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Visit Vancouver reports softer hotel demand, proposes doubling tourism-promotion fee
Summary
Visit Vancouver staff told the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee that year-to-date hotel performance is down and proposed raising the tourism promotion assessment (TPA) from $2 to $4 to double the organization's marketing budget amid state tourism budget cuts and shrinking cooperative programs.
Visit Vancouver marketing staff told the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee that year-to-date hotel occupancy, revenue per available room (RevPAR) and demand are down compared with 2024 and that the organization is proposing an increase to the tourism promotion assessment (TPA) it collects from $2 to $4 per hotel bill to expand its budget.
"The rectangle around that kind of shows some of the stats that, are highlighted, here locally," said Erica (Visit Vancouver marketing staff), summarizing hotel-performance charts that show occupancy off about 5%, RevPAR off about 6% and demand down roughly 5% in a recent 28‑day run. "If we're able to be successful, you can see, kind of where we stand in terms of our budget...we would double the TPA budget from about $1,300,000 to about $2,600,000 overnight."
The proposal comes as the state tourism office faces steep budget reductions, which staff said will reduce statewide advertising and cooperative programs that Visit Vancouver currently uses for real‑time campaigns and data services. "In 2025, are having to, pass a revised budget where they're gonna be really, really slowing down all of their advertising...for 2026, their budget's been cut at their knees," Erica said, adding that some statewide co‑op services Visit Vancouver relies on will probably stop.
Staff highlighted that new, targeted digital advertising has opened fly markets for Vancouver; Erica said a targeted incremental‑lift study showed that people who saw the destination's ads in certain one‑flight markets were "4 times more likely to come into the destination than if they didn't see our ads." Those prioritized fly markets include Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Dallas and Denver, while the top drive markets remain the Seattle–Tacoma area, Portland and Spokane.
Visit Vancouver also flagged potential reductions in “destination services” if funding tightens, naming printed travel magazines, mobile‑friendly passes and downtown walking maps as at‑risk services. "Those destination services...are the first things to go," Erica said.
The marketing staff also told the committee the organization's website is overdue for replacement; Erica said a new site is expected to cost about $100,000 and take roughly 10 months. She reported last year the site had about 2.5 million page views from roughly 914,000 users and said a more modern site is needed to sustain year‑round campaigns.
Next steps described by staff include outreach to local hotels for support of a TPA increase, continued market analysis of the new fly markets, and internal planning for how to maintain destination services if statewide co‑ops disappear. No formal vote or ordinance was taken by the committee at the meeting; the proposal remains a staff recommendation pending hotel outreach and any city approvals.
Why it matters: The committee distributes lodging‑tax funds to marketing and events; a TPA increase would directly raise Visit Vancouver's operating budget and could change how the destination markets to drive and fly visitors during a period of market volatility and state funding reductions.
