HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-05-18; Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement District; ; CTBID Annual ReportCARLSBAD TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
Staff Report
Meeting Date: May 18, 2022
Subject: CTBID Annual Report
Recommended Action
Adopt a resolution approving the Annual Report of the Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement
District (CTBID) and submit the report to the City Council for approval at a June 2022 meeting.
Item Explanation
In accordance with Section 36533 of the California Streets and Highways Code, the CTBID
Advisory Board is required to present an annual report for the City Council's review and
approval for each fiscal year for which assessments are to be levied and collected to pay the
costs for the improvements and activities described in the report. This report is to contain:
• Any proposed changes to the boundaries of the CTBID
• The activities to be provided for that fiscal year
• An estimate of the cost of providing those activities (i.e., budget)
• The method and basis of levying the assessment
• The amount of any surplus or deficiency revenues to be carried over from the previous
year
• The amount of any other contributions
Staff has prepared the annual report {Attachment A to Exhibit 1} which includes the above
items. Staff recommends that the advisory board approve the annual report for presentation
to the City Council at a June 2022 meeting.
Fiscal Impact
None.
Environmental Impact
This action does not constitute a "project" within the meaning of the California Environmental
Quality Act under California Public Resources Code Section 21065 in that it has no potential to
cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect
physical change in the environment.
Exhibits
1. Resolution
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BA75F69-8BO4-4DE5-8892-0680583F1312
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-8
A RESOLUTION OF THE CARLSBAD TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT ADVISORY BOARD APPROVING THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2022-23
EXHIBIT 1
WHEREAS, the Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement District (CTBID) was formed in
accordance with the California Government Code Parking and Business Improvement Area Law
of 1989 (California Streets and Highways Code Section 36500 et. seq. ); and
WHEREAS, California Streets and Highways Code Section 36533 requires the CTBID
Advisory Board to present an annua l report to the City Council for its review and approval for
each fiscal year for which assessments are to be levied and collected to pay the cost for the
improvements and activities described in the report; and
WHEREAS, an Annual Report has been prepared for the 2022-23 fiscal year, and
WHEREAS, the CTBID Advisory Board wishes to approve the Annual Report; and
WHEREAS, the CTBID Advisory Board wishes to submit the report to the City Council for
approval.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement
District Advisory Board as follows:
1. That the above recitations are true and correct.
2. That the Annual Report shown at Exhibit A is approved in its entirety.
3. That the Annual Report will be presented to the City Council for its approval at
a June 2022 meeting.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement District on this 18 day of May 2022, by the following
vote to wit:
AYES: Stripe, Canepa, Rauch, Gray, Zupanski, Chapin
NAYS: n/a
ABSEN T: Becerra
ABSTAIN: n/a
DocuSign Envelope ID: 2BA75F69-88D4-4DES-8892-0680583F1312
EXHIBIT 1
TIM STRIPE, Chair
t-FAVIOLA MEDINA, City Clerk Services Manager
ATTACHMENT A
Carlsbad Tourism and Business Improvement District (CTBID}
2022-2023 Annual Report
Method of Assessment: The CTBID includes all hotel businesses located within the
CTBID boundaries. The assessment shall be levied on all hotel businesses, existing and
future, within the City of Carlsbad based upon a rate of 2% of gross short-term room
revenue for all transient occupancies as defined in section 3.12.020(7) of the Carlsbad
Municipal Code. The amount of assessment shall be separately stated from the amount
of the rent and other taxes charged, and each transient shall receive a receipt for
payment from the operator. The assessment will be remitted monthly, based on 2% of
gross short-term room revenues for the previous month.
Assessment Funding Purpose: To administer marketing and visitor programs to
promote the City of Carlsbad as a tourism visitor destination and to fund projects,
programs, and activities, including appropriate administrative charges that benefit
hotels within the boundaries of the District.
2021-22 Work Plan: Last fiscal year, the CTBID assessment generated approximately
$5,600,000 in revenue. The CTBID contracted with Carlsbad Convention and Visitors
Bureau (dba Visit Carlsbad) to provide tourism marketing services for Carlsbad. In
addition, $80,000 in grants were awarded to fund events to increase the overnight stays
in Carlsbad hotels.
The CTBID 2022-23 budget includes a funding level of $5,114,000 for Visit Carlsbad. This
increased funding level is the result of the increase in assessment revenue due to the
modification of the assessment rate from $1 per room night to 2% of gross short-term
room revenue as well as a post pandemic rebound in the tourism economy. The
services provided by Visit Carlsbad will focus on marketing efforts. The majority of this
will be done by through promotional programs and group sales. Visit Carlsbad also has
plans to hire a Finance and Administration Manager, Business Development
Coordinator, Marketing/ Communications Coordinator, and an administrative assistant
during Fiscal Year 2022-23. The CEO will help develop a business plan for Visit
Carlsbad's future. The Visit Carlsbad Board will also review the CTBID grant applicants,
for which there is $1,500,000 allocated this year, and make the funding
recommendations to the CTBID Board.
Detail of the 2022-23 budget is shown on the following page .
2022-23 Recommended CTBID Budget
2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2021-22 Actuals Projected Recommended
Program Areas Description Actual Actual Budget as of 2/28/22 2021-22 Actuals 2022-23 Budget
Carryover Fund Balance Fund Balance $640,318 $617,139 $1 ,840,227 1,840,227 1,840,227 4,173,227
Revenues:
CTBID Assessment
2% of Room Revenue (was $1 per room night prior to 11/1/20) 1,088,860 1,867,248 3,600,000 3,938,526 5,600,000 5,700,000
Interest Earnings 21 ,384 17,327
Total Estimated Revenues 1,110,244 1,884,575 3,600,000 3,938,526 5,600,000 5,700,000
Expenditures:
2% of CTBID assessment revenue, for collection of
2% Admin. Fee -City CTBID assessment and accounting for CTBID 21 ,045 37,344 72,000 72,401 112,000 114,000
CCVB Payment To operate visitor center, market and promote Carlsbad 1,040,326 576,425 3,000,000 1,222,080 3,000,000 5,114,170
Staff support Staff support to the CTBID 20,438 17,718 50,000 10,996 25,000 50,000
Professional Services Civitas Contract 32,960 50,000 50,000
CTBID Grants Grant program established by CTBID Board 18,654 30,000 100,000 80,000 1,500,000
Total Expenses 1,133,423 661,487 3,272,000 1,305,477 3,267,000 6,778,170
Ending Fund Balance Contingency for Revenue shortfall $617,1 39 $1 ,840,227 $2,168,227 $4,473,276 4,173,227 3,095,057
Visit Carlsbad
Fiscal Year 2022-2023
Key Initiatives and Budget
With its exciting family fun, sunny
beaches and rejuvenating lifestyle,
Carlsbad welcomes all to experience
the warmth and vibrance of one of
California's most invigorating
destinations.
We promote and elevate the
perception of Carlsbad through
innovative programs that enhance
the visitor economy while preserving
our exceptional quality of life.
We will be known as: Centrally located between Los Angeles and San Diego, Carlsbad is a
vibrant place to make memories for families and travelers who want:
Elevate the destination
and the brand
Create year-round
demand
Grow Group/Corporate
meetings market
Build the
organization
• Results and service-oriented
• Creative
• Nimble
• Credible
• Seven miles of pristine Southern California beach.
• Abundant access to outdoor recreation, including surfing, biking, and trails.
• Bold and Innovative • Ease and accessibility to family-friendly experiences, including Legoland.
• Luxury resorts, hotels and spas, as well as affordable family options.
• Inclusive
• Increase y/y marketing effectiveness using 2021/22 H2R
research as as the baseline.
• Establish sentiment/perception baseline in 2022.
• Increase brand awareness as measured by reach and earned
media impressions.
• Support increased occupancy during shoulder season.
• Increase y/y incremental visits by X% using 2021/22 H2R research
as the baseline.
• Achieve a minimum of 50 groups incentivized per year.
• Support Group hotel performance as compared to competitive set.
• Support Group activity/growth based on target segments as
identified by hotel partners.
• Achieve a minimum of 90% affirmative response to target
stakeholder engagement survey question(s).
• Increase economic impact of Carlsbad tourism by X% by 2024
using 2022 as the baseline.
• Achieve successful annual audit.
• World-renowned golf courses and tournaments.
• Conduct brand pre-and post-research sentiment evaluation
• Launch new brand campaign
• Develop and deploy brand toolkit
• Develop content strategy
• AttracUSponsor few events through partnerships
• Develop and implement seasonal campaigns that support year-round reasons for visitation
• Develop and implement tactical geo/feeder market strategies + need periods
• Develop a branded toolkit of assets for hotel sales teams
• Form a committee of select services properties and conduct needs assessment
• Create differentiation statements against key markets
• Create awareness of/menu of Carlsbad experiences specific to groups
• Host annual meeting/quarterly townhall
• Design and implement staff engagement survey
• Implement two-year staffing growth plan
• Develop an equity statement that informs all work of organization
Department
FYE'23
Proposed
Budget
% of Budget
Marketing & Communications $2,593,000 50.70%
Business Development $316,520 6.19%
Group Incentive Program $1,000,000 19.55%
Salaries & Benefits $980,000 19.16%
General and Administration $224,650 4.39%
Total $5,114,170 ,-~ 1/!sir..l b d ~cars a
Marketing/Communications Budget –$2,593,000
Strategic Area of Focus: Elevate the Destination and Brand
Strategy: Reintroduce Carlsbad with New Brand Platform
•Full-service advertising agency retainer to execute year-round brand presence
•Overhaul, produce and deploy all new assets (IE. collateral, website, email templates, photo library)
for Visit Carlsbad use and toolkits for tourism partner use
•3rd party social media agency support for strategy and community management
•Continue golf travel earned media contract
•Continue producing evergreen video and blog content according to annual content calendar that
further emphasizes brand platform
Strategy: Raise awareness of the off-season experience in Carlsbad
•Fully integrated domestic campaigns for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023
•Paid Advertising: Media Planning/Buying with targeting based on new traveler personas
research, creative asset development, web, video and Connected TV, paid social, retargeting
display, digital radio
•Earned: Utilize external PR firm on a project fee basis to support Fall and Spring campaigns
Strategy: Leverage new audience insights and research tools to optimize program investments
•Execute multicultural marketing strategy based on roadmap developed FYE’22
•Visa Vue quarterly visitor spend research
•Kolibri Labs segmentation
•Complete 2022 Visitor Profile and Economic Impact study
•Carlsbad-specific hotel forecast
Strategy: Raise international awareness of Carlsbad in target markets based on airlift into SAN
•Paid campaigns leveraging Brand USA, Visit CA and/or tour operator resources in Mexico, Germany
and Canada
•Visit California sales missions in Mexico, Canada, Germany
•Travel Trade Shows –TBD
•Golf Travel Industry Shows -TBD
Marketing/Communications Continued
Strategic Area of Focus: Drive year-round demand
Strategy: Raise awareness of Carlsbad as a Meetings Destination
•Visit Carlsbad-led sales Missions to Atlanta, Bay Area and Chicago with hotel partners
•Sponsorships –MPI and SITE targeted to Atlanta, Bay Area, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver
•Meetings Tradeshows –Association Forum, FICP, Cvent Connect, IMEX (Host client event or
attend within Visit CA presence)
•Year-Round Meetings focused digital/social campaign utilizing LinkedIn, eMail marketing and
content development
•Facilitate individual familiarization tours of meeting planners in partnership with hotels with airfare
or transportation
Strategy: Engage/Support Carlsbad hotel sales teams
•Execute Hotel Community Quarterly Engagement Activities –3 mixers and 1 annual meeting
•Create Limited-Service Properties Task Force to conduct needs assessment
•Provide branded sales collateral to partners
Business Development Budget -$316,520
Strategic Area of Focus: Grow Group/Corporate Meetings Market
Strategy: Incentivize Groups who to Book in Carlsbad with new Group Program
•Allocate $1,000,000 for incentives contracted in 2022 but can actualize through 2024, so this
would stretch across multiple fiscal years
•Ensure group incentive program is incorporated into all group awareness campaigns
•Per CTBID request, funds would be housed in a separate account
Group Incentive Program Budget -$1,000,000
Strategic Area of Focus: Grow Group/Corporate Meetings Market
•Strategy: Align organizational structure to best deliver upon strategic plan
•FYE’23 potential FTE positions
•Finance & Administration Manager
•Business Development Coordinator
•Marketing/Communications Coordinator
•Administrative Assistant
•Strategy: Raise profile of Visit Carlsbad within the local community
•Open new office space reflective of new brand and organization
•Cultivate opportunities for board and Visit Carlsbad staff to speak about the positive impacts of
tourism in community forums
•Strategy: Attract and retain talent by prioritizing culture, professional development and
responsive/flexible work environment
•Teambuilding
•Training/Conferences
•Individual growth plans
•Benefits optimization
Salaries & Benefits Budget -$980,000
General & Administration Budget -$224,650
Strategic Area of Focus: Build the Organization
Thank You!