My thoughts on the Tiered CCFD Model: Mayor Matt, you can see, based on theoretical values alone, that there is a tremendous benefit from the CCFD improvements and General Fund Marketing, which directly benefit walkable-proximity hotels (table: per-property impact).
Why Should Council Re-Tier? 1. Assessments should correlate to measurable benefit – Powerful driver of competition within the tier to keep the foot on the gas pedal! (Sales, Marketing, Activations, and Repeatability) 2. Over-concentration increases volatility risk – Beat the Repeat Deficits 3. Those with the highest direct infrastructure benefit can bear the higher share. Ultimately, this will put the “drivers” in the driver's seat. Why now? Mega events create spikes, not foundations — which is why a repeatable demand strategy matters. The Three Pillars will encourage repeat behavior – stay tuned below.
We are modernizing allocation based on measurable benefit and long- term fiscal resilience
RE: Citywide Demand Generation Commitment = Revenue Resilience A council commitment to strategize, stabilize, and grow TOT receipts over time by diversifying the demand base beyond convention-driven downtown occupancy. A citywide strategy could leverage existing corridor activation partnerships and arts stakeholders already working across multiple districts A citywide strategy should include:
• Support for distributed event programming beyond the downtown core • Sports and weekend visitation strategies that activate corridor submarkets • Citywide marketing and itinerary development that benefits multiple hotel clusters • Targeted reinvestment in visitor-facing improvements that support demand citywide 2026 shouldn’t be a one-time sugar rush. Why did we raise taxes again? RE: Transparency, Annual Reporting, and Measurable Outcomes Layered as three tax buckets, General, Special, and CCFD Tax, we understand that the City Council must retain full discretion over budgeting decisions. However, the City's long-term credibility — and its ability to sustain voter trust — will depend on clear transparency and annual reporting that demonstrate outcomes. This would give powerful insight into week-to-week “activity”. Simply add a section to TOT Reporting to include prescribed periods for hotel statistics. Additionally, create a separate eTool to capture Demand, Distribution vs Investment and Expenses: Policing, Maintenance, Homeless response, Congestion Mitigation, Parking Management, etc. Protect Council from competing claims and ensure decisions remain evidence-based- Right now, different groups are saying: “Arts is the engine,” “Downtown is the engine,” “Team San José is the engine,” “Convention Center is the engine,” “Visitors fund essential services,” “This is a general fund measure.” Without reporting, Council has no way to answer: “What actually worked?”
TOT DEMAND ROI Dashboard:
Revenue
• Total TOT collected
• TOT trend (3-year)
• % variance vs forecast
Demand
• Citywide occupancy trend
• Room nights (citywide)
• Convention vs non-convention mix
Distribution
• Submarket occupancy performance
• Submarket TOT contribution estimate
Investment
• High-level allocation categories
• Major funded initiatives
Expenses:
• Policing
• Maintenance
• Homeless response
• Congestion Mitigation
• Parking Management
Outcomes
• Top 5 measurable outcomes
• Top 5 risks / headwinds
Best Regards,
Shyam “Sean“ Panchal
San José Hotel Owner-Operator
San Jose, California