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Redondo Beach tourism board reports higher engagement; council adopts annual report
Summary
The Redondo Beach Tourism District reported $1.17 million in FY24–25 budget authority (including carryover and delayed remittance), heavy spending on sales and marketing, strong website engagement and a high ROI on select Expedia packages; council adopted the annual report and discussed conversion of traffic to TOT.
The Redondo Beach Travel & Tourism (RBTT) board presented its FY2024–25 annual report and marketing results to the City Council, and council adopted the report by resolution.
RBTT reported collections of $508,000 for the year, a carryover balance of $509,000 and a delayed‑remittance estimate of $151,000, yielding a total FY24–25 budget of $1,169,000. Staff said the tourism district allocated most of that budget — approximately 87–93% — to sales and marketing, with a smaller portion to administration and contingency. Staff explained they reallocated some administration/contingency funds into marketing where it produced measurable returns.
Rebecca Elder (RBTT) and Kevin O’Brien (PSM) reviewed campaign performance: more than 60,000 booking‑engine previews (a 25% year‑over‑year increase) and roughly 400,000 users with 460,000 sessions on the tourism website. They described new investments in programmatic search (PMax), social platforms (including TikTok) and Expedia partnerships; staff reported early returns as high as a 12:1 ROI on certain Expedia packages.
Council members asked about carryover balances and whether additional funding or a higher assessment percentage should be considered. Staff said the carryover exists partly because some campaign timing and remittances cross fiscal years; they also noted that referral tracking can undercount actual hotel bookings because many visitors follow from the tourism site to hotel proprietary sites and book there.
Council adopted the board’s annual report and requested continued transparency on carryover and the district’s use of funds as the city prepares for regional events in coming years.
What’s next: The board plans to continue targeted campaigns, pursue influencer partnerships and align creatives and web assets for upcoming large events; staff will return with quarterly metrics and any proposed changes to the district’s budget allocation.
