TDC Minutes 02/20/2024February 20,2024
Revised February 27 .2024
MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COT]NCIL MEETING
Naples, Florida, February 20,2024
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 9:00 a.m. in REGULAR
SESSION al3299 Tamiami Trail East, 3'd Floor, Naples, Florida, with the following members
present:
Commissioner fuck LoCastro, Chairman
Ciark Hill, Vice Chairman
Jared Grifoni, Councilor
Susan Becker
Nancy Kems
Edward (Ski) Olesky (arrived at approx. 9:30 a.m.)
Michael McComas (left at 1i:00 a.m.)
Amanda Cox (excused absence)
Beth Petrunoff, Council Member (excused absence)
ALSO PRESENT:Sandra Rios, CVB PR & Communications Manager
and Co-Interim Tourism Director
Btzzy F ord, Tourism
John Melleky, Co-Interim Tourism Director
Steve Quinn, Football University
Claudia Cianfero, CVB
Lisa Chamberlain, CVB
Marissa Baker, CVB, Sports Complex
Joseph St. Germain, Downs & St. Germain Research Co.
James Brendle, Downs & St. Germain Research Co
McKenzie Comerer, Lou Hammond Group
Jennifer Leslie, Tourism Operations Coordinator
Andrew Miller, Coastal Zone Management
Luisa Laurelli, Paradise Advertising
Katherine Peterson, Paradise Advertising
Anyone who needs a verbatim record of the meeting may request a video recordingfrom the
Collier County Communicalions & Customer Relations Department or view it online.
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February 20,2024
Revised February 27 .2024
l.Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m.
Comm. Rick Locastro mentioned that he would be sending out a news release soon about
the importance of this group, and TDC is fully funded for 2024, and lhe team has come up
with other ways to make sure we are efficiently working grants, how we move money
around, and see if we could spread it among other organizations.
Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance rvas recited
Roll Call: A quorum of six was established by members present in the boardroom.
Motion to approve the TDC January 16,2024, meeting minutes.
Susan Becker noted that on page 7, item # 10, the ticket price in the minutes was for VIP
only.
Susan Becker moved to approve the minutes as amended; second by Clark Hill.
The motion passed unanimously 6-0.
Presentations
A. Executiye Director Update
Sandra Rios and John Melleky continue to act in a co-directing capacity until the
new executive director is named and details about that will be forthcoming soon.
Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades CVB is the recipient of a number of HS
and AI awards for marketing campaigns. We were honored with two silver awards
- one for our print advertising category for Only Advertising Campaign, one for
our digital sweepstakes category, Canada The Weather Network Campaign. It
set new records for The Weather Network with an outstanding 36,046 entries,
outperforming any previous promotion through the Weather Network Channel. It
had 13,150,584 total program impressions on The Weather Network. We were
focusing and targeting on the Canadian market to drive visitation here. We were
awarded the bronze for our digital social media category for our Partner Recovery
Campaign and that was from Hurricane Ian. Part ofthe strategy was the decision
to pause all our leisure advertising immediately after the storm, and after that we
leveraged our social channels and website to directly communicate in real time to
our users with accurate and appropriate information. We had a planned three
phase approach to convey the resiliency, uniq, and when appropriate, that our
destination was open for business. We were also awarded a bronze in the print
collateral category for Animated Media Buy for our only Campaign Scent Card.
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4.Agenda and Minutes:
Motion to approve the agenda.
Clark Hill moved to approve the agenda as written; second by Nancy Kems.
The motion passed unanimousllt 6-0.
5.
February 20,2024
Revised February 27 .2024
Comm. Rick LoCastro: What I've told people about the TDC director, we want
to add and strengthen the team, but we are not looking to just put a button in the
seat, and you would be impressed at the leadership that's already part ofthe
group. I think it's important that we educate folks and say it's an important group
and proud to be part of it. There is no accelerated artificial timetable and we're not
swimming aimlessly because we don't have that person. It's not bad to have a
pregnant pause with maybe a key person who leads because it allows the folks
that are here to regroup, take note olthe things thal were great, but here's what
we're looking for in a new person.
Sandra Rios: This month, we have shifted our reporting to be consistent across
all verticals. This shift adjusts to the new TDC schedule every third Tuesday of
the month and reflects the timeline for the collection analysis ofthe data and
research. In summation, in February, the February meeling will cover the
December information, and moving forward it will be a two-month reporting
process. We have also made a few additional changes to the reporting that you
receive starting next month. We can reduce the size and length of the department
staffreports, and the Paradise Spo(s Complex we will report on a quarterly basis
rather than every month.
Snapshot of numbers:
Overall visitation/visitor days increased significantly due to the holiday; visiting
friends and family; spending time in second homes
The main reason for selecting our destination over others was familv and
friendliness
Intemational visitations from Europe exceeded visitation from Canada for the
second consecutive month
247 ,200 visitors - a 23.902 increase over 2022
249,500 room nights - a 12. I o% increase over 2022
Direct spend in December came in at $245,115,000 for an economic impact ol
$340,220,000 - 9% utd I .4% increase from 2022
Overall occupancy stood at 64.lyo - a 3.6%o increase from 2022
Hotel lodging metrics came in at 62.3%o -- a decrease of 9.6oh from 2022
Overall ADR was $353 - 2.870 increase over 2022
The hotel lodging metrics reflect the same ADR which was a23.lVo increase from
2022 - dtrc to rates adjusting for Hurricane Ian.
Visitor origin had 41,000 from Florida and 206,000 from out ofstate, with the
middle east and the intemational markets showing the largest increases.
2023 FBU National Championship Recap
Steve Quinn - Managing Partner for Football University and a company called
3Step Sports - PowerPoint (PDF) Presentation included in your packet.
Overview Summary:
We saw over 7,500 people come to Naples and Collier County through the
Football University National Championship toumament
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February 20,2024
Revised February 27,2024
. Over 3,000 room nights; our top 65 freshman football players; close to 3,000
people in attendance. We had 400+ athletes from across the country, 6th grade to 9th grade, thal
participated in our Future Showcase. It is the second event that we bring during
the Freshman All-American Bowl on that Monday. Over 70 million impressions;
30 million views.. The FBU-NC website - sent out over 150 email blasts to over 500,000 people
. Trial flyers 48 cities with team directors on the ground that organize the leamst
put trials together; started practicing after the normal football season is over; All
Star event - l2 regions across the country; watch parties to see who they play;
100,000 views; team packets to give information to the parents, coaches, and
players - on restaurants, lodging, fishing, things to do, etc.. Social media activity during just this event two players that participated in our
Freshman All-American Bowl have received power-offers from top division one
schools; 3,000 attendees; since we started this event in Naples, we have had over
300M views and over 600M followers on our social media pages.
. We stream all four games and the Freshman All-American Bowl and have two
commercials on Paradise Coast and what it has to offer. The All-American Bowl on NBC (formerly called U.S. Army All American
Bowl), San Antonio, Texas; the top 100 players in the country average 30-40-
50 power-offers; 2.69M people watched the game; Paradise Coast has two 30
second commercials; lodging, working with our third party - over 20+ hotels;
over 3,500 hotel room nights; estimated revenue $800M for this event; parent
company, 3Step Sports, brought in two other events this year - l) the largest lield
hockey toumament in the country; 2) a lacrosse tournament.
PowerPoint Listed the Upcoming Events
Consent Agenda
A. Beach Park Facilities-none
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Tourism l)ivision none
Recommendation to approve a work order rvith APTIM Environmental &
Infrastructure, Inc.; to provide professional engineering services for 2025-2026
Local Government Funding Request under Contract No. 18-7432-CZ for time
and material not to exceed $27,0f0, authorize the Chairman to execute the work
order, and making a finding that this item promotes tourism (Fund 1105,
Project No. 90065).
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6.
Andrew Miller, Coastal Zone Management
Every year this gets us beach funding for our annual re-nourishment, projects, lime
and material.
Jared Grifoni makes a motion to approve; second by Nancy Kerns
The motion passed unanimously 7-0.
February 20,2024
Revised February 27, 2024
7 New Business
A. Coastal Zone Management
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Recommendation to approve Tourism Development Tax Promotion funds to
support thc upcoming March 202,1 Sports Tourism Event, Trilogy Lacrosse, up
to $10,000 and make a finding that these expenditures pronrote tourism.
Comm. Rick LoCastro: The $ | 0.000 is our contribution
Recommendation to approve the Tourism Development Tax Promotion funds
to support the upcoming April2024 Sports Tourism Event, Naples Spring
Shootout, paying up to $3,000 to Kickoff Soccer, and make a finding that
these expenditures promote tourism.
Clark Hill motion to approve the promotion funds; Jared Grifoni seconds.
The motion passed unanimously 7-0.
Recommendation to approve a one-year renewal ofAgreemcnt No.22-7980
"Tourism International Representation - Germany Market" with DiaMonde
e.K. for Flat Annual Fixed Price of$120,000 ($10,000 per month), and
reimbursable expenses for travel, registrations and miscellaneous for up to
$60,000 totaling $180,000 annually and make a finding that this action promotes
tourism.
John Melleky, Co-Interim Director and also Arts and Culture Manager
lntroduces Claudia Cianfiero, Global Sales Manager
PowerPoint Presentations provided for D, E and F Recommendations.
Jared Grifoni moved to approve; Susan Becker seconds
The motion passed unanimously 7-0.
Recommendation to approve a one-year renewal ofAgreement No. 22-7979
"Tourism International Representation - UK and Ireland Market" with
OMMAC Ltd., for Flat Annual Fixed Price of $120,000.
Nancy Kerns moved to approve; Clark Hill seconds.
The molioa passed unanimously 7-0.
Recommendation to authorize expenditures to Visit Florida for membership fees
and destination marketing programs up to $150,000 from March 2024 through
September 2025, and to make a finding that these expenditures promote
tourism.
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Marissa Baker, Manager Preparedness, CVB Sports Complex
Susan Becker motion to approve tourism funds; Nancy Kerns seconds.
The motion possed unanimously 7-0.
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February 20,2024
Revised February 27,2024
Nancy Kems moved to approve; Clark Hill seconds.
The molion passed unanimously 7-0,
G Recommendation to authorizc cxpenditures to JW Marriott Marco Island
(Beach Resort) for tourism promotional expenses up to $100,000 from March I,
2024, to September 30,2025, and to makc a finding that thesc cxpenditures
promote tourism.
John Melleky, Co-Interim Director and also Arts and Culture Manager
lntroduces Lisa Chamberlain, Group Sales Manager
PowerPoint Presentation and video provided.
8.Old Business: None
Marketing Partner Reports
Joseph St, Germain, President, Downs & St. Germain Research
James Brendle coordinates all the research.
PowerPoint Presentation provided.
McKenzie Comerer, Lou Hammond Group (via Zoom)
PowerPoint Presentation provided.
Tourism Staff Reports
John Melleky, Interim Co-Director
PowerPoint Presentation provided regarding Tourism Tax Collections.
Enriqueta Balandra, Miles Media (via Zoom)
PowerPoint Presenlation provided.
Amanda Townsend, Collier County Museums
PowerPoint Presentation provided.
12. Next Scheduled Meeting: March 19,2024
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Clark Hill moved to approve; Nancy Kems seconds.
The motion passed unanimously 7-0.
Luisa Laurelli and Katherine Peterson, Paradise Advertising
PowerPoint Presentation provided.
Discussion ensued regarding TikTok. Paradise will do a deeper dive on the platforms
being used.
Council Member Discussion. Jared Grifoni- term expires in April; has reapplied.. Sandra Rios: We look forward to the golftournaments that we sponsor at the
Tiburon, and the broadcast exposure we get is amazing. We,ll have a recap ofthat in
March. As far as the cruises are concemed, they have rebounded, and we do compete
with them and lose a bit of market share.
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February 20,2024
Revised February 27 ,2024
f 3. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at I I :30 a.m.
There being no further business for the good ofthe County, the meeting was adjoumed by order of
the chairman at I I :30 a.m-
COLLIER COUNTY
URIS o
LoCastro, Chairman
These minutes were approved by the Chairman on
presented, X o, ur amendcd
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