Guidelines & FAQs Best in Destin

The much anticipated annual BEST IN DESTIN ballot has arrived. Make your voices heard and cast your votes for your favorites in our extensive list of categories. VIP Destin Magazine is proud to be the vehicle to bring you the 2024 BEST IN DESTIN.  The contest is a Two-phase ballot with the first round as nominations on Oct 9-26, 2023, with the top ten most nominated businesses moving on to the voting phase on Nov 13 to Dec 3, 2023.

The Destin area is overflowing with options to fulfill anyone’s desires for Services, Cocktails & Cuisine, Retail, Entertainment, Health & Wellness, and Wedding/Bridal Services. Only you know which ones are the Best so please give your favorite businesses the recognition they deserve.

All voting is done via the online ballot. No mail-ins will be accepted. The top ten nominees in each category will move on to the voting ballot. Any nominee must be in good standing with VIP Destin Magazine to be promoted as the winner. VIP Destin Magazine reviews and revises categories each year based on input from our readers.

Winners receive the honor of being named the BEST IN DESTIN and are listed in VIP Destin Magazine as the reader’s choice for their respective categories in the February 2024 issue. Winners are provided use of the BEST IN DESTIN logo for one year. Owners of winning businesses will receive invitations and will be celebrated at VIP Destin Magazine’s annual Black Tie Ball in March, 2024.

• Only one nomination/vote per category, per email address, per day is permitted
• Please vote in at least 20 categories when you cast your ballots
• Nominations begin October 9, 2023, and will end October 26, 2023, at 11:59pm
• Voting begins November 13, 2023, and ends December 3, 2023, at 11:59pm
• All write in nominations will be reviewed and approved by VIP Destin Magazine daily
• Winners of BEST IN DESTIN will be notified by December 31, 2023
• All BEST IN DESTIN winners are selected by the readers and not by VIP Destin Magazine
• You must register to vote with a valid email address. Once registered, you will be able to vote once daily per category
• For security and integrity purposes you may be required to submit your email daily as well. You will get an email with a secure link, click it and vote
• The practice of hiring outside vendors or bots to create votes will be monitored closely and may be subject to disqualification
• Categories you voted for previously will be listed at the bottom of the group list (showing you how many categories you have already voted for) to make it easier for you to vote again for your favorites, which will be displayed here, and you can see in the list how many you can still vote for in the same session
• * Rules may be subject to amendment as necessary to maintain ballot integrity

Click here to NOMINATE AND VOTE

Voting FAQs

There is a lot that goes into Best in Destin! Here are the answers to the most asked questions:

1. What is the Best in Destin?

The Best in Destin is a celebration of the best the area has to offer when it comes to businesses and organizations that make the Greater Destin area a better place to live.

2. How does VIP Destin Magazine determine Best in Destin winners?

You can nominate your favorites in dozens of categories through our online ballot. Nominations are accepted from October 9-26, 2023 as the FIRST part of the competition.

The 10 businesses that get the most nominations in each category will advance to the SECOND part of the competition – the Final Voting Phase! Voting runs November 13 to December 3, 2023.

The top vote-getters will be the year’s Best in Destin winners.

3. Why are there two rounds?

The nomination round gives more businesses an opportunity to take advantage of the audience that Best in Destin brings.

4. How does the voting round work?

Voting is multiple choice. There are no write-ins accepted for the Final Voting Phase in November.

5. When does voting begin and end?

Final voting starts Tuesday, November 13 and ends Sunday, December 3, 2023.

6. How many times can I nominate or vote for a business?

One nomination or vote per category, per day from an email address is allowed.

7. Do businesses have to pay to get on the ballot?

No way! It is 100% free to participate. We do have options to give your business more exposure but purchasing advertising does not guarantee anything for the contest. If you are interested in getting your business logo on the ballot, you can email us at sales@vipdestin.com to request our media kit.

8. What happened to that one category from last year?

You sent us hundreds of notes during and after last year’s Best in Destin, and we used that feedback to create this year’s ballot. Some categories have been expanded, others have been tweaked for clarity, and a couple were put on the shelf. These changes refresh the ballot so it’s not the exact same, year after year. We did our best to consider the impact of these changes, but we’d like to hear from you if you have comments or suggestions for the next ballot. Please email those messages to info@vipdestin.com.

9. Do advertisers automatically win?

No! Best in Destin results are based on our reader voting. Some winners may be advertisers or later choose to be one but being an advertiser does not guarantee a win.

We work hard to maintain the integrity of this contest because it means so much to our community. We do NOT sell votes! Any business/nominee that is flagged for fraudulent activity may be removed from the ballot for the remainder of the campaign. No cheating!

10. How can I promote my business to get nominations?

Request our Best in Destin toolkit with flyers, graphics and marketing tips to help you spread the word. **These will be available once voting goes live.**

11. Where is the “submit” button? How do I know my nominations or votes counted?

There is no final “submit” button. Once you click the “Nominate” or “VOTE” button and enter your email address, your choice is recorded. No further action is needed.

12. I’m having trouble registering. What do I do?

When you start nominating in the first category of your choice, you will be asked to fill out the registration form. When you complete this step, you will be registered and you can continue casting your votes on the ballot.

If you have trouble with that process, we would suggest trying a different browser or device.

13. I don’t have time to fill out the whole ballot right now. Can I come back later and do more?

Sure! As long as you’ve already registered in that round and it’s before the deadline, you can pick up where you left off. When you return to the ballot on the same device, you should be automatically logged in and able to see your previous selections. If you aren’t logged in and you know that you’ve already registered in that round, click the “Already participated in this round…” link for further instructions.

14. Can I continue the process on another device?

Yes. When you return to the ballot on a different device, click the “Already participated in this round…” link for further instructions.

15. Why do I have to make an account?

Our ballot software requires that users create an account to track your selections. This helps us guard against fraudulent voting and allows you to revisit your ballot before deadline to make changes and additional nominations. Don’t worry, there is no password needed.

16. Why do I have to vote in 10 categories?

This helps ensure that the playing field is fair and the results will be accurate.

16. How do I find out who the winners are?

Winners will be announced in our February issue of VIP Destin Magazine. We will attempt to contact all winners beforehand to notify them personally of their win.

Click here to NOMINATE AND VOTE

The mechanics of BEST IN DESTIN online voting is driven through UPICKEM, which is copyrighted. Copying or unauthorized use of any copyrighted materials, trademarks or any other intellectual property without express consent of owner is strictly prohibited.