Short-term Rentals in the City Of Coachella Will Soon Join the GPSTBID!

The Greater Palm Springs Tourism Business Improvement District (GPSTBID) funds destination marketing, communications, sales, and other activities that grow tourism and increase visitors to the region.

The GPSTBID is managed by Visit Greater Palm Springs (VGPS), the official destination marketing organization of the Coachella Valley. The mission of VGPS is to positively affect the destination’s tourism economy and quality of life for its residents, serving the GPSTBID partners by providing sales, marketing, and public relations support targeting potential leisure travelers from around the world as well as event, meeting, and convention groups. In addition to destination sales and marketing, VGPS supports air service development, workforce development, consumer and group business research, visitor studies, and destination stewardship.

Starting July 1, 2025, short-term rental hosts in the City of Coachella will have access to marketing and promotion support including:

A property listing on visitgreaterpalmsprings.com, with 3 million active users a year, that links directly to your booking site
Opportunity to post special offers and deals promoted in year-round advertising campaigns
Insights on local market performance to help you make smart pricing decisions
Campaigns on popular platforms like Vrbo, directing more visitors to your listings
Opportunities to participate with media and influencers highlighting your home
Invitations to attend events and FAM participation
Opportunities to meet travel agents and tour operators representing international travelers
Resources for guest communications, listing best practices, and more to help your home stand out and get 5-star guest reviews

As part of the GPSTBID short-term

GPSTBID Benefits

STVR Targeted Marketing
Here are a few examples of marketing and promotions that GPSTBID properties benefited from in the last year:

Pool Floatie Persona: This summer campaign ran on Expedia's Vrbo platform, inviting visitors to choose their summer "pool floatie persona" and matching them with experiences and GPSTBID homes. The campaign generated over $17.5 million in bookings for GPSTBID properties.

What does your floatie say about you?

California LIVE: California Live television segment with host & influencer Dawn McCoy ran on NBC stations in the drive markets promoting vacation rentals. Segments ran in April on NBC in LA, San Francisco, San Diego. Over 1.5M impressions generated for GPSTBID properties.

Undertone: This was a digital marketing campaign on a rich media platform that serves full-page drop-down advertising units (“page grabbers”) across targeted sites, allowing users to interact within the unit and view content. This vacation rental dedicated program highlighted places to stay, activities, and vacation rental pools for the summer season. Campaign was live in May & June and generated over 4.3M impressions and over 72K clicks to our website highlighting GPSTBID properties.

Social Media Content: VGPS regularly highlights GPSTBID properties in it's social media content and works with influencers to include GPSTBID properties on their social channels.

5-Star Hosting Essentials Webinars
VGPS provides host education for GPSTBID properties, including guest communication templates and strategies for communicating important short-term rental rules and regulations while still providing an exceptional visitor experience and earning 5-star guest reviews.

One Coachella Valley
This local advocacy campaign aims to improve the perception of short-term rentals among residents by sharing the positive quality of life benefits and economic impacts of short-term rental visitors. The campaign includes digital, connected TV, social, and community event sponsorships.

One Coachella Valley STR

testimonial 4 One Coachella Valley testimonail Spanish

GPSTBID FAQs

What does being part of the GPSTBID mean for me as an STVR owner?
A tourism business improvement district is funded through an assessment of the businesses that are receiving a benefit. Short-term vacation rentals in the GPSTBID pay 1% of gross rental revenue on short-term stays of less than 28 days. Hotels pay 3% off gross rental revenue.

The assessment can be passed on to the guest, and it is not subject to transient occupancy tax. Most hosts will add it to their listings as a separate, non-taxable fee. The assessment will be paid to the City of Coachella each month on the same form or platform as your TOT.

*** If Airbnb pays you TOT for you, you will still be responsible for paying your 1% GPSTBID directly to the City of Coachella.

Why weren’t Coachella short-term rental included before now?
Visit Greater Palm Springs (VGPS) is the official tourism marketing agency for the Coachella Valley. Founded in May 1989 by a Joint Powers Authority comprising the cities of Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio, and the County of Riverside, VGPS was created as a public-private partnership to help grow the region’s tourism economy. The City of Coachella was not included as a member of the organization or in the GPSTBID assessment, first formed in 2009, because it did not have any hotels and short-term rentals were not taxed as they are today.

As the short-term rental industry has matured and is now a significant part of our regional tourism economy, it made sense for the City of Coachella to join VGPS and for short-term rentals in the city to be included in the GPSTBID.

How Do I Get Involved?

Sign up for regular Vacation Rental TBID partner email communications here.

To share images of your property for us to use on social media or other marketing, or to be considered for media stays, please email bob@visitgreaterps.com with images and a description of your property including any unique details.

With questions or feedback, please contact Davis Meyer at davis@visitgreaterps.com or call (760) 969-1360.

Log In to Your Account
Vacation rental property managers and owners will have online access to an account with Visit Greater Palm Springs starting July 1, 2025. Access allows you to update your profile, images and listing information, add special offers, and more. Use the link below to log in: 

LOG IN NOW

Additional FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What are the boundaries of the GPSTBID?

All lodging businesses with 50 rooms or more and vacation rentals located within the boundaries of the cities of Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio, as well as portions of the unincorporated area of Riverside County in the Coachella Valley. The boundary will extend to the City of Coachella starting July 1, 2025.
When do I begin paying the assessment?

Vacation rentals in the City of Coachella should begin assessing stays July 1, 2025 and later. Assessments for each month are due by the end of the following month to avoid penalties or late fees.
How is the assessment calculated?

The TBID assessment is calculated as 1% for short-term rentals and 3% for hotels with 50 rooms or more of gross rental revenue on stays of less than 28 days, remitted each month/quarter. Rental revenue includes all taxable, non-optional fees and charges paid by the guest for overnight occupancy.
How do I pay the assessment?

The GPSTBID assessment will be remitted by the City along with your TOT. An additional line for GPSTBID collection will be added to the forms or platforms you use to remit TOT.

Please note, if you use Airbnb for bookings, Airbnb will NOT remit the GPSTBID for you the way they remit TOT. You have a couple different options for collecting and remitting the TBID. Details and instructions for how to set up your account in Airbnb to collect the TBID, in addition to your TOT, are available on their website HERE.
What is the duration of the TBID Renewal?

The current GPSTBID has a 10-year life, beginning July 1, 2021 and ending June 30, 2031.
What is a Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID)?

A Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) is a collection of lodging properties that pay an assessment on individual room night stays. The assessment—a small fee usually paid by guests on their nightly bill—provides funding for destination marketing and development to grow visitation year-round and help the destination remain competitive worldwide.

Over 160 tourism improvement districts exist across the United States, with the majority being in California, including San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Big Bear Lake, Napa Valley, Huntington Beach, Oceanside and Temecula.

The Greater Palm Springs TBID helps us compete with these destinations and promote our many wonderful activities, events, attractions and unique places to stay to visitors around the world.
Why does Greater Palm Springs need a TBID?

The TBID provides a stable, long-term funding source to promote tourism, our region’s No. 1 industry. Increasing visitation and room night sales ultimately benefits our hotel/vacation rental businesses and helps grow the local economy. Unlike Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) collections, which can be used for a variety of purposes, TBID funds are protected for exclusive use by the destination marketing organization (in this case, Visit Greater Palm Springs). The Greater Palm Springs TBID represents about 80% of Visit Greater Palm Springs' total annual funding.
How do I add the TBID Assessment to my Airbnb or Vrbo listing?

For homes located in the City of Palm Springs, Click here to download a step-by-step guide on how to set up your TOT + TBID on Airbnb & VRBO.

For all other properties, click here for instructions from Airbnb.