Visitors Guide Development

Leon County, Florida (“County”) is accepting proposals from qualified professional design/publishing firms to produce its annual Official Visitor Guide and Meeting Planner’s Guide, beginning with the 2027 and 2028 editions under the initial term of the contract, with subsequent annual editions to be produced during any approved renewal periods. The County intends to contract for a two (2) year period from the date of award with the option to renew for three (3) one (1) year terms.

Leon County Division of Tourism will work with a publishing partner to develop a new or existing model for the Visitor Guide to accomplish the goal of having a consumer-friendly printed piece. This is a top line comprehensive magazine that provides meaningful content about Tallahassee as a vacation destination and generates traffic to the website for a more detailed description of the destination’s attributes enabling Visit Tallahassee to track and quantify inquiry requests.

The Visitor Guides will be produced, printed and/or digitized and delivered at no cost to Leon County. The Meeting Planner’s guide will be produced and digitized at no cost to Leon County. Revenue must cover all costs associated with the project. Publisher must pay all vendor bills directly.

Project Details

• Reference ID: BC-2026-014
• Department: Procurement
• Department Head: Melanie Hooley (Purchasing Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-04-20T20:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Qualifications - Firm Qualifications (25 pts) —

  Shall consider the following criteria:

  1. Quantity, quality, technical ability and experience of the firm to handle the needs, size and scope of the Leon County project
  2. History of Previous Projects
  3. Experience with other travel/tourism clients
  4. Samples of Previous work
  5. Project Management process‐ This includes but is not limited to skills, abilities, expertise and availability of staff (including subcontractors) assigned to each study, along with processes, techniques, standards and software to manage project time lines, budgets, deliverables, etc.
• Qualifications - Key Staff Qualifications (25 pts) —

  Shall consider the following criteria:

  1. Quantity, quality, technical ability and experience of key staff to handle the scope of the Leon County project.
  2. Experience of Key Staff
     1. Number of years with this firm/all firms
     2. Experience with similar projects
     3. Education/Certifications/Designations/Awards
     4. Other relative experience
• Project Outline (30 pts) —

  Shall consider the following criteria:

  1. Recommended methodologies, sample sizes, sample composition, etc. including evaluation of proposed vendors’ rationale for processes.
  2. Suggested strategies to expand the impact of each of the guides.
• Agency Cost (15 pts) —

  The Proposer with the lowest cost will receive the maximum (X) points. Proposer's with a higher cost will receive fewer points, on a pro‐rata basis, using the formula below:

  (L / P) X (X)

  Where:

  L = Lowest cost proposed

  P = Proposer's cost

• Minority/Women Business Enterprise Utilization (10 pts) —

  To be eligible for evaluation, all MWBE Section Forms must be located in your response. The MWSBE Division will deem responses responsive to the MWBE Section of the solicitation if they include a completed MWBE Participation Plan that is eligible for points and/or Good Faith Effort documentation. Points for Minority/Women Business Enterprise Utilization will be awarded by the MWSBE Office as outlined below:

  

  If you are unable to meet the project specific goal for MBE and WBE participation, you must submit a Good Faith Effort Form documenting your efforts to identify MBE and WBE firms to participate in order for your response to remain responsive to this solicitation.

• MWBE Joint Venture (2 pts) —

  2 Additional Points are available for demonstrating Joint Venture, Partnership, or Association; Mentor-Protégé; or Apprenticeship/Externship on the MWBE Participation Plan Form. Response must be deemed responsive to the solicitation.

• Time Schedule (5 pts) —

  Shall consider the following criteria:

  1. Evaluation of proposed timing and deadlines for completion (tasks and individual guides).
• Interest and Differentiation (10 pts) —

  Shall consider the following criteria:

  1.  Innovation in thinking and approach outlined in proposal. Approach taken toward the task and thoroughness of response.
  2.  Rationale for maintaining versus changing what/how studies have historically been done.
  3.  What differentiates this firm from the competition.
• Local Preference (5 pts) —

  Points for Local Preference will be awarded as follows:

  1. Individuals or firms which have a home office located within Leon, Gadsden, Wakulla, or Jefferson County, and which have been certified by the Leon County Purchasing Division as a Local Business, as set forth in this RFP, shall be given a preference in the amount of five percent (five (5) points out of the 100 maximum points allowed); and
  2. Individuals or firms which do not have a home office located within Leon, Gadsden, Wakulla, or Jefferson County, and which have been certified by the Leon County Purchasing Division as a Local Business, as set forth in this RFP, shall be given a preference in the amount of three percent (three (3) points out of the 100 maximum points allowed); and
  3. All other individuals or firms shall be given zero (0) points for Local Preference.

  For the purposes of this section, "home office" shall mean a business's principal office or headquarters constituting the center for administration and policymaking.

Submission Requirements

• ACCEPTANCE OF COUNTY TERMS AND CONDITIONS (required) —

  Leon County objects to and shall not consider any additional terms or conditions submitted by a bidder, including any appearing in documents attached as part of a bidder’s response. In submitting its bid response, a bidder agrees that any additional terms or conditions, whether submitted intentionally or inadvertently, shall have no force or effect. Failure to comply with terms and conditions, including those specifying information that must be submitted with a bid response, shall be grounds for rejecting a bid response or placing a bidder in default.

• Company Information (required) —

  Provide company name as registered with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. 

• Taxpayer ID Number (required) —

  Provide the company's FEI/EIN Number.

• Drug-Free Workplace Certification (required) —

  Is the firm in compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace requirements set forth in Section 287.087, Florida Statutes?
  
  (A “No” response will not result in disqualification.)

• Scrutinized Company Certification (required) —

  As required by Section 287.135(5) Florida Statutes, I certify that the firm is not participating in a boycott of Israel, is not on the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in Sudan List or the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in the Iran Petroleum Energy Sector List, and it does not have business operations in Cuba or Syria.

• Insurance Certification (required) —

  Bidders’ attention is directed to the insurance requirements set forth in the Agreement contained in the "Attachments" section of this solicitation.   

  I certify that this firm has coverage in place at the required levels or, if awarded, coverage will be in place at the required levels. 

• Equal Opportunity (required) —

  The contractors and all subcontractors hereby agree to a commitment to the principles and practices of equal opportunity in employment and to comply with the letter and spirit of federal, state, and local laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, national region, sex, age, handicap, marital status, and political affiliation or belief.

• Qualifications (required) —

  All publishing companies submitting proposals for the Guides must have experience in consistently producing a high quality, “turn‐key” publications including, but not limited to: ad sales, design, research, composition, printing and distribution.

  Please confirm that your firm meets this requirement.

• Performance Bond (required) —

  A Performance Bond will be required for this project of the awarded proposer. Please confirm.

• Foreign Countries of Concern Affidavit (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Proposal Response Cover Sheet with Signature (required) —

  Please ensure the document has a manual signature.

• RFP Response - Firm's Executive Summary - Tab 1 (required) —

  Applicant is requested to provide the following information using the same numbering/lettering scheme as the format below as one PDF file:

  1. Firm name or Joint Venture, business address and office location, telephone number.
  2. If a joint venture, list participating firms and outline specific areas of responsibility (including administrative, technical, and financial) of each firm.
  3. Address of the office that is to perform the work.
  4. The age of the firm, brief history, and average number of employees over the past five years.
  5. Present size of firm, nature of services offered, and breakdown of staff by discipline.
  6. Provide the total number of professionals in your organization and the estimated number of professionals and working hours of these professionals, to be assigned to this project at peak.
• RFP Response - Firm's Qualifications and Experience - Tab 2 (required) —

  Applicant is requested to provide the following information using the same numbering/lettering scheme as the format below as one PDF file:

  1. The age of the firm, brief history, and average number of employees over the past five years.
  2. Present size of firm, nature of services offered, and breakdown of staff by discipline.
  3. A statement of qualifications and experience must be provided for the company as well as the names and special qualifications of staff that would be assigned to this project.
  4. Give brief resume/synopsis of key persons/sales staff to be assigned to the project including but, not limited to:
     1. Name & title
     2. Qualifications
     3. Experience
        1. Number years with this firm
        2. Number of years with other firms
        3. Experience with similar project
        4. Other relevant Experience
        5. Education/Certifications/Designations/Awards
     4. Other experience and qualifications that are relevant to this project Throughout the term of this contract it may become necessary for the company to make changes in key personnel. The County expects that key personnel listed in your response shall be the personnel who perform the services under any contract resulting from this RFP. However, should it be necessary to replace a listed person, it is the County’s expectation that the person will be replaced with an individual of equal or greater experience and ability. The Contractor shall submit resumes and/or make available for interview proposed substitute key personnel. The County reserves the right to approve or reject the proposed substitutions.
  5. Names, dates, descriptions, and number of previous projects that involved selling of advertisements. (List no more than 10 projects, nor projects which were completed more than five (5) years ago.)
  6. List five (5) current clients in descending order of size and indicate the number of years the company has worked for them.
  7. Provide names of any current travel/tourism clients and note if the work performed includes publications similar in scope to the Visitors Guide.
  8. Provide up to 3 samples of similar work.
• RFP Response - Project Outline/Approach/Schedule - Tab 3 (required) —

  Applicant is requested to provide the following information using the same numbering/lettering scheme as the format below as one PDF file:

  1. Describe in detail detail Publishing Company’s perception of the work required, including refinements of the description and tasks outlined herein which Publishing Company think are appropriate. Should your proposal include substantially different approaches from the Scope of Services and Project Specification sections, explain the reasoning and advantages behind your proposed project.
     1. Describe how you would approach this project, and outline the specific services to be provided.
     2. Describe clearly and concisely the tasks and activities that you will perform. Include a time/task schedule. Develop a chart showing the overall sequence of events and time frame for this project.
     3. Describe how the organizational structure will ensure orderly communications, distribution of information, effective coordination of activities, and accountability.
     4. Describe how the team will implement project control systems for time, budget, and quality for this project.
• RFP Response - Interest and Differentiation - Tab 4 (required) —

  Please describe why your company is interested in this project and what differentiates your firm from the competition.

• Additional Forms to Fill Out and Submit - Tab 5 (required) —

  Submit the items on the following list and any other items required by any section of this Invitation for Bids. The checklist is provided as a courtesy and may not be inclusive of all items required within this Invitation for Bids.

  Please see Attachments for all the necessary forms for the bidder to complete for this solicitation. Failure to complete or attach the necessary forms will result in the bidder being deemed nonresponsive.

  • Respondent and Team Summary Form (if required)
  • Affidavit Immigration Laws
  • Identical Tie Bid Statement
  • Non-Collusion Affidavit
  • Certification/Debarment Form
  • Local Vendor Certification (if applicable)
  • Employment Eligibility (E-Verify)
  • Affidavit In Compliance with Section 787.06(13), F.S. 
• CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY OR TRADE SECRET INFORMATION —

  If necessary, please upload a redacted copy of your submittal. 

• How will you accept proposals? (required)
• Pre-Bid Meeting? (required)
• Indemnification (required)
• Performance Bond? (required) —

  Is this project over $200,000?

• MWSBE (required)
• Certified MBE Participation Project Specific Goal (required) —

  If there is no goal, the form will ignore this field.

• Certified WBE Participation Project Specific Goal (required) —

  If there is no goal, the form will ignore this field.

• Insurance? (required)
• Integrated Scope of Services? (required) —

  Will the Scope be written within ProcureNow? (YES) or will you be attaching a completed Scope as an attachment? (NO)

• RFP Cost Proposal Type (required)
• Price Increase Language? (required)
• Access to Personal Identifying Information (required)