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Visit Vallejo reports modest lodging growth, urges action on short-term rental compliance
Summary
Visit Vallejo CEO Kirk Smith told commissioners that 2025 hotel occupancy finished at about 49.8% (roughly +2% year over year), noted short-term rentals undercollecting taxes, and outlined a strategy of targeted advertising, sponsorships and event promotion to grow visitation.
Kirk Smith, chief executive of Visit Vallejo, presented a quarterly update to the Economic Development Commission that outlined tourism performance, marketing activities and priorities for 2026.
"Hotel occupancy finished the calendar year at 49.8% — so just under 50% — but that's slightly up from the previous year of about 2%," Smith said, noting the sector faces pricing pressure with average daily rates and revenue per available room dipping.
Smith said Visit Vallejo distributed a new visitor guide and is pursuing translation to Spanish (estimated cost about $5,000). He said Visit Vallejo’s primary funding comes from the visitor-business improvement district (VBID) assessment, and that enforcement gaps allow short-term rentals (Airbnb/VRBO) to avoid contributing fairly to the general fund and business licensing.
"On any given month, there's hundreds of Airbnbs, VRBOs available in Vallejo, and they are not contributing to the general fund. They're not paying business licenses," Smith said, urging short-term rental compliance and an ordinance update as part of revenue strategy.
He described a shift in Visit Vallejo’s revenue model away from low-value partner dues toward larger sponsorships and the recent VBID assessment increase (new schedule implemented in January 2026); Visit Vallejo reported a 15% revenue uptick in February after the assessment change and estimates roughly $50,000 in incremental tourism-marketing funds across the year.
Commission discussion focused on what drives occupancy and revenue; Smith attributed much of the variability to supply-and-demand dynamics and event-driven weekend demand (BottleRock, Fleet Week, regional festivals) and said Visit Vallejo plans targeted advertising in feeder markets to improve mid-week and off-season performance.
The commission did not take a formal vote on Visit Vallejo’s recommendations but discussed coordination on short-term rental policy and data collection from local hotels to better understand visitor origins.
