index in Marin County Listens to news radio, CBS sports, adult alternative and talk/personality Reads newspaper on iPad Reads Wall Street Journal and New York Times Auent, empty nests HHI $105k, Age 55+, mostly without kids in household Highest index in San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara Listens to news radio, jazz and classical Reads New York Times, paper edition, and Wall Street Journal Watches basketball DRAFT Tourism Business Improvement District Marketing Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 2, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. Teleconference via GoToWebinar BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Clint Pearce and LeBren Harris BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: none STAFF PRESENT: Molly Cano, Tourism Manager and Chantal Burns, Tourism Coordinator Call to order time: 10:38 a.m. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. Marketing Strategy Review Shyla Lindner from Noble Studios presented proposed creative updates for the VisitSLO.com website homepage. Committee members and staff asked questions of the marketing agency team, discussed the proposed updates and provided direction to Noble Studios to move forward with the updated homepage including the suggested changes. Some of the proposed changes include removing the video header while updating the photos and layout but making sure to add diversity and family. Additional changes include transitioning from the Be Here message to the SLO Ready campaign, intro content, including beaches in easily accessed things to do category, pulling social media photos into the homepage, lowering the phone number to the footer and removing the moving the accommodations box from the homepage. Direction: to move forward with launching the updated website homepage with discussed edits. 2. SLO Ready Campaign Updates Danielle Middleton from DCI reviewed a completed social media audit and proposed so cial media strategy. Committee members provided feedback and concurred to move forward with recommendations as presented. Direction: to move forward with the social media strategy as presented. 3. SLO TBID Key Messages and Most Wanted Media Review Danielle Middleton from DCI presented a proposed key messages document to be used for public relations pitching as well as a most wanted media list for committee review, feedback and approval. Committee members provided feedback provide and direction to move forward with the most wanted media list and the key messages as presented with the suggestion to weave “family” into the pitches and messaging. Direction: to move forward with using the presented key messages and most wanted media list with the discussed edits. 4. New Business Items a. Committee Discussion - none b. Future Agenda Items - Brand and name discussion c. Next Regular Meeting Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. Meeting was adjourned at 12:03 p.m. Tourism Business Improvement District Management Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. Teleconference via GoToWebinar BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: John Conner and Pragna Patel-Mueller BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: none STAFF PRESENT: Molly Cano, Tourism Manager and Chantal Burns, Tourism Coordinator Call to order time: 10:00 am BUSINESS ITEMS 1. 2020-21 TBID Budget Status Tourism Manager Cano reviewed the current 2020-21 budget status and provided updates highlighting that outstanding remitted TOT payments have been received, cost savings numbers within the TBID’s expenditures from the previous fiscal year, and fund balance numbers. Committee members disused current COVID-19 topics relating to the budget and noted that the information reported is to receive and file on going. 2. CHLA TBID Training & 20-21 Renewal Tourism Coordinator Burns presented two training topics for TBID constituents to take part in as a Fall 2020 webinar to complete the FY 19-20 CHLA partnership deliverables. Committee members provided feedback and agreed that the option to receive current updates from CHLA’s President/CEO would be of the most value to the members. Committee members also discussed the value of the CHLA membership and provided direction to staff to negotiate membership amounts for the 2020-21 FY for a considered renewal. 3. New Business Items a. Committee Discussion - none b. Future Agenda Items - none c. Next Regular Meeting Date: Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Meeting was adjourned at 10:38 DRAFT Minutes – Promotional Coordinating Committee Meeting of August 12, 2020 Page 1 Minutes - DRAFT PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE Wednesday, August 12, 2020 Regular Meeting of the Promotional Coordinating Committee CALL TO ORDER A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Promotional Coordinating Committee was called to order on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 5:30 p.m., by Chair Matteson via teleconference. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Dana Matteson, Vice Chair John Thomas, Members Ryan Heath, Stephanie Stackhouse, Lori Lerian and John Conner Absent: Member Samantha Welch Staff: Tourism Manager Molly Cano and City Clerk Teresa Purrington PUBLIC COMMENT ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None --End of Public Comment-- CONSENT ITEMS ACTION: UPON MOTION BY VICE CHAIR CONNER, SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER THOMAS, CARRIED 6-0-1 (WITH MEMBER WELCH ABSENT), to approve the Consent Agenda items 1 thru 7. C.1 Minutes of the Meeting on July 8, 2020 C.2 2020-21 Community Promotions Budget Report C.3 Public Relations Report C.4 Visitors Center Report C.5 TOT Report PRESENTATIONS 1. PUBLIC RELATIONS MONTHLY ACTIVITY UPDATE DRAFT Minutes – Promotional Coordinating Committee Meeting of August 12, 2020 Page 2 Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth, SLO Chamber provided a PowerPoint presentation and responded to Committee inquiries. Public Comment None. --End of Public Comment-- No action was taken on this item. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. SUPPORT LOCAL PROGRAM - #SLOready Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided a PowerPoint presentation and responded to Committee inquiries. Public Comment None. --End of Public Comment-- ACTION: UPON MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER LERIAN, SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER STACKHOUSE, CARRIED 6-0-1 (WITH MEMBER WELCH ABSENT), to reallocate the funds in the amount of $2000 for Support Local Influencer program back to the PCC budget. 2. 2020-21 CULTURAL GIA MODIFIED PROGRAM Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided a PowerPoint presentation and responded to Committee inquiries. Public Comment None. --End of Public Comment-- ACTION: UPON MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER HEATH, SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER THOMAS, CARRIED 6-0-1 (WITH MEMBER WELCH ABSENT) to forward an approval recommendation to City Council regarding the modified guidelines and application, as amended at the meeting. PCC LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION 1. COMMITTEE OUTREACH UPDATE – COMMITTEE REPORT DRAFT Minutes – Promotional Coordinating Committee Meeting of August 12, 2020 Page 3 Member John Thomas informed the Committee that the Greek Festival offically cancelled their event for September. 2. TBID BOARD REPORT – TBID Meeting Minutes: July 8, 2020 John Conner provided a brief overview of the TBID Board Meeting. 3. TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE Tourism Manager Cano provided a brief Tourism Program update. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:42 p.m. The next Regular Promotinal Coordinating Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 5:30 p.m., via teleconference. APPROVED BY THE PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE: XX/XX/2020 DRAFT Minutes – Promotional Coordinating Committee Meeting of August 20, 2020 Page 1 Minutes - DRAFT PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE Wednesday, August 20, 2020 Special Meeting of the Promotional Coordinating Committee CALL TO ORDER A Special Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Promotional Coordinating Committee was called to order on Wednesday, August 20, 2020 at 1:33 p.m., by Chair Matteson via teleconference. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Dana Matteson, Vice Chair John Thomas, Members Ryan Heath, Stephanie Stackhouse, Lori Lerian and John Conner Absent: Member Samantha Welch Staff: Tourism Manager Molly Cano and Tourism Coordinator Chantal Burns PUBLIC COMMENT ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None --End of Public Comment-- BUSINESS ITEMS 1. PCC Annual Program Planning The committee reviewed and discussed projects, timelines, and priorities for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Ideas included partnerships with other community organizations, finding ways to support businesses that have been severely impacted by COVID -19, and repurposing vacant storefronts for community art. Committee members also reviewed their previous work efforts on the downtown banner/flag program and discussed how to continue the program with refreshed ideas. Public Comment None. --End of Public Comment-- No action was taken. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:40 p.m. The next Regular Promotinal Coordinating Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 5:30 p.m., via teleconference. APPROVED BY THE PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE: XX/XX/2020