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Santa Clara renews Tourism Improvement District and retains Discover Santa Clara to market the city
Summary
Council approved a five‑year renewal of the city’s Tourism Improvement District (TID), preserving the existing 2% assessment collected by hotels and authorizing Discover Santa Clara to continue administering the program; hotels voted unanimously to support renewal and the plan preserves a phased option to raise assessment up to 3% with hotel approval.
Santa Clara’s City Council on Wednesday approved a five‑year renewal of the Tourism Improvement District and authorized Discover Santa Clara to manage the district for another term.
Discover Santa Clara and hotel general managers told the council the renewal had broad industry support: steering‑committee members said 100% of assessed hotels signed in favor of renewal after staff and hoteliers negotiated the plan. The assessment remains at 2% of the hotel room charge; the management plan includes a mechanism that would allow a phased increase up to a 3% ceiling in half‑percent increments, but any increase would require approval both by the Discover board and a majority of assessed hotels before coming to council as part of the DMO’s annual report.
Christine Lawson, Discover Santa Clara’s CEO, said the organization plans to continue marketing to meetings and events and to coordinate with the hotels, the airport and local venues: “We have made meaningful momentum in Santa Clara in recent years and are positioned to keep building demand,” Lawson told the council.
No written protests were filed during the statutory protest period; the council adopted the resolution renewing the district and authorized the management agreement. Staff and hotel representatives said the renewed program will continue an annual reporting process to the council and noted the DMO budget and any future assessment adjustment would be reviewed in public as part of the annual report to the city.
