Palo Alto Withdraws From Regional Tourism Partnership: Report

PALO ALTO, CA — At the urging of local hotels, the City of Palo Alto has withdrawn from a regional tourism bureau partnership , Palo Alto Weekly reports.

The City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 27 to pull out of the San Mateo County Silicon Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, the report said.

A group of local hotel owners cited a precipitous decline in revenues in its request that the city pull out of the marketing partnership, the report said.

The city has seen 11 hotels close permanently and an 80 percent decline in occupancy amid the pandemic according to the report.

City officials said 75 percent of Palo Alto’s hotels asked that the city pull out of the partnership.

"If I were a hotel being asked to give any more than I could when only 10% of my beds are filled, I'd probably say no as well," Councilwoman Liz Kniss said according to the report.

"I think this is a terrible time for hotels. I don't know how most of them are staying in business at all at this point."

A manager of the Comfort Inn’s parent company, One Stop Integration, said the partnership wasn’t providing local hotels much value.

"We're all losing money," David Dworkin said according to the report.

"To continue to pay the (business improvement district) fees that are fixed, in many cases, is detrimental to the continued operation of all hotels with severe financial hardships."

Read more at Palo Alto Weekly