Vallejo EDC recommends phased 50¢ increases to hotel BID to bolster Visit Vallejo funding

The Vallejo Economic Development Commission on Oct. 8 voted to recommend that City Council approve a two-step increase to the Vallejo Tourism Business Improvement District (BID) assessment: an additional 50¢ per occupied room night effective Jan. 1, 2026, and a further 50¢ per occupied room night effective Jan. 1, 2027.

Senior Community Development Analyst Annette Taylor and Kurt Smith, president and CEO of the Vallejo Convention & Visitors Bureau (legal name: Vallejo Convention and Business Bureau, doing business as Visit Vallejo), presented the proposal and background. Taylor outlined the BID’s history: the city established the BID in ordinance form in 2004 after a separate allocation of transient-occupancy-tax revenue to the CVB was reduced; a prior increase to $2/$1 (large/small hotels) was approved by council in 2007. Kurt Smith told commissioners the current assessment produced roughly $293,223 in revenue for fiscal 2024–25. The phased 50¢ increase is estimated to generate about $57,000 in incremental revenue for FY2025–26 (six months of assessment revenue, assuming a 1/1/2026 effective date) and a full-year incremental estimate of a little more than $114,000 if both steps go into effect.

Commissioners debated whether the proposed increase was large enough and discussed hotel pricing and competition in the regional market. Commissioner Harrell said he would not recommend the proposal to council, arguing the increase was too small to keep pace with costs; others urged that even a modest increase could help stabilize Visit Vallejo while it rebuilds capacity. Annette Taylor and Mr. Smith explained that hoteliers themselves had been consulted and that the phased 50¢ approach reflected a compromise hoteliers supported at stakeholder meetings to limit the risk of formal protests under the assessment process.

Commissioner Gonzalez moved to recommend the phased increase to City Council and suggested the commission also ask the council to consider an inflation-indexed mechanism for future adjustments; the amendment was discussed and the motion with staff-captured amendment was seconded and approved on a roll-call vote. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to City Council at its Oct. 14 meeting; staff noted the council will make the formal decision and ballots and protest rights are part of the statutory assessment process.