Civitas works with hundreds of improvement districts of all shapes and sizes every year, helping them form, renew, or modify, and we recognize the immeasurable effort and time that goes into this process.
District Formation of the Year
We are delighted to announce the District Formation of the Year is the Montgomery Tourism Improvement District (Montgomery, AL).
Montgomery is a great example of the industry coming together to protect the future of local tourism. When finding out the City of Montgomery proposed to increase hotel occupancy taxes, money that may or may not return to tourism promotion, they sought a more sustainable option. The hotels and DMO banded together to create a tourism improvement district that would provide a stable funding solution.
Hotels within the district will charge a $1.50 per occupied room night assessment that will raise an additional $2.25 million per year for the region, doubling the current destination marketing budget.
The formation achieved remarkable success, and its uniqueness can be attributed to several key elements:
- Successful state enabling legislation effort led by Sheron Rose Executive Vice President, External Affairs of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce and her fantastic lobbying team.
- Alabama Class 3 municipalities legislators (Montgomery/Huntsville) worked with the state legislative body throughout the process to pass and enact the bill.
- A passionate and engaged steering committee representing a destination that has an equal number of rooms in large hotels and small to medium-sized hotels.
- Councilman Cornelius Calhoun, who initiated the original hotel tax initiative, changed course to support the hotels in their district formation and championed the ordinance through the process.
- City Council leaders and Mayor Steven Reed who worked throughout the process to pass the ordinance
- Tourism industry leadership, led by Ron Simmons, Chief Destination Officer at Experience Montgomery, committed to supporting the industry’s needs and personally seeing the process through.
Tiffany Gallagher, Civitas’ VP of Operations, who worked closely with the destination on this project, said, “The commitment of the industry and the city to find a solution that could provide a resilient and sustainable solution for immediate and future community needs was an honor to be a part of. The Montgomery tourism community has created a district that will rally behind their goals for years to come.”
Congratulations to Experience Montgomery and its leadership, Ron Simmons, on being selected Civitas’ District Formation of the Year! To read more about Montgomery’s District Formation, check out this article.
District Renewal/Modification of the Year
We are thrilled to announce that the District Renewal/Modification of the Year is the Huntington Beach Tourism Business Improvement District!
This incredible modification has successfully positioned Visit Huntington Beach as one of the most competitive tourism marketing organizations in southern California. The assessment was increased from 4% to 6% through this modification, estimated to raise an additional $5 million annually for Visit Huntington Beach, doubling the current destination marketing budget.
The modification was a landmark achievement, a 2% increase for a total of 6%. Its success can be credited to these essential elements:
- An incredible partnership with the City of Huntington Beach that allowed for in-depth conversations, resulting in both identifying additional tourism enhancement programs that would be mutually beneficial to the City and tourism businesses.
- Data-driven education and advocacy to show ROI and compelling results of VHB’s efforts.
- Effective communication and asset creation to build an effective case presentation.
During this process, Visit Huntington Beach did an incredible job of educating everyone involved. By providing in-depth data, activating their board of directors and tourism business leaders, and creating powerful communication collateral pieces, they were able to advocate for the importance of the additional funding for the tourism industry and the community.
Kelly Rankin, Civitas’ Project Manager & Team Engagement Director, who worked closely with the destination on this project, said, “Visit Huntington Beach worked so diligently with their lodging businesses, but also Council and City staff to make sure everyone was educated, and understood the partnership under this modification. The amount of data and storytelling that Visit Huntington Beach was able to provide was inspiring and motivating not only for myself, but other DMOs who want to know their story.”
Congratulations to Visit Huntington Beach on being selected Civitas’ District Renewal/Modification of the Year!
