About the HBCVB

Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau

The Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau is a non-profit 501(c)(6) corporation that promotes the city as the premier overnight beach destination in Orange County and Southern California. It provides free Visitor Guides, staffs a summer Visitor Information Center, supports a toll-free 24-hour recorded information, in addition to generating various advertising and public relations programs and numerous other promotional projects.

Affiliated Organizations

Downtown Huntington Beach Business Association
Huntington Beach Hotel/Motel Association
Huntington Beach Restaurant Association

Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau History

The Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau began as a joint venture between the City of Huntington Beach and the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce. It was charged to develop "an image that will position Huntington Beach in the marketplace as a viable destination for meetings and visitors, thereby enhancing and developing the economic fabric of the community."

The Bureau elected a founding Board of Directors and adopted By-laws on January 12, 1989. Founding Officers were:

President - Steve Bone, The Robert Mayer Corp.
President Elect - Bill Ellis, Huntington Shores Motel
Vice President - Skip Villerot, Heidi's Frogen Yozurt
Treasurer - Dale Dunn, Huntington Savings

The Founding Board also included: Klaus Goedecke, Auto Club of Southern California; Jack Kelly, August II; Lenny Lindborg, Lindborg Racquet Club; Don MacAllister, Huntington Beach City Council & Seevid; Frank Richmond, Francois' Restaurant; and Pat Rogers, Huntington Center. Ex-Officio members were Paul Cook, City of Huntington Beach and Joyce Riddell, Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Past Chairmen
Steve Bone
Bill Ellis
Dr. Peter Green
Dale Dunn
Terry Ashton
Roy Gonthier
Dale Dunn
Pat Rogers
John Gilbert
Steve Daniel
Margie Bunten
Brett Barnes
Cormac O'Modhrain
Ethen Thacher
Shirley Dettloff

Dates of Service
1/89 - 12/91
1/92 - 5/93
6/93 - 9/95
9/95 - 10/96
10/96 - 9/97
10/97 - 12/97
1/98 - 10/98
11/98 - 10/99
11/99 - 9/01
10/01 - 9/02
10/02 - 9/03
10/03 - 9/04
10/04 - 9/06
10/06 - 9/07
10/07 - present

Other Historical Highlights

10/27/89: The bureau receives its first grant from the City of Huntington Beach in the amount of $150,000.

11/1/89: The bureau moves into offices at 2100 Main St.

6/1/90: The bureau publishes its first Visitors Guide and positions the City as “Southern California's Coastal Playground.”

1/22/91: The bureau receives tax exempt status from the IRS.

10/3/92: The bureau organizes the City's first Sandcastle Festival contest that attracts 2,000 people.

6/27/93: The bureau kicks off the 8th annual Great American Race, a cross country rally of antique cars vying for a $250,000 purse.

2/7/95: The circulation of the 1995 Visitors Guide reaches 75,000.

3/31/95: The bureau moves to new offices at 101 Main St.

2/17/98: The circulation of the 1998 Visitors Guide reaches 100,000.

5/1/98: The bureau moves to new offices at 417 Main St.

10/99: The bureau launches its first website, www.hbvisit.com.

7/15/02: The Huntington Beach City Council approves a new Hotel/Motel Business Improvement District to fund the Bureau.

3/1/03: The bureau moves to new offices at 301 Main St.

10/4-5/03: The bureau organizes a new Sandcastle Festival contest that attracts 7,910 paid attendees.

3/1/04: The bureau launches a new database-driven website and Internet visitors quadruple to over 440,000 unique viewers within a year.

7/2/04 - 9/26/04: The bureau successfully tests a small visitor kiosk at the pier to provide visitor information; in all, 7,138 inquiries are resolved.

11/17/04: The Surf City USA™ name is filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; the www.surfcityusa.com URL is adopted.

1/4/05: The circulation of the 2005 Visitors Guide reaches 150,000.

6/30/05: Music legend Dean Torrence signs on as the official spokesperson.

2/16/06: The bureau obtains the first two registered trademarks for Surf City USA®.

5/15/06: The city dedicates one of 10 percent of hotel taxes to the bureau to promote Huntington Beach as the ultimate overnight destination.

12/30/06: The bureau's website, www.surfcityusa.com, surpasses one million visitors.

Contact Us

Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau
301 Main St., Ste. 208
Huntington Beach, California 92648-5171
Phone: 714-969-3492 or 800-729-6232
Fax: 714-969-5592
Email: info@surfcityusa.com

The Visitor Center offers personal assistance and a complete collection of literature about the Huntington Beach area, including magazines, maps and guides for Orange County and all of Southern California. The center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. Additional services are provided in a Pier Plaza Visitors Center kiosk open seven days a week from noon to 7 p.m. during the summer months.