Agenda

Return

C. 10

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Date:	September 26, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Granting Consent to the City of Concord to Renew the Concord Tourism Improvement District

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 09/26/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor

ABSENT:

Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Lia Bristol, (925) 521-7100

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: September 26, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

1. ADOPT Resolution No. 2017/346, consenting to the renewal of the Concord Tourism Improvement District.

2. DIRECT the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of Resolution No. 2017/335 to the City Clerk of the City of Concord.

FISCAL IMPACT:

No impact to the General Fund.

BACKGROUND:

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

The Concord Tourism Improvement District (CTID) was formed in 2013 to market Concord’s participating hotels to business and leisure travelers. There are nine hotels in the CTID, including one hotel property (Crowne Plaza) located in Contra Costa County’s jurisdiction. The CTID is managed by Visit Concord, a seven member private, nonprofit board comprised of hotel operators, and Concord Chamber and City representatives. The initial CTID duration period is set to end on May 31, 2018.

The owners of seven hotels in the CTID, including the owner of the Crowne Plaza, have petitioned for renewal of the district. In response to the petition, on September 5, 2017, the Concord City Council adopted Resolution No. 17-66, declaring its intention to renew the CTID. The City Council also adopted Resolution No. 17-67, requesting the Board of Supervisors to consent to the renewal. Board consent is required because unincorporated territory is included within the CTID’s boundaries.

The CTID is a benefit assessment district that funds marketing and sales promotion efforts throughout the state to improve tourism and drive additional room nights. The renewed CTID includes all lodging businesses within its boundaries that have more than thirty (30) rooms. Hoteliers decided to pursue renewal of the CTID in order to maintain a revenue source devoted to marketing the CTID and Concord as a tourist, meeting and event destination. If renewed, the CTID is expected to generate approximately $1 million on an annual basis for promotion of travel and tourism specific to greater Concord. The CTID achieved the following in the past four years:

· Increased Visit Concord Tourism Improvement Assessment collection by 25%
· Average occupancy rate improved by 17%
· Average daily room rate improved by 19%
· Created Visit Concord brand awareness through community sponsorships of local organizations and activities including music festivals, community events, and local sports teams.
· Increased room night bookings by 85% for sports teams from 2015 to 2017 with promotion to regional and national sports tournaments;
· More than 1,000 rooms have been booked through Visit Concord programs and initiatives since the inception of the program.
· Promoted Concord lodging businesses as tourist meeting and event destinations by attending more than 50 local, regional and national trade shows.
· Purchased 8.5 million impressions and print advertisements with a circulation of 9,224,000, driving hotel bookings for the nine participating hotels in Concord.
· Over 10,000 social media followers currently drive website visits and increase awareness of Concord, an increase of 88% since August 2016.

The renewed CTID would collect a 3 percent assessment on all lodging businesses with more than thirty (30) rooms, existing and in the future, available for public occupancy within the boundaries of the CTID. The renewed CTID would have the same boundaries, assessment amount and number of room threshold. The renewed CTID would have a ten (10) year life.

A public hearing on the renewal of the CTID will be held on October 24, 2017, at 6:30 p.m., at the Concord City Council Chambers located at the Concord Civic Center, 1950 Parkside Drive, Concord, CA 94519. The City has advised that the Board’s consent to the renewal must be received prior to the public hearing.