DMO Profile: The Size and DNA of an Average DMO

DMAI recently released a new edition of one of its most requested research pieces, the DMO Organizational & Financial Profile Study.

A spin-off of the study is a snapshot of what the average DMO looks like based on a sample of 195 DMOs that participated.

A few tidbits from the one-page fact sheet:

• Average total tax on a hotel room (including hotel room tax, sales taxes, TIDs, etc.): 12.6%
• For destinations where a percentage of the city room tax is allocated to DMO funding, that average allocation is 47%
• The majority of DMOs (70%) are independent, not-for-profit organizations
• One-fifth of DMOs are government agencies
• Slightly fewer than half of DMOs are membership organizations
• The average DMO has 14 full-time and two regular part-time employees
• The vast majority (89%) receive hotel tax funding, averaging 79% of all revenue.
• In terms of private funding, 42% receive membership dues.
• DMOs spend almost half (47%) of their budget on sales and marketing efforts, with media advertising the top activity (18% of total expenses). The remainder is spent on personnel (41%) and administrative (12%).

Download the fact sheet

To learn more about the complete 2011 DMO Organizational & Financial Profile Study, go here.

Source: mydmai.destinationmarketing.org