How about Carlsbad as its own brand? It may happen soon.
Carlsbad merchants and area residents can both benefit from a planned Business Improvement District (BID) contemplated by lodging establishments within the city. Proceeds of the levy would be earmarked specifically for boosting tourism to the city. Only overnight hotel guests would pay the fee.
As planned, the 35 members of the city's lodging industry would vote to establish a new special assessment district. The hotel owners vote must reach a majority to activate the district along with an approval by the city council.
Plans call for hotels to tax their overnight guests a fee of one dollar per room per night. Estimates of the income that would be generated vary depending on the occupancy rate of area hotels and timeshare resorts that rent the units of owners who do not use their weekly interval. Informed projections by industry members and city staff have shown a range of income that could be from $800,000 to $1 million or more annually.
The revenue stream could help area merchants by increasing visitor traffic and boosting consumer spending from marketing campaigns highlighting the area. By establishing our own new district, and taxing visitors instead of residents, Carlsbad can control its own destiny in the lucrative tourism industry. Carlsbad can become a destination and a brand.
Marin County recently established a similar assessment district. A local hotelier and tourism official there, Bill Blackburn, estimated that for every dollar spent on hotel room nights, an additional three to five dollars flows into the surrounding community in retail, restaurants and the like.
If more visitors come, particularly when hotel occupancy is traditionally low, then ringing cash registers mean more tax dollars for the city treasury. The city could also benefit another way. With a new dedicated revenue source from the special taxing district, the convention and visitor's bureau would no longer be asking the city council for the approximately $400,000 it receives annually in city funding.
There's also a third benefit and, this one is to area residents.
Carlsbad expects to lose between $1.2 million and $1.5 million to Sacramento this coming fiscal year because of the ongoing state budget deficit according to city officials. When the state raids municipal piggy banks, local projects suffer like parks, libraries and pothole repairs. By not having to allocate funds to the convention and visitors bureau, the city can now keep that $400,000 and use it to benefit area residents and local projects.
If my business or household doesn't have the money to buy something, we don't pick on the little kid down the street taking his allowance. Why does the state continue to raid the coffers of local government for its wasteful deficit spending, regardless of their claim to have a balanced budget? It's not fair. It's not right. It needs to stop.
In order to keep our taxing district's house in order, it will have an independently elected board of directors, a sound business plan for how to effectively spend the tax dollars and, an annual audit.
The establishment of the district in Carlsbad mirrors similar activity around the state as other localities seek to promote their own area attractions.
Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Irvine, South Placer County and more than a handful of other local governments have recently established independent business improvement districts to fund tourism campaigns.
Tourism is the fourth largest industry within Carlsbad, behind professional, retail and manufacturing sectors according to the US Census Bureau. A healthy and growing visitor industry is important for the industry's membership, our city and our residents.
I hope you will support the efforts of the convention and vistors bureau, and your chamber, as we work to give Carlsbad a unique brand identity and a more prominent role in marketing ourselves to the visitor industry.
Carlsbad merchants and area residents can both benefit from a planned Business Improvement District (BID) contemplated by lodging establishments within the city. Proceeds of the levy would be earmarked specifically for boosting tourism to the city. Only overnight hotel guests would pay the fee.
As planned, the 35 members of the city's lodging industry would vote to establish a new special assessment district. The hotel owners vote must reach a majority to activate the district along with an approval by the city council.
Plans call for hotels to tax their overnight guests a fee of one dollar per room per night. Estimates of the income that would be generated vary depending on the occupancy rate of area hotels and timeshare resorts that rent the units of owners who do not use their weekly interval. Informed projections by industry members and city staff have shown a range of income that could be from $800,000 to $1 million or more annually.
The revenue stream could help area merchants by increasing visitor traffic and boosting consumer spending from marketing campaigns highlighting the area. By establishing our own new district, and taxing visitors instead of residents, Carlsbad can control its own destiny in the lucrative tourism industry. Carlsbad can become a destination and a brand.
Marin County recently established a similar assessment district. A local hotelier and tourism official there, Bill Blackburn, estimated that for every dollar spent on hotel room nights, an additional three to five dollars flows into the surrounding community in retail, restaurants and the like.
If more visitors come, particularly when hotel occupancy is traditionally low, then ringing cash registers mean more tax dollars for the city treasury. The city could also benefit another way. With a new dedicated revenue source from the special taxing district, the convention and visitor's bureau would no longer be asking the city council for the approximately $400,000 it receives annually in city funding.
There's also a third benefit and, this one is to area residents.
Carlsbad expects to lose between $1.2 million and $1.5 million to Sacramento this coming fiscal year because of the ongoing state budget deficit according to city officials. When the state raids municipal piggy banks, local projects suffer like parks, libraries and pothole repairs. By not having to allocate funds to the convention and visitors bureau, the city can now keep that $400,000 and use it to benefit area residents and local projects.
If my business or household doesn't have the money to buy something, we don't pick on the little kid down the street taking his allowance. Why does the state continue to raid the coffers of local government for its wasteful deficit spending, regardless of their claim to have a balanced budget? It's not fair. It's not right. It needs to stop.
In order to keep our taxing district's house in order, it will have an independently elected board of directors, a sound business plan for how to effectively spend the tax dollars and, an annual audit.
The establishment of the district in Carlsbad mirrors similar activity around the state as other localities seek to promote their own area attractions.
Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Irvine, South Placer County and more than a handful of other local governments have recently established independent business improvement districts to fund tourism campaigns.
Tourism is the fourth largest industry within Carlsbad, behind professional, retail and manufacturing sectors according to the US Census Bureau. A healthy and growing visitor industry is important for the industry's membership, our city and our residents.
I hope you will support the efforts of the convention and vistors bureau, and your chamber, as we work to give Carlsbad a unique brand identity and a more prominent role in marketing ourselves to the visitor industry.