Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Visit Carlsbad reports stronger August occupancy, launches $1 million ad push
Summary
Visit Carlsbad reported higher August 2024 hotel occupancy, modest year‑to‑date gains, and a new $1,000,000 advertising campaign; staff said last fiscal campaigns generated 221,000 incremental room nights and a meeting‑planner conference at Omni La Costa could yield future business.
Kim Sadoriak, CEO of Visit Carlsbad, told the subcommittee that August 2024 was a strong month for hotels: occupancy was up 5% compared with August 2023, average daily rate rose about 2.7%, and revenue per available room increased roughly 7.9% for the month.
Sadoriak said year‑to‑date figures were more modest and noted that Omni La Costa had 200 rooms offline January through May, which affected comparisons. She described a $1,000,000 advertising campaign launched Sept. 1 that expands Visit Carlsbad's digital strategy to include out‑of‑home billboard advertising in Phoenix, a market staff identified as high‑return.
"We generated 221,000 incremental room nights" from last fiscal year campaigns, Sadoriak said, calling that a 46% increase over the prior year and emphasizing the value of incremental room nights for transient occupancy tax revenue. She also previewed a meeting‑planner event at Omni La Costa hosting about 200 meeting planners and said Visit Carlsbad is running destination tours to showcase the community. Staff described the conference as an opportunity that could translate into an estimated $7,000,000 in future conference business.
Members asked whether overflow hotels beyond Omni would benefit; Sadoriak said larger conferences contracted with a single host property often create overflow across multiple hotels and that Visit Carlsbad coordinates outreach to limited‑service properties and resort hotels alike.
The subcommittee received the update; no formal action was taken.
