Category: Tourism

Leave No Trace, What it Means to You (Tent Ordinance)

A couple weeks ago the Panama City Beach City Council passed an ordinance dubbed Leave No Trace that prohibits beach goers from leaving personal property on the beach overnight.  Also known as the Tent Ordinance, the initial goal was to eliminate the left over tent skeletons that sometimes seem to pollute our shimmering white sands.

What the ordinance includes.

Specifically, the ordinance states that personal property left on the beach between the hours of 9 pm and 5 am will be considered abandoned and will be disposed of.  Some of these items may include tents, chairs, coolers, towels, etc.

On public beaches or with the upland landowner’s permission, guests may store personal property overnight at the Toe of the Dune at their own risk.

The Toe of the Dune is the area of the beach immediately seaward of the dune and beach vegetation. To be specific, it is the area of the beach that is furthest from the water that is not in a sand dune or beach access point.

Items left at the Toe of the Dune will not be removed by the contractor.  However, the owners of the personal property storing items at the Toe of the Dune, do so at their own risk. The County, City, TDC and its beach maintenance contractor, do not assume any liability for any items left on the beach after 9:00 pm.

When does the ordinance take effect?

The ordinance is in effect now.  However, it’s not being enforced until Sunday, July 8, 2012. Local officials and the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau are getting the program prepared and beginning an awareness campaign so no one’s caught off guard.

How will the program work?

Each evening the beach maintenance contractor will travel the length of the beach and remove any items from the beach that are in violation of this ordinance.

The contractor may issue courtesy warnings for items left on the beach as they begin the implementation. When a courtesy warning is issued the material will be tagged informing the owner of the ordinance and the intent to remove the item the following evening if it is not removed.

However, officials are saying these warnings are a courtesy and that the contractor may remove any item from the beach whether or not a prior warning has been issued.

The release states that there may be times and circumstances that the contractor is unable to remove items from the entire length of the beach in a single evening.  This inability to fully enforce the ordinance will not change or prevent the contractor from removing the items the next evening without notice.

My 3 Favorite Summer Food Traditions

Every summer brings a break from school, warm days at the beach and good food. Really all of these things can be enjoyed year round, but they seem to be more savory during the hot months of summer.

Fresh Seafood

One of the clear luxuries of life at the beach is fresh gulf seafood. There is something extremely satisfying about knowing your meal was just caught that day.

There are tons of great seafood markets all over Panama City Beach but the one I seem to frequent the most (because it’s close to home) is Buddy’s Seafood Market on Highway 79. I think they are open until 6 every day and reckon they start pretty early.

Map link

I’ve enjoyed a variety of fresh fish but my favorites this summer are grouper and flounder.

My wife loves the light flavor and flakey texture of the flounder and large, thick grouper steaks just make my mouth water writing about them.

How I prepare the fish

If you’ve never prepared fresh seafood yourself, you’re really missing out. Not only is it cheaper, the chances of you getting an overcooked piece of fish are much less. 🙂

This is what I do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450.
  2. Lay out as many pieces of foil as you have fish on a baking sheet. Make the foil sections large enough to wrap up the edges a little.  This will keep the juices in.
  3. Put a few splashes of olive oil on the foil to help prevent sticking.
  4. Lay the individual pieces of fish on their piece of foil.
  5. Put a few plops of butter on the fish.
  6. Squirt a few dashes of lemon juice on each fillet.
  7. Sprinkle some Lawry’s salt on top.
  8. Bake flounder for about 5 minutes and check for flakiness.
  9. Grouper will probably need longer but it depends on the thickness.
  10. I generally check every five minutes or so, then every minute once I think it’s close.
Thomas’ Donuts

I wouldn’t say necessarily that I’m a donut connoisseur, but my tongue test results say these are the best donuts I’ve ever had. They are a delicacy that you have to have while you’re at the beach.

They are located right on Front Beach Road just past the Laguna Beach area.

Map link

Pro-tip: get there early and pick up a few red velvet before they sell out. If you want to make them a little more delicious, microwave one for about 7 seconds.

Fish Tacos

True, fish tacos could fall under the ‘fresh seafood’ category, but for me, it’s a totally separate tradition. There are a variety of places that serve fish tacos with a variety of types of fish. And while Finns was my favorite at one point, my new favorite is at Hook’d.

They have two options: catfish or snapper – in which catfish isn’t really an option for me. The snapper is well worth the extra $3. They serve them with this slaw that has a flavor that, when added to the tacos, makes the flavor of the tacos really pop. They are really amazing.

But, lately, I’ve actually been into their shrimp tacos. I love the texture of the shrimp and the same sauce that graces the fish tacos makes the shrimp tacos just as delicious. Reminder, make sure to put the slaw ON the taco – it really sets you up for a party in your mouth.

Hook’d is located at the foot of the Russell Fields Pier (across from Pier Park) in Panama City Beach.

Map link

What are your favorite summer traditions?

What is June Grass?

Almost every single summer, the beach in Panama City Beach is accompanied by a combination of green slimy stuff and chunks of prickly patches with tiny air bubbles.  Collectively, this is commonly referred to as June Grass, even though the two separate materials are completely different. “June Grass” certainly isn’t a scientific term and I never could seem to come up with when the term usage began.  Some will say it is specific to the green algae, others the sargassum, and still others will use the term to refer to both. Although they both seem to come to shore around the same time, they are different.  And one of them actually makes quite a journey to make it here.

Sargassum

Sargassum is a patchy material that consists of a leafy bunch interspersed with tiny air sacs.  The air sacs resemble small grapes and keep it afloat.  The material serves as a mobile home, of sorts, for all sorts of marine life.  The actual name is of Portuguese decent. Sargassum actually comes from the Sargasso sea, which is found in the north Atlantic.  It grows in very large, thick bunches and is broken apart by current and waves.  The broken apart pieces then multiply and grow on their own as they travel wherever the current takes them.  Sargassum can be found all along the east and gulf coast, and is a member of the brown algae family.

Green Algae

The very small, slimy green stuff we find floating in our waters is much different then sargassum in consistency.  This material makes the water seem soupy and the matter can infiltrate the smallest crack or crevice on our person.  It’s been joked about, used for mock costumes, and often found heavily caked on the shoreline in some areas.  All I can find out about the stuff is that it grows somewhere offshore and is prevalent in warmer waters.  During periods of rain, it can clear up a bit.

The presence of either material tends to be a constant topic of complaint on the beach during the summer months.  I’ve heard of people claiming their whole vacation was ruined from it.  Contrary, I’ve also heard some say they’ve experienced it almost every year they’ve vacationed here and have come to expect it.

In the past, countless blamed it on the oil spill – of course, it was as natural that year as it has been in every other year.  Some have claimed it’s worse now than it’s ever been, yet many others can recall its prevalence in quantity fluctuates from year to year and has for as long as they can remember.

I for one, can remember in 2002 when my cousin, Eric Koertge, came to town and the stuff was super heavy and very unenjoyable.  It was in our short pockets, leg hair, what little chest hair I have and caked on my skin – gross!  But I can remember years when I hardly noticed it!

What are your thoughts on this green and sometimes slimy stuff?

Bed Tax Revenue Soars in March

Tourism traffic was definitely up in March of this year as indicated by the latest bed tax revenue monthly report.  Year over year, March of this year was an astounding 19.4% up over last year.  Looking closer reveals an even more astounding 38% increase over 2009, our last “low” point over the last 6 years. In Bay County there is a tax collected on each vacation rental revenue dollar that is calculated as 5% of the total base rent rate of each stay.  This Bed Tax money is then appropriated to a variety of efforts to fund the general tourism marketing of our area.  Some funds marketing, some funds operational costs of handling the marketing operations, some funds renourshing our beach, etc.

A close look at the numbers.

With the oil spill a couple years ago, there was a lot of uncertainty as to what direction our local tourism industry was going to go. Last year (2011 season) being the first year out of that catastrophe, and seeing a 3.7% decrease in year over year bed tax collections, many were heavily concerned with how the 2011 summer would fare. Of course, we know, summer 2011 was a record breaking season, so those fears fortunately, were unfounded. Total Bed Tax dollars collected for March of 2012 were $1,769,821.69. This is 5% total of all the room-night revenue reported. Broken down by single percentage, this would be $353,964.34 per point collected. The total bed tax revenue collected for March of 2011 was $1,482,498.95. Again, broken down by single percentage, this would be $296,499.79. In doing year over year increase calculations, it’s important to break down the total revenue collected by single percentage because beginning in the 2008/2009 tourism season, 5% was collected but before it was 3%. Here is the total breakdown for March for all previous years back to 2007.

  • March 2010 – $1,539,121.49 – single point: $307,824.30 – 19.9% over previous year
  • March 2009 – $1,026,521.85 – single point: $256,630.46 – -5.3% down previous year
  • March 2008 – $813,079.54 – single point: $271,026.51 – 16.3% over previous year
  • March 2007 – $699,028.94 – single point: $233,009.65
Projections for April 2012

We’ve already offered our general prediction over the average increase projections for tourism season 2012. March 2012 bed tax revenue numbers were amazing, and if that’s any indication of what we’ll see for April, then we’re on a fast track to an amazing tourism season for this summer. I can speak for my own vacation rental company (PCBLP) in that April was certainly record breaking. We had a much better April than we did last year, but it’s difficult for me to tabulate the source as we were just getting rolling last April. Looking at average increases for April bed tax revenue over the last 6 years, we should see a minimum of 7% increase this year over last year. But I’m betting on a more dramatic increase that is founded on what we’ve seen the last 3 years, which would be a healthy 15.4%. I’m projecting our 2012 April bed tax collections to be $1,404,017.44 – give or take 3%. I love making predictions. We’ll see how close I get!

Thunder Beach 2012 Full Event Schedule and Rally Information

If the continuous rolling thunder didn’t clue you in, then all the motorcycles everywhere surely will.  And if you’re not down here, then you’re missing one heck of a party this week.  But it’s not the kind of party we had a few weeks ago with the Spring Breakers, it’s a group, that while very loud and sometimes rough looking, they’re overall much better patrons to our beach.  Love them or hate them, they bring in good money, treat our vacation rentals well and they give our economy a much needed injection of activity before our busy summer season.

The bikers have been here all week, but the majority are coming in today and tomorrow and staying through Sunday and Monday.

Here is a full schedule of events for this year’s Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rally.  As always, more information can be found on their website, even though it used to be much better. 😉

Note: I copied all of the schedule info from their pdf download – please excuse typos or formatting errors.  

Wednesday May 2 Schedule

9:00AM- 9:00 PM — — Thunder BeachWelcome Center (Information&Media)  — — Shoppes at Edgewater

2:00 PM- 5:00 PM — —  Live Music with Michael Compton — —  WickedWheel

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM  — — Live Music with Big Engine  — — Sandpiper Beacon

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM  — — Live Music with Clay Musgrave – — —  At the Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

6:00 PM-10:00 PM  — — Official Thunder Beach Kick-Start Party  — — Shores of Panama

featuring National Recording Artist Jasmine Cain Top of the Garage-12th Floor

7:00PM — —   Official Miss Thunder Beach Pageant – 1st Preliminary  — — Shores of Panama

Emcee: Daric “The Hitman”Daniels Top of the Garage-12th Floor

8:00PM-11:00PM — —  Live Music with Mustang Sally  — — Sandpiper Beacon

8:00PM-12:00AM — — Live Music with Horizon  — — Ms. Newby’s

8:30 PM  — — Live Music with ZZ TopTribute Band-Velcro Fly — —  WickedWheel

10:00PM-12:30AM  — — Official Thunder Beach Kick-Start “After Party” — — PineappleWilly’s

with Kevin Jacobs & Terry Brock

11:00 PM  — — Live Music with Big Engine — —  Sandpiper Beacon

Thursday May 3 Schedule

9:00AM- 9:00  — — PM Thunder BeachWelcome Center (Information&Media) Shoppes at Edgewater

9:00 AM- 9:00   — — PM Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H Tent Boar’s Head

9:00AM-7:00PM+   — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H Tents Club LaVela

9:00AM-7:00PM+   — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H Tents Frank Brown Park

9:00AM-6:00PM   — — Demo Rides ~ Yamaha, Can-Am, Boss Hoss Pier Park

9:00AM-9:00PM+   — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H Tent PineappleWilly’s

9:00AM-9:00PM+   — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H Tent Sharky’s Beach Club

9:00AM-9:00PM+  — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H Tents Shoppes at Edgewater

9:00AM-9:00PM+  — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H Tent WickedWheel

9:00AM-6:00PM — — DJ Daric “The Hitman”Daniels Frank Brown Park

9:00AM-9:00PM — — Old Skool Road Show- Traveling AntiqueMotorcycle Experience WickedWheel

11:00 AM — — Ives Bros.Wall of Death Show WickedWheel

12:00PM-5:00PM — — Poker Run Sponsored by the Shriners

Registration: Reggae J’s

  • 1st Card Stop: Sharky’s
  • 2nd Card Stop: Barefoot Beach Club
  • 3rd Card Stop: Red Door Saloon
  • 4th Card Stop: Sugar Sands Inn & Suites
  • 5th Card Stop: Hammerhead Fred’s
  • 12:00 pm: Registration
  • 12:30 pm: First Bike Out
  • 1:00 pm: Last Bike Out
  • 4:30 pm: Last Bike In @final stop
  • 5:00 pm: Prizes @ final stop

12:00 PM — — Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — — Frank Brown Park

12:00 PM- — — 4:00 PM Live Music with 345 Express — — Sandpiper Beacon

12:00 PM- — — 4:00 PM Live Music with Sticky Tea — — Shoppes at Edgewater

12:30 PM — — Ives Bros. Wall of Death Show — — WickedWheel

2:00 PM — — Ives Bros.Wall of Death Show — — WickedWheel

2:00 PM – — — 5:00 PM Live Music with Michael Compton — — WickedWheel

3:00 PM — — Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — — Frank Brown Park

3:30 PM — — Ives Bros.Wall of Death Show — — WickedWheel

4:00PM–8:00PM — — LiveMusicwithBigEngine — — SandpiperBeacon

4:00PM-8:00PM — — LiveMusicwithClayMusgrave – — — At the Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM — — Live Music with The Dan Lawson Band — — Shoppes at Edgewater

5:00 PM — — IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — — WickedWheel

6:00 PM — — Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — — Frank Brown Park

6:30 PM — — IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — — WickedWheel

7:00PM — — OfficialMiss Thunder Beach Pageant – 2nd Preliminary — — Hammerhead Fred’s

Emcee: Daric “The Hitman” Daniels

8:00PM-11:00PM — — LiveMusicwithMustang Sally — — Sandpiper Beacon

8:00PM-10:00PM — — LiveMusicwithWall of Echoes – The Ultimate Tribute to Pink Floyd — — Shoppes at Edgewater

8:30 PM- 2:00 AM — — LiveMusicwith KevinJacobs&TerryBrock — — WickedWheel

8:30 PM- 12:30AM — — LiveMusicwith ZZ Top Tribute band Velcro Fly — — PineappleWilly’s

9:00 PM- 11:00 PM — — LiveMusicwithBuckcherry – James Durbin – Redlight King — — Club LaVela

8:00PM-12:00AM — — LiveMusicwithHorizon — — Ms. Newby’s

10:00 PM- 2:00 AM — — LiveMusicwith Geneva – Live at the Tiki Bar — — Sharky’s Beach Club

11:00 PM — — Live Music with Big Engine — — Sandpiper Beacon

Friday May 4 Schedule

9:00 AM– 9:00 — — PM Thunder BeachWelcome Center (Information&Media) — — Shoppes at Edgewater

9:00AM-9:00PM — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — — Tent Boar’s Head

9:00AM-7:00PM+ — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — — Tents Club LaVela

9:00AM-7:00PM+ — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — — Tents Frank Brown Park

9:00AM-6:00PM — — Demo Rides ~ Yamaha, Can-Am, Boss Hoss — — Pier Park

9:00AM-9:00PM+ — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — — Tent PineappleWilly’s

9:00AM-9:00PM+ — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — — Tent Sharky’s Beach Club

9:00AM-9:00PM+ — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — — Tents Shoppes at Edgewater

9:00AM-9:00PM+ — — Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — — Tent WickedWheel

9:00AM-6:00PM — — DJDaric “TheHitman”Daniels — — Frank Brown Park

9:00AM-9:00PM — — Old Skool Road Show-a Traveling AntiqueMotorcycle Experience — — WickedWheel

11:00 AM — — IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — — WickedWheel

12:00 PM — — Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — — Frank Brown Park

12:00 PM- 4:00 PM — — LiveMusicwith 345 Express — — Sandpiper Beacon

12:00 PM- 4:00 PM — — LiveMusicwith Sammy&The Slammerz — — Shoppes at Edgewater

12:30 PM- 5:00 PM — — Poker Run Sponsored by the Defenders LE

Registration: PineappleWilly’s

  • 1st Card Stop: Boar’s Head
  • 2nd Card Stop: Hooters on Thomas Dr.
  • 3rd Card Stop: PlazaMotel/Banana Peel
  • 4th Card Stop: Coyote Ugly
  • 5th Card Stop:WickedWheel
  • 12:00 pm: Registration
  • 12:30 pm: First Bike Out
  • 1:00 pm: Last Bike Out
  • 4:30 pm: Last Bike In@final stop
  • 5:00 pm: Prizes @final stop

12:30 PM — — IvesBros.Wall of Death Show — — WickedWheel

2:00 PM — — LaVelaBikini Contest — — Club LaVela

2:00 PM — — IvesBros.Wall of Death Show — — WickedWheel

2:00 PM – 5:00 — — PM Live Music with Michael Compton — — WickedWheel

3:00 PM — — Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — — Frank Brown Park

3:30 PM — — IvesBros.Wall of Death Show — — WickedWheel

3:00PM — — OldSchoolBikeShow — — Ms. Newby’s

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM — — Live Music with Big Engine — — Sandpiper Beacon

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM — — Live Music with Clay Musgrave – At the — — Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM — — Live Music with King Cotton — — Shoppes at Edgewater

5:00 PM — — Ives Bros.Wall of Death Show — — WickedWheel

5:00 PM- 8:00 PM — — Live Music with Sin Seven — — PineappleWilly’s

5:00 PM- 8:00 PM — — Live Music with ZZ TopTributebandVelcro Fly — — WickedWheel

6:00 PM — — Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — — Frank Brown Park

6:30 PM — — IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — — WickedWheel

7:00PM — — OfficialMiss Thunder Beach Pageant – 3rd Preliminary — — WickedWheel

Emcee: Daric “The Hitman” Daniels

8:00 PM- 11:00 PM — — Live Music with Eli — — Sandpiper Beacon

8:00PM-10:00PM — — Live Music with Highway to Hell – Tribute to AC/DC — — Shoppes at Edgewater

8:30 PM- 12:30AM — — Live Music with TheDanLawsonBand — — WickedWheel

9:00 PM- 2:00 AM — — Live Music with Kevin Jacobs&Terry Brock — — PineappleWilly’s

9:00 PM — — Live Music with Jackylwith special guest – Nigel Dupree Band — — Club LaVela

8:00 PM- 12:00AM — — Live Music withTodd Simpson&Mojo Child — — Ms. Newby’s

10:00 PM- 2:00 AM — — Live Music with Geneva – — — At the Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

11:00 PM — — Live Music with Big Engine — — Sandpiper Beacon

9:00AM- 9:00 PM — –Thunder BeachWelcome Center (Information&Media) — –Shoppes at Edgewater

2:00 PM- 5:00 — –PM Live Music with Michael Compton — –WickedWheel

4:00 PM- 8:00 — –PM Live Music with Big Engine — –Sandpiper Beacon

4:00 PM- 8:00 — –PM Live Music with ClayMusgrave – — –At the Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

6:00 PM-10:00 PM — —Official Thunder Beach Kick-Start Party — —Shores of Panama

featuring National Recording Artist Jasmine Cain Top of the Garage-12th Floor

7:00PM — —OfficialMiss Thunder Beach Pageant – 1st Preliminary — —Shores of Panama

Emcee: Daric “TheHitman”Daniels Top of the Garage-12th Floor

8:00PM-11:00PM — –Live Music withMustang Sally — –Sandpiper Beacon

8:00PM-12:00AM — –Live Music with Horizon — –Ms. Newby’s

8:30 PM — –Live Music with ZZ TopTribute Band-Velcro Fly — –WickedWheel

10:00PM-12:30AM — —Official Thunder Beach Kick-Start “After Party” — —PineappleWilly’s

with Kevin Jacobs & Terry Brock

11:00 PM — –Live Music with Big Engine — — Sandpiper Beacon

Saturday May 5 Schedule

9:00AM- 10:00 PM — –Thunder BeachWelcome Center (Information&Media) — –Shoppes at Edgewater

9:00 AM- 9:00 PM — –Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — —Tent Boar’s Head

9:00 AM- 7:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — —Tents Club LaVela

9:00 AM- 7:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — —Tents Frank Brown Park

9:00 AM- 6:00 PM — –Demo Rides ~ Yamaha, Can-Am, Boss Hoss — –Pier Park

9:00 AM- 9:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — —Tent PineappleWilly’s

9:00 AM- 9:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — —Tent Sharky’s Beach Club

9:00 AM- 9:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — —Tents Shoppes at Edgewater

9:00 AM- 9:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village ~Look for the Thunder Beach CRUZ4CA$H — —Tent WickedWheel

9:00AM- 6:00 PM — –DJDaric “TheHitman”Daniels — –Frank Brown Park

9:00 AM- 9:00 PM — –Old Skool Road Show- Traveling AntiqueMotorcycle Experience — –WickedWheel

9:30 AM- 4:00 PM — —Official Thunder Beach “Best

of the Beach” Custom Bike Show — —Pier Park

Sponsored by Steel Horse Law/ Presented by USRiderNews 16 Classes; IMBBA Sanctioned

Benefits Local Shriner Charities $10,000 in cash & prizes

10:00 AM Sgt. Kevin KightMemorial Bike Parade Sponsored by the SWcorner of R Jackson Blvd

Panama City Beach Police andWhite Sands Riders. Benefits Cops for &Middle Beach Rd.

Kids. • Line Up at 10am• KickStandsUp@11amSHARP! (across from old Publix parking lot)

11:00 AM IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — –WickedWheel

12:00 PM- 5:00 PM Poker Run Sponsored by Red KnightsMC & Fire and IronMC

Registration & 1st Card Stop: Rock’it Lanes 12:00 pm: Registration

2nd Card Stop: Newby’s Too 12:30 pm: First Bike Out

3rd Card Stop: Ritz Store (@corner of Front Beach Rd 1:00 pm: Last Bike Out

&RJacksonBlvd) 4:30 pm: Last Bike In@final stop

4th Card Stop: Dirty Dick’s 5:00 pm: Prizes @final stop

5th Card Stop: Whiskey’s Saloon

12:00 PM — –Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — –Frank Brown Park

12:00 PM- 4:00 PM — –LiveMusicwith 345 Express — –Sandpiper Beacon

12:00 PM- 4:00 PM — –LiveMusicwith The Ayers — –Shoppes at Edgewater

2:00 PM — –LaVelaBikini Contest — –Club LaVela

2:00PM OfficialMs. Thunder Beach Contest For lovely ladies 35+ — –Shoppes at Edgewater

Emcee: Daric “The Hitman” Daniels

2:00 PM — –IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — — WickedWheel

3:00 PM — –Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — –Frank Brown Park

3:30 PM — –IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — –WickedWheel

4:00 PM — —Awards for Steelhorse Law”Best of Beach” Bike Show — —Pier Park

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM — –LiveMusic with Joe Santana’s Kingfish — –Sandpiper Beacon

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM — –LiveMusicwith ClayMusgrave – — –At the Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

4:00 PM- 8:00 PM — –LiveMusicwith Kelly&TheHealers — –Shoppes at Edgewater

5:00 PM — –IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — –WickedWheel

5:00 PM — –LiveMusicwith Sin Seven — –PineappleWilly’s

6:00 PM — –Ives Bros. “Ramp to Ramp” Stunt/Jump Show — –Frank Brown Park

6:30 PM — –IvesBros.WallofDeath Show — –WickedWheel

7:00PM — —OfficialMiss Thunder Beach Pageant Finale — —Hooters on the Beach

Emcee: Daric “The Hitman” Daniels

7:00 PM — –LiveMusicwith TombstoneBeltBuckle — –WickedWheel

8:00 PM- 11:00 PM — –LiveMusicwith Eli — –Sandpiper Beacon

8:00PM-10:00PM — –LiveMusicwithHighway to Hell – Tribute to AC/DC — –Shoppes at Edgewater

8:30 PM — –LiveMusicwith KevinJacobs&TerryBrock — –WickedWheel

8:30 PM- 12:30AM — –LiveMusicwithTheDanLawsonBand — –PineappleWilly’s

8:00 PM- 12:00AM — –LiveMusicwithTodd Simpson&Mojo Child — –Ms. Newby’s

10:00 PM- 2:00 AM — –LiveMusic with Geneva – — –At the Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

11:00 PM — –LiveMusic with Joe Santana’s Kingfish — — Sandpiper Beacon

Sunday May 6 Schedule

7:00 AM- 3:00 PM — — Thunder BeachWelcome Center (Information&Media) — –Shoppes at Edgewater

9:00AM-12:00PM — –Old Skool Road Show- Traveling AntiqueMotorcycle Experience — –WickedWheel

9:00AM-12:00PM — –Vendor Village open ~ some vendorsmay choose to stay open later — –Boar’s Head

9:00AM- 12:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village open ~ some vendorsmay choose to stay open later — –Club LaVela

9:00AM- 12:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village open ~ some vendorsmay choose to stay open later — –Frank Brown Park

9:00AM- 12:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village open ~ some vendorsmay choose to stay open later — –PineappleWilly’s

9:00AM- 12:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village open ~ some vendorsmay choose to stay open later — –Sharky’s Beach Club

9:00AM- 12:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village open ~ some vendorsmay choose to stay open later — –Shoppes at Edgewater

9:00AM- 12:00 PM+ — –Vendor Village open ~ some vendorsmay choose to stay open later — –WickedWheel

10:00AM — –Blessing of the Bikes by CMA — –Edgewater

10:30 AM — –Scenic Ride – depart from– –Edgewater

8:00AM- 11:00AM — –Last chance to redeemCRUZ4CA$H cards@Welcome Center — –Shoppes at Edgewater

1:00 PM — –CRUZ4CA$H Drawing–Main Stage Shoppes at — –Edgewater

3:00 PM- 7:00 PM — –LiveMusic with Sterling Silver — –Sandpiper Beacon

4:00 PM- 8:00 — –PM LiveMusicwith ClayMusgrave — — At the Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

8:00 PM- 12:00 — –PM LiveMusicwith345Express — –Ms. Newby’s

10:00 PM- 2:00 — –AM LiveMusicwith Geneva – — –Live at the Tiki Bar Sharky’s Beach Club

New Walmart Starts Construction

Jason Koertge has an awesome vacation rental business in Panama City Beach that focuses on remarkable properties right on the gulf.  They range from 1 to 4 bedrooms, they’re clean, and amazing.  He can be found lurking at PCBLP.com.

The new Walmart being installed next to Pier Park has begun construction as of yesterday.  Located right next door to Target, across from Powell Adams Road, an official “designation” is still unclear, but it’s certain to have grocery.  We recently discussed the site plans that were clear that it would not only include grocery, but a full bakery section, deli (with display coolers), fresh produce, garden center, and other general areas you’d expect to find in a Walmart.

We do know that this Walmart will be 156,000 square feet, which is 70% of the size of the Super Walmart to the east of this one.

What they’ll be doing first.

In preparation for the general construction, they’ve got to level out the land and get everything ready for the giant slab that we’ll walk on as we shop for the next umpteen years.  If you remember, there is a huge sand hill that’s been there for years, capturing the tires of renegade wannabe off-roaders that have bravely attempted to traverse it’s heights.  Yes, even my own brother got stuck in that hill, before he had four wheel drive.

They’ll be putting up perimeter fencing to help protect our eyes from the menacing construction equipment and keep the kids out and installing a central construction trailer to manage day to day operations.

Construction timeline and property details.

At this point, the construction timeline is still projected to be right at 12 months.  I would think they would want to get this done by next spring season, or at the latest, next summer season.  We’ll keep an eye on things as it progresses.

There will be out parcels along Panama City Beach Parkway (Back Beach Road), three entry points on Powell Adams Road and one entry point on Back Beach Road.

Powell Adams Road improvements.

One of the more controversial elements to this development, interestingly enough, has been the improvements to Powell Adams Road.  Many of the Walmart Opposition Party have contended that if something goes in that requires improvements to the road, they should have to pay for it, not the taxpayer.

Powell Adams Road is on the schedule for the CRA improvement treatment plan in the next couple years, and the Walmart development has put these improvements on the fast track.  The cool thing about this is that the City was going to fund this entirely, originally, and it wasn’t going to happen for at least 2 more years.  But, since Walmart is coming, and the improvements are needed in order to meet the requirements that will come with the increased traffic, Walmart is partially funding this improvement project.

The improvements will be on Powell Adams Road and go back to LC Hilton Drive (the road you can take to Miracle Strip and the center round about.

Why Walmart paying just a portion is more than fair.

The way this was explained to me was that Walmart is paying for the improvements that they would need and the City is paying for the improvements that are above and beyond that which would bring them up to the CRA standards (think curbs, sidewalks, decorative street lighting, and landscaping).

You see, if Walmart put in the baseline improvements that were needed in order to accomodate the traffic increase that would come with it’s development, we’d get signalization and a wider road out of the deal, at no cost.  But the beautification that comes with the CRA treatment would not happen, and the potential cost down the road when the City got to this portion of the improvement schedule would be proportionally higher.

BUT, by just “charging” Walmart the cost is would be for the improvements they need to make, and the City paying for the other improvement elements that come with the normal CRA improvements, we save money (because we’re not paying for the baseline improvements) and we get the beautification much earlier than expected (literally by years).

So, in my eyes, it’s a win-win.  What do you think? Comment below. 😉

 

Top 10 States for Panama City Beach

As I was looking through some stats for our past guests for Panama City Beach Luxury Properties and visitation stats on PCBDaily.com, I found it fascinating the top interested states in our little beach town.  I always love looking at these types of stats, don’t you?

We talk to guests all the time that drive for literally12 hours or more to come to our beautiful beaches.  I know that with airfare prices the way they are, flying with several kids just isn’t always economical.

Top 10 states visiting Panama City Beach

In Panama City Beach, we see people come here from all over the world, but it should come as no surprise that the majority of the folks that come here are fed to us through close-proximity drive-to markets.  Over the last year (including last summer), here is a breakdown of where all our guests have come from.

1 Georgia 31%
2 Alabama 24%
3 Tennessee 13%
4 Florida 6%
5 Indiana 5%
6 Kentucky 4%
7 Texas 3%
8 Illinois 2%
9 Ohio 2%
10 Ontario 2%
Top 10 states reading about Panama City Beach

The interest in Panama City Beach delineated by geographical region always seems to fluctuate a bit.  The states that feed our traffic depends on the time of year, what’s happening down here, and where the TDC and other tourist entities are marketing.  States like New York and Wisconsin have been in the top 10, although, they aren’t today.

1  Florida 37.39%
2  Georgia 14.53%
3  Alabama 7.07%
4  Tennessee 4.61%
5  Texas 3.58%
6  Illinois 3.00%
7  Ohio 2.87%
8  Kentucky 2.40%
9  California 2.10%
10  Indiana 1.79%

Photo credit.

You Tell Us: Spring Break, To Be or Not To Be?

Let me preface this post by saying spring break isn’t just some event that can be shut off or closed down. It is a period of time in which students are on break from school, and they crave the leisure and activity of a tourist destination.  Regardless, college age kids on spring break will want to come to the beach.  We are a destination, and we’re attractive to those wanting to get away from their norm.

Now that I got that out of the way. . .

The activity on the beach the last few weeks has spurred a variety of appearances of our little beach town in national news outlets, all referencing spring break.  Local Mayoral candidates are using it to strengthen their position in the race, and locals all around seem to be furious about trashed beaches, too much traffic and a damaged perception of what they desire Panama City Beach to be.

Just two of the articles Panama City Beach has shown up on USA Today’s Travel section read, “Florida spring break mecca conflicted over its wild image“, and “The 10 trashiest spring break destinations“.  Of course, the later, when read, defines “trashiest” as a positive term, which for many, is equally as troubling.

Now, I’ve heard all the arguments from the businesses that seemingly do exceptionally well during this period, the businesses that heavily cater to this type of crowd.  And I’ve heard the arguments from others who claim Spring Break is 35% of the annual revenue here.  And while that may be the case for some, it’s certainly not the case for our rental properties.  If I did rent to the college kids (which I don’t, with the exception of a very few), it would still only account for about 1/6th of our total annual revenue and still wouldn’t be worth the headaches.

You’re the pundit – tell us your opinion on Spring Break

It seemed like a couple years ago we were trying to move away from the image we seem to be entrapped in again.

So I’d like to open this up to you.  You’ve been down here, you’ve read the articles, what do you think about the spring break activity we’ve had in Panama City Beach?

What do you think this activity will do to our image?

Do you think this will have a lasting impact on how our summer tourists look at our area?

Do you think we are making some summer tourist sacrifice to have a “good spring break?”

Bonus – Pictures from Spring Break Past

Giveaway – Win 2 Four-Day Passes to Seabreeze Jazz Fest

We’ve talked about this year’s line-up to the Seabreeze Jazz Festival, we’ve gone over the full event schedule and we just talked about some fascinating stats on this absolutely wonderful event.  So, you have no excuse to NOT go this year.  And now, we’re going to make going one step easier by doing an awesome giveaway!

We’ve done TONS of giveaways in the past and this time around, we’re going to make increasing your chances of winning even easier!

But first, let’s discuss what we’re giving away.

What we are giving away.

For this giveaway, we are giving away 2 four-day passes to the 2012 Seabreeze Jazz Festival.  To be specific, there are 2 tickets for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Each four-day pass is worth retail $200.  However, each single day individual ticket is worth retail $80.

So, this could be a $400 value or you could look at it as a $640 value.  Whichever makes you feel better! 🙂

Here is the very abbreviated event schedule:

  • Thursday – Gates open at 5 pm
  • Friday – Gates open at 5 pm
  • Saturday – Gates open at 10 am
  • Sunday – Gates open at 10 am
Multiple ways to enter.

Well, we’re all social people, right?  Our Facebook page is one of the most active in the area with over 14,000 Likes.  Our Twitter feed has almost 3,500 followers.  So, in addition to opening this up here on PCBDaily.com, in the comments section (like we’ve traditionally done), we’re opening this up to our Facebook page and Twitter followers.

Here are the ways you can win:

  • Comment below about your past Jazz Fest experiences or future Jazz Fest wishes.
  • Share this post on Facebook and Tag PCBDaily in the post. Here is the url for this contest: http://www.pcbdaily.com/win-2012-seabreeze-jazz-tickets
    • Or, you can just click the Share button to the left. 😉
  • Share the Facebook post we put on our Facebook page.
  • Tweet this: Win Free Seabreeze Jazz Fest Tix from @pcbdaily at http://goo.gl/RA0ZX
  • Or click this button:
One more way to get free tickets.

You can enter, but you leave getting free tickets up to the odds of winning.  But, for a limited quantity, if you book a beach condo with us on a three night minimum for that weekend we’ll give you 2 four-day passes too! In case you hadn’t noticed, we have Panama City Beach Luxury Properties and we’re booking up fast for that weekend!

So, just to summarize.  If you book a condo with us and stay with us for at least 3 nights, we’ll give you 2 four-day passes to the Seabreeze Jazz Festival!  This is a steal, especially if you’re coming down here anyway.  And if you’re local, it’s a great excuse to get out of the house for the weekend!

Rules and other details.
  • Each entrant can enter once and only once (we can verify this by ip AND cookies) and must use a valid first name and email address if they enter in comments below.
  • Contest begins when this post is published and ends on Friday, April 6, 2012 at 5 p.m. CST.
  • We will be doing the drawing regardless of how many people enter.
  • A winner will be chosen at random.  There will be 1 winner total.
  • By entering you are opting in to receive future newsletters and emails from PCBDaily and you are opening yourself up to the greatest resource for news and information Panama City Beach has to offer.
  • If you are selected and you do not respond to our email notifying you of winning 48 hours of the contest ending, then we reserve the right to either keep the prize for another giveaway in the future or award the prize to another entrant.
  • If you are selected from an entrant through either Facebook or Twitter and you do not respond to our notifications and contact attempts within 48 hours of the contest ending, the again, we reserve the right to either keep the prize for another giveaway in the future or award the prize to another entrant.
  • This giveaway is open to anyone in the continental United States.
  • We will not ship or mail the tickets, they must be picked up at our office listed below.
  • Our office address is 12118 Panama City Beach Parkway, Suite 10, Panama City Beach, FL  32407
  • Read full rules here.

2012 Tourism Revenue Predictions

Every year we anxiously look forward to the tourism season, which consists mostly of about 8 months.  While we see tourists travel here year round, when you come to the beach, you usually want to get out in the water, so the higher concentration of tourists always falls in the summer.  Of course, the kids being out of school plays some part in that too, I suppose. 😉

A quick history

The last few years in the tourism industry has been an interesting ride.  We had the great pleasure of riding an appreciation wave where we saw real estate values sky-rocket.  Then, we subsequently saw a meltdown as we came off the inflated prices and realistic terms finally again began determining pricing.

We had a number of new economic developments in the area that made our beaches look significantly more attractive than they used to.  Some of the many changes include Pier Park, the relocation of the airport and a wide variety of new commercial, retail and dining establishments that have cropped up all over the beach.

As our area has grown, and more have made this their vacation spot, the demand for a greater variety of shops, restaurants, entertainment and attractions has slowly been met.

This is growth, my friend.  Sometimes it may seem slow, but it is definitely happening.

Tourism revenue numbers

Because accommodations are offered from endless mediums, including property management companies (like ours), full scale resorts, or private owners, it’s extremely difficult, nay impossible to gather occupancy rates market wide.

So, the way we typically determine market growth is by looking at bed tax revenue numbers.  But, as was explained to me earlier (which I have certainly considered in the past), just because we have a growing revenue number, it doesn’t mean we have more people coming to the beach.  Touche.

However, more money, DOES mean more growth, because greater revenue fuels expansion opportunities elsewhere.  And it also means that if more money is coming in with fewer people, then the pricing is going up, which then leads to an assumption that we are catering to a higher-end clientele.  But I digress.

Lets take a look at the data

Below is a breakdown of the raw data over the last few years.  We’ve requested historical data back to 1997 but haven’t gotten it just yet.  We should note that the amount of bed tax collected was 3% up until February 2009, 4% for March 2009, then beginning in April 2009 the rate was increased to 5%.

Here is the bed tax revenue – raw numbers.

Year 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011
October $234,657.08 $275,648.45 $294,466.36 $449,813.31 $521,278.79
November $152,119.34 $156,803.11 $129,672.93 $283,593.62 $284,476.90
December $135,088.52 $134,216.04 $135,185.94 $227,630.37 $247,747.78
January $176,654.76 $188,324.00 $195,818.39 $318,457.80 $306,667.93
February $244,156.99 $266,703.23 $320,373.55 $442,790.64 $483,178.62
March $699,028.94 $813,079.54 $1,026,521.85 $1,539,121.49 $1,482,498.95
April $563,079.34 $476,718.39 $909,851.39 $992,335.01 $1,216,652.89
May $629,292.94 $556,798.62 $998,779.40 $1,075,882.69 $1,127,340.30
June $1,119,167.86 $1,223,299.60 $1,946,434.54 $1,884,269.21 $2,283,706.72
July $1,389,711.37 $1,345,540.63 $2,302,863.86 $1,967,020.33 $2,966,961.49
August $532,047.94 $554,578.90 $947,596.17 $807,936.59 $1,086,541.59
September $397,000.56 $467,386.73 $795,698.44 $795,301.87 $928,161.56

—

And the best way we could compare year over year, same month numbers was to break down the whole number by each percentage point collected.  So, for the 2006/2007 through the period in which the rate was increased, we divided the total number by 3.  Then we did the same, for the respective points for February and March 2009, then the remaining periods through the 2010/2011 reporting period.

Here is what we got.

Year 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011
October $78,219.03 $91,882.82 $98,155.45 $89,962.66 $104,255.76
November $50,706.45 $52,267.70 $43,224.31 $56,718.72 $56,895.38
December $45,029.51 $44,738.68 $45,061.98 $45,526.07 $49,549.56
January $58,884.92 $62,774.67 $65,272.80 $63,691.56 $61,333.59
February $81,385.66 $88,901.08 $106,791.18 $88,558.13 $96,635.72
March $233,009.65 $271,026.51 $256,630.46 $307,824.30 $296,499.79
April $187,693.11 $158,906.13 $181,970.28 $198,467.00 $243,330.58
May $209,764.31 $185,599.54 $199,755.88 $215,176.54 $225,468.06
June $373,055.95 $407,766.53 $389,286.91 $376,853.84 $456,741.34
July $463,237.12 $448,513.54 $460,572.77 $393,404.07 $593,392.30
August $177,349.31 $184,859.63 $189,519.23 $161,587.32 $217,308.32
September $132,333.52 $155,795.58 $159,139.69 $159,060.37 $185,632.31

—

Then, we took those numbers and broke down the percentage increases year over year, comparing same month periods.

Year 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011 Average
October 17.5% 6.8% -8.3% 15.9% 8.0%
November 3.1% -17.3% 31.2% 0.3% 4.3%
December -0.6% 0.7% 1.0% 8.8% 2.5%
January 6.6% 4.0% -2.4% -3.7% 1.1%
February 9.2% 20.1% -17.1% 9.1% 5.4%
March 16.3% -5.3% 19.9% -3.7% 6.8%
April -15.3% 14.5% 9.1% 22.6% 7.7%
May -11.5% 7.6% 7.7% 4.8% 2.2%
June 9.3% -4.5% -3.2% 21.2% 5.7%
July -3.2% 2.7% -14.6% 50.8% 8.9%
August 4.2% 2.5% -14.7% 34.5% 6.6%
September 17.7% 2.1% 0.0% 16.7% 9.1%

—

I think it’s fascinating to look at these numbers because you can actually watch the real estate market tumbling in the 2007/2008 period, and begin to see slight growth the following years.  Of course, with the exception of the 2009/2010 reporting period, where we had the oil spill, the growth was in the negative direction.

My prediction

I know, this is what you’ve been waiting for.  You’ve been wanting me to pull out my crystal ball and tell you what our growth will be like this upcoming summer.  Here goes!

There are a bunch of ways to do this.  For example, one can look at the average percentage increases in the last column in the last data set up above and average that out to a total 5.7% increase.  This approach would tell us that based on the historical averages over the last 5 reporting periods that we should see said percentage growth this year.

But I think we’re going to do better than that.  

I think we should use the 2008/2009 reporting period as the baseline.  That was the second year Pier Park was open, the year before the new airport came online and frankly the first year we would have begun seeing an explosive growth pattern (in my opinion) had we not had the oil spill in the gulf.

Looking at the periods from 2008/2009 and on, and averaging the monthly bed tax revenue collected during the months of May through August, we get the following numbers for average monthly bed tax revenue collected.

  • 2008/2009 — — $1,548,918.49
  • 2009/2010 — — $1,433,777.21 — — 7.4% down from 2008/2009
  • 2010/2011 — — $1,866,137.53 — — 30.2% up from 2009/2010 and 20.5% up from 2008/2009

So, now if we scratch out the 2009/2010 reporting period, and pretend it didn’t exist, then divide the percentage increase the 2009/2010 reporting period had over the 2008/2009 period (20.5%) by 2, we’d have a healthy 10.25% annual growth average.

Using this projection, our bed tax collections for the May-August 2011/2012 reporting period should average at $2,057,416.62 per month.

What does this mean?

Projecting an average 10% increase in bed tax revenue for our summer season doesn’t mean that everyone should expect to see a 10% increase in occupancy over last year, nor does it mean that we all should see a 10% increase in rental rates charged.  Some of my properties, we increased our prices by more than that, and bookings are fine.  And bookings seem to be coming in faster this year than last year as well.

But, a projected 10% increase this year is just a projection, and the way it will affect the tourism industry market-wide will vary as great as their are specks of sand on our beach.

But this is my prediction, and I’m sticking to it!