Bay County TDC Approves Bed Tax Increase

In a meeting that ended in great applause, the Bay County Tourist Development Council unanimously voted to approve the increase in bed tax collections from 3% to 5%. With public comment from pillars of the Panama City Beach community, such as Charlie Hilton, Julian Bennett, Julie Hilton and Joe Tannehill, good arguments were made for and against the increase with a unified concern for our area.

The motion to approve suggested that one penny go towards marketing, including helping attract a low-cost carrier. Half of the second new cent would go to beach cleaning, safety awareness and signage throughout the beach. The second half of the second new cent will go to capital projects such as new ball fields at Frank Brown Park or the proposed improvements to Aaron Bessant Park in Pier Park.

“I think we should delay, not defeat the 5th cent increase,” Bennett Sr. said discussing that we need to put together a comprehensive plan as to how the 5th sent will be spent.

“We need to work on collecting what we have,” said Julie Hilton, “before we try and get more.”

Joe Tannehill, chairman of the Airport Authority board was the first to comment during the public comment portion of the meeting. He voiced his support of the bed tax increase and assured the board and confirmed to the board and the audience that the airport was ahead of schedule and under budget. He stressed that essential to the area’s success was the success of the airport and essential to the airport’s success was getting the word out to the rest of the country that we are open for business.

He emphasized that a growing number of travelers to our area will be from out of the country, but we need marketing dollars to underscore that effort. He also confirmed discussions with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Peter Yesawich from YPartnership presented on why we need to increase our bed tax stressing that any increase had no direct impact on his firm or his firm’s relationship with the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

His presentation explained that we had advertising budgets that were 1/2 and 1/3 of that of our direct competitors. He also stressed that we needed to have a vehicle in place to support the new airport and any low-cost airline that may come into our area. He mentioned that these are perilous times for the airline industry and that any airline would find great comfort knowing they had some financial support here in Panama City Beach. His presentation explicated the importance of having a harmonious allocation of marketing dollars and capital improvement dollars.

Yesawich said that our future visitors are not “legacy visitors” or those returning to our area, but new visitors. He explained that we need to expand our marketing reach to outside our traditional market and that we need a broader visitor base.

Buddy Wilkes, owner of Shipwreck Island Waterpark underscored this point in saying that we’ve lost our legacy visitors already and that we must focus on new customers.

There has been much discussion elsewhere and here on pcbdaily that we need to work harder to collect the rent collectors that aren’t paying instead of trying to raise the tax. I agree and disagree with this.

We need to change our collection process and the way it is enforced. Actually, that is a false statement. We need to enforce the bed tax collection as right now, it is not being enforced at all. What happens to those that do not collect? Nothing. Period. So, how do they figure out who is collecting rent, but not paying the bed tax? I don’t know, but there are smart people than me that can figure this all out, and it needs to happen, NOW.

Bill Kinsall, Bay County Clerk-elect reassured the board and audience during the public comment section that he would do everything in his power to make their collection process and research to who isn’t paying more efficient. He said the whole process will be under scrutiny and they will figure out how to fix the system.

Julie Hilton mentioned that she thought that we may be seeing 50% of the total possible bed tax revenue due to people not paying and that an increase may push more to not pay. I cannot speculate on the number, but I totally agree with her in that the number is probably larger than we think. We need to figure out a way to determine this. I also think we need to enable some sort of enforced consequence to be imposed on those that do not pay.

Yes, we need a very comprehensive plan to exactly how we’ll spend each penny of the increase, yes we need to figure out how to collect from who isn’t paying right now, but we also need more money to be sure we are ready to spread the word about Panama City Beach to the world when the new airport comes online. We also need to be sure we continue to improve our area at the same rate our competition is improving their areas, or we will become a has-been.

The argument that if we increase our rates that we’ll lose tourists just isn’t valid. An increase of 2% will yeild an increase in room rates of $20 for a week’s stay at $1000. Is someone going to be deterred by this? No. Will they even know about the change? No. Tourists don’t ask what tax rate they are paying and they aren’t going to change their mind for a measly 2%.

Good job TDC, Bay County Commissioners, please take heed, we need this for our area.

Related: Bed Tax Increase Set in Motion

MTVu Coming… with full database and measurement

The TDC Marketing Committee voted today to move forward with the $250K MTVu Spring Break Partnership. There seems to be a lot of kinks to be worked out, and there were definitely “wishes” put out by the committee and audience members that simply won’t be fulfilled, but the good news is that the CVB will begin properly gathering data with a “PCB Insiders” program, enabling Spring Breakers (and other future segments) to sign up for email and mobile phone updates and promotions. We’ll be sure to get results of these efforts at the end of Spring Break 09.

This will all be accomplished through a fantastic rich media, interactive Spring Break 09 website that may or may not be developed by YPartnership of “Summer White Sale Website” infamy. The new staff at the CVB should be able to make this quantum leap from the failed email marketing programs of recent past, because the new mobile phone and email programs are outsourced services that are easily implemented.

The co-op partners who participate will be able to communicate with the new database being built by the CVB. The database will be rich with information and accessible for clear measurement.

My question is… are paying co-op partners the only ones who should benefit from the TDC/CBV database? I mean, if I were a bed tax collector, writing that check every month, I’d kinda’ like to think I had access to anything the TDC gathered. But, you know, I’m not a bed tax collector. I’m just sympathetic to their collection burdens. If you are a bed tax collector, this is a good place for you to voice your opinion.

MTVu is good for the local economy. It worked last year for a lot of people. MTVu brings enough traffic that rooms are booked and promoters/sponsors have all kinds of opportunities to create relationships with these future guests and residents for a lifetime.

We’ll be writing more posts about Spring Break all the way up to the Big Bang, and welcome your opionions. But here’s one thing you Spring Break haters can consider in the meantime: How about planning to get out and meet the students face-to-face to accomplish some of your goals? Why not plan drug and alcohol prevention pizza parties? What about a job fair? Maybe join the dozens of “Alternative Spring Breakers” who will be doing things such as cleaning the beach or ministering their faith in God? Go help the Panama City Rescue mission collect cans every afternoon.

There is plenty of good and bad on this beach, 365 days per year. You can choose to be a part of the Good.

9/8/08 TDC/CVB: Strategic Plan Adopted & More!

8 of the 9 board members were in attendance. Rick Russell was absent.

Bed Tax Collections: Ms. Charlene Honnen, Tourist Development Tax Specialist, reported that while YTD collections were up 1.8%, the July collections were down from the prior year. She also reported that there are currently 1522 collectors representing approximately 12,000 units registered with her office.

PCB Seafood, Wine & Music Festival: Mr. Jack Bishop made an extensive presentation on his organization’s planning for the October festival. The CVB is the festival’s primary sponsor and is contributing $50,000.00 in financial support. He gave a walk-through of the festival’s web site, explained all of the marketing efforts, and also explained the festivals “green” efforts. He also explained that his organization will be collecting demographic date from all ticket purchasers and expects to provide extensive date to the CVB. Bishop also reported that his organization was already considering hosting a spring festival for 2009 during the shoulder season between Easter and Memorial Day. Finally, he expressed his belief that the community should continue to make improvements to the grounds at Frank Brown Park to assist with future festivals. He discussed the electrical improvements made by the circus and explained how they were more specifically geared to the needs of the circus than he would have desired. He reported that his organization hopes to make permanent facility upgrades with each festival that will be helpful to future users.

Fall Promotion Update: Ms. Susan Estler, the CVB’s VP of Marketing, explained the extension of the Summer White Sale through October. Although online marketing designed to draw visitors to the CVB’s site continues, the primary print and radio advertising has been completed. The partner offers have been recently updated and now include 52 partners. Since the program began, there have been 85,000 website sessions and 23,000 coupon downloads.

Strategic Plan: President Dan Rowe thoroughly discussed the final Strategic Plan that is the result of two public sessions and input from the board and community. The final key initiatives are: 1. Enhance the visitor experience at Panama City Beach; 2. Develop Panama City Beach into a year-round destination; 3. Effectively market Panama City Beach to build occupancy; 4. Diligently protect Panama City Beach’s primary natural resource – the beach. “Potential strategies for funding the initiatives” has been added as a separate section. At the President’s request, the board unanimously voted to adopt the plan.

Download the entire 2008 Strategic Plan.

Marketing Committee Update: Committee Chairman Buddy Wilkes advised the board that he had made the decision to make some changes to the committee membership to add some new voices. Phillip Griffitts, Jr. (Sugar Sands Resort/La Quinta) and Russ Smith(Towne of Seahaven/Sharky’s/Hammerhead Fred’s) will retain their seats. New appointees are: Felicia Cook(Marketing Director for Pier Park), Amy Harris(Royal American Hospitality), Annie Holcomb(Oaseas Management), Lee Ann Leonard (By the Sea Resorts), and myself, Bryan Durta. The board voted unanimously in support of the new committee. I would like to thank Mr. Wilkes for including me on the committee as an involved citizen. The committee will continue to meet on an as needed basis as the board requests. The first meeting has been scheduled for September 23^rd.

Off Shore Drilling: President Rowe discussed the possibility of the board reconsidering previous positions opposing drilling off the shore of Florida. Rowe explained that a meeting of Florida CVB’s is being held next month to discuss the issue and he suggested the board delay any action until he can report back.

Beach Damage from Hurricane Gustav: President Rowe reported that it is still unknown whether there has been any damage to the beach resulting from Gustav. While the profile is currently deflated(flatter), Ms. Lisa Ambruster has advised that the height will likely build back. There is a possibility of seeking emergency repair funds from governmental agencies if the board desires. This will likely require a survey costing approximately $100,000.00 and Rowe suggested that the board wait for a recommendation from its beach contractors before making a decision.

Interactive Agency Search: President Rowe reported that the application deadline has passed and 6 proposals have been received. The sub-committee will bring its recommendation to the board after a complete analysis.

Delta In-flight Magazine Article: Although it was not an agenda item, Board Member Yonnie Patronis brought up an issue concerning a 10 page article on the Emerald Coast that appears in the current magazine. Mr. Patronis reported that the article included information on Coastal Vision 3000 and most of the panhandle, while totally ignoring Panama City Beach.

My Last Meeting Report: Due to my appointment to the CVB’s Marketing Committee announced today, my personal standards require that I discontinue preparing the TDC/CVB meeting reports for PCBDaily. I would like to thank Jason for providing the opportunity to write them over the past year, and know that Jason and Kirk are ready to take up the slack. I will, of course, still be here contributing to the site where appropriate. I have enjoyed preparing the reports and hope that everyone has found them to be informative and fair. I welcome comments and suggestions from anyone interested in our destination, regardless of whether you are a resident or a visitor. Thank you.

-Bryan Durta