Link – Page 2 – Owen Organization

Back to the Brewery……

Back last year we visited Asheville, North Carolina and I wrote about our experience visiting the Sierra Nevada Brewery (See Here) It was great and of course on a return visit this year we felt obliged to go back and check that it was still as good. It was. The restaurant was still serving great food and accompanying it with excellent beer. The store was still selling beer related souvenirs and take-home bottles, six and twelve packs and the ubiquitous Growlers.

We also decided to check out the competing New Belgium Brewery. New Belgium has similar history to Sierra Nevada in that its origin are in the west – Colorado this time, rather than California – and that it was born out of the craft beer movement when beer lovers became disenchanted with carbonated, chemical drinks pushed at us by the big brewers. Similar movements have taken place around the world, notable being the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) n the UK, which subsequently spawned the annual Great British Beer Festival. Suffice to say though that Craft Brewing is spearheaded around the world by excellent US breweries and their beers. However back to New Belgium…..

The New Belgium Brewery is smaller than its Sierra Nevada comrade but none the worse for that. It has a different vibe, just a little more relaxed on the tourism front. The tour is of course free to tempt the faithful to identify even more closely with the brewers. Their maximum number of tour members is 20, but on our tour there were only 5 plus the tour guide, Lucy. Lucy was part of the Brew Team and was certainly knowledgable about the process, history, culture and products. There is a great sense of fun in the organization with employees being given a New Belgium bike after a years service and things like a slide to get from one level of the plant to another – see the photo! New Belgium is an employee owned company and so is unlikely to be absorbed into one of the Big (Chemical Producing!) companies. Unlike Sierra Nevada where the tasting session takes place at the end of the tour, New Belgium indulges visitors with tastings at strategically placed ‘bars’ throughout the plant. The tour ends being dropped off outside the tap room and gift shop (of course) and the Sierra Nevada full scale restaurant is replaced by a Food Truck which is really VERY good.

Which was best? Neither. They are both professional, fascinating and well worth a visit. If you’re going to the area, please try both. Not just from the beer tasting point of view, but to look at how an industrial process has been turned into a tourism opportunity.

Down here on the northern Gulf Coast we have also been absorbed by the Craft Beer movement in recent years. Both the tourists and of course the locals have been calling for something other than mass produced fizzy chemical water. Our large Military contingent along the coast has contributed to this, as they know their beer!

Without too much research you can find 13 craft breweries between Pensacola and Apalachicola. These are virtually all paired with good restaurants and all sell their own beers and the souvenirs aimed aimed at their followers. A good number have formal brewery tours, an I’m guessing that that those that don’t could happily arrange a meet up with their Brewmaster on request.

Of course this is another tourism opportunity for our Destination Marketing Organizations to jump on. The Emerald Coast Beer Trail (I’ll happy donate that title to the cause in exchange for a glass of IPA) could have tourists visiting sites right along the coast. Perhaps some sort of treasure hunt collecting stamps at the different locations, with a prize for getting all of them? Nice Marketing at it’s best and simplest, appealing to Millennials, Boomers and Foodies at the same time. The other thing to mention is this is a year round activity, and it isn’t dependent on the weather.

Just to help out here’s a list of the local Northern Gulf Coast Craft Breweries that I’ve found.

Pensacola Bay Brewery
225 E Zaragoza St
Pensacola, FL 32502-6048
(850) 434-3353
www.pbbrew.com

McGuire’s Irish Pub & Brewery

600 E Gregory St
Pensacola, FL 32502-4153
(850) 433-6789
www.mcguiresirishpub.com

Gulf Coast Brewery LLC
500 E Heinberg St
Pensacola, FL 32502-4145
(850) 696-2335
www.gulfcoastbrewery.net

Ye Olde Brothers Brewery
4458 Highway 87
Navarre, FL 32566-9658
(850) 684-1495
www.yeoldbrothersbrewery.co

Props Craft Brewery
255 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE Unit B19
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548-5833
www.propsbrewery.com/

McGuire’s Irish Pub and Brewery – Destin
33 Highway 98 E
Destin, FL 32541-2309
(850) 654-0567
www.mcguiresirishpub.com

Destin Brewery
505 Mountain Dr Ste N
Destin, FL 32541-7334
www.destinbrewery.com

3rd Planet Brewing
120 Partin Dr N
Niceville, FL 32578-2053
(850) 502-9952
www.3rdplanetbrewing.com

Grayton Beer Co
217 Serenoa Rd
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459-6099
(850) 231-4786
www.graytonbeer.com

Idyll Hounds Brewing Company
845 Serenoa Rd
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459-5019
www.idyllhoundsbrewingcompany.com/

Nivol Brewing
483 N Richard Jackson Blvd
Panama City Beach, FL 32407-3647
(850) 249-1150
www.nivolbrewery.com

Uncle Ernies Bayfront Grill & Brew House
1151 Bayview Ave
Panama City, FL 32401-1452
(850) 763-8427
http://uncleerniesbayfrontgrill.com/welcome/

Oyster City Brewing Company
17 Avenue D
Apalachicola, FL 32320-1801
www.oystercitybrewingco.com

If I’ve left anyone out, please let me know!

The brewery is built on the site of an old circus.

After a year of service each employee gets a bike.

Unintended positive consequences. Northwest Florida Daily News.

This article was printed in the Northwest Florida Daily News on Sunday, April 23, 2017.

When I first came to the Emerald Coast back in 2003, I was struck by how many people appeared to be in the real estate business. It appeared that every other person I met was a Realtor. That was before the economy took a nose dive, of course, but in the intervening years a significant number of friends and acquaintances have stayed involved in buying and selling property. That’s always a sign of a vibrant economy.

What’s that got to do with tourism, I hear you asking? Well, the largest sector of the accommodations available to visitors here are vacation rentals — whether they be condos or family homes. Invariably these are purchased not as primary residences, but as investment properties to make money over a long period or to benefit from rental income. The added value of this is that the owner of a rental property also has a beach lifestyle property for their own use.

To read the rest of the article click HERE

Daily News TALKING TOURISM: A layman’s look at how bed tax works

This column was published in the Northwest Florida Daily News on Sunday March 2, 2017.

I’ve been asked a number of times to explain how bed tax, or Tourist Development Tax, is used. There also have been some letters suggesting that it be used for items or services that aren’t currently covered, so I thought a brief explanation might be useful. Please bear in mind that I’m not a lawyer, but it would appear that even some lawyers can’t agree on the interpretation of some bed tax clauses, so I’ve gone with what the TDCs, tax collectors and others usually use.

You may remember that bed tax was set up to be charged on short-term rentals in designated tax areas. Some counties implement across the whole county (Escambia for example) while others have specified tax areas (e.g. Okaloosa and Walton). The tax is collected by the rental companies and hotels, and paid to the tax-collecting body of the county. Owners can pay direct to the county, too.

You can read the rest of the column HERE

Daily News Talking Tourism: Visit Florida not out of danger yet

This column appeared in the Northwest Florida Daily News on Sunday March 25, 2017

A few weeks ago I wrote about the challenges to Visit Florida that are taking place in the Florida House of Representatives. Here’s an update.

Rep. Paul Renner (R – Palm Coast) sponsored the bill, initially proposing to abolish Visit Florida. After massive protests from the tourism industry, supported by Gov. Rick Scott, the bill was changed for the continuance of Visit Florida but with a much reduced budget (down from $76 million to $25 million) and the imposition of very strict rules that in effect would stop Visit Florida competing against other U.S. states or foreign countries.

You can read the rest of the column HERE

Lodging Leaders Podcast.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a podcast called Lodging Leaders with Jonathan Albano.

Lodging Leaders brings together the best and brightest minds of the hotel industry to share their stories, insights and actionable advice. Each week, LodgingMetrics.com founder and entrepreneur Jon Albano interviews inspiring hoteliers and leading industry professionals that have produced amazing results.

You can hear the full interview HERE

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes HERE or on Stitcher HERE.

Daily News Column: Social media can’t be downplayed as an influence on tourism

This article was published in the Northwest Florida Daily News on Sunday, March 11, 2017.

When you go on vacation, how do you get advice on where to go, stay and what to do? Do you visit a travel agent or look at ads in magazines or on television? It appears (surprise, surprise!) that the way we get that information is changing.

I’m a picture taker. I hesitate to say photographer, but I’ve been taking photos since I was 7. I’m not sure if I travel to take photos, or take photos because I’m a traveler. Instead of joining a photography club, I’m on a number of online forums that seem to have taken their place, and I’m amazed at the number of posts that start off “I’m going on vacation, can anyone tell me where to go and what to see?” They’re not just asking about photographic opportunities, but looking for wider suggestions, and from people who are neither friends nor, apparently, experts.

To read the rest of the article Click Here

Talking Tourism : Defunding Visit Florida

This article appeared in The Northwest Florida Daily News Talking Tourism Column on Sunday, February 26.

There is trouble in Tallahassee. Some lawmakers wish to defund and close Visit Florida, the state’s Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) and tourism promoter. There are a large number of people who are opposed to this — to be honest, the whole of the tourism industry. I don’t wish to be political, but you know I’m unashamedly pro-tourism, and I thought you may like to know what the two sides are presenting.

In one corner is Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, who feels that state tourism neither works nor is necessary. Not only is Corcoran proposing to defund Visit Florida, he’s proposing that local DMOs also be wound up. The argument is that tourists came before the state started marketing, and will continue to come regardless.
Opposing is the tourism industry — hoteliers, restaurants, theme parks, charter boat captains, attractions, guides, housekeepers, waiters and waitresses, taxi and Uber drivers — and anyone who does business with the tourism industry (in total, there are 1.4 million tourism job holders in Florida). This group believes that in the competitive tourism marketplace today (where Florida not only competes with New York, California and other states, but with the countries of the Caribbean, Europe, Australasia, the Middle East, India, Asia and South America) a public/private funding partnership is essential for continued growth and, indeed, just to maintain position.

To read the remainder of the article CLICK HERE

Northwest Florida Daily News Talking Tourism Column: New Orleans

We just spent a long weekend in New Orleans, which is one of my favorite cities. It’s totally unique. I was first introduced to NOLA in 1972 as a young travel agent on a U.S. tour (seven cities in 10 days!). Being taken to Bourbon Street as a 20-year-old was quite an eye-opener. Luckily my wife lived in New Orleans for quite awhile and really is “local,” so we’re not exactly tourists when we visit at least four times a year.

The city is a real case study for tourism, joining an historic center with a mix of cultures plus being a living, thriving business hub. It has nearly year-round tourism, although the local businesses are only too aware when they have fewer tourists. The Crescent City is known world over for Mardi Gras (or Carnival, as the locals term it) which is both a blessing and a curse as it attracts enormous numbers of tourists. Those tourists tend to consider partying an Olympic sport, which adds a whole new level to tourist management. Natural events like Hurricane Katrina also have put an added strain on the city, and its recovery from a tourism point of view has been nothing short of remarkable.
The great thing about NOLA ………

To read the complete column CLICK HERE

February’s Newsletter

This newsletter was sent to our mailing list earlier this month and many have asked that it be posted here on the website. To sign up for the newsletter, please enter your email in the box over on the right. No spam, I promise!

This month’s newsletter is unashamedly aimed at my tourism colleagues in Florida. I’m not usually given to being political (This is not political on party lines) but recent proposals to discontinue State support for Visit Florida and local Destination Marketing Organizations is a major concern for anyone even remotely connected to the industry.

The proposals, by Speaker of the Florida House, go further than removing funding from Visit Florida but wish to dismantle and abolish the organization totally.

For those of you in other US States, and indeed in other countries, you should be aware of this issue as it could be coming to your area too. Many politicians, world wide, fail to recognize the benefits of tourism to both their economies and to the benefit of mankind generally. Not only does travel “broaden the mind” but tourism promotes understanding of cultures and enables peoples to just get on with each other.

But back to Florida.

In 2015 Florida welcomed 106.6 million out of state and international visitors. The international travelers came from 190 different countries. This means that one in five international visitors to the whole USA come to Florida.

Those visitor’s sending supported 1.4 million jobs in the state and every 76 visitors supports 1 job. They spent an average of $300 million per day in 2015 – a total of $108.8 billion, which in turn generated $11.3 billion in sales tax.

We have had six straight years of record tourism spending.

For every $1 that the state of Florida invests in tourism, $3.20 in tax revenue is generated. That’s a 320% return on investment. Where else could you legally generate that sort of return?

If the proposals to defund Visit Florida go ahead, then tourism figures will suffer. Just a 5% drop in visitors would mean a loss of $5.5 billion in revenue, $563 million in taxes and a loss of 70,000 jobs.

Local fishing and tourist related industries (which is virtually every business in Northwest Florida – Remember the effects of the Oil Spill?) would all suffer. The Destin fishing fleet alone brings in $173 million in after value dollars to Okaloosa and Walton counties and the city of Destin. 90% of those dollars come from out of state tourists.

Colorado tried this and they lost 40% of their leisure traveler market over three years and revenues declined by $134 million.

Without the state and local taxes generated by tourism, each Florida household would have to pay $1,535 just to maintain the current level of government services.

We would also have to have State Income Tax, which we avoid currently. Tourists pay over 24% of sales tax, which is the sole reason we don’t have a state income tax.

Please look at the infographic

Other states have tried to cut tourism marketing.

Pennsylvania cut their budget in 2009 from $30 million to $7 million. Every $1 cut from the tourism budget cost $3.60 in lost tax revenue. From 2009 to 2014 Pennsylvania lost more than $600 million.
Washington State cut their budget from $7 million to $0 in 2011. Their competing state, Montana grew their tourists 70% faster than Washington.
Colorado cut their $12 million budget to $0 in 1993 and lost $1.4 billion in traveler spending within one year. Tax receipts declined by $134 million from ’93 to ’97. 18 years later Colorado still hasn’t recovered their market share.

Increasing the tourism budget has increased travel spending in many states, for example –

California increased their budget $50.1 million and travel spending increased $32.4 billion.
Florida increased the budget $43.3 million and travel spending increased $30 billion.
Minnesota increased their budget $10.5 million and travel spending increased $3.5 billion.
New Mexico increased budget $4.6 million and travel spending increased $933 million.

(Figures from Roger Dow, Head of U.S. travel)
It is essential that the tourism industry in Florida – all members and all levels – get behind the action to save Visit Florida and indeed all the Destination Marketing Organizations. Failure to do so will result in critical loss of jobs, drastic loss of tax revenue, and severe hardship for tax payers in the State.

To cut funding to Visit Florida and other DMOs is bordering on insanity. No business person in their right mind would take this sort of action.

As a consultant to the tourism industry my advice – given free, gratis and for nothing – is to resist this move strenuously.

Daily News ‘Talking Tourism’ column. Digital is essential, but tourists still want human interaction.

Did you know that just 14 percent of Snapchat users are over 35 years old, where as half of Facebook users are over 35? If you asked what Snapchat is, then I guess you must be nearly as old as I am. The thing is that in tourism the digital world is where everything is happening. It’s been that way for a while and digital, particularly mobile devices, are leading the way. Google has seen a 50 percent increase in travel-related searches over the past year on smartphones — not tablets and laptops, but smartphones.

The younger travelers, millennials and centennials are committed to their phones and their influence on old travelers is very strong. Parents and grandparents are going to the youngsters for advice and research. These groups also love images and video. Instagram is the favorite social media channel for 33 percent of U.S. teenagers compared with only 14 percent for Facebook. YouTube reaches more people between the ages of 18 to 49 than any network TV or cable provider. YouTube reports that interest in travel-related video is up 60 percent in the last couple of years.
What does this mean for tourism?……

To read the rest of the article, click HERE