HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-08-2023 TBID Agenda Packet
Tourism Business Improvement District Board
AGENDA
Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
The Tourism Business Improvement District Board holds in-person meetings. Zoom participation will
not be supported at this time.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT:
Public Comment prior to the meeting (must be received 3 hours in advance of the meeting):
Mail - Delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Address letters to the City Clerk's Office at 990
Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, 93401.
Email - Submit Public Comments via email to advisorybodies@slocity.org. In the body of your
email, please include the date of the meeting and the item number (if applicable). Emails will not
be read aloud during the meeting.
Voicemail - Call (805) 781-7164 and leave a voicemail. Please state and spell your name, the
agenda item number you are calling about, and leave your comment. Verbal comments must be
limited to 3 minutes. Voicemails will not be played during the meeting.
*All correspondence will be archived and distributed to members, however, submissions received
after the deadline may not be processed until the following day.
Public Comment during the meeting:
Meetings are held in-person. To provide public comment during the meeting, you must be
present at the meeting location.
Electronic Visual Aid Presentation. To conform with the City's Network Access and Use Policy,
Chapter 1.3.8 of the Council Policies & Procedures Manual, members of the public who desire
to utilize electronic visual aids to supplement their oral presentation are encouraged to provide
display-ready material to the City Clerk by 12:00 p.m. on the day before the meeting. Contact
the City Clerk's Office at cityclerk@slocity.org or (805) 781-7114.
Pages
1.CALL TO ORDER
Chair Pearce will call the Regular Meeting of the Tourism Business
Improvement District Board to order.
2.PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
At this time, people may address the Committee about items not on the agenda.
Comments 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.
3.APPOINTMENT - OATH OF OFFICE
Nipool Patel, appointed by the City Council on October 17, 2023, will take the
oath of office to serve on the TBID Board.
4.CONSENT
4.a MINUTES OF TBID REGULAR MEETING ON OCTOBER 11, 2023 5
4.b SMITH TRAVEL REPORT (STR)11
4.c TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REPORT 13
4.d SLO CHAMBER PUBLIC RELATIONS MONTHLY REPORT 15
4.e SLO CHAMBER GUEST SERVICES MONTHLY REPORT 17
4.f NOBLE STUDIOS & DCI MARKETING MONTHLY REPORT 19
4.g BADGER BRANDING ORGANIC SOCIAL REPORT 31
5.BUSINESS ITEMS
5.a BOARD LIASON PROGRAM AND ASSIGNMENTS
The Board will review the liaison program for discussion and assign
property liaisons for the remainder of FY24.
5.b MARKETING SERVICES RFP TIMELINE
Staff will present the RFP timelines for the marketing services contracts
for Board input and discussion.
6.TBID LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION
6.a HOTELIER UPDATE – LIAISON REPORTS
6.b PCC UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT 39
6.c VISIT SLO CAL UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
6.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – STAFF REPORT
7.ADJOURNMENT
The next Regular Meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board
is scheduled for December 13, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Hearing Room
at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo.
LISTENING ASSISTIVE DEVICES are available -- see the Clerk
The City of San Luis Obispo wishes to make all of its public meetings 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) 781-7114 at least
48 hours before the meeting, if possible. Telecommunications Device for the
Deaf (805) 781-7410.
Agenda related writings or documents provided to the Tourism Business
Improvement District Board are available for public inspection on the City’s
website, under the Public Meeting Agendas web page:
https://www.slocity.org/government/mayor-and-city-council/agendas-and-
minutes. Meeting video recordings can be found on the City’s website:
http://opengov.slocity.org/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=61016&dbid=0&repo=CityCl
erk
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1
Tourism Business Improvement District Board Minutes
October 11, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
TBID Board Present: Member Lori Keller, Member Winston Newland (left meeting at
10:50 AM), Member Prashant Patel, Member Sandy Sandoval,
Chair Clint Pearce
TBID Board Absent: Vice Chair Lydia Bates
City Staff Present: Tourism Manager Molly Cano, Tourism Analyst Jacqui Clark-
Charlesworth, City Clerk Teresa Purrington
_____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement
District Board was called to order on October 11, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in the
Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, by Chair
Pearce.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
3. CONSENT
Motion By Member Patel
Second By Member Keller
To approve Consent Items 3a through 3g.
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member Sandoval,
and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
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2
3.a MINUTES OF TBID REGULAR MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 13 AND
SPECIAL MEETING SEPTEMBER 27, 2023
3.b SMITH TRAVEL REPORT (STR)
3.c TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REPORT
3.d SLO CHAMBER PUBLIC RELATIONS MONTHLY REPORT
3.e SLO CHAMBER GUEST SERVICES MONTHLY REPORT
3.f NOBLE STUDIOS & DCI MARKETING MONTHLY REPORT
3.g BADGER BRANDING ORGANIC SOCIAL REPORT
4. PRESENTATIONS
4.a MARKETING SERVICES QUARTER REPORT
Hayley Corbett, Danni Winter, Breanne Standingwater from Noble Studios
and Siobhan Chretien from DCI presented an overview of the report and
responded to questions.
No action taken on this item.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
4.b PUBLIC RELATIONS & GUEST SERVICES QUARTER REPORT
Jim Dantona and Hollie West SLO Chamber presented the Public
Relations and Guest Services Quarterly report.
No action taken on this item.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
4.c CONTENT MARKETING QUARTER REPORT
Katy McGrath and Molly Burchett from Badger Branding presented an
overview of the report and responded to questions.
No Action taken on this item.
Public Comment:
None
Page 6 of 42
3
--End of Public Comment--
5. BUSINESS ITEMS
5.a FY 22-23 TBID ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
Tourism Manager Molly Cano presented the 22-23 Annual Report video.
Motion By Member Patel
Second By Member Newland
To approve the 22-23 Annual Report video as presented.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member
Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
5.b BRAND SENTIMENT STUDY PROPOSAL
Tourism Manager Molly Cano and Hayley Corbett, Noble Studios
presented the proposal to use allocated budget to execute a brand
sentiment survey this fall, which will be leveraged during the forthcoming
Marketing Services RFP process.
Motion By Member Sandoval
Second By Member Newland
To approve $32,000 to Noble Studios to subcontract with Wiser Insights in
order to deploy a follow-up brand sentiment study.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
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4
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member
Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
5.c VISIT SAN LUIS OBISPO MEMBER RECEPTION
Tourism Manager Molly Cano presented the proposal for the first TBID
member reception of the FY and responded to comment.
Motion By Member Newland
Second By Member Keller
To approve a budget of up to $7,500 for event expenses for the Fall/Winter
Member Reception.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member
Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
6. TBID LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION
6.a HOTELIER UPDATE – LIAISON REPORTS
6.b PCC UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
Chair Pearce provided a brief update on PCC activities.
6.c VISIT SLO CAL UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
Chair Pearce provided a brief update on Visit SLO CAL activities.
6.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – STAFF REPORT
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided a brief update on the tourism
programs including the Office of Economic Development & Tourism
restructure, which had resulted in Cano being offered the Economic
Development & Tourism Manager position.
Page 8 of 42
5
7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 11:44 a.m. The next Regular Meeting of the
Tourism Business Improvement District Board is scheduled for November 8,
2023, at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street,
San Luis Obispo.
APPROVED BY TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD:
XX/XX/202X
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October 2023
WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total
California 70.80 84.39 74.69 189.71 218.23 198.92 134.32 184.17 148.56 3.68 0.93 2.77 5.08 -0.91 2.75 8.95 0.01 5.61
City of Paso Robles 63.69 80.81 68.58 153.41 260.46 189.45 97.71 210.49 129.93 -14.25 -9.30 -12.65 6.58 -2.40 3.08 -8.61 -11.47 -9.96
City of Pismo Beach 71.23 90.23 76.66 190.62 318.47 233.61 135.78 287.35 179.09 6.50 7.51 6.84 0.09 -5.20 -2.28 6.59 1.91 4.39
City of San Luis Obispo 66.62 89.53 73.17 154.64 246.57 186.78 103.03 220.75 136.66 2.63 3.56 2.95 5.63 1.02 3.57 8.41 4.61 6.62
City of Morro Bay 61.00 85.67 68.05 125.30 206.50 154.51 76.43 176.91 105.14 -7.55 0.91 -4.67 1.14 4.27 3.63 -6.50 5.22 -1.21
WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total
California 69.46 79.46 72.31 188.02 210.58 195.10 130.59 167.32 141.09 -0.79 -0.81 -0.79 0.13 1.05 0.44 -0.66 0.24 -0.36
City of Paso Robles 67.48 75.91 69.89 154.70 246.75 183.26 104.39 187.30 128.08 -7.73 -14.41 -9.91 6.25 -10.85 -2.75 -1.96 -23.70 -12.39
City of Pismo Beach 68.60 78.86 71.53 199.46 304.49 232.54 136.82 240.13 166.34 0.42 1.13 0.64 1.43 -7.85 -2.53 1.86 -6.81 -1.91
City of San Luis Obispo 71.79 81.93 74.69 159.85 227.79 181.14 114.75 186.63 135.29 3.68 -5.36 0.66 4.75 -8.40 -1.89 8.60 -13.31 -1.24
City of Morro Bay 60.46 79.70 65.95 124.94 186.51 146.20 75.53 148.65 96.42 -6.97 -5.82 -6.57 -0.15 -7.83 -3.55 -7.10 -13.19 -9.89
WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total
California 69.52 79.46 72.36 191.02 205.71 195.63 132.80 163.45 141.56 -1.33 0.06 -0.90 1.09 0.83 1.03 -0.25 0.89 0.12
City of Paso Robles 67.66 85.65 72.80 152.97 278.16 195.05 103.50 238.26 142.00 -10.04 -7.10 -9.07 5.27 0.43 3.40 -5.30 -5.30 -5.98
City of Pismo Beach 65.85 89.85 72.71 193.72 332.57 242.74 127.56 298.80 176.49 2.09 7.05 3.79 0.87 -0.54 0.82 2.99 2.99 4.65
City of San Luis Obispo 68.05 91.33 74.70 156.24 293.61 204.23 106.33 268.16 152.57 7.49 1.23 5.22 5.33 4.27 3.82 13.23 13.23 9.24
City of Morro Bay 59.73 86.14 67.27 127.49 205.41 155.99 76.15 176.93 104.95 -4.15 1.99 -1.99 4.95 6.32 6.34 0.59 0.59 4.22
WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total
California 67.71 74.17 69.56 191.00 196.26 192.60 129.33 145.57 133.97 -0.79 1.76 -0.03 2.64 0.71 2.06 1.83 2.48 2.03
City of Paso Robles 68.85 72.53 69.90 158.73 236.38 181.75 109.28 171.45 127.04 -3.21 -2.98 -3.14 12.74 -1.09 7.00 9.12 -4.03 3.64
City of Pismo Beach 63.15 75.23 66.60 188.62 257.51 210.85 119.11 193.72 140.43 1.97 19.26 6.97 3.26 -2.27 2.33 5.29 16.56 9.46
City of San Luis Obispo 63.93 78.70 68.15 155.32 208.54 172.88 99.29 164.12 117.81 -5.79 9.22 -1.31 -0.10 3.93 2.33 -5.89 13.51 0.98
City of Morro Bay 54.95 66.61 58.29 122.03 166.17 136.44 67.06 110.69 79.53 -5.89 3.55 -3.00 1.85 -0.31 1.71 -4.14 3.23 -1.34
Current Week Totals Percent Change
Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar
Current Week Totals Percent Change
Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar
RevPar
Current Week Totals Percent Change
Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar
Current Week Totals Percent Change
Occupancy (%)ADR RevPar Occupancy (%)ADRFor the Week of October 22, 2023
to October 28, 2023
For the Week of October 15, 2023
to October 21, 2023
For the Week of October 08, 2023
to October 14, 2023
For the Week of October 01, 2023
to October 07, 2023
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2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24
Change +/- to
previous FY
July 508,195$ 541,806$ 591,184$ 636,778$ 699,845$ 761,346$ 844,845$ 877,391$ 861,241$ 884,317$ 913,019$ 530,064$ 1,214,080$ 1,300,061$ 1,244,066$ -4.3%
August 511,564$ 542,194$ 574,395$ 623,655$ 674,244$ 732,271$ 774,501$ 765,232$ 728,932$ 775,513$ 826,465$ 623,523$ 992,620$ 1,089,326$ 1,035,032$ -5.0%
September 400,023$ 437,543$ 490,524$ 508,583$ 505,954$ 557,002$ 643,127$ 650,117$ 693,704$ 682,810$ 720,414$ 660,405$ 965,595$ 1,040,391$ 923,055$ -11.3%missing 4 hotels
October 414,870$ 442,586$ 437,805$ 469,977$ 509,435$ 594,032$ 642,221$ 628,049$ 601,208$ 650,101$ 711,393$ 632,733$ 889,485$ 986,882$
November 280,913$ 330,924$ 347,437$ 359,163$ 425,769$ 475,360$ 468,016$ 497,162$ 513,487$ 556,885$ 593,403$ 422,488$ 722,487$ 772,110$
December 246,684$ 274,417$ 314,784$ 319,451$ 355,315$ 391,132$ 429,600$ 434,836$ 473,701$ 488,296$ 488,757$ 236,391$ 638,253$ 630,527$
January 230,279$ 256,351$ 276,165$ 302,153$ 331,853$ 400,239$ 387,304$ 396,559$ 415,690$ 465,547$ 520,813$ 302,621$ 557,369$ 526,691$
February 273,373$ 302,246$ 323,359$ 344,160$ 366,980$ 431,510$ 466,915$ 439,735$ 503,451$ 524,327$ 596,021$ 426,144$ 716,045$ 718,467$
March 326,099$ 333,783$ 392,266$ 426,879$ 448,103$ 520,795$ 559,235$ 549,642$ 577,285$ 602,781$ 268,458$ 614,973$ 820,473$ 805,947$
April 423,158$ 451,133$ 475,913$ 486,850$ 564,617$ 610,894$ 609,439$ 708,724$ 641,919$ 741,364$ 69,184$ 742,477$ 1,068,408$ 1,057,701$
May 372,997$ 433,874$ 447,116$ 489,862$ 546,916$ 601,614$ 598,093$ 645,114$ 630,820$ 665,603$ 174,982$ 760,006$ 919,831$ 910,444$
June 490,326$ 512,543$ 578,234$ 610,948$ 630,729$ 727,028$ 731,038$ 765,362$ 796,899$ 835,727$ 409,945$ 973,975$ 1,100,000$ 1,147,826$
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$ 6,925,799$ 10,604,646$ 10,986,373$ 3,202,153$
2022-23 2023-24 Change +/-2022-23 2023-24 Change +/-2022-23 2023-24 Change +/-
July 82.6 83.5 1.1%206.04 199.85 -3.0%170.2 166.97 -1.9%
August 75.8 74 -2.4%191.58 190.04 -0.8%145.18 140.59 -3.2%
September 72.7 71.2 -2.1%192.94 194.69 0.9%140.26 138.57 -1.2%
October 69.6 202.21 140.73
November 62.1 185.60 115.19
December 54.2 167.13 90.6
January 50.4 136.70 68.90
February 66 157.11 103.64
March 64.1 159.05 101.91
April 74.0 188.24 141.32
May 67.5 181.38 122.36
June 74.2 206.77 153.52
Total/Average 67.76 -0.01 181.23$ -0.01 124.48$ -0.02 Updated: 11/02/2023
Occupancy ADR RevPAR*Figures from Smith
Travel Research Report
TOT Comparison
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Report to City of SLO – TBID and PCC
Public Relations Contract
October 2023
PR ACTIVITY
Implementation/Proactive Work
Hosted travel influencer Francesca Murray
Continued planning for travel writer Tony DiSilva's upcoming visit
Began planning for travel writer Erica Zazo's upcoming visit
Began planning for travel writer Matthew Meltzer's upcoming visit
Implemented communications/PR copy and strategy for ARTober
Continued working with the City and Noble Studios/DCI on overall tourism marketing campaign
Worked with Noble on the quarterly visitslo.com media center update
Responsive leads
Pitched "Warm Winter Escapes", "Holiday Getaways" and Professional Meetings & Events Story Idea: Sustainably Sourced" story ideas to Visit California
Met with Wine Country Media team to explore potential partnerships
Partnerships
Began planning for Buy Local Bonus and Eat Local Bonus in partnership with the City, Verdin and Badger Branding
PUBLICATION PLACEMENTS UVPM AD VALUE PILLARS RESULT OF
TIMEOUT The best U.S. college towns everyone should visit—even if you're not a student 21,463,021.00 $198,532.00 Cal Poly HOSTING IN PARTNERSHIP W DCI
KSBY Community invited to participate in SLO's "ARTober" during Arts & Humanities Month 478,000.00 $19.77 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING
KCBX Celebrating Arts and Humanities Month on the Central Coast 22,000.00 $1.21 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING
KCBX Street piano sparks joy in San Luis Obispo 22,000.00 $1.21 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING
MUSTANG NEWS Experience ARTober: A celebration of San Luis Obispo's art and culture 7,500.00 $303.57 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING
CALIFORNIA INSIGHTS/NEWSBREAK San Luis Obispo Gears Up for ARTober: A Month-Long Celebration of Arts and Culture 2,390,000.00 $78.06 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING
THE TRAVEL These Are The 10 Most Unique Hippie Hotels In The US 2,200,000.00 $97.51 Cultural
MICHELIN GUIDE Surf Towns of the California Central Coast 3,600,000.00 $285.61 Outdoor
WGN9 Outdoor Holiday Light, Art, and Music for the Entire Family 3,540,000.00 $342.50 Family
TRIPS TO DISCOVER 13 Best Pumpkin Patches in California 1,030,000.00 $92.79 Outdoor
CITIZEN TRIBUNE ONLINE San Luis Obispo's Brookshire Farms kicks in high gear for family fun 146,000.00 $5.13 Family
TELEMEDELLIN Los 50 mejores destinos turísticos del 2023 349,000 $8.53 Cultural
52 PERFECT DAYS 9 Fun Day Trips from Ventura 28,000.00 $1.71 Cultural
PASO ROBLES DAILY NEWS San Luis Obispo Symphony commences season this weekend with 'Rachmaninov Rocks'85,000.00 $6.39 Cultural
PASO ROBLES DAILY NEWS Celebrate Halloween downtown San Luis Obispo 85,000.00 $6.39 Cultural
MUSTANG NEWS City of San Luis Obispo to plant 40 trees in honor of Arbor Day 7,500.00 $303.57 Cultural
TOTALS
16 35,453,021.00 $200,085.95
TOTAL YTD 471,548,671.00 $185,967.95
55 507,001,692.00 $386,053.90
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Oct Sep Oct
2022 2023 2023 Asia 0%
Walk-ins 5,465 6,283 6,719 Europe 44%
Phone Calls 658 125 116 Australia/NZ 12%
Emails & Digital 856 1,065 1,079 UK 22%
N. America 13%
C. America 0%
Oct Sep Oct S. America 8%
2022 2023 2023
Calls 71 26 14 West Coast 19%
Southwest 12%
Midwest 24%
Oct Sep Oct South 21%
2022 2023 2023 East Coast 25%
Referrals 1,487 51 63
Northern CA 13%
Central Coast 60%
Oct Sep Oct Central Valley 2%
2022 2023 2023 Desert 1%
Email 105 132 127 Southern CA 24%
Phone Calls 425 325 281
Oct Oct Oct
2022 2023 2023 YTD
Fulfilled N/A 10 VisitSLO.com 151 210
INFORMATION REQUESTS EVENTS SHARED
REPORT TO CITY OF SLO - TBID & PCC
GUEST SERVICES CONTRACT
OCTOBER 2023
DEMOGRAPHIC SNAPSHOT
International Travelers
VISITOR INTERACTION
CALLS TO 877-SLO-TOWN
HOTEL REFERRALS
HOTEL AVAILABILITY TRACKER
Domestic Travelers
California Travelers
VISITOR CENTER ACTIVATIONS
1) Mustang Family Weekend promoting the VisitSLO.com newsletter
VISITOR CENTER HIGHLIGHTS
1) Promoting and tracking ARTober Event
3) Welcomed all our local families for Downtown SLO's Trick-or-Treat Trail
2) Started the logistical planning for Buy Local and Eat Local Bonus programs
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Agency Report ·October 2023
SLO-TBID
Page 19 of 42
Agency Repor t
October Activity &Performance
What’s Ahead:
●Quarterly Marketing Plan FY23-24:
Visit SLO - 30/60/90 Marketing Plan - FY23-24
Paid Media
Paid Search
In October,paid search drove 28,360 impressions (-1%YoY),3,287 clicks (-27%YoY),an 11.59%
CTR (-26%YoY),a 52.84%conversion rate (+104%YoY)and 6,372 sessions (+27%YoY)while
driving 1,376 hotel referrals (+35%PoP),151 homestay referrals (+12%PoP),and 95 things to do
referrals (+17%PoP)at a 35%increase in cost YoY.
2
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Paid Social
Paid social drove 2,087,662 impressions (+82%YoY),799,583 users reached,and 29,453 clicks
(+107%YoY)across Facebook and Instagram with a 1.41%CTR for FB/Instagram (+14%YoY)for
11,648 sessions (+143%YoY)while driving 17 hotel referrals,1 Homestay referrals,and 1
newsletter signup at a 38%increase in cost YoY.
3
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Display
Display drove 2,086,471 impressions (+90%YoY),9,284 clicks (+63%YoY),a 0.44%CTR (-14%
YoY),and 17,751 sessions (+34%YoY)while driving 40 hotel referrals,3 homestay referrals,9
things to do referrals,and 6 newsletter signups,at a 42%increase in cost YoY.
4
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Video
Video campaigns drove 532,566 impressions (+82%YoY),9,792 clicks (+768%YoY),a 1.84%CTR
(+377%YoY),and 4,275 sessions (+943%YoY)while driving 2 hotel referrals,5 things to do
referrals,and 72 newsletter signups,at a 19%increase in cost YoY.
Proactively monitored and optimized paid media placements ($42,884 spend).
Harvest on the Coast |Display
Harvest on the Coast |Display drove 396,743 impressions with a 0.56%CTR,2,220 clicks,and a
0.37%conversion rate.We targeted people interested in food and wine festivals,wine,foodies,and
more living within 50 miles of our target regions.Over the course of the campaign,Harvest on the
Coast |Display drove 8 total partner referrals with 2 hotel referrals,3 newsletter signups,1
restaurant referral,and 2 visitor guide downloads.
5
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Harvest on the Coast |Paid Social
Harvest on the Coast -paid social drove 476,494 impressions and reached 109,579 total accounts.
We targeted people interested in food and wine festivals,wine,foodies,and more living within 50
miles of our target regions.We also targeted past attendees via an email list.The standard
targeting drove a 0.90%CTR while the past attendees ad set drove a 2.46%CTR with 1,219 clicks.
Over the course of the campaign,Harvest on the Coast |Paid Social drove 28 total par tner referrals,
with 20 hotel referrals,2 homestay referrals,2 things-to-do referrals,3 restaurant referrals,and 1
newsletter signup.
Email Marketing
In October,we sent one campaign to all subscribers,and our Harvest on the Cost email was sent to
a list of event seekers.We saw slightly lower open and click rates for these two emails than we did
in September but saw increased engagement metrics with the users who clicked on our emails.
Email Campaigns Sent:2
Audiences Reached:All Newsletters Subscribers,Entertainment &Events,Culinary
Recipients:32,574
Open Rate:44%(-3%PoP)
6
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Click Rate:1.5%(-65%PoP)
Number of Website Sessions:940 (-32%PoP)
Average Session Duration:3:36 (+5%PoP)
Pages /Session:2.98 (+12%PoP)
Engagement Rate:54%(-12%PoP)
Total Hotel Referrals:41 (-54%PoP)
Total Homestay Referrals:35 (-77%PoP)
Total Things to Do Referrals:25 (-71%PoP)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)&Content Creation
Organic search traffic increased 4%period-over-period and increased 24%year-over-year.
Period-over-period organic hotel partner referrals decreased 27%,homestay partner referrals
increased 94%and things to do referrals increased 5%.PoP Avg Session Duration decreased 7%,
engagement rate increased 1%,and pages per session decreased 8%.
Page 1 keywords increased by 10%PoP,and total keywords increased by 7%.In October,we saw
additional positive PoP growth of ranked keywords for pages we have optimized,including a 50%
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increase to the lunch and dinner page.We took a break from optimizing pages before we launched
the new website,and some of the more recently optimized pages will take a little more time to show
improvements in keyword rankings.We are continuing to monitor SEO performance across all of our
pages since our new website launched in July,and are seeing good organic improvements across
the board.
●SEO Optimizations completed
○Net New Web Page:Why Visit San Luis Obispo +written content
○Post-Website Launch Organic Keyword Audit
Website
The website saw a 3%increase in sessions period-over-period.The engagement rate averaged 42%
(-1%PoP),with the highest engagement coming from organic search,email,and referral traffic.
Pages/session decreased by 5%PoP,and average session duration increased by 2%with an
average duration of 1:47.The largest increases in traffic PoP came from paid video and paid social.
Total partner referrals are up 6%PoP,with Hotel Referrals up 6%PoP,Homestay referrals up 17%,
and Things to Do referrals up 4%.Across all channels,the conversion rate is up 5%PoP.
●Monthly Web Maintenance Items
●WP core updated to 6.3.2
●PHP upgraded to version 8.2
●Plugins:
○Permalink Manager Pro
○Events Calendar,Events Calendar Pro,Community Events
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○Yoast
○Gravity Forms
○Relevanssi
●Theme Updates
○Filter added to disable deprecation notices triggered by PHP 8.2
○Weather widget now uses svg images instead of the weather icon font to improve
page load time
○Local development environment now uses a local email service so that test emails
are not sent out when testing forms or editing user accounts
Web Retainer
October 2023
Task Hours Accomplishments
Monthly Maintenance,
Coordination,and
Management
8 Update to stakeholder hero for email addresses,Film Fest page,
Media page updates,Cal poly give-a-way updates,Artober blog
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Creative Services
10
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October 2023
Task Hours Accomplishments
Monthly Maintenance,
Coordination,and
Management
13.25 Gumball and Tumbler designs,finalizing swag designs,marketing
email refreshes
PR,Media,And Influencer Relations
Proactive Pitch Development:
●Babymoon Destinations -All Client Pitch -Pitching in Progress
●ARTober –Monitoring in Progress
●Harvest on the Coast -Monitoring in Progress
●Public Art:Art After Dark,SLOMA –Pitching In Progress
Proactive/Reactive Pitching and Outreach:
●Go Banking Rates,Affordable Destinations
●Elaine Glusac,AARP,Where to Go in 2024
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●Robin Catalano,Reader’s Digest,Haunted Places
●Fodor’s,Best Coffee Drink
●Noreen L.Komanik,Rovology,Best U.S.College Towns
●Urmila Ramakrishnan,Bon Appetit
●Elyse Glickman,Beyond Pumpkin Spice Lattes
●Robin Catalano,Reader’s Digest,Haunted Places
●Juliet Izon,Country Living,Where to go in November
●Arielle Paul,NYT,How a Small California Town is Leading the Way in Sustainability
●Hayley Smith,LA Times,How a Small California Town is Leading the Way in Sustainability
●Elyse Glickman,Global Traveler,California’s Friendliest Fall Cities,
●Mark Ellwood,Today with Hoda &Jenna,,Fall Getaways
●Amanda Norcross,US News &World Report,Fall Family Break Ideas
●Rachel Paley,Wine Enthusiast
●Carmen Varner,All Getaways,Best Weekend Getaways in California Within 5 Hours of San
Diego
●Ali Walansky,Forbes,National Cheeseburger Day
●Sharael Kolberg,Thrillist,Top Neighborhood Guides
Hosted Media Visit or Influencer Partnerships (3-5 visits/partnerships in 2023-24)
●Individual Media Visits -3 Complete
○Lina Lecara,LA Weekly,August 2-4
○Eileen Ognitz &Andrew Yemma,Taking the Kids,August 9-11
○Susan Lanier-Graham,freelance,October 26
●Upcoming Individual Media Visits (Confirmed)
○Erica Zazo,Backpacker Magazine,Dates December 6-9
○Matthew Meltzer,Fifty Grande,December 20
DCI’s All Client Pitch Initiative
Proposed:(4-6 pitches throughout 2023-24)
Progress:
4 Complete:What’s New in 2024 (July 2023),Hispanic Heritage Month (August
2023),Foodie Destinations (September 2023),Babymoons (October 2023)
DCI 2023-24 SLO Coverage Grid:
●https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X5vv8eqMyV4HSLq4nod-fio_XtbqSyap54Hau1w
V7yY/edit?usp=sharing
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October 2023
ORGANIC SOCIAL REPORT
Date: 11/8/23Page 31 of 42
Followers: 26,913 ( 1.2 %)
Total Follower Gain: 314
Total Posts: 184
Total Impressions: 5433,606 ( 15.9%)
(includes both organic & paid)
Total stories: 160
Total Engagements: 10,119 ( 36.2%)
Engagement Rate: 2.3% ( 24%)
INSTAGRAM
TOP POSTS:
In October, we are still seeing a steady follower increase. We saw slight decreases in impressions and engagements because
the outlier of a viral reel was not present in October in comparison to previous months, although we did have a viral carousel
post seen below. We are seeing a potential trend shift between reels and carousels.
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Page Fans: 97,605 ( .2%)
Total Net Audience Growth: 147
Total Posts: 24
Total Impressions: 2,306,680 ( 28 %)
Total Organic: 134,087 ( 330%)
Total Engagements: 41,209 ( 43%)
Engagement Rate: 1.79 % ( 11.7%)
FACEBOOK
TOP POSTS:
In October, we saw an increase across the entire platform. Our audience is increasing and is more engaged per post, with
local events and updates remaining the top performers. We did not see any video top performers. We are keeping this in
mind as we move forward.
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Followers: 55
Total Net Growth: 2 ( 3.7%)
Total Posts: 3
Total Impressions: 920 ( 7.1%)
Total Saves: 10 ( 100%)
Engagements: 43 ( 30%)
Total Audience: 592 ( 2.3%)
Engaged Audience: 25 ( 8.7%)
In October, we saw an increase in followers, saves, and engagements. Our audience is increasing and are engaging with
the content by saving, “pinning” or sending. Outdoor content, like hiking, is the top performer and we will keep this
information in mind moving forward.
TOP POSTS:
PINTEREST
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Total Audience: 465 ( 9.7%)
Total Posts: 4
Page Views: 34 ( 325%)
Impressions: 454 ( 7%)
Engagements: 31 ( 24%)
Engagement Rate: 6.67% ( 13%)
LINKEDIN
TOP POSTS:
In October we saw increases in analytics across the board. We’ve gained more of an audience and we are getting great
engagement. Our engagement rate is 6.67% while the industry standard for this platform is 2%.
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Total Posts: 3
Story Views: 150
Story Impressions: 9.1k
Story Clicks: 7
Interaction Rate: 77%
(Average Rate: 67%)
Completion Rate: 58.8%
(Average Rate: 52%)
CA Travel Stories - Crowdriff
POSTS THIS MONTH:
In October we set the benchmark for California Travel Stories with the analytics below. Impressions are the number of
times our Stories appeared in Google Discover and search results. Story Views are the total number of times someone
opened a story. Story Clicks are the total number of Visit Website and Learn More clicks within the Story. Interaction Rate
includes swipe ups, story completions, and sessions where someone spends 5 seconds on a single page and taps to the
next page. Completion Rate is when the user views all pages within the Story.
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WHAT WE WORKED ON THIS MONTH:
- ARTober Campaign for Arts and Humanities Month
-Experience ARTober Stories, Reels, & Posts
-Piano in the Plaza Stories, Reels, & Posts
-Open Studios, Railroad Festival, Stories Matter Event
- Fall Season Content
-Great Pumpkin Contest, A Fall Day in SLO, Fall Treats in SLO
- Giveaways
- 2 Ticket Tuesdays (PACSLO & SLO Brew)
- Harvest on the Coast (SLO Wine Country)
- Outdoor Content
-New Hiking Trail (almost 18k impressions)
-Dog Friendly Hikes
- Hidden Gem Hike Still Growing from August (197k views)
- CA Network Stories & IG Weekly Snapshot Story Page 37 of 42
NOVEMBER’S FOCUS:
- Buy Local Bonus Launch, Shop Small Saturday
- Food & Beverage
- National Pickle Day, Coffee in SLO, Cider in SLO
- Local Amenities
-Happy Hour Round-Up
-Live Music Round-Up
-Best Places to Catch the Big Game (Sports Bars)
- Outdoor SLO
-Parks Round-Up, Arbor Day, Hiking Reel, Murals in SLO, Biking in SLO
- CA Travel Network Stories
- New Businesses in SLO
- Giveaways / Ticket Tuesday
-Christmas at the Carrisa, Fremont Theatre, Autumn Soiree
- Continue current event story round-up (San Luis Obispo Snapshot)Page 38 of 42
1
Promotional Coordinating Committee Minutes
October 11, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
PCC Members
Present:
Committee Member Maureen Forsberg, Committee Member
Clint Pearce, Committee Member John Thomas, Vice Chair Lori
Lerian, and Chair Samantha Welch
PCC Members Absent: Committee Member Anni Wang, and Committee Member Robin
Wolf
City Staff Present: Tourism Manager Molly Cano, Tourism Analyst Jacqui Clark-
Charlesworth, City Clerk Teresa Purrington
_____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Promotional Coordinating Committee
was called to order on October 11, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Hearing
Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, by Chair Welch.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
3. CONSENT
Motion By Vice Chair Lerian
Second By Committee Member Forsberg
To approve the Consent Items 3a through 3f.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Forsberg, Committee Member Pearce, Committee
Member Thomas, Vice Chair Lerian, and Chair Welch
Absent (2): Committee Member Wang, and Committee Member Wolf
CARRIED (5 to 0)
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2
3.a MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2023
3.b 2023-24 COMMUNITY PROMOTION BUDGET REPORT
3.c SLO CHAMBER MONTHLY PUBLIC RELATIONS REPORT
3.d SLO CHAMBER GUEST SERVICES REPORT
3.e SLO CHAMBER GIA SUPPORT REPORT
3.f TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REPORT
4. PRESENTATIONS
4.a PUBLIC RELATIONS, GIA SUPPORT, AND VISITOR SERVICES
QUARTERLY REPORT
Jim Dantona and Hollie West provided an overview of the Public
Relations, GIA Support, and Visitor Services Quarterly Report. Dantona
pointed out that significant decreases in certain numbers were due to
more accurate tracking.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
No action taken on this item.
5. BUSINESS ITEMS
5.a FY 23-24 CACP GRANT AWARDS
The Committee reviewed the subcommittee recommendation s for the FY
23-24 Cultural Arts & Community Promotions grants.
Public Comment
Patty Thayer, SLO Repertory Theatre
-- End Public Comment--
Motion By Committee Member Pearce
Second By Committee Member Forsberg
To approve the Subcommittee recommendations as presented.
Liaison assignments were made.
5.b LUNAR NEW YEAR ACTIVATION
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3
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided an overview of the program
proposal which included a Palm Street Block Party partly in celebration of
the 150th anniversary of the Ah Louis Store. The program would be funded
by Economic Development MCG work with additional City support for
logistics.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment—
The PCC provided consensus support for the program proposal for staff to
move forward with planning.
5.c ARTOBER PROGRAM UPDATE
Tourism Analyst Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth provided a status update on
the ARTober program.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
No action taken on this item.
6. PCC LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION
6.a GIA LIAISON REPORT – Liaison Assignments
6.b COMMITTEE OUTREACH UPDATE – Committee Report
6.c TBID BOARD REPORT – TBID Meeting Minutes: September 13 and 27,
2023
Committee Member Pearce provided an update on items the TBID has
been working on.
6.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – Staff Report
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided an update on the Tourism Program
including status of the Economic Development & Tourism Department
restructure which had resulted in Cano being offered the position of
Economic Development & Tourism Manager.
7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:54 p.m. The next Regular Meeting of the
Promotional Coordinating Committee is scheduled for November 8, 2023, at 5:30
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4
p.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis
Obispo.
APPROVED BY PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE: XX/XX/202X
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