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Council accepts Hotel Business Improvement District annual report and sets hearing to continue assessment
Summary
The Half Moon Bay City Council on April 7 accepted the Hotel Business Improvement District (BID) 2025 annual report, adopted a resolution of intention to continue the $2-per-room assessment for fiscal year 2026–27, and set a public hearing for April 21, 2026. The action passed unanimously by roll call.
The Half Moon Bay City Council unanimously accepted the 2025 annual report for the Half Moon Bay Hotel Business Improvement District and directed staff to schedule a public hearing to continue the district's assessment for fiscal year 2026——7.
The chamber of commerce, which manages the BID, told the council the 2024 increase to a $2-per-room-per-night assessment is beginning to show results. Crystalin, the chamber's CEO, said the increased revenue allowed the chamber to convert two part-time contractors into a single full-time Visit Half Moon Bay coordinator, expanding group sales and visitor services. Council and chamber staff discussed the chamber's five-year marketing plan and visitor study; the chamber agreed to provide the strategic plan and annual report to city staff.
Why it matters: transient occupancy tax revenues fund a significant portion of the city's operations, and the BID is designed to support marketing and group sales efforts that drive overnight stays. Staff briefed the council that transient occupancy tax (TOT) performance recovered in 2025, with coastwide occupancy up and Half Moon Bay's occupancy noted in the presentation as roughly 60 percent.
What the council did: Council moved and approved three actions: accept the 2025 BID annual report, adopt a resolution of intention to continue the BID assessment for FY 2026——7, and direct the city clerk to set a public hearing on April 21, 2026. Roll-call votes recorded Brownstone, Nagenghast, Johnson and Vice Mayor Penrose as voting yes.
Chamber details and next steps: The chamber highlighted a mix of earned media placements and influencer visits as part of outreach, plans for a meeting-planner "fam" trip in May to attract midweek corporate business, and continued development of the visitor study and digital campaigns. The council requested the chamber's strategic plan to better evaluate marketing outcomes and how they affect hotel occupancy.
The public hearing on April 21 will allow hotel operators and the public to comment before the assessment is finalized.
