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Responsible Tourism Assessment
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Sonoma County Tourism Background
Sonoma County Tourism (SCT) is the county’s official Destination Stewardship Organization.
Mission: Inspire overnight travel to Sonoma County that bolsters the region’s economy and encourages responsible stewardship of the community’s abundant resources.
Vision: Sonoma County will be the premier destination in North America for responsible travelers who enjoy, protect and preserve the area’s bountiful natural and cultural resources.
Original mandate: Drive overnight visitation during non-peak timeframes, November – April. This has evolved as we needed to manage numerous crises. www.sonomacounty.com
In 2018, SCT evolved from being a destination marketing organization (DMO) to a destination stewardship organization (DS0). First in the nation to do so.
Goal is to ensure all programming is in the best interest of Sonoma County.
Core programming around sales & marketing remain, but activities and plans show strong leadership for the long-term sustainability of the County and its residents.
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How Does SCT
Benefit Cotati?
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How SCT Benefits Cotati
• Cotati has 38 businesses listed on SonomaCounty.com
Social Media
• To date in 2022, Cotati partners have been included in more than 5 posts and blogs.
Content on SonomaCounty.com
• Cotati is listed in the title of 1 article, 2 events, 3 landing pages, and 1 “What’s New” entry on www.sonomacounty.com including: • 4 Fun Things To Do in Cotati • Cotati Accordion Festival • Cotati Music Festival • Cotati • Cotati Trip Ideas • New Times Pizza brings Artisan pies to Cotati Partner Pitches & Other Opportunities
• A Cotati partner was mentioned in an article on “The Travel” • “This is Why Sonoma County is Best Visited in the Fall” • Qualitative Media Score of 8
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Responsible Tourism
Assessment
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Business Improvement Area (BIA)
• The Sonoma County Tourism Business Improvement Area (BIA), is a self-assessment initiated by the lodging industry to generate tourism marketing funds. • The majority of SCT’s funding comes from a 2% assessment on applicable lodging rooms within the Sonoma County Tourism Business Improvement Area (BIA) for any property with revenue greater than $350,000 a year.
• The Business Improvement Area includes all Sonoma County cities and unincorporated areas with the exceptions of Healdsburg and Sonoma. The BIA, by its legislative mandate, is designated exclusively for use as tourism marketing funding to drive overnight stays. • BIA assessments are paid by guests staying at a BIA lodging properties, properties collect and remit these funds. Administration is covered by a portion of the remittance that goes to each municipality and the County.
• Funds MUST “benefit the payors” – the participating lodging properties. • The County has an agreement with AirBnB that DOES NOT include collection for the BIA. www.sonomacounty.com
Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT)
TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) IS
GENERATED (ONLY) FROM INDIVIDUALS
STAYING AT LODGING PROPERTIES.
SCT RECEIVES 1.25% OF THE FIRST 9% OF TOT
COLLECTED (ONLY) WITHIN THE
UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF THE COUNTY.
TOT (GENERALLY) GOES INTO THE GENERAL
FUND OF THE PLACE IT IS COLLECTED.
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What?
Sonoma County Tourism is working to build a budget that will allow it to elevate the economic vitality of the County, Cities and the industry AND generate business from responsible/sustainable travelers through:
Inviting leisure/individual travelers in direct flight markets (stay longer/spend more); Elevating group business (weekday);
Restarting international travel; and
Further developing destination stewardship/responsible travel campaigns and partner outreach.
SCT is asking its lodging property partners, municipalities and the County to revise the current Business Improvement Area (BIA):
Eliminating the $350,000 annual revenue benchmark
Raising the allocation per participating property from 2% to 3% www.sonomacounty.com
Budget
• Sonoma County Tourism’s Estimated Budget for
FY22-23 is: $9,212,518
• BIA: $6,160,496
• TOT: $3,052,022
• Additional BIA funding for SCT:
• Eliminating the $350K benchmark: $2M
• Raising collections from 2% - 3% - $3M
• Other Similar Destination Budgets:
• Santa Barbara: $11.5M
• Napa Valley: $7.7M
• Newport Beach: $10.5M
• San Luis Obispo: $11M
• Palm Springs: $28M
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Why?
• Sonoma County is a beloved destination, but increasing competition, challenges related to natural disasters, growing social impacts and increasing marketing- related costs create a more challenging environment. • Inflation, rising gas prices, pending recession + HIGH desire to travel = complicated messaging.
• SCT is developing a Destination Resiliency & Stewardship Plan – Action Items will need funding.
• Reaching new/responsible travelers in key flight markets is a very costly undertaking. Markets include the county's most expensive: Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago. • ALWAYS more expensive to find new visitors than remind loyal fans. • Agency of record developed a marketing plan to reach sustainable/responsible travelers – new marketing channels, new audiences...
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Why?
Market Estimated SCT Primary
Audience Size
8.7x Frequency 15x Frequency 20x Frequency
Los Angeles 3,500,000 $700,000 $900,000 $1,150,000
Seattle 1,000,000 $150,000 $350,000 $400,000
Portland 500,000 $75,000 $150,000 $200,000
San Diego 600,000 $85,000 $200,000 $245,000
Phoenix 600,000 $100,000 $225,000 $275,000
Dallas 750,000 $125,000 $325,000 $400,000
Denver 750,000 $110,000 $225,000 $300,000
These estimates provide a range of spend levels based on frequency against the primary SCT audience in each market and assumes multiple tactics such as video, display, audio, social, travel-endemic digital and online travel agencies. www.sonomacounty.com
Why?
• Sonoma County Tourism is increasingly involved with local/social issues:
• Unsheltered Population Webinar. Sonoma County Tourism has worked closely with the City of Santa Rosa to provide dialogue between the cities and hotel partners on the issues the hotels face due to the unsheltered population. The City partnered with Sonoma County Tourism and Visit Santa Rosa to host a webinar and has developed an online toolkit specifically for the hospitality community. SCT is committed to working collaboratively on issues that face our communities.
• Emergency Response Toolkit: SCT worked with the Office of Emergency Management to develop an emergency response toolkit for use by area restaurants, retailers, lodging properties including vacation rentals. • Covid Response: SCT provided dozens of “We’re Open” posters to the Cotati Chamber for distribution to restaurants at the beginning of the pandemic.
• Regional Parks Leave No Trace Partnership: Integrate practical principals to encourage responsible travel to land/outdoor recreation areas.
• Funding needs to stretch to ensure all programming given the proper resources. www.sonomacounty.com
How this will benefit <$350k Revenue
• Special recognition on SonomaCounty.com for vacation rentals and bed & breakfast establishments. SCT will place a tile on its Places to Stay section that encourages travelers to search through the properties in these sectors and will include content specific to these types of businesses. • Curate at least one media press trip that focuses on small businesses, houses participants at a property within this segment and showcases the unique individually owned lodging properties and businesses in the County. • Ensure any content produced and main copy of the website is available in English, German, French and Spanish helping to connect with international travelers.
• Develop a vacation rental committee that focuses on issues and opportunities inherent to this industry segment. • Continue to ensure this segment has a voice on the SCT Board of Directors and on its various program committees.
• SCT will create, as part of its annual report, an accounting of the usage of these funds and the estimated returnon-investment for the dollars spent. www.sonomacounty.com
How this will benefit 2% - 3%
• Identify and place ads in new markets served through direct flights into STS, but also represent high levels of inquiry and interest in the destination. These may include Denver, Chicago and New York City.
• Represent Sonoma County at additional travel and trade shows promoting area lodging properties to meeting planners, tour operators, travel agents and wholesalers. • Create additional client events in key markets, inviting travel trade, media and potentially consumers to events that provide an immersive Sonoma County experience. These events offer opportunities for area partners to showcase products and services and enhance relationships with important buyers.
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How this will benefit 2% - 3%
• Identify additional sales and marketing opportunities in key global markets. Whether through creating brand elevating events, participating in in-market trade shows or finding unique promotional or partnership opportunities, SCT will be able to execute additional activities in key international markets that help raise brand awareness.
• Develop additional video content with local luminaries, influencers and residents to create deeper connections with potential visitors. Video content is increasingly important and additional funds will be spent to enhance video content that can be shared on SonomaCounty.com, across social channels and with sales outreach to key buyers and frequent individual travelers (FIT).
SCT currently measures all sales and marketing efforts through a variety of metrics. These metrics will continue to be used to track these additional programs and the return-on-investment of each. www.sonomacounty.com
How this will benefit Cotati
• Develop a “Cities, Towns and Neighborhoods” program that creates customized ongoing content and promotional offerings for all of Sonoma County’s municipalities (including Cotati) and the neighborhoods within the unincorporated areas, calling out the small businesses and unique brands of each. (While municipalities currently have information on SonomaCounty.com, the pages are not as robust as we’d like, updated on a frequent basis and given the recognition they will receive with this new program.)
• Ensure ongoing performance data and annual economic impact data are created to meet the needs of this industry segment and convey this information on a timely basis.
• Additional benefits will continue to be created.
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Timeline
Action Date
Outreach to Cities and Stakeholders Now-August 31, 2022 Hearing dates calendared by Board of Supervisors July 12, 2022 Workshops for stakeholders/potential participants August, September City councils to adopt Resolutions of Consent before
August 31, 2022
(in time for the BOS agenda packet for the meeting on
October 4, 2022) - August 31 is ideal, all must be approved before September 20
Adoption of Notice of Intention by
Board of Supervisors
October 4, 2022
Mailing to all lodging properties (within 7 days of adoption of Notice of Intention and at least 10 days before public meeting) by October 11, 2022
Public meeting (at least 45 days before public hearing and more than 10 days after mailing). Must occur before October 22, 2022 Public hearing and adoption of Ordinance amending
existing BIA Ordinance
At least 45 days after public meeting BOS
December 4 or December 13, 2022
Changes go into effect January 1, 2023