Episode 051 – Three Destinations, One Paradise Coast

Sandra Rios, PR and marketing manager for the Naples, Marco Island & Everglades CVB — a.k.a. Florida’s Paradise Coast — brings 25 years of hospitality experience (casinos, the Opal Collection, opening the Hard Rock guitar hotel) to a wide-ranging tour of Collier County’s three very different personalities. Naples is “unapologetically luxury”: quiet wealth, owner-owned boutiques on Fifth Avenue, global cuisine, and a wave of new high-end product like the Four Seasons Naples Beach Club, a JW, the boutique Carnelian, and Florida’s first Great Wolf Lodge. Twenty minutes south, Marco Island trades five-star for “beach chic” and laid-back tiki vibes, and Everglades City — population ~350 — is the authentic, stone-crabbing gateway to a UNESCO World Heritage national park.

Sandra also gets into the business side: sports tourism as a major economic driver (the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, FC Naples pro soccer, 64 pickleball courts and the US Open, plus three PGA/LPGA events), the destination’s hurricane resilience and the CVB’s role housing first responders, and a strategic pivot toward the drive market and domestic travelers amid economic uncertainty — including piggybacking on FIFA crowds in Miami. It’s a polished, energetic look at a destination working hard to show it’s more diverse than its luxury reputation suggests.

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ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Sandra Rios (LinkedIn)
Marketing and Content Manager
Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB (Destination Site)

Sandra Rios is the Public Relations and Marketing Manager for the Naples, Marco Island & Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau — Florida’s Paradise Coast — where she leads communications and integrated marketing for one of the state’s most diverse destinations. An accomplished, results-oriented communications and marketing executive, she brings roughly 25 years in hospitality across gaming, luxury resorts, and private membership clubs, including 15 years in the casino industry, a marketing and communications leadership role with the Opal Collection at the Longboat Key Club, and a spot on the opening team for the Seminole Hard Rock’s landmark Guitar Hotel.

Her expertise spans award-winning public relations campaigns, integrated marketing and brand positioning, e-commerce and social media strategy, content development, and targeted digital campaigns built to drive brand awareness and revenue. She has forged strategic partnerships with luxury retail brands, high-end culinary and celebrity events, and national sports affiliations, and her communications background covers corporate, investor, and consumer messaging, crisis communications, and media relations — paired with fiscal accountability for departmental and project budgets and oversight of outside agency resources. A collaborative leader who drives excellence by example, Sandra has served on the boards of the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB Marketing Committee, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and FRLA’s Broward Chapter, and been recognized as Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce Member of the Year (2017) and a member of the SRQ Women in Business Leadership Circle (2016).

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Three destinations, three vibes. Naples (serene, five-star luxury), Marco Island (“beach chic,” laid-back, JW Marriott with fire dancers on the beach), and Everglades City (authentic, eco-adventure, stone crab) — all in one CVB, which shapes how they market.
• “Unapologetically luxury” — but not flashy. Naples leans into quiet wealth: owner-owned boutiques and restaurants on Fifth Avenue, nothing cookie-cutter, plus a surge of new hotels (Four Seasons Naples Beach Club, JW, the boutique Carnelian with its private Sterlings club, AC Hotel).
• Family gap, filled. Great Wolf Lodge — the first in Florida — added family-friendly product to a market that skews high-end.
• Gateway to a national treasure. Everglades City is the front door to Everglades National Park, one of only 25 UNESCO World Heritage sites in North America, with 350+ bird species — a huge draw for European birding visitors and the new Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center.
• Sports tourism is a major economic engine. The Paradise Coast Sports Complex (now heading into phase three), pro soccer club FC Naples, 64 pickleball courts and the US Open (50 states, 53 countries, 55,000+ attendees), plus three PGA/LPGA tournaments and 90+ golf courses.
• Pivoting to the drive market. Amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty, marketing is shifting from summer international travel to domestic and in-state visitors — including targeting FIFA crowds in Miami with “it’s an easy hour-and-a-half drive” messaging.
• Closer than it looks. Naples to Miami/Fort Lauderdale is a straight, easy 90-minute shot — a fact most visitors don’t realize.
• September “Sizzle” dining supports a cause. During the slowest month, restaurants offer specially priced menus, with proceeds benefiting
• Blessings in a Backpack, which feeds local kids on weekends — now grown from one week to a full month.
• Pet-friendly angle. Keewaydin Island (boat-access only) is a dog-friendly beach, with a monthly “Bark Ark” boat — a nice hook for the growing pet-travel audience..