welcome to the july 10, 2019 tourist development …€¦ · 07.07.2019 · ytd tdt distributions...

ALACHUA COUNTY

WELCOME to the July 10, 2019TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING

ALACHUA COUNTYVisit Gainesville, Alachua County | Tourist Development Council

Alachua County Tax Collector Update- Short term vacation rental registration update – Jon Costabile, Matt Geiger, Lee Tussinger

- YTD TDT Distributions are up 3% over last year.

- Current fiscal YTD $4,264,632

- Comparison for the same time period FY18 $4,144,632

- Comparison for the same time period FY17 $3,544,309


RENTAL HOST1111 SE 1ST STGAINESVILLE, FL 32222

RE: Alachua County Tourist Development Tax

Dear Rental Host:

We have been informed you are renting your home at 1111 SE 1ST ST GAINESVILLE, FL 32222, USA on a short-term basis. Please note, in Alachua County short-term rentals are subject to the Tourist Development Tax, per Florida Statute 125.0104. The Tourist Development tax is a 5% tax in addition to the 7% Sales tax, that you must collect and remit.

Also, please understand that Alachua County does not have any type of agreement with the online platforms (AirBnB, VRBO, Homeaway etc.) for remittance of the Tourist Development Tax. The homeowner is responsible for remitting the tax.

Complying is simple.Please visit our website at http://www.alachuacollector.com/tourist-development-2019/ to apply for a new Alachua County Tourist Development Account within 10 days of receipt of this letter. This account will enable you to conveniently remit your Tourist Development Taxes electronically. If you do not have access to the internet, please fill out the enclosed application and return it in the envelope provided.

If you have already registered with our office, please disregard this notice. For questions or assistance, please contact the Tax Operations Department at 352-264-6968.

SAMPLE LETTER

Proposed action plan for the Tourism & Tax Collectors Office & Communications:

1. Engage with a third party vendor to locate and identify host properties in Alachua County. Done. Host Compliance has been engaged.2. Create an educational video to instruct hosts on how to set up an account with the Tax Collector’s office. Done.4. Monitor the City of Gainesville’s progress on permits and health/safety inspections. Ongoing.5. Public information campaign to raise awareness of Tourist Development Taxes and responsibilities of Short Term Vacation Rental hosts. Press release was distributed by the County Communications team. Media coverage included a Gainesville Sun story and coverage on CBS4. 6. Tax Collector’s Office to send letters to 576 non-compliant hosts with information and instructions to register online. It’s a user-friendly process to remit taxes through the TouristExpress module used by 16 other counties in Florida. In process.7. Follow up letters, phone calls, field visits to non-registered households. 8. Continue to monitor short-term rental bookings, revenue and trends.

Source: STR GlobalJanuary – March comps are up 10,072 over last year at 539,965 rooms sold.

Marketing and Advertising Update

Email Newsletter Feedback“The printable option with QR code was extremely helpful to our guests”“This is super. Happy I signed up for this.”“This is an Excellent service you are providing!”“I love these emails!”“Thanks for sending this e-mail to me. Please keep them coming. There is so much I would like to do in Gainesville but did not know how to find what is going on.”

What’s Good -- Delivery and Engagement

• In-boxes: Grew mailing list by 560 in June. Actively promoting new sign-ups through website pop-ups, Facebook boosted posts, and radio campaign.

• Website: Weekly featured blog post on VisitGainesville.com • Print: New print edition launched in June. Distributed at our office, at the airport,

and area attractions. It is also easy to download and print from the e-mail and online versions.

Delivery and Engagement Facebook and Instagram1. 92,200 Reach on Facebook with 4,884 Engagements2. 6,328 Instagram Impressions 3. Ads have been targeted by behaviors, interests and demographics as well as by

region focusing on social media users that reside within a 50 mile radius of Lake City, Gainesville and Ocala – including Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee, Union, and Echols, GA.

PUBLIC BROADCASTING CAMPAIGN UPDATEWUFT-FM – Broadcast Reach

• Gainesville-Ocala• Jacksonville• Orlando • Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater

WUFT-TV – Broadcast Reach• Gainesville• Orlando• Jacksonville• Tallahassee• Tampa-St Pete (Sarasota)

• Net Reach for Local Campaign: 38,400Number of people that will hear the commercial at least one time.

• Gross Impressions: 1.2MThe total number of times the commercials will be heard of the course of the schedule/campaign.

Public Broadcasting Campaign Update

Regional (from July – September)Tampa/St. Pete - 21 spots per weekGreater Orlando, including the Villages – 21 spots per week

• Net Reach for Regional Campaign: 775,900(number of people that will hear the commercial at least one time.)

• Gross Impressions: 5.4M(The total number of times the commercials will be heard of the course of the schedule/campaign)

Public Broadcasting Campaign UpdateThe Regional Campaign includes scripts for GENERAL, MUSIC and OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES focused spots.

GENERALSupport for 90.7 News comes from … Visit Gainesville-Alachua County, home of the Gator Nation, with 7 exits along I-75, features performing arts theatres, a butterfly rainforest, crystal blue springs, craft breweries, a thriving live music scene, and more. Attractions, lodging and events at What’s Good G-N-V dot com.------------------------------------------------------------------OUTDOORSSupport for 90.7 News comes from…Visit Gainesville-Alachua County, home of the 2018 largest inland North American Audubon winter bird count, offers outdoor enthusiasts more than 100 miles of trails for biking, birding, and hiking – plus crystal-blue springs and eight state parks. Explorations begin at What’s Good G-N-V dot com.------------------------------------------------------------------MUSICSupport for 90.7 News comes from … Visit Gainesville-Alachua County, home of 9 hall of fame musicians, including Tom Petty and Stephen Stills, hosts some of Florida’s top concerts and music festivals, plus a thriving indie music scene. Information about performances, venues, and more at What’s Good G-N-V dot com

KEN BURNS COUNTRY MUSIC DOCUMENTARY - PBSFt. Myers/Naples, Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Tallahassee and Tampa/St. PeteRuns Sunday 9/15 - Wed 9/18 and Sunday 9/22 - Wed 9/25.

Sponsorship package includes:• All stations have agreed to 32 sponsor messages for Country Music.• Open/closes of First Run Country Music, 8p-9:59p, all 8 days. Open/closes of the repeat,

2nd run of Country Music, 10p-12a, all 8 days.• All stations have agreed to run 20 bonus spots during the month of September, to add

frequency to Visit Gainesville’s PBS campaign, outside of the Country Music sponsorship.

Several of the stations run bonus banner ads, and one station, Jacksonville WJCT, includes NPR bonus spots on their Pop-Up Country digital station. We will likely be promoted on additional station collateral – promotional spots and social media.


PRINT CAMPAIGNSARBUS Magazine

• 23,000 copies of the magazine available at over 300 prime Northeast Florida locations

• 2,000 + paid subscriptions to businesses and residents in: Ponte VedraBeach, Marsh Landing, Palm Valley, Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach, San Marco, Avondale, Mandarin and Amelia Island.

• 3K to 5K online hits per week.


PRINT CAMPAIGNSGator Alumni Magazine

• Campaign will run from Summer 2019 to Summer 2020.• Florida GATOR magazine: Quarterly magazine publication with

40,000 printed magazines circulated to 58,000 members with overall impressions of 100,000

• Gator Nation News: Monthly electronic newsletter circulated to more than 224,000 alumni, parents and friends


PRINT CAMPAIGNSFlorida Travel and Lifestyles Magazine- Print copies are 5000 by subscription


PRINT CAMPAIGNSFlorida Association of Destination Meeting Planners (FADMO)


PRINT CAMPAIGNSConventionSouth is distributed 12 times a year toa BPA-audited circulation of approximately 18,000 meeting & event planners located throughout the United States—all of whom organize group-based travel in the South.

Gainesville/Alachua County will appear in the following Conventions South issues:1. Official Directory of Convention South August 20192. Family-Friendly Meetings 20203. Small Market Meetings 20204. Florida Meetings 2020


PRINT CAMPAIGNSFlorida Trend October 2019 Issue will Feature Gainesville and Alachua County

• 55,308 subscribers• 250,000 print readership• 117,000 monthly unique online visitors


WEBSITE TRAFFIC• 116,516 page views, up 168% from a year ago

• 51,912 users, up 262% from a year ago

• Mobile: 60%, Desktop 35%, Tablet 5%

Website Audience:

Top 3 Age Groups: 25-34, 35-44, 45-54 | Female 60%, Male 40%

Top Interests: Shoppers, Food & Dining, Media & Entertainment, Travel Buffs, Pet Lovers, Art & Theatre, Sport & Fitness, Technology, Outdoor Enthusiasts, Business Professionals

Top Metros outside of Gainesville:

1) Orlando/Daytona, 2) NYC, 3)Jacksonville, 4) San Francisco/Oakland, 5)Tampa

Natural North Florida Update- 13 Consumer Travel Shows Attended with combined

audience of 649,322- Website Updates including 15 blogs featuring Alachua County,

and regional video- Digital Campaigns Google Display Network

Over 21M impressions- Pocket Ranger App Impressions: 3.1M- Print Ads in Undiscovered Florida, Florida Transportation Map,

Florida Travel Planner

Natural North Florida Update- Visa Spending Research

Domestic Up 5.7%, International Spending Down 17.8%Top Domestic Origin Markets: Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Tampa, Orlando, OcalaTop Market Segments by Spend: Fuel and Gas Stations, Grocery, Restaurants, Fast Food, Lodging

- Current Projects:Update and reprint of the Ultimate Bicycle GuideWebsite Landing Pages for High Springs and Micanopy2019-2020 Travel Show Schedule

- TDT Collections for member counties have increased

Visitor Engagement Update


Visitor Engagement Update


Visit Gainesville, Alachua County fulfills requests for Visitor’s Guides, promotional items, maps and convention bags from local groups hosting out of town visitors in Alachua County.

Since October 1, 58 group service requests have been fulfilled. 27 were for University of Florida departments hostingconferences, recruitment events, and meetings.

TOTAL VISITOR’S GUIDES FOR GROUP SERVICE REQUESTS: 7,160TOTAL DIRECT MAIL THROUGH WEBSITE REQUESTS AND LEAD GENERATORS: 773


UF MBA ProgramUF College of Medicine - Recruiting eventUF - PURCCultural Arts Coalition Community CelebrationTemporary Medical residentsWorld Robotics CompetitionCollege of Public Health & Health ProfessionsAlachua Co Procurement - UF Small Business TradeshowUF Health ShandsUF Conference - Phase Transition & Dynamical Properties of Spin Transition MaterialsBikes for VetsUF Conference - Center for Smell & TasteAlachua Co Equal Opportunity - Newberry Watermelon Festival TablingUF Health Shands - National Nursing ConferenceAC Fire Rescue RecruitingUF College of Engineering - Summer Undergraduate Research 10-week student visitUF Intl Conf on Health of Honey Bee Colonies

NFRMC-GME - Interview SeasonTom Petty NationUF Vet School - Recruiting FacultyUF Residency Program InterviewsA Quinn Jones/Florida African-American Preservation NetworkUF Residency Recruitment - General Surgery

UF Conference - Comparative EndocrinologyGainesville Sports Commission-Sunshine State Games ArcheryUF FL Federation of Garden Clubs Short CourseUF Humanities & the Sunshine State-Student & Educator Climate & Water EducationUF Dept of Horticultural Sciences-InterviewsFlorida Court Technology ConferenceBlessed FutureUF Grad School - Newly enrolled PhD students in annual summer programUF College of Med/Div of Infectious Diseases Fellowship RecruitmentUF College of Dentistry - Interview daysUF College of Law, Program in Comparative Law for Brazilian Judges & ProsecutorsEducation First Host FamiliesMcDonald Family ReunionFlorida Association of Community CorrectionSpyglass Apartments Move-In

Groups we work with to provide Visitor’s Guides and Promotional Items.

Giblin WeddingUF George A Smathers LibrariesToScA North America 2019 (Roycal Microscopical Society in UK)City of Gainesville-GAP Charity Golf TournGAR-Women's Rowing Spring TrainingGainesville Sports Commission-Perry McGriff Gator RideInternational Mentoring AssociationUF Rinker School of Construction Open HouseUF - Aging and Geriatric ResearchBuchholz High School - Recruiting for School

Dept of Juvenile JusticeWedding at C-Bar RanchUF College of Vet Med - Interview DaysWorldwide Christian Ministry 2019 Leadership ConferenceFMCA ConferenceUF Dept of Medicine - Physician RecruitmentUF Dept of Religion-South Asia ConferenceSigma Alpha Iota 2019 Music Conf for Florida MusiciansUF College of Engineering Spring Visit for prospective graduate students

Visit Gainesville, Alachua County Visitor Guides

Joe Antonelli has delivered 18,490 Visitor Guides to Alachua Countylodging establishments and attractions since March!

Closing Updates• Discovery Channel is filming in the county

“Uncharted” Thursday and Friday.

• Congratulations Gainesville Sports Commission on receiving two awards for Alachua County!

• MIDMARKET VENUE OF THE YEAR: Legacy Park in Alachua

• MIDMARKET EVENT OF THE YEAR: US Amateur Boys Basketball National Championship

• The grant application was released two weeks ago and is due Friday, August 2. • We have finalists for our Tourism Program Coordinator position and are conducting interviews this week.• We will be pursuing accreditation through Destinations International in the upcoming year.

• NEXT TDC MEETING Wednesday, September 11 at 1:30

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welcome to the july 10, 2019 tourist development …€¦ · 07.07.2019 · ytd tdt distributions...

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