RECAP: Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District, May 29, 2025
Relationship with Palm Springs Life renewed and improved social media stats but national drops in international tourism are reflected locally
The Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) convened in closed session on Thursday, May 29, 2025 to evaluate the performance of TBID Marketing Director Breanne Dusastre, followed by open session conducted to the tune of a snoring pug named Bayou. Vice Chair Ashton Ramsey took the gavel for the first time in the absence of Chair Rakesh Mehta. Board Member Maria Madrid was also absent, leaving the TBID with a three of five member quorum. The agenda for the meeting can be reviewed on the City website.
No report was made after the closed session, although the Brown Act requires an announcement, even if it’s just to state “no action was taken.” The TBID tends to be looser with maintaining proper meeting rules and order than the other City bodies. This was evidenced at the April 24 meeting at which grants and sponsorships were discussed. Chair Mehta made an executive decision to move an applicant between categories without a vote and presented a preselected list of sponsorships, without having the discussion announced by Dusastre in her introduction of the item. Overall, first-time Acting Chair Ramsey, occasionally prompted by Dusastre and City Manager Stone James, succeeded in creating a more welcoming atmosphere for board member participation.
Good news / bad news
Marketing Director Dusastre provided a good news / bad news report in which upswings in social media engagement were countered by a 7.5% decline in Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue. The TBID is funded by a 1.5% passthrough assessment on accommodations that is paid by the guests: 9% of the overall 10.5% tax goes to City coffers. Recent Council chatter at the strategic planning sessions in April points toward a possible move to increase TOT to 12% to match the assessment in Yucca Valley. Dusastre attributed the drop in TOT as being driven by a 12% decline in revenue from short-term rentals (STRs), which have also diminished in number to 360 as Susan Peplow later noted in public comment.
Dusastre provided an apolitical review of recent drops in international travel to California:
What we're seeing by way of trends and industry reporting-–we know from Visit California, they are projecting a 9% decline in international visitation through to the end of 2025, and most significantly is that drop from Canadian travelers we're seeing too. In response to that softened demand, Canadian airlines are reducing some of the air service right now, really focusing more on Europe. From what I've been reading, domestic air travel in the month of March was flat, and there's a lot to be said about the Easter holiday weekend shifting into April this year as opposed to March, and that causing a somewhat significant shift in leisure travel through those two months.
Unmentioned was the significant decline in Canadian travel since President Donald Trump took office, which has been widely reported and attributed in part to his political rhetoric.1
Dusastre also spoke to the adoption of the new grants contract discussed at the May 27 City Council meeting, and the spirit of collaboration created at a workshop for TBID event applicants on May 22, which covered marketing and promotion requirements as well as how to track accommodation stays generated by their programming. Additionally, addressing a theme in recent public comment, improved stakeholder engagement via a monthly email is planned.
Increased social media engagement can be credited to the hiring of Auregan Falp, owner of the aforementioned pug Bayou, and whose experience has led to active use of YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Instagram. Positive earned media coverage (i.e., news coverage achieved without payment) continues with articles in Travel and Leisure, the LA Times and Vogue driven in part by new hotels Reset and Wren and Vice Chair Ramsey’s Ramsey 29.
Public Comment
In TBID meetings, public comment is scheduled after the Marketing Director’s report.
First up was hotelier Veno Nathraj complimenting the new billboard on the 10 freeway. However, he bemoaned that increases in local accommodation usage have not kept pace with increases in Joshua Tree National Park visitation and blamed TBID for inadequate promotion.
Susan Peplow countered Nathraj’s claim of 3.2 million Park visitors, claiming it was closer to 2.9 million, which is correct per current National Park Service statistics. She also noted the STR count has dropped to 360. Peplow spoke positively about increases in social media engagement and stakeholder outreach via a newsletter, concluding her remarks with a pep talk,
Hopefully you all realize that my position with the TBID is to support the TBID and the mission behind it. I like the idea of the marketing fund staying separate, away from the general fund of the City. No offense to the City, but I like having our own marketing department. So with these movements and changes, that's what I've been looking for, and happy to support them. Thank you.
Blake Hodges echoed Peplow’s overall positive sentiment, while Britt Ron had not received the newsletter2 and felt the Visit 29 website fails to account for all of the regular non-TBID sponsored events taking place. She encouraged helping STR hosts stay informed about events and perhaps offering a printed newsletter that could be shared with guests.
Caitlin Gill, of Joshua Tree Astronomy Adventures, asked the TBID to review its grant guidelines for accuracy:
The goals of that program have changed from what they were in the past, and articulating those changes would be incredibly helpful to producers specifically reviewing the sphere of influence that TBID wants to support events in. There was an event that received TBID grant funding but is not technically within the geographic boundaries outlined by the guidelines that are presented to producers.
Gill was referring to the $20,000 granted to Vacation Races' Joshua Tree Half Marathon at the April 24th meeting, which was in violation of printed guidelines as the Joshua Tree is not in 29 Palms’ sphere of influence, a technical term that refers to areas in Wonder Valley and Desert Heights that may someday be annexed into the City. Additionally Gill, having spoken to Chair Rakesh Mehta, felt there was confusion about whether currently profitable events were eligible for funding, as a stated goal has been supporting events that may grow over time to sustainability.
Carlos Blandon repeated his concerns about blown trash from the Reset Hotel that he’d mentioned in City Council comments and Audrey Philpot reiterated the announcement of a grant being submitted to the Levitt Foundation to support a free concert series at the Freedom Plaza bandshell3, which was presented by Anna Stump to Council.
Palms Springs Life wins with The Guide, loses with hiking
Liz Utley, Media Sales and Business Development representative for Palm Springs Life, advocated for the renewal of advertising first purchased by TBID in June 2024. The $11,940 buy is for placement in The Guide, which features high desert cities and is inserted into the annual hardbound Palm Springs Life Desert Living which promotes the cities of the Coachella Valley. Per Utley, 25,000 copies of the hardbound Desert Living guide, including the insert, are distributed to 20,000 low desert accommodations while an additional 50,000 copies of the The Guide are distributed as a stand-alone throughout the Coachella Valley.
The Daily Guide e-newsletter received 40,211 opens over two distributions, with 2,660 click throughs to the Visit29 website in addition to click through on links to Twentynine Palms businesses.
No one opted to speak in public comment on this item and discussion was brief, with Acting Chair Ramsey commenting “I love their brand — I know it’s hitting the right target market” and Board Member Uyeda pointing out that he worked with local photographer Brandon Harmon on the shoots for The Guide, which led to further collaborations. Uyeda added:
I also really like this idea of mixing up the hardbound and creating some artifact mixed in with the distribution of the softbound. I think with digital, there's such a prevalence of media and content everywhere — so to have something that's creating a more substantial artifact, and particularly in communities like these, where people tend to have a sort of creative connection to place, I think that's really nice move.
The vote to approve was 3-0-2.
Utley met with less success with a new initiative titled 50 Hikes in Greater Palm Springs, a pocket-size publication with a $15,000 buy in covering print and digital placements with a limit of five participants.
Susan Peplow, Carlos Blandon and Veno Nathraj again spoke in public comment with sentiment against participating in the hiking publication. In Board questioning it was revealed that only three of the 50 promoted hikes originate in Twentynine Palms. Board Member Uyeda summed it up, “Too expensive, too diluted.” The vote was 3-0-2 to politely pass on the opportunity.
City Manager Report and Future Board Initiated Items
City Manager Stone James thanked accommodation owners for housing residents evacuated due to the investigation of the Palms Springs IVF bomber, reviewed the educational disaster preparation event that happened the same day at Freedom Plaza and reiterated the monsoon season warning given at City Council on May 27 — which came to pass with downtown flooding on Tuesday, June 3.
In Future Board-Initiated Items Acting Chair Ramsey signaled agreement with public comment on the need to clarify event grant and sponsorship guideline language, and it was agreed to add the item for future discussion.
June 12 TBID Meeting to focus on potential conversion to 1994 law
TBID meetings take place on a vaguely every other month schedule, usually on the third or occasionally last Thursday of the month. However, the next meeting is Thursday, June 12, at 3:30 pm in Council Chambers at City Hall “to talk about reauthorization and district conversion” per Acting Chair Ramsey.
As we discussed in our February 27 TBID recap, less than two years after near cancellation, the TBID is again attempting an upgrade to 1994 law.
Has the TBID as a body shown sufficient self awareness and reflection to justify the trust of accommodation stakeholders to become an independent 501(c)6 and operate with less City Council oversight? If the aforementioned newsletter hasn’t been sent, will stakeholders receive sufficient notice about this off-calendar meeting, in which a controversial conversion to the 1994 law will be discussed?
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Rob Gilles and Jim Morris, Trump’s attacks on Canada’s economy and threats to make it the 51st state have infuriated Canadians, who are canceling trips to the U.S. in big numbers., PBS News, April 25, 2025, accessed June 6, 2025.
“put off by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, the insults he’s hurled at their homeland, and stories about American border agents searching people’s phones and detaining foreigners for minor reasons…Trump’s attacks on Canada’s economy and threats to make it the 51st state have infuriated Canadians, who are canceling trips to the U.S. in big numbers.”
Full disclosure: this reporter’s grandmother immigrated from Newfoundland, which was annexed into Canada in 1949.
Per one of the stakeholders, as of June 7, the newsletter still had not been sent.
This was originally published as the grant supporting improvements, correction made 6/10/2025.
Lots to cover...let's talk sphere of influence.
The TBID grant program specifically mentioned Wonder Valley and Desert Heights in its sphere of influence. Both areas, while technically unincorporated, are identified as "Twentynine Palms 92277" on OTA platforms (like Airbnb and Vrbo), other places like real estate listings (zillow, redfin) and mapping such as google maps.
To a traveler, Wonder Valley and Desert Heights are part of 29 Palms. And the crossover is real: visitors fuel up, dine, shop, and stay in 29 Palms. These areas rely on city services and contribute to city revenue through sales tax, gas tax, (and TOT when staying in City of 29 Palms lodging).
Conversely, including Joshua Tree in the grant program works against the core mission of TBID, which is to promote Twentynine Palms as a destination in its own right, not as an afterthought to Joshua Tree. JT has its own hotels, gas stations, services, and a large number of vacation rentals.
The grant program represents a major investment of $200,000 annually to support local events that attract visitors and, most importantly, encourage them to stay in Twentynine Palms. Unlike Joshua Tree, Wonder Valley and Desert Heights may have vacation rentals but lack hotels and city services.
The reality... when you attend an event in Joshua Tree, you look for a place to stay in Joshua Tree. That’s expected. But when an event lists its location as Twentynine Palms, whether it's actually in the City limits, Wonder Valley, or Desert Heights, it shows as Twentynine Palms, 92277. That carries weight. It speaks to perception and what really matters...the branding of Twentynine Palms and the mission of TBID to grow Visit29 as a unique destination all its own.
I appreciate the coverage on recent TBID updates. One important point is the June 12 TBID meeting will address a potential shift from the '89 law to the '94 law. That’s a major change in how the district operates and will eventually trigger a protest vote from stakeholders (lodging partners).
The meeting isn’t listed on the city calendar, likely due to the absence of a formal agenda, but without any direct outreach, it risks slipping by unnoticed, especially in light of the unusual schedule.
Director Dusastre noted a welcome letter and newsletter in her recent presentation. Now would be the time to follow through on that initiative. Lodging partners deserve to know this conversation is happening, and a fresh start on outreach couldn’t come at a better time.