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TDC Minutes 07/17/2023July 17, 2023 MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING Naples, Florida, July 17, 2023 LET IT BE REMEMBERED the Collier County Tourist Development Council, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9 a.m. in a REGULAR SESSION in Building F of the Government Complex, Naples, Florida, with the following members present: Chairman: Commissioner Bill McDaniel Jr. Vice Chairman: Clark Hill Susan Becker Kathleen Brock (excused) Amanda Cox (excused) Councilor Jared Councilor Grifoni Nancy Kerns Ed "Ski" Olesky Councilwoman Beth Petrunoff (excused) ALSO PRESENT: Paul Beirnes, Collier County Tourism Director Colleen Greene, Assistant County Attorney Buzzy Ford, Tourism Digital & Social Media Coordinator Marissa Baker, Manager, Paradise Coast Sports Complex Amanda Townsend, County Museums Director July 17, 2023 Anyone who needs a verbatim record of the meeting may request a video recording from the Collier County Communications & Customer Relations Department or view it online. 1. Call to Order Chairman McDaniel called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Roll Call Mr. Beirnes said Ms. Cox will be joining via Zoom around 10 a.m., if we're still going. Ms. Brock has an excused absence and Ms. Petrunoff cannot attend due to a conflict with Naples City Council. A quorum of six was established by members present in the board room. 4. Agenda and Minutes A. Changes and Approval of Today's Agenda Mr. Beirnes said there were no changes to the agenda. Councilor Grifoni made a motion to approve the agenda. Second by Vice Chair Hill. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. B. Approval of prior TDC Meeting Minutes Regular Meeting .tune 19, 2023 Mr. Olesky made a motion to approve the June 19, 2023, meeting minutes. Second by Ms. Kerns. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. 5. Presentations A. Executive Director Update [Paul Beirnes] Mr. Beirnes reported that: • Several TDC members were able to watch the county's fireworks on July 4, which occurred at Paradise Coast Sports Complex after a decision to move it from Sugden Park to PCSC about 10 days before the event. Everyone, from PCSC to Parks & Rec, the Sheriff's Office and landfill, collaborated to get it done and we received positive feedback. • About 7,500 attendees showed up and there were some challenges getting some vehicles back onto Collier Boulevard afterward. We're looking at that location for the next July 4th event and other similar events. • Some of the biggest news occurred on July 6, when the Ritz -Carlton reopened. That's the location where we're holding our FY23-24 marketing summit on Wednesday. We've partnered with them and we'll give attendees the opportunity to experience the resort and tour it. There will be about 130 attendees, an all-time record high. OA July 17, 2023 • We're watching conditions. The Saharan dust is occurring, but we're not seeing media hoopla impacting visitation and we're monitoring adverse impacts. • He sends out the STR Report every week and we continue to hold our own with the occupancy, ADR and RevPAR compared with 2022. This year, we've pushed our efforts toward the shoulder seasons and we're starting to see the fruits of that labor. Last year was a record -setting pace, so if we are holding our own to that year, that's a pretty solid performance. • We have formed a partnership with Sizzle Dining, a dining month with a three -course fixed -price menu event in Collier County from Sept. 7-27. Performance declined slightly over the pandemic, but it's coming back, with about 70 restaurants participating here. We will bundle that within our messaging, pushing Florida and local residents to our destination for September. It's great for families. • In 2019, our yearly TDT collection was $31 million and we're already targeted to achieve $41 million this year, even after the hurricane. That's kudos to the entire destination, the resiliency. That marks about a 32% increase compared with 2019. • Last year, we had a collection of about $48 million, but based on the Ritz and LaPlaya and some other factors, we'd estimated that was our best -case scenario, about $40 million, but we're coming in around $41 million. 6. Consent Agenda All matters listed under this agenda item are routine and action will be taken by one motion without separate discussion on each item. If discussion is desired by a member of the TDC, those items will be moved from the Consent Agenda and considered separately under New Business or Old Business. A. Beach Park Facilities (None) B. Tourism Division (None) 7. New Business (Andy Miller, Coastal Management) A. Recommendation to approve the after -the -fact payment in the amount of 510,355.50 to Vulcan Inc. for the replacement of emergency location identification R-monument markers that were damaged or lost during Hurricane Ian and make a finding that this expenditure promotes tourism (Fund 1105, Project No. 50280). Mr. Beirnes outlined the recommendation and introduced Andy Miller. Chairman McDaniel asked if he wanted to detail it more or if they should just vote. Mr. Miller said he'd leave that up to him. Vice Chair Hill noted that the item promotes tourism. Ms. Becker said she'd second it but had a question. The agenda packet didn't include a description of these markers or where they're placed, just technical descriptions. She asked if Mr. Miller could explain. 3 July 17, 2023 Mr. Miller explained that: • It's a 1'/z by 2-foot sign that we place every 1,000 feet along the beach, starting at the Lee County line all the way down to south Marco. • It's a thick grade aluminum that stands up to winds. They say R-1, R-2, up to R-148. • They mark every 1,000 feet to identify the area in case there's an emergency or incident on the beach. • We did the right thing by getting these signs. We had a contract with Vulcan to purchase the signs and it was getting ready to expire and they didn't want to renew it, so right after the hurricane, we quickly moved to purchase the signs before the contract ran out. • But the 1'/z-by-2-foot sign was not included in the original contract sizes, so we should have gone back out for quotes, but it was too late by then. • The good news is Vulcan's price, $69.50, was better than the other quotes we got, roughly $80 and $90. • In the Olde Naples area, a good example of a sign would be R-74, which is near the pier, and R-89 is Gordon Pass. Ms. Becker said now they can see them. Vice Chair Hill made a motion to recommend approving the after -the fact payment in the amount of $10,355.50 to Vulcan Inc. for the replacement of emergency location identification R-monument markers that were damaged or lost during Hurricane Ian and made a finding that this expenditure promotes tourism. Second by Ms. Becker. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0. 8. Old Business None 9. 10-minute Break (None) 10. Marketing Partner Reports These reports (Marketing Partner Reports - Downs & St. Germain Research; Paradise Advertising & Marketing, Inc.; Lou Hammond Group; Convention & Visitors Bureau PR Team; Collier County Tax Collector - tourist tax collections; Miles Partnership - Website Analytics, Digital & Social Media; Paradise Coast Sports Complex, and County Museums) are provided to TDC members on a county Website link. The Research Data Services report is presented monthly, and other reports are presented at TDC meetings on an -as -needed basis. TDC members may request a presentation by the marketing partner representative or by tourism staff at each TDC meeting. Part 1. Marketing Partner Report A. Downs & St. Germain Research — Joseph St. Germain, president [Mr. St. Germain detailed a PowerPoint presentation, May 2023 Monthly Dashboard.] Ms. Becker asked what happened with the June report. 4 July 17, 2023 Chairman McDaniel said we won't see June until next month. We're behind one month on the reports due to the change in the meeting time (moving from the fourth to the third week). Mr. St. Germain said they're able to put together a few reports for June, but are missing many numbers and reports. Vice Chair Hill thanked Mr. Beirnes for including the STR reports. That competitive set data is interesting and may not include all the vacation rentals, but it gives a good feel and you can see that our destination continues to fare well both with occupancy and ADR. That's great to see. Mr. Beirnes responded that. The Longwoods Travel Sentiment Study, Wave No. 75, came out last week. There's a lot of information in there and he and Joseph pore over it. For the past few months, he and Joseph noticed many different measurements, such as how will COVID impact your travel plans, gas prices, interest rates, cost of travel and all these things. Lately, they're kind of flat and no outlier jumps. Everybody's kind of numb. • One thing jumped out for him. It said that "compared to pre -pandemic, do you expect higher or as good of service in the next six months as you experienced pre - pandemic?" Of those surveyed, 82% indicated that they expected a higher level of service through travel and hospitality businesses than they did pre -pandemic. That tells me they absorbed it for a little while, but now they know they're paying higher ADRs and higher prices for food and they're reaching an equilibrium, so now they're going to start pushing back the service and the quality. • That's an alarm bell for the hospitality industry. We need to ensure that our staffing levels are there, and that service is being delivered. We'll be mentioning that during our FY 23/24 marketing summit and will encourage our partners to be aware and wary of it because the traveling public have depleted their savings and will be amping up expectations. Vice Chair Hill said the difficulty in hiring team members has been talked about a lot, but we're starting to see more available talent and we're able to fill positions. The industry is going to be able to build these positions pretty quickly, which they have wanted and needed. We're going to see an improvement in the service level. Mr. Beirnes said that's great news. As of February, the county Tax Collector has a collection agreement with Vrbo and we're starting to see those collections reaching the bottom line for the TDT coming from the Vrbo collections, which is good to see. Mr. St. Germain said he will be presenting virtually at the marketing summit, showing trends and year-to-date numbers. B. Paradise Advertising — Tom Merrick, Chief Creative Officer [Mr. Merrick detailed a PowerPoint presentation on the "Only" campaign.] Chairman McDaniel asked where the hammock in the photo was. Mr. Merrick said it's at the Marriott J.W., which is a great location to shoot because everything is there for production. Ms. Becker said you said you wouldn't home in on prosthetics, but you did. 5 July 17, 2023 Mr. Merrick said it won't look like that in the ads. In the video highlight reel, we wanted to show that it was there because it's a fast-moving shot. If we do a spot, it will be quick. It'll be more like what you saw here. Ms. Becker said you captured it all. Vice Chair Hill said they did a great job. Ms. Becker said there was a good variety. Mr. Beirnes said: • When we introduced the "Only campaign," we kind of jerry-rigged old imagery. We have a shopping image we've used so much the couple is probably in their 80s now. We have imagery dating back to about 2015, so it's served its purpose. • The goal was to have the longevity of use for many years. • This involved an alignment of good weather conditions and talent. • The reel showing what's in the video is done for him, so he can see what's captured. It's good to see the abundance. • For any mobility inclusion, we're going to be very passive. We won't draw attention to a person with a prosthetic on the paddle board. The beauty was the transparency and the authenticity of our talent, which was heartfelt and included a local resident and a veteran, so we're pretty excited. C. Lou Hammond Group — Mackenzie Comerer, VP PR [Ms. Comerer detailed a PowerPoint presentation, "Services Conducted in June 2023. " [No questions were asked.] Ms. Comerer said we're looking forward to being part of the marketing meetings this week at the Ritz Carlton with everybody. Part 2. Marketing Partner Reports D. Collier County Tourist Tax Collections — Paul Beirnes, Tourism Director Mr. Beirnes detailed a PowerPoint presentation: • What we're starting to see as opposed to some of the slippage that we've talked about through TDT collections is that the bottom is the collection within apartments, condos and homes. • We're starting to see Vrbos gaining some traction and elevating the numbers. • A year ago, we were not able to collect those and since February, we're starting to see some of that tracking forward. Chairman McDaniel said we all travel in different circles and see different things. Most of us have our own Facebook page, so if you see an anomaly or an advertisement, you're welcome to send us a note that you've seen someone advertising who may or may not be properly registered. The key to success in these collections and collecting the tax is making sure that folks who are advertising and renting out are properly licensed, insured and registered so that they can pay the TDT and sales tax. Code Enforcement or the Tax Collector can run a quick check and ensure that the advertisement is properly registered. 0 July 17, 2023 Mr. Beirnes continued his presentation: • The numbers we're seeing here were consumed in May, paid in June and then we report them here in July. • Where we started a year ago, when we were assigned our budget to market globally, the divvy of our funding was $32.8 million. The updated forecast of where Finance believes we're going to come in by the end of September is $41.4 million, so we've collected $34.5 million and have exceeded our adopted budget level, so we're feeling good overall. • We had a bit of slippage with the hurricane, but we recovered quickly and at a pace that exceeds our budget. • We had some good strength over February, March and into April. There was a slight wobble in March, but everyone in Florida saw the same thing. It's a little bit of the Florida fatigue, the red tide and a laundry list of issues. Fortunately, all my colleagues have said that it seems to have stabilized. • We're already starting to see some good trajectory as we go into July. We've hit that point after July 41h where a lot of Florida and domestic residents are booking and planning their last family getaways before the kids go back to school in a month. • In the next couple of weeks on the STR report, you'll see that upward trajectory. • The Canadian market has been very strong, 90%-plus increased. We have really pushed for our marketing in the spring and summer for shoulder season and we're starting to see that. In July and August, we're going to start seeing continued widening of those numbers. • We're seeing good news all around. E. Miles Partnership — Enriqueta Balandra [Ms. Balandra detailed a PowerPoint presentation, "Paradise. com — June 2023 "] [There were no questions.] F. Paradise Coast Sports Complex/Sports Facilities Companies — Marissa Baker, Adrian Moses, J.P. Terrasi. Ms. Baker told the TDC: • They will present the April and May numbers and will present the quarterly report at the next meeting. • She thanked the commissioners for attending the July 41h event. • The City of Naples decided not to host their fireworks, and so less than two weeks before the event, we were asked to partner with Parks & Recreation and our operator at the complex to host them and we did it seamlessly. • We all pivoted really well and we had about 7,000 people there. We're so grateful and that's a good testament to the partners and how we all worked together. • Right after that, we went right into the Top 10 event, which had over 2,000 athletes in the complex. `Mr. Moses detailed the June 2023 TDC Report.] Chairman McDaniel said as he goes forward, it's a government habit to adjust budgets midstream on an ongoing basis. It's hard for him to remember what you told me you were 7 July 17, 2023 going to do. When you revise it moving forward, could you please keep the original budget and then compare to that one as you go forward? You can put another column in with the revised budget and your comparisons to the revised budget to internally account for how and what you're doing. Budgets are static. We do many budget amendments each week. It's very difficult to grasp the positives and negatives that are transpiring. The goal is not to penalize. The goal is to learn both from positive experiences and negative experiences and if we embrace that, we'll have a true picture as to what we're doing versus what we originally planned and what's transpiring. Mr. Moses said he understands, and we'll do that for the quarterly report. He wanted a certain level, a humble approach. If they'd put in the original budget, we would have been so far ahead, it would have looked like we were bragging. Chairman McDaniel said it's not bragging, it's telling the truth. You prophesied this. [Mr. Moses continued with his PowerPoint presentation] Chairman McDaniel asked for an update about when the fields would be ready. Mr. Beirnes said they're waiting for an update on a meeting that occurred a week ago. There's no firm insight, but it appears it will be positive news. [Mr. Terrasi detailed a PowerPoint presentation.] Mr. Terrasi noted that it was difficult to detail monthly anomalies because it's easier to compare year to year. Chairman McDaniel said they're aware of the monthly anomalies that transpire. You don't have to apologize for them. We know we had a big event with the Grove Church and the Easter Sunday service and the more than 4,000 people who came to the Easter Sunday service. He doubts half of them had never been to Paradise Coast before, or the 7,000 people who showed up for the fireworks. As he travels, he asks how many have been there and nobody raises their hand, so this is a progression of people learning about it. The more events we have, the more and the better we get. The better we get, the more events we have. Mr. Terrasi said they did a small poll and well over half of the Grow Church members hadn't been to Paradise Coast before. Same with the July 41h event. [Mr. Terrasi continued his PowerPoint presentation.] Ms. Kerns said she wanted to commend everyone on the 4ch of July event. It was an amazing event. Everybody was having fun. The food was good, the movie was fun, the fireworks were spectacular. It was a group effort in such a short period of time. She's done events on Fifth Avenue and knows the collaboration needed. It was outstanding and it all came together. It's going to be bigger and better. Thank you to all of you for your tremendous efforts. It looked like there were a lot of volunteers and security, people hauling trash. The place was spotless. How many volunteers did you have for that event? Mr. Terrasi said there were no volunteers, just staff, and possibly five or six volunteers. Ms. Kerns said there were people everywhere, including the sheriffs office. It was outstanding. Mr. Terrasi said they have a Fourth of July reel on YouTube with a compilation of the event. They also posted shots on their social media accounts. We had a Jimmy Hendrix kind 8 July 17, 2023 of Star-Spangled Banner -type roll -up and he had that taped in the background while showing video clips of the day. It's neat to look at. Chairman McDaniel asked who the semi -famous guitarist was that he mentioned. Mr. Terrasi said it was Elly B. Mr. Beirnes told the TDC: • It was a great collaborative effort. • When they talked about 2,000 athletes and FBU, he was there on the weekend and it was 100 degrees. He doesn't know how the athletes perform. • He agreed many haven't been to Paradise Coast before. He encountered a woman who was bewildered and asked if he could assist. She said she was so impressed by the facility. She lives six miles away and had heard about it but had never been there and wasn't able to attend on July 4t" and saw it all over the media. She had the FOMO of not being able to attend, but then she heard all her neighbors talk about how great it was and she had to come out. She was just blown away. • She and her friends were taking pictures, and when he mentioned that The Cove has Sunset Saturdays, she said they'd have to come on Saturday night. • It's interesting to see that the news is starting to take hold. We're going to see a lot of good benefits coming from that. G. County Museums —Amanda Townsend [Ms. Townsend detailed a PowerPoint presentation on June visitation.] [There were no questions.] 11. Tourism Staff Reports (No staff reports due to staff traveling) 12. Council Member Discussion Ms. Becker said she appreciated the artwork in the chambers. It really astounds me. There's so much effort put in and they're changed monthly. They're absolutely delightful. Chairman McDaniel proposed an idea he'd discussed with Attorney Greene: • This is nothing that will happen quickly. He's been exploring different ways we can utilize the Tourist Development Tax to assist the industry that generates the tax. One problem we have is the capacity to hire and we have a housing problem. • He came up with establishing a grant program where folks who generate the Tourist Development Tax can have an opportunity to assist their employees with housing. • An example would be taking a $200 per night unit off the market to rent to an employee for $100 per night and then you can reimburse the difference through the TDT. You apply for a grant for that offset from the Tourist Development Tax. The same goes for restaurateurs and hotels, etc., Anybody that generates the Tourist Development Tax would be able to apply for and be reimbursed for an offset of the expense. • But it's not legal. The state statute is very specific. There are some allowances and interpretations, but that's not allowed. W July 17, 2023 • Key West has similar circumstances, with excessive housing expenses for employees, so he's speaking with the mayor there and he was thinking of a similar process. He's on vacation now, but we'll continue to talk. • We hope to bring forth a way to adjust the statute to allow for this interpretation as a promotion and developer of tourism. There have been adjustments to the statute before. Colleen shared with me that someone interpreted the statute in a different manner and allowed for the construction of sidewalks. [Attorney Greene noted that it was an amendment to the statute.] • He asked everyone to share their thoughts with him. • If you can't hire the people to run the vacuums, sweep the floors and cook the food and clean rooms, you're not going to have as many people in rooms. You're not going to generate as much tax if you can't hire somebody to mow your grass and trim your bushes and do those things. You're not going to have the greatest opportunity. • Paul shared a stat that came out, that folks' expectations of their travel dollars and what they're planning on receiving is rising past the pandemic circumstances, so if you don't have waitstaff to come and wait on your tables, cook the food, clean the dishes and bus the tables and so on, and those folks don't have a place where they can live that's in close proximity to where they're working, over time, we're going to end up with an issue of an expectation of service, the capacity to generate the tax and this is an avenue he's been thinking about for some time that we may be able to help with. Ms. Kerns asked how much, $1 million? Chairman McDaniel said he was thinking of a higher number than that, but we'll worry about the actual number when it comes. Ms. Kerns said that would take away from the TDT. Chairman McDaniel said it wouldn't necessarily take away. It's a reappropriation. Ms. Kerns noted that it wouldn't be a paid room by a guest. It would be a room used by a worker, so that room wouldn't be eligible for the TDT, so there would be a reduction in the tax. Chairman McDaniel said it would be miniscule percentagewise, the revenue associated with the tax collected in relationship to the reduction in the TDT revenue is miniscule. Ms. Kerns said she's not arguing the point of your idea. It's a great thing to explore. Chairman McDaniel said it's solely just an exploration. Ms. Kerns said absolutely. It's an outstanding idea. Chairman McDaniel told the TDC. • We're seeing phenomenal increases in our TDT revenue and we're putting those back into reserves and those dollars are always going to be protected per the existing statute. • Going forward, he's looking at an idea to enhance our tourist industry. We've got communitywide issues with regard to these circumstances. We need to have a place for people who work for industries that generate the TDT so they can stay here in an affordable manner. • The clerk may dispute this, but this request we're looking for is fairly documentable. 10 July 17, 2023 He spoke with Colleen and the OMB about it and if we can get an amendment to the statute brought in and get it passed through the legislature, then we may be able to see this change sometime in the future. This circumstance isn't going to go away. We're growing and we're not going to stop growing. The inventory of housing is always going to be suspect, so that perpetuates the price increase. He'd appreciate their input. Vice Chair Hill asked how it will be vetted and what the timeline will be. Chairman McDaniel said there's nothing specific yet. The example he used is a hotelier who has rooms and gets X dollars for those rooms. How it plays out into the restaurant business and others are the particulars we'll work out as we go. Vice Chair Hill noted that housing is the major issue. Chairman McDaniel said this is a way to help offset that. We need that staff to clean and keep lawns mowed. This will be far more specific once we work on the language. He's bringing it forward now so we can refine the idea. Ms. Kerns said it would have to be passed at the state level. Chairman McDaniel said he hoped it would be authorized locally but Colleen said it's not allowed. It's not currently authorized. 13. Next Scheduled Meeting Date/Location — 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023 Collier County Government Center, Administration Building F, 3rd Floor, 3299 East Tamiami Trail, Naples There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the chairman at 10:39 a.m. COLLIER COU aniel Jr., Chairm COUNCIL These minutes were approved by the Council on flag, a�I3 , (choose one) as presented, or as amended 11