Visitors bureau: Sonoma lodging occupancy and TOT rose in 2025; bureau seeks continued marketing and transit improvements

Tim Zahner, representing the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, told the council the bureau’s move to the Toscana Hotel visitor center has boosted traffic and that lodging indicators improved in 2025. "At the Toscana Hotel, visitor-center traffic is up 37%," Zahner said. He reported city lodging occupancy rose about 6.5% and noted the visitor-spending and public-revenue figures for Sonoma County cited were county totals for 2025.

Zahner also described the Tourism Improvement District (TID), an assessment district formed in 2012 that collects a 2% assessment on lodging on top of the city’s TOT; he said the city’s TOT is currently 13%, for a combined lodging tax or fee of about 15% inside city limits. The TID funds marketing, grants for events, meeting-sales efforts and programs intended to drive longer overnight stays.

Zahner cited calendar-year numbers, saying city transient-occupancy tax (TOT) in 2025 was $6,600,000, up about 15% from 2024. For Sonoma County he cited figures for 2025 visitor spending and state/local tax revenues. He said the bureau plans continued work on transportation improvements, pedestrian and bike connectivity and event promotion to sustain the visitor economy.

Council members asked clarifying questions about calendar-year versus fiscal-year reporting, staff capacity to carry out work-plan items, and historical context for possible transportation projects such as rail or shuttle service. The council took no immediate funding action at the meeting.