Hilton Head Chamber put on notice: Competition is coming for top marketing spot
One town official has given the Hilton Head Island- Bluffton Chamber of Commerce a “courtesy notice” that its contact as the island’s destination marketing organization may not be renewed in 2020.
Finance and administrative committee chairman and town council member Tom Lennox said he met with chamber president and CEO Bill Miles in early March to tell him the contract may not be automatically renewed, and that the town is likely to start a bidding process for the next DMO.
The chamber’s contract as the DMO is up in November 2020, and the town must give a one-year notice if it plans not to renew, according to Lennox.
The move comes after nearly a year of scrutiny by council members past and present over the chamber’s receipt and spending of $1.8 million in accommodations tax funds in 2018.
The S.C. Supreme Court ruled in May 2018 that the chamber’s records cannot be accessed by media and members of the public through Freedom of Information Act requests. In August, former Mayor David Bennett suggested the chamber submit quarterly spending reports on how it spends the automatic tax money it receives as the DMO so the public can see them.
After an election season where chamber spending was front-and-center for candidates, current Mayor John McCann told the finance and administrative committee on Nov. 7 that it should announce non-renewal of the contract in January.
That announcement didn’t happen until early March, according to Lennox.
What did 2018 tourism look like on Hilton Head?
On Thursday, chamber officials presented the marketing plan and budget for the upcoming year.
Vice president of the visitor and convention bureau Ariana Pernice said 2.62 million tourists came to Hilton Head in 2018, resulting in a $1.4 billion economic impact on the island.
In the upcoming year, the chamber will spend more money on public relations as it reorients itself as a “global brand” and competitor for vacationers, she said.
Committee members had some questions about the chamber’s overall approach.
“We only have 45 square miles of island,” Jim Fluker said. “Is there a point where there’s too much (tourism)?”
Pernice said the chamber is trying to market “shoulder season” visits to build the season outside of the summertime window.
Rob Bender — acting as the committee’s leader after Brad Marra and Dru Brown recused themselves due to their ties to chamber boards of directors and marketing committees — asked about how the chamber will incorporate Gullah heritage tourism into this year’s plan, a recommendation from the Gullah culture and land preservation consultant.
“We feel that there is a great partnership there, and we want to continue that going forward,” Pernice said, adding that social media influencers showcase that part of Hilton Head’s culture.
Transparency measures
The courtesy notice comes after recommendations for further transparency from the chamber by citizens. In 2018, Carlton Dallas and David Fingerhut presented three suggestions to the finance and administrative committee to make the public feel better about transparency in the DMO contract:
- Appointing two citizens to the chamber’s marketing committee
- Appointing two nonvoting citizens to the town’s finance and administrative committee
- Giving a notice of termination of the town’s marketing contract with the chamber in November 2019, which would go into effect the following year
But those recommendations seem to have been largely forgotten. Asked Thursday whether he had been contacted by any members of council about the recommendations since his first presentation, Dallas said no.
And on Dec. 18, council members approved the chamber’s marketing plan for the upcoming year.
What’s next?
Lennox said the finance and administrative committee will vote on whether to recommend renewing the contract on April 23.
That recommendation will go onto the agenda for the following Town Council meeting, where the full council will vote on whether to stick with the chamber as the DMO or not.
If the council votes not to renew, the town will ask for bids from organizations to take on the task of being the official marketing organization for Hilton Head, Lennox said.
The chamber will be “strongly encouraged” to apply, town officials have said in past meetings on the issue.
This story was originally published April 4, 2019 at 1:21 PM.
