TDC Minutes 12/17/2024 1
MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSION CHAMBERS
Naples, FL – DEC. 17, 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 9:00 a.m. in REGULAR SESSION at 3299 Tamiami
Trail East, 3rd floor, Naples, FL 34112 with the following members present:
Commissioner Rick LoCastro, Chair
Clark Hill, Vice Chair
City Council Member Darrin Palumbo
Susan Becker
Laura Radler
Nancy Kerns
City Council Member Michael McComas
Council Member Bill Kramer
Edward (Ski) Olesky (excused)
ALSO PRESENT:
Jay Tusa, CVB, Tourism Director
Sandra Rios, CVB, PR and Communications Manager
Colleen Greene, Collier County Attorney Office, Managing Assistant County Attorney
Buzzy Ford, CVB, Digital and Social Media Coordinator
Amanda Townsend, Museum Director
Kristen Murphy for Paradise Advertising
Any person who decides to appeal a decision of the Tourist Development Council will need a record of the
proceedings pertaining thereto, and therefore may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings
is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based, Neither
Collier County nor the Tourist Development Council shall be responsible for providing this record.
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
4. AGENDA
Clark Hill motioned to approve the Agenda
Darrin Palumbo seconded
Motion passed unanimously 7-0
4a. APPROVAL OF MINUTES NOV. 19, 2024, MEETING
Darrin Palumbo motioned to approve the Minutes
Nancy Kerns seconded
Motion passed unanimously 7-0
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Bill Kramer arrived at 9:02am setting the quorum to 8 members
5. PRESENTATIONS
Jay Tusa
There are no presentations
6. TOURISM DIRECTOR REPORT
Jay Tusa
• October 2024 TDT collections were $1,980,261. bringing the 2024 fiscal year to date total to
$48,635,335. Uh, so just give you a little snapshot on some of our visitor data.
• Occupancy declined by 3.2% year over year to 47.8%, driven by a 7.2% increase in room nights
available that outpaced a 3.7% rise in room nights occupied. Available room nights were driven by
Hurricane Ian recovery efforts and recent property openings.
• Statistics were distributed in the packet.
• The CVB won 2 Adrian Awards through the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association
International. These awards recognize hospitality brands and agencies for creative and innovation in
advertising, digital marketing, and public relations.
• We won a silver for “Only” Campaign and brand category and a bronze for “Only Paradise Will Do”
Canada winter campaign.
• Next, I would like to recognize Commissioner LoCastro. This will be his last meeting with us, and I
wanted to say thank you so much for your service to this Council over the past year and certainly my
past 9 months of being here. It's been an honor and privilege to work with you.
You've been a great advocate for tourism and the industry. I have a certificate of appreciation for you
that I'd like to present.
7. CONSENT AGENDA
None
8. NEW BUSINESS
8a. Recommendation to approve the expenditure of tourism development tax promotion
funds to support the upcoming March 2025 trilogy lacrosse event up to $10,000 and
make a finding that these expenditures promote tourism.
Marissa Baker, Regional Manager for the Paradise Coast Sports Complex
Good morning, Council members and Commissioner. I am happy to answer any questions you might have about
the Trilogy of Lacrosse. They bring in high school teams for a weeklong camp for 3 weeks March 9th to 28th.
The bed tax revenue is about $59,000.
We're looking to grant about $10,000 so the return on investment is substantial and aside from that, that doesn't
consider the $300,000 in rental, food and beverage, and transportation that they put back into the destination.
The money is used for the facility rental cost.
Susan Becker made the motion to approve the recommendation.
Nancy Kerns seconded
Motion passed unanimously 8-0
8b. Recommendation to accept the annual business plan for the Paradise Coast Sports
Complex from Sports Facilities Management.
Adrian Moses, Sports Facilities Companies presenting as General Manager, Paradise Coast Sports
Complex
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• We have seen some excellent trajectory with our results in terms of our schedule, our booking, the
number of events that we've had. The success of 2023, 2024 is because we had access to more fields that
allowed us to bring in larger events. Larger events drove more food and beverage sales.
• The fields became available to us in October of last year. We were also able to utilize the sand volleyball
courts which were part of the U Line development. That provided an excellent addition to our local
programming with Collier County Public Schools and a lot of the other high schools using them for their
sand volleyball programming.
• Our goals in the in this fiscal year, which started in October, are to further increase local programming
use, solidify how much we drive through sports tourism with the events that we bring in, become more
selective with the types of events that we bring in and then finding ways to be able to utilize the facility
more through cultural events.
• The financial targets that we've set for ourselves are very much based around the introduction of FC
Naples in this fiscal plan. The FC Naples programming has been able for us to develop a schedule of
events over the summer where we can expect to see a lot of people come through the stadium for about
16 events in this fiscal year. The other ones will fall in the next fiscal year. We're looking to drive that
revenue through food and beverage, and we were recently able to secure our full liquor license.
Something that we've been working on for a long time and we're very proud of is the Factory Gym.
MSM Performance, led by Lucas Seiler is sponsoring the Factory Gym making it free for Collier County
residents as of January 1st in the afternoons and on weekends. It’s a 2-year contract with a 1-year option.
• We have attempted to reach media and there was a press release.
Chairman LoCastro
Send me the press release, and details and a few photos and I’ll put it in my newsletter to 80,000 subscribers.
Adrian Moses
• A review of the year tracked 62,100 hours of local football, soccer, lacrosse, cheer, and adult and social
groups. Thirty-four of the seventy-five sporting events had an economic impact of $47-$49,000,000.
• Our financial snapshot, the end of last year is a positive one. We have looked to solidify what we were
doing. We hit some record revenue targets; close to over $300,000. over budget with operational profit
of $115,000.
• Trilogy is one of our largest food and beverage clients with last year’s spending of $16,000.
• A new promotional video was presented to the Board.
Recommendation to accept the annual business plan for the Paradise Coast Sports
Complex from Sports Facilities Management.
Clark Hill made the motion to approve the recommendation.
Nancy Kerns seconded
Motion passed unanimously 8-0
9. OLD BUSINESS
None
10. BREAK
Not observed
11. MARKETING PARTNER REPORTS
11a. Downs & St. Germain via Zoom
Presentation in packet
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11b. Paradise Advertising
Tom Merrick and Ashley Cannon presenting
• We’ve contacted Tom O’Reardon with the Ferrari Club of Naples who is putting us in touch with other
luxury car clubs. Our plan is to produce a series of videos called like Cars and Culture, Cars and
Coffee, and Cars on Fifth and call it Car Culture. It will align with the luxury elite consumer and be
featured on your website. The overall objective is to increase awareness of the destination that your area
is fine. We're will target these very specific audience segments that we've been targeting, the tried and
true letting them know. What we don't want to see is what's happened to other destinations where maybe
they're not fine and people don't come for years. We need to get the word out that you guys are great.
• All is Perfect in Paradise is going to be the platform and strengthening our ability to reach more
consumers with the right message. It launched Dec. 9, 2024.
11c. Erin Murphy, VP Strategic Planning by Zoom
Presentation in packet
11d. Enriqueta Balandra, Senior Project Manager, Miles Partnership by Zoom
Presentation in packet
11e. Amanda Townsend, Director, Collier County Museums
• That amazing outreach number that we did in October 2023 was the result of our attendance at Boo at
the Zoo. That is just a wildly popular multi day event, but it is extremely demanding on staff and
expensive in candy, so we opted to not participate this year.
• Python Hunters Exhibit is at the Museum of the Everglades and Christmas Cottage is at Collier Museum
at Government Center.
• Beginning January 14th we will be featuring Randy Wayne White’s Everglades.
• Portraits of Dementia is extended through January 18, 2025, at the Collier Museum of Government
Center.
Recommendation to accept the annual business plan for the Paradise Coast Sports
Complex from Sports Facilities Management.
Clark Hill motioned to approve the recommendation
Nancy Kerns seconded
Motion passed unanimously 8-0
12. Tourism Staff Reports
13. Council Member Discussion
14. NEXT MEETING DATE
January 21, 2025
15. ADJOURNED
There being no further business for the good of The County, the Tourist Development Council meeting was
adjourned at 11:56 a.m.
COLLIER COUNTY
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
r
The Minutes were approved by
Chairman Ri LoCastro/Chris Hall
Date: 7 % Z.-
as presented x or amended