San Diego Tourism Marketing Seeks Agency

The San Diego Tourism Marketing District Corporation (SDTMD Corp.) seeks to engage a full- service communications company to facilitate a variety of communications disciplines necessary to fulfill the requirements of the SDTMD Corp. Operating Agreement, District Plan and San Diego’s Destination Master Plan (Experience San Diego, Destination 2040). The specific purpose of this private, non-profit corporation is to create a positive economic, fiscal, and employment impact on the lodging businesses in the City of San Diego through the effective and judicious allocation of its revenue and resources to measurably successful tourism sales and marketing programs.

Background:

The San Diego Tourism Marketing District is a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation dedicated to improving lodging room night consumption in the City of San Diego. The San Diego Tourism Marketing District (the District) follows the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) model, which utilizes the efficiencies of private sector operation in the market-based promotion of local and regional tourism for the targeted benefit of assessed businesses. TBIDs, such as this District, allow lodging businesses to organize their efforts to increase tourism, specifically the consumption of hotel rooms as measured by room night stays, achieving economies of scale they could not otherwise achieve.

In San Diego, lodging businesses within the District are assessed and those funds are used to provide privileges, programs and services directly to the assessed lodging businesses that specifically benefit those businesses.

District-funded programs and services designed to deliver incremental new room night sales to assessed businesses may include:

• Marketing of the Assessed Businesses
• Tourism Promotion Activities
• Special Events and Programs

In California, TBIDs such as the District are formed pursuant to the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994 (PBID Law), the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989 (BID Law), or pursuant to an ordinance of a Charter City. In San Diego, the City Council adopted a local TBID enabling (procedural) ordinance similar to the PBID Law. This State statute and the City procedural ordinance allow creation of a special benefit assessment district to raise funds within a specific geographic area, in this case the city of San Diego, for the purpose of improving room occupancy and room night sales for assessed businesses.

Scope of Work:

• Production and distribution of SDTMD Corp. quarterly updates to TMD assessed lodging properties (by standard post);
• Content support and production of annual report;
• Coordinate and facilitate Experience San Diego Steering Committee meetings and activities.
• Experience San Diego website direction and maintenance.
• Assist in communication responses and outreach with City Council, Mayor’s office, and others as deemed appropriate;
• Collaborate with the Executive Director and Board of Directors to form relevant messaging and dissemination, as needed to stakeholders (TMD assessed lodging properties, hospitality industry, funding recipients, etc.) and the public (as necessary).
• SDTMD.org website direction and maintenance.
• Coordination of media interviews, preparation and dissemination of press releases, as required;
• Serve as point-of-contact with media, as required;

Due Date:

May 11th

Address:

San Diego Tourism Marketing District Corporation

750 B Street, Suite 1500 San Diego, CA 92101

Attention: Mr. Brian Hughes, Executive Director

SHIFT Communications has a major California PR office.