Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Meeting - Special Meeting

TWENTYNINE PALMS TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA 6136 Adobe Road Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 www.29palms.org / www.Visit29.org Thursday, July 11, 2019 SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA 3:30 P. M. CALL TO ORDER Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA PRESENTATIONS 1. Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Annual Meeting Presentation. 3 - 30 2019 TBID Annual Meeting Presentation PUBLIC COMMENTS DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS 2. Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Annual report RECOMMENDATION: Review and file. BOARDMEMBER COMMENTS CITY MANAGER COMMENTS DIRECTOR OF MARKETING COMMENTS FUTURE BOARDMEMBER INITIATED ITEMS 3. Next Meeting: Thursday, July 18, 2019. Page 1 of 30 ADJOURNMENT It is the intention of the City of Twentynine Palms to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act in all respects. If you are a person with a disability who requires a disability-related modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please request such modification or accommodation from the City Clerk at (760) 367-4890 (facsimile). Notification at least 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to assure accessibility to the meeting. Please advise us at the time whether you will require accommodations to participate in meetings on a regular basis. Any person affected by any application on this agenda may submit their concerns in writing prior to the meeting or appear in person and be heard in support or opposition to the proposal at the time the matter is considered on the agenda. The staff reports, applications and environmental documents may be viewed at either the office of Community Development or the office of the City Clerk, 6136 Adobe Road, from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, except legal holidays. The Invocation is given per Policy 10-01, and does not reflect the views of the City but rather is an expression of speech by a private citizen making the presentation. Telephone inquiries may be made at (760) 367-6799. If you challenge any agenda issue in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues that you or someone else raised at the public meeting described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Twentynine Palms at, or prior to, the public meeting. This notice of agenda is hereby certified to have been posted on or before 3:30 p.m., July 8, 2019. Cindy Villescas, City Clerk Time/Date Page 2 of 30  29 Palms Tourism Business Improvement District Annual Meeting July 11, 2019 Page 3 of 30  Presentation Outline: • Introductions • Executive Summary • Market Performance Overview • 2018/2019 Goals and Achievements • 2019/2020 Vision Page 4 of 30  Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board: • Rakesh Mehta • Ann Congdon • Nalini “Ash” Maharaj • Heidi Grunt • Maria Quinteros Tourism Business Improvement District Staff: • Breanne Dusastre • Andrew Portener (JNS Next) Page 5 of 30  Introduction What is a tourism business improvement district, how is it funded, and what is its mission? • TBID’s are formed through a public-private partnership between the local government and the businesses in a district • The first TBID was established in West Hollywood, California in 1992 • More than 100 TBID’s exist across the country, with the vast majority in California • The City of 29 Palms TBID was established in October 2017, and has been funded entirely through a self-assessed tourism fee of 1.5% collected at all hotels, motels, and vacation home rentals within the city • All funds raised must be invested in destination marketing initiatives designed specifically to increase room nights within the district Page 6 of 30  Introduction How the 29 Palms TBID operates • The 5-member TBID Advisory Board oversees the development and execution of an annual tourism marketing budget and strategic plan • TBID staff responsible for daily execution of marketing plan • Sub-committees made up of 2 board members can be created to assist staff with special projects and initiatives throughout the year • Monthly public meetings are held at City Hall where the TBID board and staff discuss business, vote on action items, and welcome presentations/comments from representatives from partner organizations and the general public • Meeting schedules and agendas are posted to: www.ci.twentynine-palms.ca.us/ Page 7 of 30  Introduction Operational changes in 2018/2019 • New full-time Director of Marketing position created; one-year contract awarded to Breanne Dusastre, effective January 2, 2019. • New contract services sought for digital marketing; one-year contract awarded to JNS Next (Andrew Portener), effective January 2, 2019. • TBID Advisory Board welcomes new board member Maria Quinteros in April Page 8 of 30  Market Overview City of 29 Palms offers the largest, most diverse collection of accommodations in the area 14 hotels 55 150 500+ campsites 623 rooms Vacation RV spots in neighboring home rentals national park Page 9 of 30  Market Overview Why do people come here? Leisure Groups Corporate Business • Family vacations • Weddings • Marine Base contractors • Here to explore the • Retreats public lands • Reunions • Looking to connect • School with nature groups Client mix varies depending on hotel type; the larger hotels cater to a larger percent of corporate business clients whereas the smaller independent hotels cater to a higher percentage of leisure travelers. Page 10 of 30  Market Drivers Local and regional events Annual events, both local and regional, continue to drive demand: Signature events in 29 Palms: • Joshua Tree 55 Bike Ride = 380 • Night Sky Festival = 400 • Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition = 1,200 • Hilltoppers Grand Prix = 5,000 • Bhakti Fest = 4,000 (coming this fall) Signature events in the Morongo Basin/Coachella Valley • Joshua Tree Music Festival = 5,000 (bi-annual) • Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours = 3,000 • Coachella Music Festival = 250,000 • Stagecoach = 75,000 Page 11 of 30 • Desert X = 200,000 • Modernism Week = 126,000  Market Drivers Visitation to Joshua Tree National Park & surrounding public lands continue to drive tourism Combined, the surrounding national park, preserve, and monument welcomed 3.8 million visitors in 2018, resulting in more than 192 million in visitor spending. • Joshua Tree National Park = 2.9 million visitors • Mojave Trails National Monument = 140,000 visitors • Mojave National Preserve = 787,000 visitors Source: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/index.htm Page 12 of 30  Market Drivers Joshua Tree National Park - traffic counts by location Page 13 of 30 Source: https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/Reports/Park/JOTR  2018/2019 Marketing Strategy Goals & Objectives • Improve branding • Build digital presence • Establish target markets • Measuring results • Partnership development Page 14 of 30  Improving our Branding Goals: • Update and modernize the logo design • Create a modern design that better presents our city as a travel destination • Create a design that improves our destination’s brand and market positioning, giving our destination a competitive edge and one that appeals to the targeted niche markets • Design a series of stylized taglines that compliment the logo and seasonal marketing campaigns throughout the year Page 15 of 30  Building Digital Presence Slides to be provided by JNS Next • Overview of digital display campaigns and results • Overview of SEO/SEM campaigns and results + Overview of social media and email marketing campaigns and results Page 16 of 30  Building Digital Presence Content creation has been a big priority, with contract services dedicated to video production. This new series of videos will allow us to launch our YouTube channel and introduce our destination to new audiences around the globe. • Amboy Crater – Mojave Trails National Monument • Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center • Art Cruise 29! Page 17 of 30  Establishing Target Markets Expanding reach in: Drive Markets Domestic Markets North American Markets Targeting niche markets: Millennials Health and Wellness Drop in stats from digital campaigns Page 18 of 30  Partnership Development City of 29 Palms • 29 Palms Chamber of Commerce • Local businesses 29 Palms Marine Base • Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) • MCAGCC Government and External Affairs Tourism Partners: • CA Outdoor Playground (San Bernardino County) • Visit California (State DMO) Non-Profit Partners: • Sky’s the Limit Observatory and Nature Center • Mojave Desert Land Trust Page 19 of 30 • Joshua Tree National Park Association  29 Palms Visitor Center January – June: The Visitor Center was operated in partnership with the 29 Palms Chamber of Commerce, with extended business hours expanded in March through June. Monthly visitation has ranged between 200-450 visitors, with 60% of visitors visiting from within the state, and 20% visiting from out-of- state. Include photos of updated interior Page 20 of 30  2018/2019 Marketing Programs Print Advertising Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours California Road Trip Magazine Page 21 of 30  2018/2019 Marketing Programs Sustainability Through our support of Joshua Tree National Park during the partial government shutdown and a new community partnership with Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, Visit 29 Palms is positioning itself as a destination that cares about people and our planet. We will continue to work on celebrating our hospitality industry’s initiatives for sustainable practices, land conservation, recycling, water conservation, and dark night sky protection. Page 22 of 30  2018/2019 Marketing Programs Event Sponsorship 1. Mojave Trails National Monument 3rd Anniversary Celebration – February 2019 2. Mardi Gras Masquerade, Marine Base – March 2019 3. Joshua Tree 55 Bike Ride – April 2019 4. Joshua Tree Music Festival – May 2019 5. 29 Vines Wine Festival, Marine Base - June 2019 6. 4th of July Celebration – July 2019 7. Night Sky Festival – September 2019 8. Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition – September 2019 9. Bhakti Fest – September 2019 10. Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours – October 2019 Page 23 of 30  2018/2019 Marketing Programs Trade Shows, Conventions, Industry Events Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show – February 2019 • Visit 29 Palms booth San Bernardino County Tourism Summit – April 2019 • County-wide tourism industry overview and networking opportunity IPW Conference – June 3, 2019 • Participated in Discover Inland Empire booth appointments • Represented in San Bernardino County media market Post-IPW FAM Tour – June 2019 • Deserts & Mountains FAM Tour sponsored by Visit California and Page 24 of 30 San Bernardino County (2/4 nights spent in 29 Palms)  Post-IPW FAM Reception 29 Palms Welcome Reception – June 7 The Wheelhouse Vacation Home Rental • 15 travel trade • 15 travel media • Visit CA & SBC Tourism partners • Community partners Page 25 of 30  Market Performance 29 Palms Market Performance Summary Page 26 of 30  Market Performance 29 Palms Market vs Market Area 29 Palms Market 29 Palms Market Area 29 Palms Market Area: Includes all hotels in 29 Palms, Joshua Tree, and Yucca Valley Page 27 of 30  Market Performance 29 Palms Occupancy & ADR June 2018 – May 2019 Page 28 of 30  Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) - City of 29 Palms TOT 2017/2018 Oct-Dec Jan-March April-June July-Sept Year End Hotels 260,526 378,117 322,811 218,400 1,179,854 VHRs 10,231 41,553 30,460 28,324 110,568 Total 270,757 419,670 353,271 246,724 1,290,422 TOT 2018/2019 Oct-Dec Jan-March April-June July-Sept TYD Hotels 267,106 329,432 596,538 VHRs 43,097 59,183 102,280 Total 310,203 388,615 698,818 vs. LY 14.6% (7.4%) 1.2% Page 29 of 30  Tourism Business Improvement District Tax - City of 29 Palms 1.5% TBID FEE 2017/2018 Oct-Dec Jan-March April-June July-Sept Year End Hotels 43,254 63,021 53,802 41,005 201,082 VHRs 1,851 6,919 5,066 4,724 18,560 Total 45,105 69,940 58,868 45,729 219,642 1.5% TBID FEE 2018/2019 Oct-Dec Jan-March April-June July-Sept TYD Hotels 44,683 54,772 99,455 VHRs 7,182 9,685 16,867 Total 51,865 64,457 116,322 vs. LY 15% (7.9%) 1.10% Page 30 of 30