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Councilmembers to Consider Revamped Tourism Marketing District
Not the best picture choice, for sure. But Coronado's Tourism Improvement District, in place for a year or so, contracts with the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau as their primary marketing partner. ConVis has been allocated 50% of the San Diego TMD funds since the TMD began operation in 2007/8. You can see a budget analysis for past TMD ops here (note that the new TMD plan is to assess every hotel w/30 or more rooms; it has been an assessment only on 70 or more rooms): http://docs.sandiego.gov/councilcomm_agendas_atta…— October 20, 2011 1:50 p.m.
Councilmembers to Consider Revamped Tourism Marketing District
OK. Sorry to have bothered your head.— October 19, 2011 10:39 p.m.
Councilmembers to Consider Revamped Tourism Marketing District
What you are bringing up is the actual black hole: the "administration" aka the "SDTMD Corporation." That would be the group of TMD hotleliers who make all of the decisions about use of the assessment money collected (who would be the members of this group, and how are they chosen?). The Plan says, "The SDTMD Corporation (“Corporation”) acts as the owners’ association...The Corporation’s Board of Directors is comprised exclusively of owners or owner’s representatives from lodging businesses within the District. Each year the Corporation receives and reviews numerous vendor applications for TMD funding." Which means that the Corporation decides who to whom to give the assessment money, such as "Holiday Bowl, Crew Classic, Wine & Food Festival, and Rock & Roll Marathon." To an assessed hotleier operating a 30-room motel near the Tijuana border, this may not be all that beneficial. So how does the Corporation Board spend the assessments collected? Examples: 1. Audits "The SDTMD Corporation will contract with an independent third-party to audit" 2. Administration: "3%* to 5%* including City Administration Costs" 3. City Administration Costs: "TBD – intended to recover actual costs only" ["TBD" is a scary and open-ended number in Paradise Plundered] 4. Contingency/Renewal: "3% to 5%" 5. "Administration shall be increased by $100,000, $150,000, $200,000 and $250,000 annually to be used to develop the ten-year Milestone Reports." It's worse than this. Read the whole Draft Plan.— October 19, 2011 6:08 p.m.
Councilmembers to Consider Revamped Tourism Marketing District
The topic isn't Unions. It's the TMD, and that's not temporomandibular disorder, unless you are a small hotel owner grinding your teeth over this.— October 19, 2011 5:49 p.m.
Councilmembers to Consider Revamped Tourism Marketing District
tedbohannon, You say, "As I understand it, the hotels themselves have to vote in favor of the TMD for it to be passed." By law, to go to a ballot and vote on this assessment district "requires submittal of petitions from lodging business owners representing more than 50% of the total annual assessment followed by a City Council hearing and a ballot procedure." So, you can see, that, from the outset, if the few largest or biggest revenue-generating hotel owners want this (say, just barely comprising >50% of the total proposed assessment), it will go to a ballot and will pass. Collection of the assessment will be imposed on all of the other hotel owners (comprising up to 49% of assessments), even if the actual number of small, "no"-voting hoteliers actually far outnumbers the number of big hoteliers. Assessment ballots are inherently undemocratic. A few powerful entities can force the many smaller entities to pay into the pot. And there is one more aspect: it is not obligatory to pass on the 2% assessment cost to the customer: "The amount of assessment, if passed on to a transient [customer], shall be separately stated from the amount of rent charged and any other applicable taxes, and each transient shall receive a receipt for payment from the business." The big guys can afford to offer some customers a deal,and not charge the 2%, when they want to, but the collective money pot for advertising their hotels will still be there. The little guys will not likely be able to afford anything similar, always needing to pass on the 2% charge to the customers. It's unfair.— October 19, 2011 3:41 p.m.
Councilmembers to Consider Revamped Tourism Marketing District
Here's the draft proposal: http://docs.sandiego.gov/councilcomm_agendas_atta… I think this is on shaky legal grounds, considering the California State Constitution. For example, the Assessment District plan says, as required by Article XIIID of the State Constitution, "State law requires that assessment funds be expended on a specific benefit conferred directly to the payees that is not provided to those not charged, and which does not exceed the reasonable cost to the City of conferring the benefit." The 2% assessment is the "reasonable cost to the City" to provide PR? How to calculate? The Plan says "Processes to identify and verify specific benefits to assessed businesses will be modeled on practices in use,..." Further: "The specific benefit the district will provide to assessed lodging businesses, and will not provide to those not charged, is incremental room night sales." Now it's "the district," not the City, providing/conferring the PR benefit. I guess district/City are legally interchangeable, but it is odd. Then, "The programs and services provided with the district funds will be designed specifically to drive room night sales at assessed lodging businesses. Only assessed lodging businesses will be featured in marketing materials, receive sales leads generated from district-funded activities, be featured in advertising campaigns, and benefit from other district-funded services. Those not assessed will not receive these and any other district-funded services." So, if you have 29 rooms or less, you will be delegated to a promotional black hole. Nothing the City ever does to promote tourism can refer to your hotel.— October 19, 2011 3:19 p.m.
Port Commissioner/Former City Councilman Scott Peters Announces Congressional Run
He is sort of a horses' arse.— October 17, 2011 5:54 p.m.
Port Commissioner/Former City Councilman Scott Peters Announces Congressional Run
Might I add, from the U-T: "In the announcement Monday, Peters touted his record as a port commissioner and city councilman in San Diego, where he supported small businesses and redevelopment projects such as the construction of PETCO Park." Not a winning beginning with most voters. And then: "as was the case when he unsuccessfully challenged City Attorney Michael Aguirre in 2008, Peters will be forced to answer questions about past votes, including a 2002 decision to underfund the city’s pension plan." Worse start! And did the U-T reporter ask any questions? Nope. But someone did comment: "now is a very good time to remember that when Scott Peters was President of the City Council, one of his first moves was to attempt to move the non-agenda public comments from the begining of city council meetings,... Which meant that public could wait all day, far into the night, and likely speak to council members who may or may not have elected to stay after all the Official "business" was concluded. That's the type of representation Peters has to offer. No sale." Well said.— October 17, 2011 1:12 p.m.
Port Commissioner/Former City Councilman Scott Peters Announces Congressional Run
Aargh. Eeeeh. Yeeech. That's as polite as I can get about this guy.— October 17, 2011 12:46 p.m.
Reaction to Gibson Guitar Raids
Support San Diego's Taylor Guitars http://www.taylorguitars.com/ No illegal logging: http://www.forestlegality.org/media-resources/blo…— October 13, 2011 6:21 p.m.