Santa Rosa County commissioners back 1-year Paradise marketing contract, eye targeted ad tests after bed-tax review

Santa Rosa County commissioners directed staff on Sept. 11 to return to a future agenda with a one-year contract with two one-year renewal options for Paradise Advertising’s tourism-marketing services, following a presentation on bed-tax collections and county advertising returns.

The workshop opened with a briefing on bed-tax collections from 2010 through 2024 and new collection tools the clerk’s office has put in place to capture previously missed revenue and late fees. Julie (TDC staff) and Theresa (clerk’s office representative) walked commissioners through monthly collection trends and how a recently adopted payments system identifies delinquencies and additional fees.

The financial overview showed Santa Rosa County’s 2024 bed-tax revenue at about $6,460,000, with ad spend and agency fees totaling roughly $950,000 — about 14.7 percent of collections. Staff said the county’s ad-spend share has averaged roughly 13–15 percent of bed-tax revenue over the last several years after peaking near 25 percent in 2017.

Why it matters: Commissioners and tourism staff framed advertising as an investment to preserve market share during downturns. Several speakers, including local vacation-rental operators, tied ad spending to jobs and local business revenue.

Public comments: Michelle Gilboe, owner of RMI Vacation Rentals in Gulf Breeze, told commissioners her company manages “a little under 50 properties” on Navarre Beach and that bookings were down roughly 18 percent year-over-year, with June and July about 15 percent down. “Our owners... have their places for sale because they’re not receiving enough income to support paying for their property,” Gilboe said. She urged the board to continue advertising: “I personally think the advertising is imperative. It’s making a difference and we need to keep going with what we have.”

Jeff Snow, a Milton realtor and former TDC member, said Paradise had “done an outstanding job” over the years and urged the board to preserve the contract relationship.

Paradise contract and targeting tests: Representatives from Paradise Advertising — Rudy Webb and newly installed CEO Mark Geronski — presented the agency’s approach and recommended household-income targeting tests. Commissioners discussed whether to expand targeting to higher-income households (examples discussed included thresholds beginning at $150,000–$250,000 household income) while preserving current base-market ads. Paradise described split-testing options to evaluate return on investment and warned against “too many test programs” that could dilute overall advertising effectiveness.

Commissioners, with support from procurement staff and TDC leadership, signaled they prefer a one-year contract structure (historically used countywide) rather than automatic multi-year renewals. The board asked staff to return with contract language for a one-year engagement with two optional one-year renewals, plus specifics on any proposed higher-income targeting tests and measurable performance metrics.

In-house content and cost comparisons: Tourism staff highlighted recent in-house creative work — a coffee-table style booklet produced by a six-person department that the TDC plans to leave at hotels and vacation rentals. Staff emphasized that much photography, video capture and content production is now done in-house, reducing third-party costs and increasing county control over assets provided to Paradise for paid campaigns.

Next steps: County staff will draft a one-year Paradise contract with renewal options, include language on targeted split tests and performance reporting, and return to the commission for formal action. The clerk’s office will provide district-level bed-tax maps on request.

Ending: Commissioners praised the increased transparency of bed-tax reporting and the additional data the clerk’s office can supply, and they asked staff to provide more district-level breakdowns and clear performance targets for any targeted ad testing.