FY23 - Q4 Bluffton Update

TOWN OF BLUFFTON INDUSTRY METRICS

FY23 - Q4 Update

FY23 - Q4 Performance Metrics & Update

April1-June30,2023

As the Town of Bluffton’s official Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), we are the leader in promoting tourism to the destination. By understanding today’s travelers and adapting to the changing landscape of the industry, we are able to execute the comprehensive Town of Bluffton Marketing Plan.

The quarterly report focuses on the metrics outlined within the contract. In addition, we've also highlighted other efforts and initiatives worked on during FY23 – Q4.

TownofBlufftonMarketingPlans,Reports,andPresentations

• Submitted April, May, and June monthly reports to Town staff

• Submitted the Town of Bluffton FY23 - Q3 report to Town staff

• Presented the FY2023 – 2024 Town of Bluffton DMO Marketing Plan at the budget workshop

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Dedicated Official Bluffton Vacation Planner

April1-June30,2023

The official Bluffton Vacation Planner is the first touchpoint visitors receive when planning their visit. We continue to promote the planner and for visitors to request the 2023 guide. We receive requests for this piece from multiple platforms: online, media, and home inquiries. In addition, we distribute the planner to state and local welcome centers, hotels, airports, AAA offices, tradeshows and include it in all public relations outreach.

FY23 - Q4 Mail Fulfillment and Distribution

Official Bluffton Vacation Planner: 6,045

Official Regional Vacation Planner: 13,708

Research

We continue our efforts with the College of Charleston in collecting visitor profile surveys and understanding the demographics who are traveling to the Town of Bluffton.

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FY23 - Q4 Bluffton Website Performance

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Referrals/Click Throughs Made to Area Business 19,951 Website Sessions 73,774 Website Visits April 1 - June 30, 2023 +66.7% +55.8% In Q4 2023, overall site sessions experienced significant growth. The major contributors to this increase were paid search (+41% YOY) and paid social (+243% YOY), which together constituted 23.9% and 42.8% of the total site sessions, respectively. Organic traffic sources also saw some growth accounting for 25% of the overall site volume.

FY23 - Q4 Destination Social Report

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+16.2% YOY Facebook Page Likes 33,185 +10.8% YOY Facebook Engagements 106, 863 +25.2% YOY +3.6% YOY Instagram Followers 9,307 Twitter Followers 662 TikTok Followers 58 +49.3% YOY Instagram Engagements 13,230 +122.9%YOY Twitter Engagements 107 TikTok Engagements 217 April 1 - June 30, 2023 Facebook Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter all saw positive increases in engagement YOY. The focus has been on reels, which are currently favored by the various algorithms on Instagram and TikTok. TikTok continues to be in a growth phase since the launch of the account. We’re continuing to display performance metrics as totals until we have complete period-over-period data to compare against. Instagram TikTok

FY23 - Q4 Destination Metrics

April1-June30,2023

As the Official DMO for the Town of Bluffton and based on our official contract, below are the quarterly metrics for the time frame April 1 - June 30, 2023.

VisitBluffton.org#LoveBlufftonSC 6 OCC: Occupancy Rates April 80.4% +22.0% YOY May 76.5% +15.1% YOY June 79.3% +7.6% YOY ADR: Average Daily Rate April $329 -13.3% YOY May $311 -12.9% YOY June $276 -6.9% YOY RevPAR: Revenue per Available Room April $264 +5.8% YOY May $238 +0.2% YOY June $219 +0.2% YOY Although Bluffton experienced lower ADR, the increase in occupancy levels led to a higher RevPar versus the prior year. We will continue to monitor in the upcoming quarter. Source: Smith Travel Research, Monthly Trend Report

FY23 - Q4 Events

April1-June30,2023

For FY23 - Q4 time frame, our organization’s events included:

• Business Golf Classic

• Jr. Leadership

• Leadership

• Power Hour Tele-Town Hall

• Ribbon Cuttings

• Small Business Week

FY23 - Q4 Public Relations (Earned Media)

April1-June30,2023

Below are the Bluffton-specific Public Relations mentions for the quarter.

Source: Critical Mention / BurrellsLuce / Weber Shandwick

VisitBluffton.org#LoveBlufftonSC 7 Events Held 13

in Events by

794 Mentions 19 Impressions

Participation

Chamber Members

213,544,054 Ad Value $102,495

FY23 - Q4 Public Relations (Earned Media)

April

Forbes (UVPM: 24,051,090):

Montage Palmetto Bluff Celebrates Local Talent With New Wellness And Lifestyle Programs

Eater (UVPM: 2,728,312):

O kàn Wants To Make Bluffton, South

Carolina, A Destination For West African Cuisine

Southern Living (UVPM: 2,530,157):

16 Best River Towns For Retirement

In The South

May

Forbes (UVPM: 24,051,090):

13 Spas For Mother’s Day

New York Post (UVPM: 13,829,645):

The Best Family-Friendly Vacation

Destinations Of 2023 (That Aren’t Disney World)

June

Robb Report (UVPM: 730,473):

This Chef Wants To Create A Destination For African-Inspired

Cuisine In This Small South

Carolina Town

Essence (UVPM: 574,937):

Luxe Living: The Wellness Scene In Lowcountry At Montage Palmetto Bluff

The Travel (UVPM: 423,937):

10 Truly Underrated Towns In South

Carolina That Deserve To Be Explored

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Bluffton Story Highlights April 1 - June 30, 2023

FY23 - Q4 Ribbon Cuttings

April1-June30,2023

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce promoted and supported four ribbon-cutting ceremonies for this quarter

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J Parker LTD Encompass Health En Dentelle Okàn

Destination Marketing Organization FY23 - Q4 Budget

Revenues - Town of Bluffton DMO

Town of Bluffton Special Grant - Special

Total Revenue

Expenses:

Vacation Planner (Regional) (estimated)

Fulfillment - Regional Vacation Planner (estimated)

Vacation Planner - Bluffton Only Guide

Fulfillment - Bluffton Only Guide

Digital Promotions - Social Media

Digital Promotions - Website/SEO

Digital Promotions - Google/Facebook

Photography

Leisure Marketing (Garden & Gun)

Bluffton Visitor Research

Leisure Marketing - Other

Total direct marketing expenses

Administrative (Based on 28% of revenues)

Salaries

Payroll taxes

Employee benefits - 401K

Employee benefits - Insurance

Operations - Other

Operations - Building Expense

Total administrative Total expenses

Excess of revenues over expenses

Important Note on Estimated Costs: The Vacation Planner/Fulfillment are shared expenses with the Town of Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, and the State of South Carolina and are not reconciled until the end of the fiscal year.

Note: As of August 4th, 2023, these financials are unaudited & are subject to change. Financials will not be considered final until audit completion and Board approval in September 2023.

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$ 17,226 $ 6,284 $ 61,505 $ 5,394 $ 17,340 $ 46,128 $ 84,290 $ 3,000 $ 90,000 $ 2,818 $ 3,959 $ 466,089 $ 466,089 $ 337,945 $ 84,581 $ 5,921 $ 4,229 $ 8,596 $ 16,307 $ 8,510 $ 128,144

$ 466,089 $ 0