VISIT HUNTINGTON BEACH
FY 23
-
24 ANNUAL REPORT
1 2
3 IN HUNTINGTON BEACH
Source: Lauren Schlau Consulting, Inc., CIC Research, Inc., in conjunction with the City of Huntington Beach 4 Source: Lauren Schlau Consulting, Inc., CIC Research, Inc., in conjunction with the City of Huntington Beach Note: May-June 2023 extended
campaign produced additional 8.24M
impressions, and 11,950 clicks
outpacing overall projections by 53%
Note: To date, earned two
more Awards post-FY 22-
23 time period.
SURFCITYUSA.COM
SOCIAL MEDIA
Community
• Instagram Followers: 109,550
• Facebook Followers: 84,342
• LinkedIn Followers: 3,007
• Pinterest Followers: 2,052
• TikTok Followers: 914
• 91% of 1,000 follower threshold that permits TikTok live content Engagement
• Instagram Total Engagements: 179,600
• Facebook Total Engagements: 10,800
• LinkedIn Total Engagements: 93,219
Referral Traffic
• 146,283 Total Social Media Referrals
7 Increased all social media engagement and
communities by 25%
Recent Coverage
Accolades / Best of OC
FAMs
PRESS TRIP RESULTS TO DATE
VHB HAS HOSTED
AUDIENCE:
AND
HOSTED PRESS TRIPS
Surpassed FY End Goal by 1
Surpassed FY End Goal by 2
8 Allison Tibaldi
Jaime Damak
Je suis une maman
Steve Hartridge
Selling Travel
Latifah Al-Hazza
Travel + Leisure
Solmaz
Khosrowshahian
@thecuriouscreature
Total Audience: 48.8k
Andre Torre
@andreatorreh
Total Audience: 809k
USA Today
Sarah Gilliland
Wealth of Geeks
Barry Choi
Money We Have
VIEWS:
Note: Metrics are for press trip media coverage only.
LOCATIONS:
MEDIA COVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS
9 HOSTED A SUCCESSFUL CA CUP 2023
10 In April 2023, Visit Huntington Beach was honored to host California Cup Golf Invitational 2023. The 4-day long event brought together 75 international travel trade buyers and California suppliers for HB experiences, business development, and industry networking. Each year, CA Cup Invitational gives back to a local charity through funds raised from international and CA auction prizes. The Waymakers Huntington Beach Youth Shelter was selected and received a record $16,000 to benefit the Local families and youths they serve.
ONLY U.S. DESTINATION PARTNER ON INAUGURAL AUTISM
AVIATION DAY AT VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Supporting Air Canada, the Air Canada
Foundation, and CAN (Canucks Autism
Network) community’s inaugural Autism
Aviation Day, VHB welcomed over 50
individuals including children on the
autism spectrum. The event provided an
opportunity for youth on the autism
spectrum (and their families) to rehearse
the entire pre-flight process; the goal is to
increase autism accessibility and encourage
future travel.
• Attended three sales mission in each Tier 1 Market
to meet with product managers, give agent
trainings, and attend sales calls.
• Attended two trade shows for a cumulative 102
one-on-one appointments.
CA STAR: 183
UK & MEXICO SALES MISSIONS: 250
AGENCIES: 300+
11 GO WEST: 40
IPW 2023: 62
CA CUP: 35
SALES MISSIONS AND TRADE SHOWS
12 12
13 36
15 QUICK HITS
VISITOR SERVICES
• $17,000+ in retail sales
• 12,000+ inquiries
• 26 walking tours
• 23 special events
• 4 new visitor experiences
• 3 active volunteers
• 2 community giveback
events
PARTNER SERVICES
• 2,000+ partner referrals
• 400+ partner engagements
• 8 partner events
• 263 attendees
16 FY 2022
—
2023
AWARDS
• FiredUp! Culture “Best Team Culture” Award
(one of 30 organizations nationally)
• A best places to work accolade to be revealed in
early July
• Destinations International DMAP with
Distinction accreditation renewal (one of
20 organizations globally)
PROGRAMS
• Completed 2023-2026 Strategic Plan
• Held successful HB Tourism
Summit (HBTourismSummit.com)
• Conducted senior team 360 surveys, followed
by one-on-one executive coaching, and a
full team culture survey and workshop with
FiredUp! Culture
• Clean annual audit with no significant findings
• Transitioned to cloud-based phone system and
initiated transition to digital accounts payable
process
17 FY 23-24 Program of Work tied to
VHB 2023-2026 Strategic Plan
18 19
FY 23/24 VHB MARKETING PROGRAM
FILM WEBSITE &
SOCIAL MEDIA
LEISURE
MARKETING
GROUP SALES
MARKETING
PUBLIC
RELATIONS
RESEARCH
TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT
20 Website
SEO/SEM
Social Media
Social Media Ads
E-Newsletter
Influencers
Video
VR Content
Travel Trends
Hotel Performance
Consumer Sentiment
Geo-Location Tracking
Airlift Reports
Economic Impact
Spend Data
Forecasting
Reporting
Local
National
International
Media Coverage
Editorial
E-Newsletter
FAMs
Media Missions
Trade Shows
Crisis Management
Influencers
Pitching Stories
Agency of Record
Media Buying
Visit CA Co-ops
Advertising
Blogs
Itineraries
E-Commerce
Partnerships
Broadcast
Photography
Video
Events
PAID MARKETING MIX
• Visit Huntington Beach Campaigns
• Visit CA Partnership Programs
• Inspiration Programs
• Conversion Programs
• Segmented Marketing
• Group Sales Marketing
Trade Shows
Sales Missions
FAMs
Social Media
E-Newsletter
Media Buying
Events
Site Inspections
IPW 2024 Activation
Trade Shows
Sales Missions
FAMs
Destination Accessibility
Agent Trainings
STVR Program
Events
Trails
Social Media
MARKETING
FY 23-24 Media Buy Campaign
Flight
• November 2023 – April 2024
Targeting
• Laid Back Lux Traveler (age 38-57, $142K/year + HHI, No Kids) • Active Family Traveler (age 30-39, $130K/ year + HHI; Kids) • Mid-Income Millennial (age 20-38, $114K/year + HH; No Kids) • Markets: Drive Markets; Flight Markets; Canada
Messaging
• Cultivate Surf City USA Brand
• Trigger Active Consideration
• Drive Marketing Development (micro campaigns).
Platforms
• Display & Native Advertising
• OTAs & Programmatic
• Device ID Retargeting
• Social Media
• OTT Streaming Video
• Visit California Fall & Spring co -ops contributes a 50% match • Broadcast (KTLA Surf Report + 30 second on -air ad)
21 MARKETING
• AGENCY OF RECORD
• ANNUAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
• “CONTENT ENGINE” STRATEGY
• VISIT CALIFORNIA FALL 2023 CO -OP
• SURF CITY MARATHON
• PACIFIC AIRSHOW
• 2023 US OPEN OF SURFING
• 2023 ISA PARA SURFING GAMES
• SHOW YOUR HB LOVE 2024
• VISIT CALIFORNIA SPRING 2024 CO -OP
PUBLIC RELATIONS
• IPW 2024
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
• IPW 2024
• ACCESSIBLE TRAVEL
22 • IMEX AMERICA
• PREFERRED PARTNERSHIPS
• PRESTIGE GLOBAL
MEETING SOURCE
• HELMS BRISCOE
• HPN GLOBAL
• CONFERENCE DIRECT
• CALIFORNIA DMO ALLIANCE
• IN–MARKET CLIENT EVENTS
• HB COLLECTION BEACHWIDE FAM
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE
PACIFIC AIR SHOW
23 NEW INITIATIVES:
• TEXT -BASED VISITOR CHAT SERVICE
• CUSTOMER SENTIMENT SURVEY
• RETAIL SALES PLAN
• ART WALKING TOUR
• SUPPORT FOR IPW 2024: LOS ANGELES
• TBD: MOBILE EVENT BOOTH
CONTINUING PROGRAMS:
• HISTORICAL WALKING TOURS
• TEAM SURF CITY USA® VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
• THRESHOLD 360 VIRTUAL TOURS
• PARTNER EDUCATION SERIES
• BARREL TRAIL
• SCAVENGER HUNT
24 25
FY 2023
—
2024
OPERATIONS
• TBID modification
• Expanded retail sales program
• Office maintenance to improve facilities
• Ensure HR policies and procedures remain
competitive to retain staff
ADVOCACY
• Targeted marketing support for US Open of
Surfing, Pacific Airshow, and ISA Para Surfing
Championships
• Support for community events and
organizations, such as ISM, Chamber events
including Economic Development Conference,
Surfing Walk of Fame, and Pier Snowflakes
• Continued engagement with elected
representatives to keep the value of tourism in
HB top of mind
26 27
* Estimated TBID Assessments does not include the 1% admin fee retained by the City of HB. Total Revenues does not include a rollover of $459,200 from FY 2022-2023. These funds have been allocated to Tourism Enhancement Program projects for FY 2023-2024.
28 **The Tourism Enhancement Program sourced from the Visit Huntington Beach Master Development Plan will promote and provide activities and improvements to assessed lodging businesses through the implementation of two sub-programs: sales & marketing and visitor services enhancements. A summary of each sub-program is provided below:
Sales & Marketing
The sales and marketing program will promote assessed lodging businesses as tourist, meeting, and event destinations. The sales and marketing program will have a central theme of promoting the Huntington Beach destination brand as a desirable place for overnight visits. The program will have the goal of increasing overnight visitation and room night sales at assessed lodging businesses, and may include the following activities which are designed to drive overnight visitation and room sales to assessed lodging businesses:
• Increased advertising and promotional programs in print, online, social media, and television targeted at potential visitors to drive overnight visitation and room sales;
• Website enhancements and updates;
• Strategic advertising and marketing agency support;
• Contract with third party marketing and sales partners; • Public relations, sales blitzes, missions, and calls; • Familiarization tours targeting key decision makers;
• Preparation and production of collateral promotional materials such as visitor guides, brochures, flyers, and maps; • Video development for destination experiences and visuals; • Attendance at professional industry conferences and affiliation events; • Lead generation activities designed to attract tourists, leisure visitors, and group events to Huntington Beach; • Partnerships with targeted special events that attract overnight visitors; and • Research designed to identify potential markets for increasing the customer base. Research is also used to convert visitor requests to actual travel, to identify the economic impact tourism has to Huntington Beach, and to maintain a Visitor Profile for use in marketing efforts. • Cooperation with local agencies and film commission programs that attract overnight visitors.
Visitor Services Enhancements
The Visitor Services Enhancements (VSE) program will provide funding for programs and initiatives based on criteria to be developed by VHB and reviewed and approved with the City. The focus for the VSE program will be on the entire destination brand footprint to ensure a consistent brand experience throughout Huntington Beach. VSE may include the following programs which are designed to drive overnight visitation and room sales to assessed lodging businesses:
• Development of activities and/or products designed to keep visitors in the destination for an increased duration of time throughout the year. • Connectivity plan that links Pacific City, downtown HB, Hotels, the Strand, and adjacent visitor experiences. Support of a trolley or transportation program connecting hotels to downtown Huntington Beach, The Pier, or other attractions; and • Support of a long-term ambassador and/or security program with trained staff that supplement the current level of police presence to improve the overall destination experience and encourage overnight visitation or a fulltime dedicated police officer to ensure tourism safety; • Welcome center and kiosk improvements including new technology-driven visitor information enhancements; • Brand-centric visitor services training program for both public and private sector staff 29 The purpose of the HBTBID is to increase overnight room sales with targeted marketing and promotions. Funding is derived from assessments and revenues collected from all lodging businesses, existing and in the future, available for public occupancy located within the boundaries of the City of Huntington Beach. These boundaries will not be changing. The current assessment rate is 4% of gross short-term room rental revenue which is separate from the 10%in Transient Occupancy Tax that the City collects. Assessments fund the marketing and sales promotion efforts to improve tourism and drive additional room nights to the lodging businesses.
Tourism enhancement programs include marketing and
public relations, group sales, and enhancements for visitor services. The HBTBID was renewed in 2019 and runs through June 30, 2028.
Visit Huntington Beach (VHB) is a non-profit 501(c)6 organization that serves as the HBTBID’s Owners’ Association. VHB consists of staff and board members dedicated to promoting tourism to Huntington Beach to increase overnight stays in Huntington Beach hotels. VHB is responsible for implementing the activities and services identified in the Management District Plan (MDP) and for submitting an annual report to the City Council for their approval.
THANK YOU
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