Bluffton FY25 Q3 Report

TOWN OF BLUFFTON INDUSTRY METRICS

FY 25 -Q 3 Update

FY 25 -Q 3 Performance Metrics & Update

January 1 - March 31, 2025

As the Town of Bluffton’s official Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), we are the leader in promoting tourism to the destination. By understanding today’s travelers and adapting to the changing landscape of the industry, we are able to execute the comprehensive Town of Bluffton Marketing Plan.

The quarterly report focuses on the metrics outlined within the contract, but we also wanted to share the additional efforts and initiatives worked on during FY25 – Q3.

Town of Bluffton Marketing Plans, Reports, and Presentations

• 1/3, 2/5, and 3/5 Submitted three monthly reports to the town staff.

• 2/14/2025, Submitted the Town of Bluffton FY25-Q2 report to town staff.

• 03/31/2025, Submitted the Town of Bluffton DMO Marketing Plan.

Dedicated Official Bluffton Vacation Planner

January 1 - March 31, 2025

The Official Vacation Planner is the first touchpoint visitors receive when planning their visit to the Heart of the Lowcountry™.

We receive requests for this piece from multiple platforms; online, media, and phone inquiries. In addition, we distribute the planner to all state welcome centers, hotels, airports, AAA offices, tradeshows and include in all public relations outreach.

FY25-Q MailFulfillmentandDistribution

Official Bluffton Vacation Planner: 11,605 Official Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Daufuskie Island Vacation Planner: 18,342

We continue our efforts with the College of Charleston in collecting visitor profile surveys and understanding the demographics of those who are traveling to the Town of Bluffton.

FY 25 -Q 3 Bluffton Website Performance

January 1 - March 31, 2025

Website Sessions

45,019

-12.5% YOY

Partner Referrals/Click Throughs Made to Area Business

10,828

Bluffton’s marketing efforts continue to attract high-quality traffic, even as organic visibility declines in key regions like South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. While total website visits were down year-over-year, a strong surge in traffic from HGTV Dream Home between January and mid-February drove 7,258 visits with a solid 19% referral rate—nearly matching the site’s overall 24% referral average.

The See & Do pages continue to be strong drivers of partner referrals, with the Shopping page being a top performer. Organic traffic to Outdoor Recreation Parks showed excellent engagement, boasting a 33% conversion rate. We are encouraged by the growing interest and engagement from key growth markets including New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and California.

FY 25 -Q 3 Destination Social Report

January 1 - March 31, 2025

YOY Facebook Page Likes

41,739

Instagram Followers

13,142

YOY

Followers

727

2,379

Engagements

4,089

YOY Instagram Engagements

13,948

Engagements

90

Looking ahead, our paid media team is actively developing new assets designed to further enhance our presence on key platforms and drive improved engagement and awareness. TikTok Followers

This quarter showcased Bluffton’s consistent growth trajectory. We are particularly encouraged by the year-over-year audience expansion across all key metrics, indicating successful acquisition of new followers who are actively engaging with our channel. While Facebook engagements saw a dip year-over-year, this was a direct result of a strategic 56% reallocation of our paid media budget.

Similarly, the observed decrease in X engagements aligns with our deliberate strategy of prioritizing key platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. As X is a secondary channel, we intentionally shifted our focus, resulting in 30% fewer posts. This strategic resource allocation allows us to concentrate our efforts where we are seeing the greatest impact and audience growth.

FY 25 -Q 3 Destination Metrics

January 1 - March 31, 2025

As the Official DMO for the Town of Bluffton and based on our official contract, below are the quarterly metrics for the time frame of January 1 - March 31, 2025.

Bluffton experienced a decline in lodging metrics during Q3. While this is usually an off-peak time, this quarter was especially difficult due to multiple instances of inclement weather, economic uncertainty as a new administration took office, and nationwide changes in tourism preferences. Additionally, the Easter holiday was later this year than it has been in previous years, likely shifting some Q3 travel into Q4.

Source: Keydata Monthly Trend Report

FY 25 -Q 3 Public Relations Overview

Bluffton Story Highlights January 1 - March 31, 2025

Source: Critical Mention / BurrellsLuce / Weber Shandwick

January

Coun try Living (UVPM: 1,302,101):

These Are America’s 10 Best Small Towns for 2025

Southern Living (UVPM: 2,576,884):

12 Southern Hotels With The Coziest Fireplaces

Apartment Therapy (UVPM: 8,046,401):

5 Design Details I Can’t Stop Thinking About in This Year’s HGTV Dream Home

February

Ap artment Therapy (UVPM: 2,576,884):

You Have Only 7 Days Left to Enter the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway (I’m So in Love with This House!)

Syndications: MSN (UVPM: 405,231,311) and Yahoo! Life (UVPM:157,190,027)

$368,953.73

House Beautiful (UVPM: 915,104):

HGTV’s $2M Dream Home Is Their Most Stunning Yet—And It Comes With the Best Perks

Syndications: MSN (UVPM: 405,231,311) and Yahoo! Life (UVPM: 157,190,027)

March

HG TV (UVPM: 1,564,138):

HGTV Dream Home 2025 Winner Announcement

Country Living (UVPM: 1,302,101):

The Best Meal I Ate Last Year Was in This Small South Carolina Town

Southern Living (UVPM: 760,414):

The Best Small Towns In South Carolina

FY 25 -Q 3 Events

January 1 - March 31, 2025

For FY25-Q3 time frame, our organization’s events included:

• Chamber Young Professionals at Uncorked.

• Chamber Restaurant Week with 81 participating restaurants, including Bluffton eateries.

• Chamber Wellness Week with 70 participating businesses.

• Conversation + Cocktails at Kung Fu Cantina with over 100 attendees.

• Spons ored and attended the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation’s Converge event in Sun City.

FY 25 -Q 3 Ribbon Cuttings

January 1 - March 31, 2025

FY25-Q3 Media Partnership -

HGTV Dream Home

November 1, 2024 - May 9, 2025

Publication:

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce teamed up with HGTV for the 2025 Dream Home, shining a national spotlight on Bluffton, South Carolina. Set in the scenic Berkeley Hall community, this year’s Dream Home blends Southern charm with modern style. The partnership highlighted the Lowcountry lifestyle and encouraged tourism by showcasing Bluffton as a vibrant place to live, visit, and explore.

Activation:

As part of the 2025 Dream Home partnership, the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce and HGTV launched a dynamic campaign to spotlight Bluffton on a national stage. The activation featured extensive media coverage across HGTV’s platforms, a high-profile sweepstakes offering a fully furnished home, a Mercedes-Benz credit, $100,000 in cash, and deep local engagement through community events and promotions.

$1,210,485

3,281,788,051

Destination Marketing Organization

Revenues - Town of Bluffton DMO

Town of Bluffton Special Grant - Special

Total Revenue

Expenses:

Vacation Planner - Regional (estimated)

Fulfillment-Regional Vacation Planner (estimated)

Vacation Planner - Bluffton Only Guide

Fulfillment-Bluffton Only Guide

Digital Promotions - Social Media

Digital Promotions - Website/SEO

Digital Promotions - Google/Facebook

Photography

Leisure Marketing - Other

Total direct marketing expenses

Administrative (Based on 37.3% of expected annual revenues)

Salaries

Payroll taxes

Employee benefits - 401K

Employee benefits - Insurance

Operations - Other Operations - Building Expense

Total administrative

Total expenses

Excess of revenues over expenses $ 15,000 $ 6,000 $80,992 $ 3,477 $ 14,063 $ 22,909 $ 28,862 $ 850 $ 101 $ 297.443$297,443 $ 172,253 $ 92.213 $ 6,462 $ 5,539 $ 1,825 $ 3,038 $ 1,772 $ 101,947 $ 283,199 $ 14,244

Important Note on Estimated Costs: The Vacation Planner/Fulfillment are shared expenses with the Town of Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, and the State of South Carolina and are not reconciled until the end of the fiscal year.

Meet Your Team

Executive

BILL MILES, IOM, CCE

President & CEO

bmiles@hiltonheadisland.org

CONNIE KILLMAR

Assistant to the President ckillmar@hiltonheadisland.org

Communications

CHARLIE CLARK

Vice President, Communications cclark@hiltonheadisland.org

LAURA ALICE HENDERSON

Director of Programs & Events lahenderson@hiltonheadisland.org

HALLIE MARTIN

Director of Communications hmartin@hiltonheadisland.org

DASHAE MIDDLETON

Visual Content Coordinator dmiddleton@hiltonheadisland.org

JORDAN MATTHIS

Visual Content Coordinator jmatthis@hiltonheadisland.org

Finance & Administration

RAY DEAL

Controller rdeal@hiltonheadisland.org

KELLY MCCALLISTER

Assistant Controller kmccallister@hiltonheadisland.org

Visitor & Convention Bureau

ARIANA PERNICE

Vice President, Visitor & Convention Bureau apernice@hiltonheadisland.org

MAKENNA HENRY

Director of Marketing mhenry@hiltonheadisland.org

ZACK SHEDD

Senior Sales Manager zshedd@hiltonheadisland.org

CHASE O’DELL

Research Manager codell@hiltonheadisland.org

ROBERT OBERNIER

Website Administrator robernier@hiltonheadisland.org

KYLEIGH LEAF

Marketing Coordinator kleaf@hiltonheadisland.org

InformationSpecialists

KATHY WININGS

Information Specialist kwinings@hiltonheadisland.org

LAURA HIGGINS

Information Specialist lhiggins@hiltonheadisland.org

LINDA LANIER

Information Specialist llanier@hiltonheadisland.org