Visit Pensacola to run $250,000 campaign after Conde Nast beach ranking; ADR and room demand roughly steady
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Summary
Visit Pensacola announced a $250,000 marketing push to leverage a Conde Nast No. 1 U.S. beach ranking, detailed digital/print placement and audience targeting, and presented FY25 hotel performance showing modest increases in supply and demand and largely stable ADR.
Visit Pensacola told the Tourist Development Council on Feb. 3 it will launch a marketing campaign using $250,000 approved by the council on Feb. 3 and later by the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 5 to capitalize on a Conde Nast recognition of the county’s top-ranked beach.
Darren of Visit Pensacola said the campaign will include a print ad in Conde Nast in May and targeted digital advertising (programmatic and Facebook/Instagram) aimed at higher‑income audience segments that match Conde Nast readers (median household income ~$127,000) versus the county’s current visitor profile (~$86,400). He said the office will prioritize ad placements that are easy to track so the program’s performance can be reported back to the council before any recommendation on additional funding.
Darren added booking behavior and hotel market context: the average booking window is about 60 days, so some ad effects may lag; Visit Pensacola is seeing geography-specific results, with Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key leading year‑over‑year collections while some inland areas show growth driven by new limited‑service properties.
On lodging performance, Darren cited Smith Bridal (STR) fiscal‑year 2025 figures: average occupancy near 63% (vs. 62.9 prior year), ADR series reported in the briefing with a figure of $142.50 vs $141.07 the prior year, supply of ~3,253,523 room nights (+3.4%) and demand ~2,050,249 room nights (+3.6%). He emphasized that new supply can shift demand among properties.
Ray of Pensacola Sports updated the council on sports tourism: the double bridge run sold out and drew participants from across the U.S., with a new four‑year title sponsorship from Circle K. Visit Pensacola and Pensacola Sports noted several upcoming events, including a national swim and dive competition at the University of West Florida and the Sun Belt Conference basketball championship.
Council members requested trailing 12‑month ADR and room‑night demand data; Darren said he would provide those numbers from the most recent STR report.