Hilton Head Island FY24-Q2 Update

QUARTERLY REPORT FISC AL YEAR 2024-Q2 OCTOBER 2023 - DECEMBER 2023

D E S T I N AT I O N VA L U E S In partnership with the town and in alignment with our community, our destination’s core values support our out-marketing efforts.

ECOTOURISM

ARTS & CULTURE

HISTORY

RECREATION

WELLNESS

QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS NAMED #1 BEST ISLAND IN THE U.S. IN THE CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER READER’S CHOICE AWARDS FOR THE 7TH YEAR IN A ROW

WHY IT MATTERS The destination’s positive recognition from a reputable global media outlet, along with alignment of travel trends, signifies the success of our marketing shift, emphasizing the destination’s relevance and forward-thinking approach.

Travelers [seek out] experiences that let them connect with communities, discover local cuisine, and help conserve the natural environment.

Hilton Head [Island] was helping visitors do this stuff before it was cool. Preservation of culture, cuisine, community, and this beautiful landscape is just the Hilton Head way.

- Jesse Ashlock Deputy Global Editorial Director and U.S. Editor, Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler Voters recommended Hilton Head Island for a variety of trip types:

71% FOOD & WINE

55%

LOCAL CUISINE

32%

CULTURAL EXPERIENCES

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M E D I A PA R T N E R S H I P S PAID

WHY IT MATTERS Aligning the Hilton Head Island brand with top luxury media outlets and their readership ensures we’re consistently creating awareness of the destination amongst our target audience of $150K-$250K+ household income, averaging 2 to 4 trips per year.

CAMPAIGN DATES NOV 2023 - FEB 2024 7.3M DIGITAL AUDIENCE Performance results will be available in the next quarterly report.

EXPERIENCE HILTON HEAD ISLAND’S DAZZLING ARTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY Brand sponsored content that drives awareness to winter and spring cultural events on Hilton Head Island and highlights numerous partners in the arts, culture, and history sectors.

ACCESS LINK HERE

Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2024-Q2 (October 2023 - December 2023)

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M E D I A PA R T N E R S H I P S PAID 04:28

WhereChefs

Ask a Local

RCA 2023

Bright Ideas

WhereChefs

Condé Nast Traveller

THE FEEL GOOD ITINERARY ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND

City Guides

RCA 2023

Bright Ideas

Condé Nast Traveller

An insider’s guide to the world.

An insider’s guide to the world.

FOLLOW THE RECO

October 31

View all comments

In this custom video, the CNT editor asked locals to give their personal recommendations for where they like to eat, drink and spend their time off-the-clock.

218 likes Liked by mineakanbestek and others October 31

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218 likes Liked by mineakanbestek and others

ACCESS LINK HERE View all comments October 31

218 likes Liked by mineakanbestek and others City Guides

Ask a Local

RCA 2023

218 likes Liked by mineakanbestek and others

WhereChefs

ACCESS LINK HERE

Bright Ideas

Condé Nast Traveller

ORAL HISTORY

An insider’s guide to the world.

An insider’s guide to the world.

An insider’s guide to the world.

Condé Nast Traveller

Condé Nast Traveller

CAMPAIGN DATES: OCT 2023 - APR 2024

WhereChefs

City Guides

Ask a Local

RCA 2023

Bright Ideas

WhereChefs

City Guides

Ask a Local

RCA 2023

Bright Ideas

The past of a place informs so much about the present and HHI is rich with interesting historical stories and roots from Gullah culture to the settlement of the island itself.

Ask a Local

October 31

The perfect ecofriendly, outdoorfocused itinerary comes to life through the eyes of a CNT editor in this branded episode.

City Guides

Performance Results will be available in the next quarterly report.

CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER READERS:

218 likes Liked by mineakanbestek and others October 31

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Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2024-Q2 (October 2023 - December 2023)

$11B SPEND ON TRAVEL 9M ENGAGE ON SOCIAL

CONDÉ NAST READERSHIP INTEREST HAS GROWN:

1.5x IN CULTURAL TRAVEL 1.3x IN CULINARY TRAVEL 4

P U B L I C R E L AT I O N S NON-PAID HILTON HEAD ISLAND STORY HIGHLIGHTS OCTOBER – DECEMBER

WHY IT MATTERS Bringing forward the importance of our destination values to key editors across multiple publications and reaching their qualified audience.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT US

515

STORIES & MENTIONS

1,403,163,369 IMPRESSIONS

OCTOBER

$4,403,553 AD VALUE

SOUTHERN LIVING (UVPM: 2,530,157):

CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER (UVPM: 1,453,292): Top Islands: Readers’ Choice Awards 2023

The 30 Best Beach Vacations To Add To Your Bucket List Now

THE POINTS GUY (UVPM: 2,630,385): Hilton Head for families: What to do and where to stay

BRIDES (UVPM: 1,510,633):

VOGUE (UVPM: 2,964,200)

The Best Bachelorette Party Destinations: 15 Places for the Ultimate Bridal Party Trip NOVEMBER FODOR’S TRAVEL (UVPM: 633,392):

12 Classic American Summer Towns That Are Also Perfect Winter Escapes DECEMBER TRAVEL + LEISURE (UVPM: 2,839,511): 16 Best Spa Weekend Getaways in the U.S. — All-inclusive Resorts and T+L Reader Favorites Included

Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2024-Q2 (October 2023 - December 2023)

The 25 Best U.S. Honeymoon Destinations THE TRAVEL (UVPM: 423,937):

One of the best day trips from Charleston, Hilton Head Island is steeped in rich Gullah history, and it is a fantastic way to pay homage to its roots with an almost month-long celebration. With events from Feb. 1 through Feb. 26, visitors and locals can immerse themselves in the traditions of the Gullah culture, including art exhibits, live music performances, food tastings, tours, and craft fairs, to name a few.

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D E S T I N AT I O N O F F I C I A L VA C AT I O N P L A N N E R

WHY IT MATTERS The official Vacation Planner brings our destination into the homes of our visitors, further instilling our core values and key attributes while serving as a planning tool for those looking to travel to Hilton Head Island.

The 2023 Official Vacation Planner was mailed and distributed October through December.

The 2024 Official Vacation Planner arrived the last week of December.

QUARTERLY DISTRIBUTION

7,645

2023 VACATION PLANNER

Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2024-Q2 (October 2023 - December 2023)

2024 VACATION PLANNER

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D E S T I N AT I O N W E B S I T E & S O C I A L M E D I A

WHY IT MATTERS The combination of website analytics and social media insights empowers data-driven decision-making, ensuring adaptability and responsiveness to digital out marketing efforts.

H I LT O N H E A D I S L A N D . O R G W E B S I T E P E R F O R M A N C E

VISITS

648K

USERS

515K

PARTNER REFERRALS

225K Source: Google Analytics and VERB Interactive Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2024-Q2 (October 2023 - December 2023)

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H I LT O N H E A D I S L A N D S O C I A L E N G A G E M E N T SOCIAL REFERRALS

29,761 SOCIAL SESSIONS

434,538

SOCIAL TOTAL AUDIENCE

418,318 HiltonHeadIslandofficial VisitHiltonHead

VisitHiltonHeadSC HiltonHeadSC

HiltonHeadSC

VisitHiltonHead

Source: Sprout Social Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2024-Q2 (October 2023 - December 2023)

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H O T E L , H O M E & V I L L A O C C U PA N C Y

WHY IT MATTERS Our analysis of Hilton Head Island accommodations, Hotel, Home & Villa, for a specific quarter, Smith Travel Research (STR) and KeyData, provides metrics such as occupancy rates, average daily rates, and revenue per available room. This data-driven approach details actionable insights to inform strategic decisions.

-5%

206

$

-2%

REVPAR

78

$

4

4

38%

ADR

4

OCCUPANCY

-6%

Source: KeyData and Smith Travel Research (STR) Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2024-Q2 (October 2023 - December 2023)

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G LOS S A RY O F T E RMS FULFILLMENT Fulfillment - The number of physical vacation planners distributed from requests throughout multiple platforms: online, media and home inquiries. In addition, we also distribute the planner to state and local welcome centers, airports, along with tradeshows and promotional events.

HOTEL, HOME & VILLA OCCUPANCY Occupancy - Used within the accommodations industry to gauge the health of tourism. Occupancy percentage is calculated by dividing the occupied rooms by total room supply.

ADR (Average Daily Rate) - Metric widely used to indicate the average realized room rental per day. ADR is calculated by dividing the room revenue by the total rooms sold.

RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) - Used to gauge industry health and is calculated by dividing the total room revenue by total room supply within a specific time period.

MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS Paid Media - Paid promotional efforts, such as advertising and sponsored content, where payment is made to third parties for placement across various channels.

HHI - Household Income noted in Media Partnership section

Mentions - Any instance where a brand or individual is discussed in various media, including news articles, social media posts, blogs, and interviews. These mentions contribute to overall visibility and help assess the impact of communication efforts.

UVPM (Unique Visitors per Month) - This metric represents the number of visitors to a media outlet.

WHY IT MATTERS: The higher the UVPM, the greater the likelihood that the destination will be read about by a larger audience.

REPORTING PLATFORMS 2-Source Report - The 2-source report is an aggregated report of both Home and Villa and Hotel data.

Keydata - Keydata is a real time home and villa platform that allows users to view on the books and historical villa data.

STR - Smith Travel Research (STR) is the platformed used to monitor weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually hotel occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room.

SOCIAL MEDIA Impressions - The amount of times your content was seen across a feed or in search terms.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Engagements - A measurement on how much your audience interacts with your content.

This can be measured in likes, comments, shares, etc.

Earned Media - Refers to the instances when a destination or brand is featured in content without direct payment.

Total Audience - Number of followers across each platform combined.

WHY IT MATTERS: The importance of earned media

UGC (User Generated Content) - Content captured by users online, who have given permission to have their content reposted.

is its role as a third-party endorsement for a destination.

Integrating both earned and paid media plays an important role in enhancing a brand’s ROI and credibility.

Impressions - This metric quantifies the number of times destination content has been viewed.

WHY IT MATTERS: The importance of earned media is its role as a third-party endorsement for a destination.

Integrating both earned and paid media plays an important role in enhancing a brand’s ROI and credibility.

WEBSITE PERFORMANCE Visits - A website visit in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) refers to a period of user interaction with a website. Visits help measureuser engagement and interactions on a website within a specific time frame.

Ad Values - Sometimes known as AVE, or ad value equivalency, it’s a calculation that estimates the value of a story or mention by comparing it to the cost of a comparable ad in the outlet for that coverage.

User - Website users in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) represent individual visitors or devices that access a website within a specified time period. Each user is identified by a unique identifier, allowing GA4 to track and analyze the behavior of distinct individuals or devices interacting with the site.

WHY IT MATTERS: It helps confer the value of content, however it should be used alongside other metrics of understanding with the knowledge that a news article holds different value than a paid ad.

Partner Referrals - This metric refers to external link clicks to partner websites from ads or partner listings throughout the Hilton Head Island website. This helps quantify how many potential visitors we are connecting to local businesses.

Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2024-Q2 (October 2023 - December 2023)

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