HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-10-2024 TBID Agenda Packet
Tourism Business Improvement District Board
AGENDA
Wednesday, April 10, 2024, 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 Bates 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.CONSENT
3.a MINUTES OF TBID REGULAR MEETING ON MARCH 13 & SPECIAL
MEETING ON MARCH 27, 2024
5
3.b SMITH TRAVEL REPORT (STR)11
3.c TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REPORT 13
3.d SLO CHAMBER PUBLIC RELATIONS MONTHLY REPORT 15
3.e SLO CHAMBER GUEST SERVICES MONTHLY REPORT 17
3.f NOBLE STUDIOS & DCI MARKETING MONTHLY REPORT 19
3.g BADGER BRANDING ORGANIC SOCIAL REPORT 35
4.PRESENTATIONS
4.a MARKETING SERVICES QUARTER REPORT & Q4 MEDIA PLAN
REVIEW (25 MIN)
Representatives from Noble Studios and DCI will present the third
quarter report for the marketing activities for the SLO TBID as well as
the outlined media plan for the fourth quarter for the Board’s review and
input.
4.b PUBLIC RELATIONS & GUEST SERVICES QUARTER REPORT (15
MIN)
Representatives from the SLO Chamber will present the third quarter
report on the Public Relations and Guest Services contract activities
with the SLO TBID.
4.c CONTENT MARKETING QUARTER REPORT (15 MIN)
Representatives from the Badger Branding will present the third quarter
report results for the content marketing support and organic social
media activities with the SLO TBID.
5.BUSINESS ITEMS
5.a SUSTAINABLE SLO MARKETING PLAN (30 MIN)
Staff and contractors will present the Sustainable SLO Marketing Plan
for the Board's input and approval.
6.TBID LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION
6.a HOTELIER UPDATE – LIAISON REPORTS
6.b PCC UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT 43
6.c VISIT SLO CAL UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
6.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – STAFF REPORT
7.ADJOURNMENT
The next Special Meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board
is scheduled for April 16 at 8:30 a.m. at Embassy Suites 333 Madonna Rd, San
Luis Obispo, CA 93405.
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
1
Tourism Business Improvement District Board Minutes
March 13, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
TBID Board Present: Member Lori Keller, Member Prashant Patel, Vice Chair Lydia
Bates, Chair Clint Pearce
TBID Board Absent Member Winston Newland, Member Nipool Patel, and Member
Sandy Sandoval
Staff Present: Economic Development & Tourism Manager Molly Cano and
Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-
Charlesworth
_____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement
District Board was called to order on March 13, 2024 at 10:0 1 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 Keller
Second By Vice Chair Bates
To approved Consent Items 3a to 3g.
Ayes (4): Member Keller, Member Patel, Vice Chair Bates, and Chair Pearce
Noes (3): Member Newland, Member Nipool Patel, and Member Sandoval
CARRIED (4 to 3)
Page 5 of 46
2
3.a MINUTES OF TBID REGULAR MEETING ON FEBRUARY 14
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 SLO CAL WELCOME (15 MIN)
Alyssa Manno from Visit SLO CAL presented the update and responded to
questions.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
5. BUSINESS ITEMS
5.a SLO TBID APPOINTMENTS (10 MIN)
Motion By Member Keller
Second By Vice Chair Bates
Chair Pearce nominated Vice Chair Bates to be Chair and PCC Liaison.
Chair Pearce agreed to be Vice Chair.
Ayes (4): Member Keller, Member Patel, Vice Chair Bates, and Chair
Pearce
Noes (3): Member Newland, Member Nipool Patel, and Member Sandoval
CARRIED (4 to 3)
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Page 6 of 46
3
5.b Q4 MEDIA PLAN REVIEW (30 MIN)
Danni Winter and Haley Corbett of Noble Studios presented the fourth
quarter media plan and proposed budget change for Pantheon web
hosting for VisitSLO.com.
ACTION: By consensus the Board choose Option 2, to pull three creative
services hours for Pantheon hosting for FY23 -34 and then moving to
annual plan in FY24-25.
Public Comment:
Katy McGrath, Badger Branding
5.c RFP UPDATE (10 MIN)
Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth
presented an update on the Destination Marketing Services RFP process
and timeline.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
6. TBID LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION
6.a HOTELIER UPDATE – LIAISON REPORTS
None
6.b PCC UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
Chair Pearce provided a brief update on PCC activities.
6.c VISIT SLO CAL UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
Economic Development & Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided a brief
update on Visit SLO CAL activities.
6.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – STAFF REPORT
Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth
provided a brief update on the tourism programs.
7. ADJOURNMENT
Page 7 of 46
4
The meeting was adjourned at 11:37 a.m. The next Special Meeting of the
Tourism Business Improvement District Board is scheduled for March 26, 2024 at
1:00 p.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
Page 8 of 46
1
Tourism Business Improvement District Board Minutes
March 26, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
TBID Board Present: Member Lori Keller, Member Winston Newland, Member
Prashant Patel, Member Sandy Sandoval, Chair Clint Pearce
City Staff Present: Economic Development & Tourism Manager Molly Cano,
Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-
Charlesworth
_____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Special Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District
Board was called to order on March 26, 2024 at 1:00 p.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. BUSINESS ITEMS
3.a GALA PRIDE & DIVERSITY CENTER STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP (25
MIN)
Representatives from Noble Studios provided a recap on last year’s Pride
marketing and provided recommendations for this year. Dusty Colyer-Worth from
GALA Pride & Diversity Center presented a proposal for a 15-month strategic
partnership and responded to inquiries.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment—
Motion by Member Sandoval
Page 9 of 46
2
Seconded by Member Newland
ACTION: To allocate $23k to paid media for this year’s Pride events from the
Research budget and $30k to GALA Pride & Diversity Center for a strategi
partnership from the Events budget.
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Patel, Member Sandoval, Member Newland,
and Chair Pearce
Absent (2): Vice Chair Bates and Member Nipool Patel
CARRIED (5 to 0)
3.b SELECT RFP PROPOSALS FOR INTERVIEWS (65 MIN)
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment—
ACTION: Board consensus to invite the top five scoring agencies for first
interviews on April 16, 2024.
4. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:24 p.m. The next Regular Meeting of the
Tourism Business Improvement District Board is scheduled for April 10, 2024 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
Page 10 of 46
March 2024
WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total
California 66.00 72.17 67.77 185.20 198.41 189.22 122.24 143.20 128.23 -3.53 -0.02 -2.49 -3.00 -1.51 -2.49 -6.42 -1.53 -4.91
City of Paso Robles 55.14 68.60 58.99 151.76 226.68 176.66 83.68 155.51 104.20 -10.75 -5.83 -9.17 5.81 -1.75 3.06 -5.57 -7.47 -6.39
City of Pismo Beach 47.23 73.36 54.69 161.07 218.44 183.05 76.07 160.24 100.12 -9.69 39.55 4.43 -3.35 -2.75 -0.12 -12.72 35.71 4.30
City of San Luis Obispo 57.54 78.00 63.39 132.86 183.17 150.55 76.45 142.88 95.43 -7.01 17.19 0.27 -6.35 -0.52 -2.61 -12.92 16.58 -2.35
City of Morro Bay 47.00 65.26 52.22 109.30 141.58 120.82 51.37 92.40 63.09 -2.45 19.35 4.35 -2.86 -4.31 -2.23 -5.24 14.20 2.03
WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total
California 69.25 75.06 70.91 192.75 194.63 193.32 133.47 146.09 137.08 0.19 0.87 0.39 1.92 -0.44 1.20 2.11 0.43 1.59
City of Paso Robles 55.69 73.72 60.84 153.07 258.57 189.60 85.24 190.62 115.35 -0.10 -3.28 -1.23 7.45 -0.04 3.30 7.33 -3.31 2.03
City of Pismo Beach 56.15 82.34 63.64 162.46 230.79 187.73 91.23 190.04 119.46 13.11 23.16 16.63 -1.31 -6.95 -3.15 11.63 14.60 12.96
City of San Luis Obispo 60.79 83.18 67.19 136.21 210.10 162.35 82.81 174.77 109.08 8.56 11.10 9.44 -1.34 10.05 3.75 7.10 22.26 13.54
City of Morro Bay 55.18 74.35 60.66 114.82 152.44 127.99 63.36 113.34 77.64 8.15 19.04 11.73 2.12 0.16 1.99 10.44 19.24 13.95
WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total
California 69.52 74.57 70.96 193.74 191.95 193.20 134.69 143.14 137.10 4.06 -2.11 2.13 1.94 -2.21 0.63 6.09 -4.27 2.77
City of Paso Robles 58.53 72.53 62.53 154.54 255.45 187.98 90.45 185.27 117.54 -2.68 -12.29 -6.09 3.81 2.25 1.78 1.03 1.03 -4.42
City of Pismo Beach 61.22 77.55 65.88 172.14 231.20 192.00 105.38 179.29 126.50 29.05 10.60 22.19 -0.69 -10.80 -6.45 28.16 28.16 14.31
City of San Luis Obispo 61.90 77.79 66.44 135.05 193.30 154.54 83.60 150.36 102.68 10.92 -5.83 4.69 -5.08 -4.10 -5.96 5.29 5.29 -1.55
City of Morro Bay 55.19 68.23 58.91 118.75 157.90 131.71 65.54 107.74 77.59 9.10 -3.53 4.57 2.94 -5.36 -1.59 12.30 12.30 2.91
WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total WD WE Total
California 66.43 65.19 66.08 178.68 179.52 178.92 118.70 117.04 118.22 0.52 -14.93 -4.38 -0.82 -8.50 -3.42 -0.31 -22.16 -7.64
City of Paso Robles 65.87 53.99 62.48 166.78 213.96 178.43 109.86 115.52 111.48 -14.43 -35.24 -20.72 2.73 -14.89 -5.73 -12.10 -44.89 -25.26
City of Pismo Beach 76.88 70.94 75.19 197.29 244.90 210.13 151.68 173.74 157.99 40.64 -4.02 24.97 7.47 -8.65 -1.46 51.15 -12.32 23.14
City of San Luis Obispo 75.62 69.95 74.00 146.27 183.02 156.19 110.61 128.03 115.59 27.98 -14.58 12.80 1.12 -8.32 -4.91 29.41 -21.68 7.27
City of Morro Bay 67.31 61.25 65.58 122.73 148.12 129.50 82.61 90.72 84.93 15.85 -13.20 6.42 3.87 -13.49 -4.30 20.34 -24.91 1.84
For the Week of March 24, 2024 to
March 30, 2024
For the Week of March 17, 2024 to
March 23, 2024
For the Week of March 10, 2024 to
March 16, 2024
For the Week of March 03, 2024 to
March 09, 2024
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
Page 11 of 46
Page 12 of 46
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$ 1,024,818$ -1.5%
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$ 986,381$ -0.1%
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$ 747,844$ -3.1%
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$ 630,325$ 0.0%
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$ 539,507$ 2.4%
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$ 634,184$ -11.7%missing 6 hotels
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$ 6,842,159$
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 69.9 70.1 0.3%182.95 184.24 0.7%127.88 129.19 1.0%
November 61.6 62.7 1.8%168.42 164.58 -2.3%103.79 103.23 -0.5%
December 54.1 56.5 4.4%151.40 149.65 -1.2%81.88 84.56 3.3%
January 50.4 54.3 7.7%136.18 139.69 2.6%68.59 75.79 10.5%
February 65.9 59.7 -9.4%156.67 152.68 -2.5%103.3 91.2 -11.71%
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 67.73 0.00 176.80$ -0.01 121.68$ 0.00 Updated: 04/04/2024
Occupancy ADR RevPAR*Figures from Smith Travel
Research Report
TOT Comparison
Page 13 of 46
Page 14 of 46
Report to City of SLO – TBID and PCC
Public Relations Contract
March 2024
PR ACTIVITY
Implementation/Proactive Work
Hosted travel writer Alexa Mellardo's in partnership with DCI
Updated SLO Neighborhood Maps
Distributed Upcoming Spring Events press release on March 18
Continued pitching Midweekend promotion
Continued pitching See + Stay promotion
Continued working with the City and Noble Studios/DCI on overall tourism marketing campaign
Attended Visit California's Outlook Forum
Attended SLO Tribune Subscriber Forum
Responsive leads
Pitched "Group Travel in the Golden State", "Professional Meetings & Events Story Idea: Global Meetings Industry Day" and "Skip-Gen Trips" story ideas to Visit California
Partnerships
Continued planning for SoCal Spring Media Mission with DCI
Continued working with Badger Branding on Downtown Neighborhood Map
Continued working with the City, DCI, Hotel SLO and the SLO International Film Festival to plan The Art of SLO(wing) Down group media trip
Continued working with the City, DCI, Noble and Badger Branding on Sustainable SLO marketing plan
PUBLICATION PLACEMENTS UVPM AD VALUE PILLARS RESULT OF
YAHOO NEWS Calling all 'weird rodent' fans: Beaver Festival is returning to SLO this weekend 180,340,000.00 $34,344.70 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING
KCBX SLO County Beaver Festival returns for another year 22,000.00 $1.21 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING
FORBES SLO Traveling Through California's Central Coast 75,780,000.00 $27,658.75 Cultural HOSTING BY HOTEL SLO
TRAVEL PULSE Kind Traveler's Every Stay Gives Back Program Helps Plant Trees in San Luis Obispo 405,000.00 $62.77 Sustainability PROACTIVE PITCHING BY KIND TRAVELER
SUSTAINABLE BRANDS Kind Traveler Adds SLO to Destinations Where 'Every Stay Gives Back 42,000.00 $5.81 Sustainability PROACTIVE PITCHING BY KIND TRAVELER
KSBY Lineup for 30th annual San Luis Obispo International Film Festival announced 478,000.00 $39.54 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING BY SLO FILM FESTIVAL
KSBY New offerings in store for SLO International Film Festival's 30th anniversary 478,000.00 $39.54 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING BY SLO FILM FESTIVAL
KCLU Central Coast film festival celebrating 30th anniversary, has 125 film lineup 25,000.00 $1.36 Cultural PROACTIVE PITCHING BY SLO FILM FESTIVAL
YAHOO NEWS SLO airport is adding a bunch more flights - but dropping another. Here's what's changing 180,340,000.00 $34,344.70 Cultural
MSN Top 10 Happiest Cities in the USA: Where Variety and Contentment Flourish 157,190,000.00 $15,444.86 Cultural
YELP Top 10 Family-Friendly Travel Destinations, According to Yelp 94,982,570.00 $12,003.71 Family
USA TODAY Top dog-friendly vacation destinations 66,340,000.00 $15,188.34 Family
24/7 WALL STREET Avoid Every Hard Cider Brand, Except These 1,940,000.00 $95.54 Beer/Wine
THE TECH EDVOCATE These Are 10 Of The Best Historic Downtowns In California 1,170,000.00 $7.88 Cultural
VACATION IDEA 25 Best Day Trips from Santa Barbara, Southern California 879,000.00 $184.43 Cultural
AMERICAN CRAFT BEER Best Beer Destinations: 5 Serious Beercation Hotels 48,000.00 $1.20 Beer/Wine
HOTELS ABOVE PAR Where to Find California's Most Underrated Vineyards 28,000.00 $1.21 Beer/Wine
TOTALS
17 760,487,570.00 $139,425.55
TOTAL YTD 1,785,224,195.00 $1,073,500.89
126 2,545,711,765.00 $1,212,926.44
Page 15 of 46
Page 16 of 46
Mar Feb Mar
2023 2024 2024 Asia 0%
Walk-ins 4,470 5,276 5,062 Europe 38%
Phone Calls 612 206 211 Australia/NZ 0%
Emails & Digital 1,106 979 1,012 UK 29%
N. America 32%
C. America 0%
Mar Feb Mar S. America 0%
2023 2024 2024
Calls 122 42 27 West Coast 18%
Southwest 15%
Midwest 40%
Mar Feb Mar South 14%
2023 2024 2024 East Coast 13%
Referrals 785 25 48
Northern CA 25%
Central Coast 40%
Mar Feb Mar Central Valley 6%
2023 2024 2024 Desert 0%
Email 82 112 101 Southern CA 29%
Phone Calls 296 124 132
Feb Feb Mar
2023 2024 2024 YTD
Fulfilled N/A 50 VisitSLO.com 46 80
INFORMATION REQUESTS EVENTS SHARED
REPORT TO CITY OF SLO - TBID & PCC
GUEST SERVICES CONTRACT
MARCH 2024
DEMOGRAPHIC SNAPSHOT
International Travelers
VISITOR INTERACTION
CALLS TO 877-SLO-TOWN
HOTEL REFERRALS
HOTEL AVAILABILITY TRACKER
Domestic Travelers
California Travelers
VISITOR CENTER ACTIVATIONS
No external activations
VISITOR CENTER HIGHLIGHTS
1) Continuing MidWeekend travelers program
3) First appearance of the Spring Break crowds
2) Quarterly visits out to the hotel properties - introducing Jessica
Page 17 of 46
Page 18 of 46
Agency Report ·March 2024
SLO-TBID
Page 19 of 46
Agency Repor t
March Activity &Performance
What’s Ahead:
●Quarterly Marketing Plan FY23-24:
Visit SLO - 30/60/90 Marketing Plan - FY23-24
Paid Media
Paid Search
In March,paid search drove 30,799 impressions (+13%YoY),5,177 clicks (+58%YoY),16.81%CTR
(+40%YoY),a 59.27%conversion rate (+58%YoY),a $3.28 average CPC (-27%YoY)and 9,334
sessions (+9.2%YoY)while driving 2,391 hotel referrals (+117%YoY),152 homestay referrals
(+204%YoY),and 359 things to do referrals (+489%YoY)at a 15%increase in cost YoY.
In April,we will focus on building out more paid search campaigns that target travelers higher in
their journey to generate additional destination awareness.
This graph shows PoP data as YoY comparisons within the GA4 dashboard are not available,as GA4 was
implemented less than one year ago.
2
Page 20 of 46
Paid Social
Paid social drove 3,177,537 impressions (-0.01%YoY),1,179,050 users reached,and 54,877 clicks
(+46%YoY)across Facebook and Instagram with a 1.73%CTR for FB/Instagram (+46%YoY)for
21,873 sessions (+64%YoY)while driving 153 hotel referrals (+125%YoY),15 Homestay referrals
(+650%YoY),and 36 things to do referral (+620%YoY)at a 22%increase in cost YoY.
Over the last several months we have been optimizing our campaigns to drive higher quality leads and
improve conversion rates for our campaigns.
Display
Display drove 5,316,499 impressions (+63%YoY),8,733 clicks (-21%YoY),a 0.16%CTR (-52%
YoY),a 1.33%conversion rate (+184%YoY)and 4,713 sessions (-48%YoY)while driving 65 hotel
referrals (+67%YoY),7 homestay referrals (+40%YoY),and 7 things to do referral (-30%YoY),at
an 8%decrease in cost YoY.
As Google transitions away from traditional static display ads,we expect to continue to see
decreases in performance for these types of static ads.New ad formats such as Performance Max
and Demand Gen ads allow Google to utilize machine learning and AI to improve performance by
dynamically switching out headlines,descriptions,and other assets.We will continue to build out
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more ads for these types of ads to utilize these new tools and continue to drive higher levels of
engagement and performance across the display networks.
This graph shows PoP data as YoY comparisons within the GA4 dashboard are not available,as GA4 was
implemented less than one year ago.
Video
Video campaigns drove 543,077 impressions (+33%YoY),6,120 clicks (+259%YoY),a 1.13%CTR
(+171%YoY),a 27%in-stream view rate (+30%YoY)and 4,061 sessions (+154%YoY)while driving
5 hotel referrals (+400%YoY),3 things to do referrals (+200%YoY),and 1 newsletter signup,at a
49%decrease in cost YoY.
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Proactively monitored and optimized paid media placements ($48,434 spend).
The MidWeekend (February -March)
We ran ads in Google Display and social media for the MidWeekend in February and March.
MidWeekend campaigns drove 5,780,677 impressions (+79%YoY),20,172 sessions (+65%YoY),
47,099 clicks (+35%YoY),1.57 pages per session (+28%YoY),an average session duration of 54
seconds (+125%YoY),920 hotel referrals (+224%YoY),9 homestay referrals (+12%YoY),and 25
things to do referrals (+127%YoY)at an increase of 12%in spend YoY.
Email Marketing
Monthly Newsletter
In March,we sent two monthly newsletters to all subscribers that highlighted the MidWeekend deal
and SLO Film Fest event.In March,our newsletters drove 980 sessions (-6%PoP),430 total partner
referrals (-29%PoP),180 hotel referrals (-4%PoP),had an average engagement rate of 48.47%
(-15%PoP),an average session duration of 2m 23s (-9%PoP),and an average pages/session of
2.36 (-12%PoP).
Key Takeaway:MidWeekend emails drove higher levels of engagement and partner referrals when
compared to our Film Fest email.Because February contained two MidWeekend emails and March
only contained one,we saw slightly better performance in February overall.
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March Newsletter #1 Snapshot |The MidWeekend
●Send Date:3/18/24
●Audience Reached:All Newsletters Subscribers
●Recipients:21,414
●Open Rate:58.7%
●Click Rate:2.2%
●Number of Website Sessions:562
●Average Session Duration:2:49
●Pages /Session:2.45
●Engagement Rate:52%
●Total Partner Referrals:288
●Total Lodging Referrals:132
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March Newsletter #2 Snapshot |Film Fest
●Send Date:3/27/24
●Audience Reached:All Newsletters Subscribers
●Recipients:21,417
●Open Rate:55.8%
●Click Rate:1.6%
●Number of Website Sessions:417
●Average Session Duration:1:48
●Pages /Session:2.24
●Engagement Rate:43.65%
●Total Partner Referrals:142
●Total Lodging Referrals:56
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)&Content Creation
Organic search traffic increased 12%period-over-period and increased 37%year-over-year.
Year-over-year organic search generated 1,216 hotel partner referrals (+174%YoY),61 homestay
partner referrals (+118%YoY),and 1,943 things to do referrals increased by (+94%YoY).YoY
Average Session Duration increased 108%,and pages per session increased 25%.
Page 1 keywords increased to 1,296 (+8%PoP),and total keywords increased to 5,009 (+5%PoP).
In March,we performed an optimization of the places to stay page and added FAQ questions and
schema to the Things to do/Places to Stay pages.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.
Dinner Page (Optimized in August)
Golf Courses Page (Optimized in November)
Cal Poly Page (Optimized in November)
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Things to Do Page (Optimized in January)
Website
In March,the website saw 83,119 total sessions (+32%YoY).The highest engagement rates came
from cross-network,organic search,and email.March saw an average of 1.97 pages per session
(+33%YoY)and an average session duration of 1:32 (+106%YoY).In March we saw 5,091 Hotel
Referrals (+108%YoY),364 Homestay referrals (+119%YoY),and 3,345 Things to Do referrals
(+122%YoY).
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MRO Updates:
Plugins:
○ACF
○Gravity Forms
○Gravity Forms Mailchimp Add-on
○Permalink Manager Pro
○The Events Calendar
○WP Mail SMTP
○Yoast
Theme Updates
○Event hero no longer shows an empty location pin if no venue is set
○Built out the editor preview for the Featured Content block
○Added fields to customize the category CTAs in the featured Content block (so we
can boost SEO scores)
○Added styles to the core heading block so that any “<strong>”tags pasted into the
content will not cause the headline to render with a lighter font weight
○Some code reorganization to keep customizations organized
○Removed an empty “Theme Settings”submenu item from the WP admin Settings
sidebar
○Removed unused js scripts from the theme
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Web Retainer
Includes the injection of 10 hours for the approved SLO International Film Festival and Harvest on
the Coast campaign support.
Monthly Progress
Task Hours Accomplishments
Monthly Maintenance,
Coordination,and
Management
4.25 homepage updates,neighborhood page publishing,crowdriff IG
pattern,listing updates,post type strategy
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Creative Services
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Monthly Progress
Task Hours Accomplishments
Monthly Maintenance,
Coordination,and
Management
23.5 SLO Letterhead,Film Fest email,Video updates,IPW updates,Film
fest landing page updates
PR And Media Relations
Proactive Pitching:
●One Town,Many Audiences (empty nesters,wine and food,,cultural celebrations)
●SLO Midweekender -Monitoring for Coverage
●Women’s History Month
Media Relations:Pitching and Outreach
●Patrice Williams,Essence,Lesser-Known Wine Regions
●Robin Smith,Extended Weekend Getaways,TV and Movie Travel Destinations
●Boston Globe,Upcycled Motels
●Courtney Holden,Spring Break Destinations with Non-Stop Flights From Den
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Hosted Media Visits (3-5 visits/partnerships in 2023-24)
●Individual Media Visits -5 Complete
○Lina Lecaro,LA Weekly,August 2-4
○Eileen Ognitz &Andrew Yemma,Taking the Kids,August 9-11
○Susan Lanier-Graham,North Peoria Lifestyle,October 26
○Erica Zazo,Backpacker Magazine,December 6-9
○Alexa Mellardo,Eat This,Not That,March 6-9
●Upcoming Individual Media Visits (Confirmed)
○Matt Meltzer,Fifty Grande,May 15-16
○Garrett Martin,Paste Magazine,May 13-16
●Group FAM,April 23-27 (4-6 media)
○Mae Hamilton,AFAR,AARP,TripAdvisor (confirmed)
○Janet Fullwood,Mercury News (confirmed)
○Marah Anne Eakin,Thrillist,Fodor’s,LA Times,Dwell (confirmed)
○Janet O’Grady,Architectural Digest,WSJ,Organic Spa
○Linda Laban,NY Post,Gannett (TBD)
SoCal Coastal Media Mission:
●Santa Monica,May 13
○The Potting Shed |6:15-8:45pm)
●DTLA/Ar ts District,May 14
○Manuela 11:30am-2pm
●Newport Beach (OC),May 15
○Dine +Duffy 4:30-7:30pm
●San Diego,May 16
○Desksides only
DCI’s All Client Pitch Initiative
Proposed:(4-6 pitches throughout 2023-24)
Progress:
6 Complete:What’s New in 2024 (July 2023),Hispanic Heritage Month (August
2023),Foodie Destinations (September 2023),Babymoons (October 2023),
Accessibility (November 2023),Story Starters (February 2024)
DCI 2023-24 SLO Coverage Grid:
●https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X5vv8eqMyV4HSLq4nod-fio_XtbqSyap54Hau1w
V7yY/edit#gid=1486951543
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March 2024
SLO TBID - SHARESLO
ORGANIC SOCIAL REPORT
Date: 4/10/24Page 35 of 46
Followers: 30,178 ( 1.8%)
Total Follower Gain: 541
Total Posts: 193
Total Impressions: 819,967 ( 8%)
(includes both organic & paid)
Total stories: 211
Total Engagements:9,608 ( 38%)
Engagement Rate: 1.2% ( 43%)
INSTAGRAM
TOP POSTS:
In March, we saw an increase in followers which puts us over 30k on this platform! This equates to a 20% organic increase in
the past year alone. We also saw an increase in total impressions with the help of video content with high viewing volume and
popular giveaways this month.
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Page Followers: 98,517 ( 0.2%)
Total Net Audience Growth: 152
Total Posts: 19
Total Impressions: 2,841,597 ( 14%)
Total Organic: 134,991 ( 35%)
Total Engagements: 41,746 ( 34%)
Engagement Rate: 1 % ( 47%)
FACEBOOK
TOP POSTS:
In March, we saw an increase in page followers and had a very successful “viral” post that garnered over 91K impressions!
Our total organic impressions have also increased, along with engagements. Women’s History Month content earned
itself two of the top 3 posts this month.
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Followers: 59
Total Net Growth: 0
Total Impressions: 3.21k ( 39%)
Total Saves: 60 ( 93%)
Engagements: 191 ( 112%)
Total Audience: 1.8k ( 13%)
Engaged Audience: 119 ( 83%)
In March, we saw increased impressions, saves, audience, and engagements. We catered to our engaged audience by posting
what always remains popular, and we engaged our total audience, which continues to increase month over month.
TOP POSTS:
PINTEREST
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Total Audience: 267
Total Net Growth: 25
Total Posts: 4
Impressions: 1,216 ( 28%)
Engagements: 134 ( 8%)
Engagement Rate: 11% ( 28%)
LINKEDIN
TOP POSTS:
In March, we gained 25 new members in our audience! We are seeing a high engagement rate on this platform by posting
interesting articles with captions that grab audience and intrigue the viewer to learn more.
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Total Posts: 2
Story Views: 250 ( 331%)
Story Impressions: 1.7k ( 72%)
Interaction Rate: 73% ( 11.7%)
(Average Rate: 67%)
Completion Rate: 62.7% ( 14%)
(Average Rate: 52%)
CA Travel Stories - Crowdriff
POSTS THIS MONTH:
In March, we increased our interaction rate, completion rate, and total story views which means the people who saw our
stories likely shared, saved, went to our website, and interacted with the content. We remain above the industry average for
those analytics. These stories are entirely exposure-based and depend on high quality images, clear content focusing on
SEO, and short duration. We are starting a trial of UGC created stories.
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WHAT WE WORKED ON THIS MONTH:
-Hit 30.1K IG Followers!
-National Women’s History Month
-At Her Table, Local Woman Musicians, Local Woman Artists
- MidWeekend Campaign Wrap
-Arts and Culture
-SLO Film Fest Introductions
-Vintage Murals in SLO (16K Views)
-Outdoor SLO
-First Day of Spring, Green Rolling Hills
-Partnership Launch w/ Kind Traveler
-Collaborations w/ @madonnainntrailrides, @rose_the_slo_way,
@slofilmfest, @bikeslocounty
-Plane Travel Reel (12.7K Views), SLO Promo Reel (14.6K Views)
-CA Network Stories Focus on UGC Page 41 of 46
APRIL’S FOCUS:
-SLO Film Fest
-Mogul Movie Pass Giveaway, 4 Movies Made in SLO, etc.
-Outdoor Activities
-Wine Tasting in SLO, Earth Day in SLO, Superbloom,
-Highway 1 Reel
-Sustainability in SLO
-Sustainable Outfits for Spring
-Local Reel (Shop Small)
-3 Ways to be SLO Green
-World Art Day, Art After Dark Reel
-Giveaways w/ @calpolybsb, @downtownslo (Sip ‘n’ Saunter),
@pacslo & @opera_slo, @slofilmfest, @kind.traveler, @shabangslo
-Oysters in SLO, New Businesses in SLO, Karaoke in SLO
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1
Promotional Coordinating Committee Minutes
March 13, 2024, 5:30 p.m.
City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
PCC Members
Present:
Committee Member Maureen Forsberg, Committee Member
John Thomas, Committee Member Anni Wang, Committee
Member Robin Wolf, Vice Chair Lori Lerian, Chair Samantha
Welch
PCC Members Absent: Committee Member Clint Pearce
City Staff Present: Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-
Charlesworth
_____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Promotional Coordinating Committee
was called to order on March 13, 2024 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 Committee Member Thomas
Second By Committee Member Wolf
To approve Consent Items 3a to 3f.
Ayes (6): Committee Member Forsberg, Committee Member Thomas, Committee
Member Wang, Committee Member Wolf, Vice Chair Lerian, and Chair Welch
Absent (1): Committee Member Pearce
CARRIED (6 to 0)
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3.a MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING ON JANUARY 10, 2024
3.b 2023-24 COMMUNITY PROMOTION BUDGET REPORT
3.c SLO CHAMBER MONTHLY PUBLIC RELATIONS REPORTS
3.d SLO CHAMBER GUEST SERVICES REPORTS
3.e SLO CHAMBER GIA SUPPORT REPORTS
3.f TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REPORTS
4. PRESENTATIONS
4.a PUBLIC RELATIONS MONTHLY ACTIVITY UPDATES (10 MIN)
Hollie West, SLO Chamber presented the monthly public relations
activities for January and February and responded to inquiries.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Action: No action taken on this item.
4.b BUY LOCAL BONUS RECAP (20 MIN)
Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth
and SLO Chamber, Verdin Marketing and Badger Branding
representatives presented the report and responded to inquiries.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Action: No action taken on this item.
4.c EAT LOCAL BONUS & SLO RESTAURANT WEEK RECAP (20 MIN)
Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth
and SLO Chamber, Verdin Marketing and Badger Branding
representatives presented the report and responded to inquiries.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Action: No action taken on this item.
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5. BUSINESS ITEMS
5.a PCC CHAIR & VICE-CHAIR APPOINTMENTS (10 MIN)
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Motion By Committee Member Wolf
Second By Committee Member Wang
To appoint Samantha Welch as Chair and Lori Lerian as Vice Chair.
Ayes (6): Committee Member Forsberg, Committee Member Thomas,
Committee Member Wang, Committee Member Wolf, Vice Chair Lerian,
and Chair Welch
Absent (1): Committee Member Pearce
CARRIED (6 to 0)
5.b CACP PROGRAM UPDATE (15 MIN)
Chair Welch and Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Clark-
Charlesworth provided an update on the CACP grant process and went
over the subcommittee review process and timeline.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
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: January 10 and
February 14, 2024
Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth
provided an update on items the TBID has been working on.
6.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – Staff Report
Tourism & Community Promotions Manager Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth
provided an update on the Tourism Program.
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7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:02 p.m. The next Regular Meeting of the
Promotional Coordinating Committee is scheduled for April 10, 2024 at 5:30 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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