Building the Clearwater Beach Collection: Nearly a Decade of Partnership, Marketing and Resilience
By Larry Bell | RealLarryBell.com | September 14, 2026
How Powered By Belltech and the Decade Group turned a long-term relationship into the Clearwater Beach Collection, connecting 13 websites, full-service digital marketing, creative promotions and years of working together through growth, hurricanes, COVID-19 and historic flooding.
Nearly a Decade Between These Photographs
This photograph was taken in 2017 at the grand opening of the Edge Hotel on Clearwater Beach.
Standing beside me is Natalie Moyles. That photograph represents an early chapter in a business relationship that Jeff Keierleber, Natalie and the Decade Group gave Powered By Belltech the opportunity to build with them.
Looking back today, I’m incredibly grateful for that opportunity—and even more grateful for the trust that followed.
Because trust isn’t established when somebody hires you to build a website.
It’s built over years of showing up, solving problems, sharing ideas, navigating difficult situations, taking chances together and celebrating successes together.
What grew from those early days became much more than a website project or a traditional agency-client relationship. Powered By Belltech and the Decade Group would go on to work together to create the Clearwater Beach Collection concept, website and digital strategy, connecting a growing collection of hotels, restaurants, bars, attractions and experiences under a larger destination brand.
Today, Powered By Belltech has built all 13 websites supporting the Collection and handles the online marketing across the portfolio.
Those numbers only tell part of the story.
We’ve celebrated grand openings and milestones. We’ve launched websites and advertising campaigns. We’ve watched properties grow and new ideas become reality.
We’ve also worked together through hurricanes, COVID-19, historic flooding from a 100-year storm and some of the most difficult conditions the hospitality industry has faced.
Through all of it, both teams kept working.
Nearly a decade later, we’re still building.
The Idea Behind the Clearwater Beach Collection
Clearwater Beach already had something incredibly valuable: great individual properties and experiences.
The opportunity was figuring out how to connect them.
A family booking a hotel also needs somewhere to eat. They may want something fun for the kids. They might be looking for waterfront dining, a rooftop drink at sunset, an attraction, an event venue or another experience during their stay.
Why should each of those relationships begin from zero?
That thinking helped lead to the creation of the Clearwater Beach Collection.
The strategy wasn’t to take established properties and erase their individual identities.
It was the opposite.
The idea was to make strong individual brands even stronger together.
Instead of treating every hotel, restaurant, bar and attraction as a separate digital island, we developed a strategy that could connect those experiences while allowing each property to maintain its own identity.
The Clearwater Beach Collection became a digital hub—a way for visitors to discover more of what these properties and the Clearwater Beach area have to offer.
For Powered By Belltech, this wasn’t simply about building another website.
It was about building an ecosystem.
13 Websites. One Connected Strategy.
Over the years, the scope of our relationship has grown considerably.
Powered By Belltech has now built all 13 websites supporting the Clearwater Beach Collection portfolio.
Each business has different customers, different goals and a different personality.
A rooftop bar shouldn’t be marketed exactly like a family waterpark.
A boutique hotel has different search behavior than a waterfront restaurant.
A restaurant needs a different conversion path than someone researching accommodations for an upcoming vacation.
But behind those individual identities can be a coordinated digital strategy.
That’s where the Collection becomes powerful.
Someone discovering one property can discover another. Search visibility can support the broader portfolio. Content can tell a larger Clearwater Beach story. Marketing opportunities can cross traditional property boundaries.
Most importantly, the relationship didn’t end when the websites launched.
We’ve continued developing, maintaining, promoting and adapting the digital presence behind these businesses.
The website isn’t the strategy. It’s one part of the strategy.
More Than Web Development
The Decade Group utilizes virtually the full range of Powered By Belltech’s digital marketing services.
Our work together includes website development, search engine optimization (SEO), Google Business Profile management, reputation management, social media, Google Ads, content development, photography and imagery, digital strategy and ongoing marketing support.
Powered By Belltech also manages the Google Ads side of the relationship through our Google Partner status, with members of our international team contributing to the work behind a digital portfolio of this size.
One of the lessons I’ve learned over the years is that none of these services should operate in isolation.
A Google ad can introduce someone to a property.
The website has to continue that conversation.
SEO can help someone discover the property organically.
A Google Business Profile may provide the first impression before that person ever visits the website.
Reviews influence whether they trust what they’re seeing.
Photography and imagery help them imagine themselves there.
Social media keeps the property in front of people.
Content gives search engines—and increasingly AI-powered discovery systems—more context about what a business actually offers.
When those pieces work together, digital marketing becomes something much bigger than a collection of individual services.
It becomes an ecosystem.
That’s what we’ve worked to build with the Decade Group.
Trust Is What Made the Partnership Possible
None of what we’ve built together happens without trust.
Jeff Keierleber and Natalie Moyles gave Powered By Belltech the opportunity to become more than a company they called when they needed a website.
They allowed us to bring ideas to the table, develop strategies, experiment, solve problems and become genuinely invested in the success of their properties.
I don’t take that opportunity lightly.
When someone trusts your company with one website, that’s a project.
When that relationship grows to 13 websites, a destination brand, Google Ads, SEO, social media, reputation management, Google Business Profiles, content, imagery, promotions and ongoing digital strategy, that’s something entirely different.
That’s a partnership.
And when that partnership continues year after year, through good times and difficult ones, trust becomes one of its most valuable assets.
So I want to say this clearly:
Thank you, Jeff and Natalie, for the opportunity and the trust you’ve placed in Powered By Belltech and our team.
A Partnership Tested by More Than Marketing
It’s easy to talk about partnership when everything is going well.
Nearly a decade in Florida hospitality gives you a different definition.
We’ve been through hurricanes together.
We worked through COVID-19 and the extraordinary disruption the pandemic created for hotels, restaurants, attractions, employees and travelers.
We’ve dealt with flooding from a 100-year storm.
We’ve watched operating conditions change quickly and then had to make sure the digital world changed with them.
When hours change, Google needs to be updated.
When a property temporarily closes, advertising needs to change.
When conditions improve, people need to know you’re open again.
Websites need accurate information. Social media needs communication. Advertising dollars need to move. Search information needs to remain current. Reviews still need responses.
These aren’t theoretical marketing exercises when people’s businesses, jobs and livelihoods are involved.
We didn’t just market together during the good years. We worked together through the hard ones.
And every time something knocked us down, both teams went back to work.
We adapted.
We solved problems.
We came back stronger.
That is one of the reasons this relationship means so much to me.
Sometimes Marketing Means Creating Something New
Our partnership has also given us opportunities to do things that don’t fit neatly into a traditional digital-marketing checklist.
One of my favorites is the Clearwater Beach Pirate Invasion, which Powered By Belltech puts on with the Decade Group as a Tampa Bay-area alternative during Gasparilla season.
Look at the photograph.
That’s not an SEO report.
It’s not a Google ad.
It’s not a website.
It’s a whole bunch of people dressed like pirates having a great time.
But that’s marketing too.
Marketing is ultimately about creating reasons for people to connect with a business, a place and one another.
Sometimes that happens through Google.
Sometimes it happens through a website.
And sometimes it happens because somebody has a crazy idea about getting a whole bunch of people together and dressing like pirates.
Jeff and Natalie have given our team opportunities to think creatively like that.
Those ideas happen because you have a relationship where people can throw ideas around, trust one another enough to try something different and then work together to make it happen.
That’s the kind of relationship every agency hopes to build.
The People Behind Powered By Belltech
There is another side of this story that I don’t want overlooked.
People frequently associate Powered By Belltech with me. I understand why.
But work at this scale doesn’t happen because of one person.
Ashish, Deeksha, Erika, Sameer and the rest of the Powered By Belltech team have all contributed in different ways to the work we do with the Clearwater Beach Collection and the Decade Group.
There are people working on websites, campaigns, content, search, social media, advertising, technology and all the little details most people will never see.
Those details matter.
This past summer, that team even included Zoë.
As her dad, having my daughter spend part of her summer working around the business gave her an opportunity to see something I’ve learned through years of doing this:
Success rarely comes from one person having one great idea.
It comes from people consistently doing their part, communicating, solving problems and caring about the final result.
The Other Half of the Partnership
Just as important are the people on the Decade Group side.
Powered By Belltech can build the website.
We can manage Google Ads.
We can improve search visibility, manage Google Business Profiles, work on reputation, create content, publish social media and help bring people through the digital front door.
But we can’t create the guest experience.
The hotel staff has to do that.
The restaurant staff has to do that.
Managers have to do it.
Housekeeping has to do it.
Food and beverage teams have to do it.
The people greeting families at the attractions have to do it.
That’s an important distinction when we talk about the recognition these properties have received.
Marketing can make a promise. Operations have to keep it.
That’s why the people working at these individual properties deserve so much credit for what has been accomplished.
A Partnership That Became Part of the Community
Our relationship has never existed entirely behind computer screens.
We’ve celebrated openings and ribbon cuttings.
We’ve participated in tourism and Chamber events.
We’ve supported local initiatives.
We’ve watched these properties become part of people’s Clearwater Beach memories.
That’s also where my different worlds frequently come together.
Through my involvement with organizations including the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce, I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside many of the same people who are helping shape tourism and business throughout our area.
I’ve also had the opportunity to know and work with Brian Lowack, President and CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, over the years, and today we also serve together through the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber Board of Directors.
I value relationships like that.
Business, tourism and community service aren’t separate worlds around here.
Frequently, the same people working to grow businesses are also sitting around tables trying to strengthen the community around them.
Then Other People Started Noticing
In 2025, properties within the Clearwater Beach Collection received significant recognition through Visit St. Pete-Clearwater’s People’s Choice Besties.
Jimmy’s Crow’s Nest won the People’s Choice Bestie Award for Best Rooftop Bar.
Edge Hotel finished second in the Boutique Hotel category.
Splash Harbour Waterpark finished second in Things to Do.
Natalie publicly thanked the teams behind the properties and described me as their “partner in website development and promotions.”
That description meant something to me.
Not vendor.
Not contractor.
Partner.
Because that’s exactly how I’ve come to think about this relationship.
And then both teams went back to work.
2026: Another Remarkable Year
The recognition continued in 2026.
Jimmy’s Crow’s Nest was voted the #1 Rooftop Bar.
Jimmy’s Fish House was voted the #1 Waterfront Restaurant.
Edge Hotel placed second for Best Boutique Hotel.
Splash Harbour placed second for Best Family Fun.
And Clearwater Beach was recognized as Best Local Beach.
Those are accomplishments worth celebrating.
But standing there that evening, I found myself thinking about much more than awards.
I thought about the Edge Hotel grand opening.
I thought about Jeff and Natalie.
I thought about the idea behind Clearwater Beach Collection.
I thought about the websites.
I thought about the campaigns.
I thought about the Pirate Invasion.
I thought about COVID.
I thought about hurricanes and floodwater.
I thought about the managers and employees at the properties.
And I thought about the Belltech team working behind the scenes.
That’s what I saw when everyone else was looking at the trophies.
What Proven Results Really Look Like
Marketing companies love the phrase “proven results.”
I think we should be willing to explain what that means.
Of course there are digital measurements.
We look at website traffic, conversions, search visibility, advertising performance, reviews, engagement and the other data that helps us understand what’s working and what needs to change.
But there are also results that don’t fit neatly into a dashboard.
Thirteen websites operating within a coordinated strategy.
A destination brand connecting multiple hospitality experiences.
A client relationship approaching a decade.
Properties repeatedly receiving recognition from the public.
New promotional concepts becoming real experiences.
Businesses recovering after enormous disruptions.
And perhaps most importantly:
A relationship strong enough that both organizations continue investing in what comes next.
Data matters.
Clicks matter.
Conversions matter.
Bookings matter.
But longevity matters. Trust matters. Resilience matters.
Nearly a Decade Between Two Photographs
There are nearly ten years between these two photographs.
The first represents an early chapter in a relationship.
The second represents another moment along a journey that is still being written.
Between them are 13 websites, thousands of marketing decisions, advertising campaigns, Google searches, reviews, photographs, social posts, meetings, phone calls and ideas.
There were hurricanes.
There was a pandemic.
There was historic flooding.
There were grand openings, ribbon cuttings, celebrations, community events and nights when a bunch of us dressed like pirates.
Technology changed.
Google changed.
Tourism changed.
People changed.
But the partnership continued.
And we kept building.
Great Partnerships Build Something That Lasts
I’m proud that Powered By Belltech helped create the Clearwater Beach Collection concept, website and digital strategy.
I’m proud that we’ve built all 13 websites and continue working across the digital marketing that supports them.
I’m proud of Ashish, Deeksha, Erika, Sameer, Zoë and the rest of the Powered By Belltech team who have contributed to that work.
But I also know that none of those opportunities happen unless someone is willing to trust you with them.
So I want to personally thank Jeff Keierleber and Natalie Moyles.
Thank you for the opportunities.
Thank you for trusting our team.
Thank you for listening to some of our crazy ideas.
Thank you for trusting us when things were going well—and perhaps even more importantly, when things weren’t.
And thank you to the managers, employees and entire Decade Group and Clearwater Beach Collection teams who have worked alongside us over the years.
Their teams are the ones delivering the experiences guests remember.
Our team has been fortunate enough to help tell that story, build the digital infrastructure around it and bring more people through the digital front door.
Nearly a decade later, we’re still working together.
Still coming up with ideas.
Still adapting.
Still solving problems.
And still building.
Great marketing can generate attention.
Great partnerships build something that lasts.
And we’re not finished.
Support local. Live local. Love local.
The story is about a 10-year documented history — not a permanent Level 9 identity.
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Aug 2026