LOCATION
Broward County, Florida
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Strategy Development
Comprehensive review of room tax policy
Addressed contribution from conventions, leisure, culture and sports
Provided clear direction on return on investment by different visitor types
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Johnson Consulting was retained by the Broward Workshop to access room tax policies for Broward County, Florida. The County has achieved extraordinary growth in tax collections and international visitor growth. At the same time, policy on room tax was largely controlled by the County, not the industry, as hoped for by Florida law. Our analysis identified several ways return on investment could be enhanced via room tax in the County. Key findings and recommendations were:
a. The Convention and Visitors Bureau spent over 10 times per room in marketing than peer cities. Johnson Consulting did not criticize the size of the budget the CVB had, but noted that there is no Board of Directors at the CVB and hence insufficient accountability.
b. Instead of the County allocating dollars annually, based on history of requests, the county would be well served to specify percentages for use, by major need, so recipients could plan and budget.
c. An increase in the tax note from 5 to 6 percent was warranted because tourism is such a great economic force in greater Ft. Lauderdale.
d. The Convention Center should be expanded immediately, as South Florida is underserved.
Johnson Consulting developed recommendations and priorities for Harford County to achieve on-going growth in the region, including an enhanced vision to position Harford County as a stronger tourism destination.
Johnson Consulting was subsequently retained by the Greater Ft. Lauderdale Convention and Visitors’ Bureau (GFCVB) to assess the ability to sell an expanded Broward County Convention Center, in a highly competitive convention and tradeshow marketplace. The primary goals of our analysis were to examine current practices, strategies and performance, and benchmark this performance against peer facilities and markets.
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