Committee debates hotel-incentive tiers, tasks ad hoc to consult Hollister and resubmit simplified draft

The Tourism Advisory Committee discussed the ad hoc’s draft hotel incentive program, focusing on whether the tiered investment thresholds and TOT-rebate percentages fit San Benito County’s market.

Committee members said the ad hoc’s draft used investment ranges the group considered appropriate for much larger markets; one committee member said, “I think the numbers are too high,” and recommended lowering the thresholds by a factor of five to 10. Ad hoc members said the tiered approach was intended to reward larger investments while still allowing incentives for renovations and additions.

The ad hoc explained its preference for using transient-occupancy-tax (TOT) rebates as the incentive driver. Ad hoc member Christian Pillsbury summarized that approach: when TOT rebates are used “we wanna make a very clear distinction between TOT that was already received by the county and TOT that was not currently received by the county because those hotels have not been built.” He said rebates would generally apply to new TOT above a historical baseline, and for new builds the baseline would be zero.

Committee members discussed whether renovations should trigger incentives and whether adding rooms should be handled differently than cosmetic upgrades. The ad hoc said they intended to include renovations but to set a monetary threshold so minor upgrades would not qualify. Members suggested explicitly spelling out that adding rooms would count toward incentive eligibility, and several members urged the ad hoc to lower the investment tiers and key-count thresholds to match local conditions.

Multiple committee members emphasized the need to consult the City of Hollister to calibrate numbers and avoid creating an unworkable program. One member said Hollister’s earlier program was a reasonable starting point and recommended staff consult the city manager and Hollister program materials.

Outcome: the committee did not adopt the draft; it directed the ad hoc to revise thresholds and simplify the program, to consult City of Hollister staff for relevant TOT/benchmark data, and to reconvene with a revised working draft. The ad hoc also recommended keeping a hospitality-priority area map to focus incentives in targeted parts of the county.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to acknowledge the certificate of posting: approved (unanimous). - Motion to approve Tourism Advisory Committee minutes for the 05/28/2025 committee meeting: approved (unanimous).

The committee added a future agenda item to explore shuttle transportation to Pinnacles National Park and directed staff to invite the Local Transportation Authority director to discuss funding and feasibility.