Council awards destination-marketing contract to Greenhouse Collaboratives after competitive RFP

The Newport City Council voted to award a professional services agreement for destination-marketing (DMO) services to Greenhouse Collaboratives following a competitive request-for-proposals process and follow-up interviews. Council authorized the city manager to execute a contract, not to exceed $850,000 per year, for an initial two-year term with an option to extend, subject to final legal review.

The council’s decision followed staff briefings that described a statewide RFP response (17 proposals) and a scoring and interview process that narrowed finalists to four firms. City Manager Nina (staff) told the council that written scores placed Greenhouse Collaboratives among the top firms and that, after interviews and reference checks, staff recommended Greenhouse as the top choice. “Our first place and the firm that we are recommending that we award the contract to is Greenhouse Collaboratives at 83,” Nina said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the contract will direct how the city spends room-tax revenue earmarked for tourism promotion and marketing. Councilors and members of the public raised questions about continuity, local vendor participation and performance metrics, asking how the city will protect existing investments and measure return on investment.

City staff outlined the procurement and scoring process in detail. John Fuller and Mike Kavanaugh (city staff) described the two-step evaluation: written proposals scored on published criteria, then in-person presentations with questions. Fuller said the in-person presentations allow evaluators to judge specific approaches and analytics more effectively than written proposals alone. The four finalists’ written scores were reported by staff as: Watson (83), HiJinx (81), Greenhouse Collaboratives (80) and the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce (77), with presentation-stage rankings that put Greenhouse in first place after interviews.

Members of the public and chamber staff urged the council to consider the Chamber’s experience and local relationships. Lauren Paul, marketing manager for the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, told the council that Discover Newport’s work over the last two years has produced new analytics and media placements, including streaming (OTT) advertising. Anky Conrad, events director at the Chamber, said the Chamber’s local presence and relationships with tourism businesses are valuable and urged collaboration with any selected vendor.

Council discussion focused on three themes: (1) ensuring a smooth transition that preserves local knowledge and vendor opportunities; (2) including clear performance metrics and reporting requirements in the final contract; and (3) keeping flexibility in the contract in case state rules or revenue formulas change. Councilors asked that staff include provisions in the contract to encourage use of local vendors where feasible and to require regular, comparable analytics so the city can track year-to-year performance regardless of vendor.

The final motion, as amended on the council floor, authorized the city manager to execute the agreement with Greenhouse Collaboratives with a contract amount not to exceed $850,000 per year, and instructed staff to negotiate contract details and performance metrics. The motion passed by voice vote with all present council members saying “aye.”

What comes next: staff will negotiate the final personal services agreement, incorporating performance measures, local-vendor considerations and other conditions requested by council. Council and staff discussed forming a short-term transition group or task force to facilitate handoff and preserve institutional knowledge; staff committed to bringing contract language and transition plans back to council for review and to engage the Chamber and other stakeholders during onboarding.

A note on procurement: staff emphasized that the RFP process and scoring criteria were published in the solicitation documents and that the award follows state procurement rules and city policy. Several councilors said they want the city to own a strategic marketing plan in future procurements so the plan remains a city asset rather than being wholly vendor-owned.

Votes at a glance: the council voted to award the DMO contract to Greenhouse Collaboratives and authorized the city manager to execute the contract not to exceed $850,000 per year for an initial two-year term; action passed by unanimous voice vote.

Ending: The decision concludes a multi-month procurement process the city began to replace the prior arrangements for destination marketing, and staff will return to council with contract documents and transition details for formal signing and implementation.