2022/23 ANNUAL REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 3
4 President’s Message
6 Funding Source
8 Lodging/Hotel Partners
10 Travel Sentiment
12 U.S. Travel Association
14 Visit California
18 Marketing
24 PR & Media Coverage
28 Group Sales
31 Travel Costa Mesa Leadership
4 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
MISSION
STATEMENT
Travel Costa Mesa enhances and
promotes the destination brand
experience, further increasing visitor
spending for industry and community
economic viability, sustainability, and
quality of life.
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
THE aura of how Travel Costa Mesa (TCM)
began the new fiscal year was rooted in
optimism. Travel from a leisure perspective
was robust as we entered into summer
with continued pent-up demand and group
business travel was on an upward trajectory.
The celebration of the city’s most anticipated
opening of the decade, the Orange County
Museum of Art (OCMA), was the catalyst for
a first-ever “Arts You’ll Fall For” marketing
campaign. In February 2023, TCM launched
“What Will You See Next,” a new branding
campaign designed to inspire and excite
travelers to visit the City of the Arts®.
TCM’s marketing efforts focused on the drive
market—a radius of consumers within a few
hours of the city—and that aim will continue.
Content creators injected travel inspiration
into arts and culture, dining, and shopping
niches. Summer and holiday co-ops with
Visit California (VCA), the state’s destination
marketing organization, were also launched, as
was an inspiring new meeting guide for event
planners. New group business opportunities
continued to grow as the organization’s
destination sales executive completed a dozen
in-person trade shows.
U.S. Travel Association, the national, non-profit
organization representing all components
of the travel industry, focused on restoring
international inbound travel, meetings, events,
and business travel, facilitating opportunities
for the industry to work together and address
industry issues.
Visit California’s core objectives included
cultivating the California brand while
triggering engagement, active consideration,
and drive-market development. Its focus
centered around restoring travel spending by
increasing domestic leisure travel, professional
meetings and events, international visitation,
and urban tourism. This fiscal year, VCA
received $15 million in marketing funds from
OUR VISION WILL BE
GUIDED BY CREATIVITY,
CONSUMER TRENDS,
AND BEST PRACTICES
THAT KEEPS VISITORS
WONDERING WHAT
THEY WILL SEE NEXT.
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 5
KEY
OBJECTIVE
Increase brand awareness for the
city of Costa Mesa as a desirable,
overnight, leisure Orange County
destination.
SALES
OBJECTIVE
Increase brand awareness and
new group room nights for the
city of Costa Mesa – to make it
the preferred Orange County
destination ideal for small to mid-size
business and boost the economic
benefits throughout the city.
VISION
STATEMENT
Travel Costa Mesa is the engaged
destination marketing leader,
supporting, and selling the city’s
distinct visitor brand experiences and
advocating community tourism benefits.
In 1995, Travel Costa Mesa was formed
as a non-profit corporation to market the
city of Costa Mesa as a desirable, leisure
overnight destination in Orange County.
the state to continue to support the ongoing recovery
of California’s tourism economy. Domestic tourism
marketing programs targeted to increase travel to
destinations within the state were supplemented with
these funds.
As 2022 came to an end, occupancy for the
country grew to 62.7 percent, up over eight
percent compared to the previous year. California
outperformed the country with an occupancy of
67.5 percent, up over 10 percent compared to the
previous year. Hotel average daily rates increased
19 percent across the country and 21 percent
in California. As 2023 progresses, U.S. Travel
Association is forecasting a slight softening of leisure travel demand compared to 2022. However, business
travel and pent-up demand for meetings, events,
conventions, and tradeshows is expected to increase
in 2023.
TCM’s priority is to support the travel and tourism
industry for its partners. Our efforts are focused
on increasing brand awareness for Costa Mesa,
marketing the city as a desirable, overnight Orange
County destination for both leisure and group
business. As we plan for the upcoming fiscal year, our
vision will be guided by creativity, consumer trends,
and best practices that keeps visitors wondering what
they will see next.
Paulette Lombardi-Fries
PRESIDENT, TRAVEL COSTA MESA
6 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
BIA REVENUE
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
0.500
0.000
Business Improvement Area (BIA)
Assessment
Travel Costa Mesa (TCM) is entirely funded
through the City of Costa Mesa’s Business
Improvement Area (BIA) assessment. Each
of the 11 Costa Mesa partner hotels listed
in this annual report collects a 3% levy from
overnight hotel guests (2,375 total available
rooms). All of the Transient Occupancy Tax
(TOT) that the City collects goes into its
general fund.
Business owners shall pay the BIA assessment
to the Costa Mesa City Finance Department
on a monthly basis. A penalty and interest
shall be assessed on late payments. New hotel
and motel businesses that are interested in
participating should contact the City and TCM.
This is a voluntary program for hotel partners.
TCM forecasts BIA revenue to reach $2.9M
for fiscal year (FY) 2022-23, a +121% yearover-year (YOY). As of February 2023, BIA funds are at $2.1M.
$972K
(-58% YOY)
FY 2020-21 FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23
$2.3M
(+137% YOY)
$2.9M
(+121% YOY)
FUNDING
SOURCE
100%
$
of TCM’s funding
comes from BIA
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 7
PRIMARY EXPENSES (FY 2022-23 PROJECTIONS)
MARKETING
53%
ADMINISTRATIVE
7%
EMPLOYEE
32%
SALES
8%
In addition to the above primary expenses, $476K in existing reserves will be used for hotel marketing funds.
8 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
Avenue of the Arts Costa Mesa, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel Rosanna Inc. Rosanna Inc. 3350 Avenue of the Arts 3350 Avenue of the Arts 3350 Avenue of the Arts Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Ayres Hotel Costa Mesa Newport Country Inn & Suites, Inc. Newport Country Inn & Suites, Inc. 325 Bristol St. 355 Bristol St., Ste. A 355 Bristol St., Ste. A Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Best Western Plus Newport Mesa Inn James Hsuen & Shang-Pu Lee James Hsuen & Shang-Pu Lee 2642 Newport Blvd. 2642 Newport Blvd. 2642 Newport Blvd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Crowne Plaza Costa Mesa Orange County Brighton Management Bright Bristol Street, LLC 3131 Bristol St. 20342 SW Acacia St. 3131 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Newport Beach, CA 92660 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa Ashford TRS CM LLC Remington Lodging & Hospitality LP 3050 Bristol St. 14185 Dallas Pkwy, Ste. 1100 14185 Dallas Pkwy, Ste. 1100 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Dallas, TX 75254 Dallas, TX 75254
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Costa Mesa Narendra B. Patel Narendra B. Patel 2070 Newport Blvd. 2070 Newport Blvd. 2070 Newport Blvd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Costa Mesa Marriott HEI Hotels & Resorts Starwood Capital Group 500 Anton Blvd. 101 Merritt 7 Corporate Park, 1st Fl. 591 W. Putnam Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Greenwich, CT 06830 Greenwich, CT 06830 OC Hotel Costa Mesa SAI KSP INC. Sanjay Panchal
2430 Newport Blvd. 11556 Manchester Way 11556 Manchester Way Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Porter Ranch, CA 91326 Porter Ranch, CA 91326 Ramada by Wyndham Costa Mesa/Newport Beach B.D. Inn Inc./Ramada Ltd. B.D. Inn Inc./Ramada Ltd. 1680 Superior Ave. 1680 Superior Ave. 1680 Superior Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Residence Inn by Marriott Costa Mesa Newport Beach Marriott International BRE Select Hotels & Resorts 881 Baker St. 10400 Fernwood Rd. 6201 15th Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Bethesda, MD 20817 Brooklyn, NY 11219 The Westin South Coast Plaza Host Hotels & Resorts Secon Properties 686 Anton Blvd. 6903 Rockledge Dr., Ste. 1500 3315 Fairview Rd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Bethesda, MD 20817 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 LODGING + ADDRESS BUSINESS OWNER PROPERTY OWNER
LODGING/ HOTEL
PARTNERS
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 9
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
$200
$190
$180
$170
$160
$150
$140
$130
$120
$110
$100
Hotel Inventory Update
Orange County continues to draw investors and capital into the area with extensive renovations. Highlights include:
• Pendry Newport Beach (replacing Fashion Island
Hotel) is expected to welcome guests in summer
2023. The high-end hotel will have 295 rooms, 82
suites, and a wellness spa.
• The Irvine Company sold Hotel Irvine to Hyatt and
will undergo an extensive renovation that will include
541 guest rooms. Anticipated opening date is fall
2023.
• Element Irvine opened in July of 2022 with 124
rooms.
• Residence Inn by Marriott Anaheim Brea completed
their new build with 138 suites.
Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa Ayres Hote Costa Mesal The Westin South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa Looking Forward With Positive Results
Costa Mesa, like many other Orange County cities, saw performance metrics increase in calendar year 2022 as leisure pent up demand grew during the pandemic.
• Overall occupancy grew +7% and average daily rate grew +22% compared to 2021.
• Compared to 2019 levels, the overall weekend occupancy segment was
81.1%, almost fully recovered, and the transient weekday occupancy segment was 47.5% of the overall business, down only one percentage point. • The weekday contract occupancy segment was +7%, approximately half of what it was in 2019. However, Costa Mesa’s weekday group segment exceeded 2019 numbers by 2%.
In 2023, weekday group and transient demand is expected to grow modestly.
TCM HOTEL PARTNERS
In 2022, Orange County hotels ($201 ADR, 71.3% occupancy) outpaced California hotels ($187 ADR, 67.5% occupancy) and U.S. hotels ($149 ADR, 62.7% occupancy).
OCCUPANCY AVERAGE DAILY RATE (ADR)
2019 2020 2021 2022 2019 2020 2021 2022
78.8%
$147
42.3%
$127
58.5%
$136
73%
$166
10 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
Leisure Travel
America’s level of excitement to travel is at
a three-year high according to Destination
Analysts, an independent research firm
that surveyed thousands of adult American
travelers about their perceptions and
behaviors around travel since the pandemic.
The following findings, which were shared with
the tourism community, represent over 4,000
surveys collected in January 2023 across four
U.S. regions.
TRAVEL
SENTIMENT
84% CURRENTLY HAVE
TRAVEL PLANS
IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, 50% OF
AMERICANS HAVE 15 OR MORE DAYS
AVAILABLE FOR LEISURE TRAVEL
TOP 3 TRAVEL MOTIVATORS
71.2%
Quality time
with loved
ones
70.6%
Creating
new
memories
69.4%
Experiencing
new places
to travel
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 11
Business Travel
In the next 12 months, the top reasons consumers plan to travel for business will be to meet and work with customers and for industry conferences and events, according to research by Expedia Group Media Solutions. Looking by generation, the groups most likely to travel for work are Millennials (born 1981-1996) at 45% and Gen Zs (born 1997-2012) at 40%.
Additionally, more than a quarter (27%) of
business travelers are prioritizing leisure trips
according to Ipsos, a global market research
company. Direct flight options (48%) and
flight availability (45%) are the top factors in
business travel.
Remote and hybrid work arrangements are key
topics. According to JD Power, nearly four in
five business travelers work remotely at least
some of the time. Of note, 64% of executives
agree that having more remote employees will
increase business travel spending for internal
meetings.
With hybrid work, every weekend
can be a holiday weekend…hybrid
work environments untether
workers from the office and give
them the newfound flexibility to
travel far more often than before.
This is not pent-up demand, it’s
the new normal.
— Scott Kirby, CEO, United Airlines
12 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
U.S. TRAVEL
ASSOCIATION
U.S. Travel Association is a non-profit
organization that represents and advocates
for all components of the travel industry while
promoting and facilitating travel to the U.S. In
September 2022, Geoff Freeman became its
new president and CEO after Roger Dow’s
17 years of invaluable leadership and service
to the industry. Throughout 2022, U.S. Travel
focused on many issues within the travel
and tourism segment while shaping policy,
developing data, testifying before congress,
engaging with the international travel
community at tradeshows, and having a strong
presence in media coverage.
International Inbound Travel
In November 2021, the U.S. reopened its
borders for vaccinated foreign travelers
after more than 18 months of restrictions
on international travel. Despite this positive
news, inbound travel in 2022 reached 66% of
what it was in 2019, and overseas travelers
(total number of trips) were 50.2M in 2022
compared to 79.4M in 2019. Visitation from
China and Japan is recovering slowly, while
Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and
Germany now rank as the top visitor markets
for the U.S.
The U.S. travel industry received another boost
in June 2022 when pre-departure COVID-19
testing requirements for all inbound American
travelers were lifted. Visa wait times for
international travelers remains a challenge,
however. Visitor visa (B-1/B-2) interviews
currently exceed 400 days for first-time
applicants. As a result of the waiting period,
many international visitors have opted for
alternative destinations. In December 2022,
U.S. Travel launched its “They Wait, We Lose”
campaign, featuring testimonials of people and
businesses impacted by long visitor wait times.
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 13
Business Travel
An acceleration for business
travel due to pent-up
demand for meetings, events,
conventions and tradeshows
is expected in 2023. While the
number of visitations in this
segment may recover next year,
business travel spending may
not for another four years as
inflation is taken into account.
U.S. Travel, Tourism Economics,
and J.D. Power collaborated in
2022 to develop a quarterly survey representing business travelers and corporate executives. The results were reported through U.S. Travel’s Business Travel Tracker. The following results represent the fourth quarter survey taken from the end of November 2022 to the end of December 2022. There were 790 business traveler respondents and 109 corporate executives.
Sustainability
In April 2022, U.S. Travel launched the Sustainable Travel Coalition, a group dedicated to the development and
advancement of strategies that will enable a sustainable future.
With more than 70 members, the coalition informs on issues within its organizations and perceived future challenges, focusing on these sustainable goals:
• Spotlight industry progress by showcasing innovative
technologies and call attention to the ongoing actions and leadership of travel professionals in the sustainable space • Amplify industry goals and commitments to conservation, best practices, waste and emission reductions, and both long- and short-term investments
• Highlight why sustainability matters and its importance to travel’s future
• Play offense by identifying and promoting proactive policies to help the industry achieve its goals.
• Defend against harmful policies that slow progress toward sustainability goals or penalize the industry without
progress.
2022 Highlights
JUNE 8: U.S. Travel sends a letter to congressional tax writers, advising on a range of environmental tax and trade policies.
AUGUST 16: The Inflation Reduction Act, which contains
many of the policy priorities included in the Sustainable Travel Coalition’s priorities, including a $370B investment in climate and energy programs, is signed into federal law.
SEPTEMBER 14: President Biden attends the Detroit Auto
Show and observes the private sector investments that are making road travel more environmentally friendly.
SEPTEMBER 20: U.S. Travel hosts its second annual “Future of Travel Mobility” conference highlighting sustainability progress across travel and transportation.
SEPTEMBER 23: The Department of Energy releases a plan to increase the production of sustainable aviation fuels.
SEPTEMBER 27: The Department of Transportation gives its final approval for construction to begin on a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging
DECEMBER 23: The Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act passes
and includes a provision directing the FAA to prioritize research on sustainable aviation fuels.
14 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
VISIT
CALIFORNIA
Visit California is focused on restoring
travel spending by increasing leisure
travel, professional meetings and events,
international visitation, and urban recovery.
The state’s destination marketing organization
uses research from Tourism Economics to
forecast visitation and traveler spending in the
Golden State.
Travel Visitation
Visitation to California reached 259.8M in
2022 (+21% YOY), and is expected to increase
to 279.1M (+8% YOY) in 2023. International
visitation increased 115% in 2022 compared
to the previous year, and is expected in 2023 to
reach 81% of the 2019 volume. Total Travel Visitation
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 15
Domestic Visitation
International Visitation
16 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
Travel Spending
Visitor travel spending reached $135B in
2022 (+35% YOY) and is expected to grow
to $154.4B in 2023, surpassing the previous
high of $144.9B from 2019. Leisure travel is
expected to recover in 2023 to 100% of 2019
levels and business travel will recover to 88%.
International spending reached $16.4B in
2022 (+202% YOY) and 58% of 2019 levels.
VISIT
CALIFORNIA
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 17
Sourced from individual airports. Monthly figures
may not sum to YTD totals due to data revisions.
18 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
Target audiences in drive
markets, as well as those with
very short flights
Host media from review
and news perspectives, and
continue public relations
branding activities on a wider
scale (flight markets okay)
Build trust and introduce
Costa Mesa to new viewers
through social/public relations
connections
MARKETING
TCM continued an “always-on” marketing
strategy in 2022-23, mixing brand awareness
campaigns with promotions to help increase
hotel occupancy during times of need. The
focus was on marketing efforts to nearby drive
markets in Los Angeles, San Diego, Inland
Empire; communities within Orange County
for “staycations” or trips close to home; and
smaller summer sub-campaigns to Arizona
and Nevada. The leisure market continued to
improve, and with more people working from
home and during their vacation time, leisure
time expanded to not just the weekends.
Website Traffic
The return of a “normal” level of spend for TCM advertising definitely showed up in its increased website traffic in calendar year 2022. Total website users were +30.75% (408,973 vs. 312,796) with sessions +27.82% (475,878 vs. 372,296) over the previous year. New website users were +28.82% (407,950 vs. 316,673) and page views were +27.78% (722,750 vs. 565,640) year-over-year (YOY).
Organic search traffic (20.5%) remained similar to 2021, when the website saw a +140% spike in organic search traffic largely due to TCM’s increase in paid ad and social efforts. Clear positive responses were seen with the ad campaigns, particularly display, which drove 22.9% of the traffic.
The biggest YOY increase was referral traffic, which drove 22.1% of overall traffic (as opposed to 14.5% in 2021). Referral traffic refers to visitors that arrive to a website from another source, like through a hyperlink on another domain. When someone clicks on the hyperlink, Google Analytics tracks the traffic as a referral visit, and the originating website is called a “referrer.” Taboola, TCM’s paid content marketing platform, was the top referrer in 2022. Traffic from content marketing actualized +116.13% (69,708 sessions vs. 32,129) YOY. Travelzoo was the second-highest referral source as TCM placed cost-per-click ads throughout the year during its tactical campaigns.
While most of the referral traffic was paid, TCM did have a couple of unpaid referral sources that increased last year, including traffic from Visit California (+309% YOY). While this is not a hard-and-fast rule, unpaid referral traffic usually achieves superior bounce rate, page/session, and session durations due to the fact that they are often coming from a trusted source. Visit California is an excellent example, and a visitor from its website to TCM is a highly qualified one. Last year, referral traffic from Visit California had a session time more than three times as long as those from other unpaid referrals. // TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 19
22.91%
DISPLAY ADS
22.1%
REFERRAL
20.50%
ORGANIC SEARCH
15.47%
PAID SEARCH
13.48%
DIRECT
35.95%
LOS ANGELES
4.70%
SAN DIEGO
2.14%
SAN FRANCISCO
1.49%
LONG BEACH
1.47%
RIVERSIDE
48.41%
CALIFORNIA
WEBSITE
TRAFFIC
DRIVERS
TOP WEBSITE VISITORS
BY STATE
TOP
WEBSITE
VISITORS
BY CITY
(OUTSIDE OF OC)
Top 10 Pages Visited
In 2022, websites continued to be a key tool for
marketers despite seeing declines in overall web
traffic when compared to the previous year. While
traffic was -6%, web conversions grew +11%,
demonstrating the importance of having web-based
conversion paths for your online audience.”
— Hubspot (February 2023)
4.75%
TEXAS
4.33%
NEW YORK
3.86%
FLORIDA
3.70%
ILLINOIS
1. Hotel specials and discounts
2. Home page
3. Summer hotel deals
4. Holiday hotel deals
5. City of the Arts®
6. Spring break hotel deals
7. Pet Expo
8. Stay
9. “What If” tactical campaign
10. Calendar
Website Usage
TCM saw a big lift in tablet users from the
previous year (+179.83% or 28,280 vs.
10,106). While the primary traffic source
was from mobile devices, desktop users
did increase in the total mix similar to the
previous year, which was likely attributed
to more remote workers. In 2022, 71.33%
of web traffic was from mobile devices,
21.78% was from desktop, and 6.89% was
from tablets.
20 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
MARKETING
In 2022-23, TCM produced several
successful PR initiatives across the country to
promote Costa Mesa as a destination.
“Create Your Escape - Close to
Home” Spring Campaign
TCM launched a spring campaign in 2022
centered around the drive market. The ad
creative featured hotel deals as low as $92
while reinforcing Costa Mesa’s other great
attributes: shopping, the arts, bike riding
trails, and close proximity to beaches,
Disneyland Resort, and other Orange County
attractions. The results were excellent:
13,500+ web page sessions, 900+ hotel
leads, and among TCM’s top 10 most visited
pages of the year.
“Road Trip” Summer Campaign
The summer campaign was all about the
road trip. Featuring simple and direct
messages (“Foodies Eat in Costa Mesa”
and “Fork in the Road? Eat With It.”),
this new twist for TCM got some great
attention over the campaign including an
evening news segment on FOX 11 Los
Angeles. TCM also launched paid display,
social content, and organic support
through its owned email and PR channels.
Targeting the L.A. area, TCM placed ads on
Uber and Lyft cars through Carvertise, as
well as out-of-home (OOH) opportunities
for the first time with five billboards.
“Road Trip” was TCM’s most successful
2022 campaign, garnering 36.3K visits to
its web page and 1,400+ leads.
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 21
*According to a Nielson advertising study, 64% of people who saw messaging on a wrapped vehicle remembered seeing it within 30 days.
Impressions
Display Ads, Email, Content, Social: 16.75M
Print: 1.525M
OOH: 5.037M
Carvertise (Uber and Lyft)*: 3.37M
Broadcast TV: 27.1K on KTTV
($18,282 in
media value!)
Summer Sub-Campaigns
Due to the success of last year’s “Beat the
Heat” campaign, TCM launched another
sub-campaign targeting Arizona again
and adding Nevada. Using primarily food
and beach imagery, the online and social
content featured Costa Mesa as a road
trip destination for those in the summer
heat. The campaign included targeted paid
social ads, as well as secured placement in
the Phoenix New Times summer guide and
email blast.
TCM also launched multiple content
marketing pieces for the OC Fair, one of
the biggest events of the year. On the home
page, TCM prominently displayed a banner
ad that linked to its page about the OC
Fair, driving additional organic traffic and
resulting in nearly 3,500 visits.
“What If” Holiday Campaign
Mirroring Visit California’s “What If” messaging and
utilizing additional state funding, TCM launched a yearend holiday campaign. The advertising creative featured messages like “What if you could find the perfect gift
in Costa Mesa?” and ran from mid-November 2022 to
January 1, 2023. The campaign’s web page, which touted
events happening in Costa Mesa, was the fourth most
visited page of the year. Boosted by display ads, social, and PR efforts, the holiday campaign brought 1,600+ leads and approximately 29K website visits.
22 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
MARKETING
Travelzoo Sponsored Page
In November 2022, TCM partnered with
Travelzoo to create a sponsored page on the
travel company’s site. “Recharge with a Costa
Mesa getaway,” focuses on activities in the
city and dining, introducing Costa Mesa to
new visitors. Travelzoo promoted the page in
January 2023 with social posts and an email
blast. Since its launch, the sponsored page has
6,300+ views with a great clickthrough rate
(CTR) of 16%.
Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day Campaigns
Through its blog and social channels, TCM continued to showcase all the Lunar New Year events happening in Costa Mesa,
particularly at South Coast Plaza (SCP) and the annual Tet Festival at OC Fair and Event Center. Launched in January 2023, TCM also partnered with a Costa Mesa hotel property to offer a special holiday package. An Instagram reel (@travelcostamesa) highlighting SCP’s Lunar New Year display was TCM’s most popular of the year receiving 12.7K organic views.
For Valentine’s Day, TCM capitalized on a previously wellperforming blog called “Best Valentine’s Day Ideas in Orange County. Using Google Ads, as well as paid social ads on Facebook and Instagram, the campaign’s web page received 8,000+ visits. “What Will You See Next in Costa
Mesa?” Branding Campaign
In February 2023, TCM launched a new
branding video called “What Will You See
Next in Costa Mesa.” Using a series of quick
transitions, the video takes three visitors to
various destinations around Costa Mesa while
highlighting the arts, food, and shopping. In
the ad campaign, the phrase “See What’s Next”
is also used. Supported by paid social, digital
display, a press release, and a print ad in Visit
California’s California Road Trips Guide, the
branding campaign will be used throughout
2023 and can be adapted seasonally.
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 23
Meetings and Events
TCM created a variety of sales and marketing
materials to promote Costa Mesa as an elite
meetings destination. It revamped its Meetings and
Events page to reorganize the information and make
it more efficient for the visitor; added a pop-up call
to action (“Find out about meeting incentives!”)
for RFPs and quicker responses with leads going
directly to the team’s destination sales executive;
and produced a new Meetings Guide, which can
be found digitally on the site. For tradeshows,
TCM also created a one-page collateral piece and a
tabletop display with imagery from its new branding
campaign.
Using its “Meet What’s Possible” initiative to
encourage a return of meetings business, Visit
California funded a print insert called “Destination
California” for the winter 2022 issue of Meetings
& Conventions magazine. Destination marketing
organizations in California were given the
opportunity to purchase editorial and ad space in
the magazine for half the normal rate. TCM had a
two-page editorial spread, highlighting Costa Mesa’s
event spaces and meeting incentives.
We don’t expect a decline
in ad dollars or a decline
in ad traffic; we expect a
reallocation and shift of
budgets. The next best option
to cookie-based behavioral
targeting is anything keyword
or keyword contextual-based
advertising.”
— VP of Search, (Cogniscient Media)
Website Privacy Developments
Online privacy is “the level of privacy protection an individual has while connected to the Internet,” says Google. It covers the amount of online security available for personal and financial data, communications, and preferences. As more people are concerned about their online privacy, ad companies (and therefore marketers) must think about how to adjust their campaigns to ensure they are as effective as possible given some personal data used to target users will be unavailable.
Browser cookies (aka web, Internet, or HTTP cookies) are small blocks of data created by a web server while a user is browsing a website. The cookie is placed on the user’s computer or other device by the user’s browser or site visited. With today’s users concerned about privacy, many browsers and sites have moved to a “cookie-less” environment, limiting the amount of user data publishers can acquire and analyze.
Due to these changes, TCM will continue to partner with the data company ADARA for its paid display ads.
As a trusted partner, ADARA can still cross-check customer data and model behaviors without cookies (Many other sites, such as large hotel chains, prefer to keep its relationship with ADARA private.) TCM will also refine its marketing strategy to account for the loss of the data by utilizing new out-of-home ad opportunities in target markets, using partners with their own data acquired with consumer consent, and doing contextual advertising—putting ads of interest with matching content of interest.
The Golden State for Sustainable,
Innovative, Outdoor and Inclusive Events
DESTINATION
001_MCMAIN 1 10/24/22 6:37 PM
DESTINATION
Costa Mesa is the perfect
location for a small- to
mid-size meeting or
incentive event. Your guests will love
Southern California’s hospitality and a
selection of welcoming hotels from the
world’s most recognizable brands.
The uniqueness of Costa Mesa’s event
space sets it apart from other cities.
Select from an elegant event overlooking
the architectural mastery of Segerstrom
Center for the Arts, or a casual event at the
OC Fair & Event Center for larger groups.
And with its central location, Costa Mesa
is the perfect spot to allow your guests to
see the world-famous attractions Southern
California is known for, including
spectacular beaches and the Disneyland®
Resort.
Orange County’s 300+ days of sunshine
and moderate climate can give your
guests a seamless indoor-to-outdoor
event experience. Along with the city’s
walkability, your guests will
enjoy a variety of awardwinning dining options,
world-class shopping,
performing arts and
luxurious comfort
at some of the top
hotels in Southern
California. Art, music,
and theater are some of Costa
Mesa’s signature activities,
underscoring its reputation
as the City of the Arts®. Costa
Mesa is truly the cultural
epicenter of Orange County,
attracting visitors from
around the world.
Looking for exceptional
dining during your visit?
Costa Mesa offers over 150
restaurants and the only three Michelinstarred restaurants in Orange County, not to mention celebrity chefs like Amar
Santana. Enjoy fine dining at Mastro’s
Steakhouse, the critically acclaimed
Shanghainese dumpling restaurant Din
Tai Fung, or modern French cuisine at
Michelin-starred Knife Pleat.
TRAVEL ESSENTIALS
John Wayne Airport, Orange County
is just 4 miles from the city center.
MEETING AND EVENT VENUES
For events on a larger scale, Costa Mesa
offers the OC Fair & Event Center, with
seven different buildings from 13,400 to
36,000 square feet of event space. There
are several various outdoor possibilities
that can hold groups of 1,500 to 3,000,
and the 8,200-seat Pacific Amphitheater
can be rented for concerts or large-scale
presentations requiring a stage. The Hilton
is the city’s largest hotel, offering 50,000
square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting
space, from boardrooms to banquet rooms,
and two private outdoor courtyards.
THINGS TO DO
Plan your meeting or party in the incredible
outdoor sculpture garden California
Scenario, created by world-famous artist
Isamu Noguchi. The Japanese-influenced
“Noguchi Garden” features landscape and
design elements celebrating California.
This truly unique 70,000-square-foot space
containing desert streams, forests and a
rock fountain, accommodates events of
approximately 100 guests. Catering and
event planning services are provided
exclusively by the incomparable Mastro’s
Steakhouse, just next to the garden.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Travel Costa Mesa
Debbie Megna, Destination
Sales Executive
(909) 851-7865, or (714) 786-8585
[email protected]
travelcostamesa.com
A SPECIAL PLANNER INCENTIVE
Costa Mesa is offering meeting planners cash incentives upon booking and actualization of their first meeting or event at a Costa Mesa partner hotel. The qualified booking must be a minimum of 25 cumulative room nights. Offer subject to availability. For more details, contact Debbie Megna at [email protected].
Costa Mesa
Unique. Intimate. Welcoming. Your new meetings
destination in Orange County.
14 visitcalifornia.com/meetings November/December 2022
014_MCMAIN 14 12/21/22 11:47 PM
24 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
PR & MEDIA
COVERAGE
Travel Costa Mesa sends its press releases
through PR Wire, a division of Cision. Since
January 2022, it has sent 10 press releases
that were picked up 1,300+ times by various
media outlets and exposed to a potential
audience of 300.9M.
FOX 11 Los Angeles Primetime
News
In July 2022, FOX 11 Los Angeles reporter
Cristy Fajardo saw TCM’s summer campaign
billboards in L.A. and drove down to cover
Costa Mesa’s food scene for its evening July
25 news show. The television spot received
27.1K impressions with a media value of
$18,282.
The Travel Mom
In September 2022, Emily Kaufman’s
The Travel Mom broadcast on Costa
Mesa was picked up 12 times in
Phoenix, Dallas, Sacramento, and
Las Vegas, along with national
online coverage on Yahoo! News and
NewsBreak. TCM received 27.6M
impressions, 116K viewers, and $418K
in media value–arguably the most
successful paid PR campaign that TCM
has ever done.
IFWTWA Annual
Conference
TCM was a title sponsor for
International Food and Wine
Travel Writers Association’s
(IFWTWA) annual conference
in September 2022 in St.
Petersburg, Florida. Armed with
new marketing materials, the
team had the opportunity to
introduce Costa Mesa for a few
minutes to conference attendees
and answer questions about the
destination. TCM has formed a
solid relationship with IFWTWA
members and will include them
in ongoing event news and invite
them to familiarization (FAM) trips
whenever applicable.
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 25
OCMA Opening Events
TCM provided immense support for the opening
of the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA)
in October 2022. The team hosted its first mega
FAM event, inviting 15 local and national journalists
to Costa Mesa for a media-exclusive view of
the museum, dinner at Knife Pleat, a showing of
Hamilton at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and a
stay at Avenue of the Arts Hotel. Journalists from
magazines (Iconic Life, Modern Luxury, Southern
California Life and Westways), newspapers (LA
Weekly), and online travel shows (The Golf and Travel
Show) attended the event, as did freelance writers
(one of which completed a piece for the New York
Post).
TCM also invited six influencer partners to the
OCMA grand opening event, hosting dinners near
the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus with
some staying at the Costa Mesa Marriott. Through
outreach, two other influencers posted about the
OCMA opening. From all eight influencers, TCM’s
outreach garnered 1.77M impressions and a wide
variety of Instagram stories and posts.
26 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
PR & MEDIA
COVERAGE
NBC California Live
TCM’s relationship with The Travel Mom brought an introduction to Laila Muhammad of NBC California Live, and she was invited to visit OCMA.
Muhammad produced a segment for her show at no cost to TCM, including an interview with the museum’s CEO Heidi Zuckerman. Airing at the end of 2022, the segment received 125K television viewers in L.A., San Diego, and San Francisco and 1.2M impressions online,with a total media value of $89K.
Food and Travel Magazine
The editors of Food and Travel Magazine saw TCM’s media blitz for the opening of OCMA and contacted the team about covering Costa Mesa.
In their winter 2022 issue, they highlighted the city’s foodie scene in a four-page feature titled “Costa Mesa: Where Food, Art & Culture Collide,” which had an estimated 800K readership.
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 27
Growth of TikTok
TikTok can’t be overlooked in social media marketing. According to Insider Intelligence, the short-form video platform now hosts 750M monthly users worldwide, making it the third largest social media network. About 34% of travelers were also influenced by TikTok in 2022, an increase of 10 percentage points from the previous year, according to a “Portrait of American Travelers,” an annual survey by MMGY Global.
Travel organizations and practitioners will continue investing resources on TikTok in order to reach global audiences. Small accounts on the platform have as much of an opportunity to go viral and stack video views as very large accounts because the TikTok algorithm rewards creativity, authenticity, and uniqueness in travel discovery.
Press Clippings Sampling
Press Clippings Sampling
Video reels are by far the most viewed
and engaged content on TikTok,
Instagram, and Facebook, and TCM created more of them in 2022 than ever before.
Top 5
Best-Performing
Reels
Press Clippings Sam
Major
national
coverage
Including NY
Times,
Forbes, LA
Times,
TimeOut and
more!
Press Clippings Sampling
Major
national
coverage
Including NY
Times,
Forbes, LA
Times,
TimeOut and
more!
Social Media Followers
@travelcostamesa
TikTok: 639 (started Oct 2021)
Instagram: 9,721 (+18.4% YOY)
Facebook: 6,485 (+4.7% YOY)
Twitter: 12,701 (-0.8% YOY)
Early decision making is where a lot
of our respondents talk about how
TikTok influences their decision of
where to go and where to stay”
— Clayton Reid, CEO, MMGY Global
12.7K views, 457 likes
Lunar New Year at South Coast Plaza
11K views, 358 likes
Asian American and Pacific
Islanders Heritage Month at Anjin
8K views, 177 likes
Wild Goose Tavern feature
7.5K views, 335 likes
The CAMP intro
7K views, 322 likes
The LAB intro
Going forward, TCM will keep creating original destination video content for social channels or acquire them from its partners. This area has been challenging in 2022 because the social media and content manager full-time position has been vacant for much of the year, and TCM’s influencer program has been on pause since November 2022. We look forward to getting the position filled in 2023 and return to full activity on these programs.
28 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
GROUP
SALES
Selling the City of Arts®
For the past several years, COVID-19 has challenged overall business and recovery. Late in 2022 into the start of 2023, it has become less of a concern due to successful social distancing practices, immunizations, and overall better health practices.
Although COVID-19 will continue to be a discussion in the meeting industry, wellness and mindfulness is predicted to be a bigger topic in 2023.
Normalization is another prediction for 2023. Internationally, Europe has somewhat normalized even though it is still four to five months behind the U.S. Visitation from Canada and Mexico is expected to increase again in 2023, while Japan and China have been replaced by France and Spain among the top 10 countries to travel to the U.S.
Pricing is a subject of concern as inflation is expected to remain elevated at least through 2023. Everyday costs for labor, gas, energy, and food pricing have contributed to hotel rates being higher than before the pandemic. And while budgets are flexing, costs remain the top concern according to new data from Cvent and the meetings group. One drawback to higher prices is the attendance levels at meetings and events will continue to lag.
Moving Forward
TCM has found group sales success by attending industry trade shows. In fiscal year 2022-23, its destination sales executive will have attended 12 trade shows, each carefully selected to target small- and mid-sized group business (10 to 300 room nights peak). For every show, attendees receive an email introduction prior to the trade show showcasing what Costa Mesa has to offer potential groups. One-on-one appointments are scheduled with follow-ups based on the needs of each particular group. Along with newly created collateral, the destination sales executive utilizes the new Meetings Guide, an invaluable resource for planners and a time-saving communicator.
It is not in our DNA to be alone, so
groups, now more than ever, yearn
for the chance to meet.”
— Michael Dominguez, President and CEO,
Associated Luxury Hotel International
// TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 29
TCM will also host more familiarization (FAM) tours for meeting planners, big and small. In October 2022, it hosted 10 planners for the opening of the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), providing a tour of Costa Mesa’s hotels, restaurants, and attractions. Highlights of the trip included a performance of Hamilton at Segerstrom Center for the Arts (SCFTA) and a Moke cruiser tour of Costa Mesa street murals. Two more mini FAMs are planned, centered around performances of Mean Girls and Chicago at SCFTA.
By the Numbers
TCM Sales Activity 2022-2023
ROOM NIGHTS BOOKED ENDING February 2023
7,953
LEADS GENERATED
254
IN-PERSON SITE VISITS
37 LEAD ROOM NIGHTS OF THE 254 LEADS GENERATED
73,899
ACCOUNTS
2,790
Solicitations
4,061
Moving forward, TCM will keep aligning with travel- and meeting-oriented associations and groups, reach out persistently to its growing database, and uncover new contacts for potential business. From July 2022 to February 2023, TCM generated 250+ leads representing 73,000+ room nights. TCM has booked 59 meetings and events (compared to 25 in fiscal year 2021-22) with 7,953 rooms contracted at its partnering hotels (compared to 4,799 in fiscal year 2021-22).
The focus will remain on generating hotel room nights in Costa Mesa, not only to bring in revenue for hotel partners, but also to provide ancillary revenue to other segments including restaurants, shopping, transportation, attractions, and more.
Every booked lead in Costa Mesa is an opportunity for businesses to benefit from it.
Current Memberships
• California DMO Alliance (formerly West Coast DMO Alliance) • California Society of Association Executives (CalSAE) • HelmsBriscoe
• Hospitality Performance Network (HPN)
• Orange County Sports Commission (OCSC)
30 // 2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT //
GROUP
SALES
About OCSC
The county’s sports commission
is a valuable resource for TCM to
promote Costa Mesa’s fields and
facilities that boost group sales.
TCM, along with Destination
Irvine, Visit Huntington Beach,
Visit Anaheim, Travel Santa Ana,
Visit Laguna Beach, and other
local attractions (like OC Vibe,
OC Fair & Event Center and
Honda Center) will continue
to work with the OCSC to
encourage overnight group hotel
room nights. In 2022, the sports
commission produced 172 leads
and Costa Mesa received 10
of these. Venue availability and
restrictions continue to make it
challenging to secure fields and
venues in Costa Mesa.
Target Markets
Due to shortened lead times brought on
by the pandemic, larger convention-type
meetings have been replaced with smaller,
short-term meetings. This is ideal for Costa
Mesa given the limited meeting spaces
among its hotels. According to Cvent, the
booking window is increasing with 22.8% of
TCM leads being more than 12 months out.
However, meetings within a four to six month
window (19.6%) are strong. Attendance is
also increasing with 31.5% of TCM leads
involving programs with 201+ attendees.
The following markets remain TCM’s focus:
• Association (State/Regional/National): Associations depend on annual meeting dues for their survival. Without these meetings, associations will either not survive, or they will need a new revenue stream to stay viable. Although these groups tend to be larger in size and more rate conscious, this is still great business for either mid-week or weekend. TCM will continue its membership with CalSAE and will continue to attend their largest show of the year Seasonal Spectacular. In addition, some of our other shows like Destination West and Smart Meetings will have opportunities to meet with association meeting planners and/or intermediaries who book this business. Visits to Sacramento are planned this fiscal year. • Corporate: Along with the many opportunities for corporate groups to meet, there are also opportunities, in this sector, for other types of travel like internal team meetings, on-site visits and monitoring and meeting and working with local customers. It will be important to be visible among our local corporations for this type of travel.
• Sports: The sports market is highly competitive in Orange County. We will continue to work with the OCSC in addition to the local colleges & universities for out-of-the-area visiting teams.
• SMERFE (Social, Military, Educational, Religious, Fraternal, and Ethnic): These groups are typically more price sensitive, and some can be larger in nature. A lot of these groups will meet on the weekends and/or are date flexible for any need dates that the city’s hotel partners may experience. TCM will continue to get these types of leads from groups that meet at the OC Fair & Event Center and work with off-site venues to house their social clientele. // TRAVEL COSTA MESA // 31
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Ronnie Dalgado CHAIRPERSON, GENERAL MANAGER
& VP OF OPERATIONS, Holiday Inn
Express & Suites Costa Mesa
Susan O’Brien Moore VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MANAGER,
Ayres Hotel Costa Mesa
Sue Cooke TREASURER, GENERAL MANAGER,
Residence Inn by Marriott by Costa Mesa
Paul Sanford SECRETARY, GENERAL MANAGER-
ASSET MANAGER, Avenue of the Arts,
A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
DIRECTORS
Naj Ekhlas GENERAL MANAGER, Best Western Plus
Newport Mesa Inn
Howard Haberman GENERAL MANAGER, Crowne Plaza
Costa Mesa Orange County
Benito Benitez GENERAL MANAGER, Hilton
Orange County/Costa Mesa
Nimisha Solanki GENERAL MANAGER, OC Hotel
Costa Mesa
Hugo Barba GENERAL MANAGER, Marriott
Albert Gosch GENERAL MANAGER, Ramada
by Wyndham Costa Mesa/Newport Beach
Mike Hall GENERAL MANAGER, The Westin
South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa
John Stephens MAYOR, City of Costa Mesa
Lori Ann Farrell Harrison CITY MANAGER, City of Costa Mesa
ADVISOR
Brian Chuan SENIOR DIRECTOR OF
INTERNATIONAL & DOMESTIC
MARKETS, South Coast Plaza
STAFF
Paulette Lombardi-Fries PRESIDENT
Debbie Megna DESTINATION SALES EXECUTIVE
Jessica Placentia OPERATIONS MANAGER
TRAVEL COSTA MESA
LEADERSHIP
TRAVELCOSTAMESA.COM