What happened in the Hilton Head chamber deal? Here are 5 takeaways

After years of battling over financial secrecy, the Town of Hilton Head and the Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce have agreed to a new contract requiring the chamber to hand over all receipts and invoices tied to the nearly $4 million in public lodging taxes it receives annually. But the deal was struck largely behind closed doors, and most key players won’t discuss how it happened.

FULL STORY: In change, Hilton Head’s chamber deal done mostly in private. Now, few are talking

New contract requires all receipts and invoices

The Hilton Head Island Town Council unanimously approved the new contract on Dec. 18, requiring the chamber to provide all invoices and receipts related to money it gets from Hilton Head, along with its most recent tax returns, by Sept. 30 each year.

Only expenses using funds that passed through the Town of Hilton Head Island will be disclosed to the public.

Chamber fought detailed disclosure for years

For years, the chamber fought detailed disclosure of its expenses, with its President Bill Miles arguing in 2018 that sharing ad costs would give competitors like Charleston and Destin, Florida an advantage. He called the chamber’s marketing approach its “secret sauce.”

Deals made in secret

Negotiations took place mostly in executive session. The town held five closed-door meetings in 2025 to discuss bids and negotiate.

Council Member Melinda Tunner acknowledged the council “could have done more” to keep the public informed.

Key players say little after deal

Chamber officials declined interview requests from The Island Packet. Town Manager Marc Orlando, and Council Member Alex Brown also declined to discuss the deal. Mayor Alan Perry did not return calls from The Packet.

Only Tunner, the council member, spoke with the news site.

What’s next?

In the future, the chamber will need to be more transparent with how it uses the money it receives from Hilton Head.

The chamber will also need to collaborate more with the town to ensure its marketing strategies align with what the council desires.

In the future, the town plans to focus more on highlighting Gullah Geechee history and cultural events through tourism.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.