The Humboldt Lodging Alliance (HLA) is a 501c6 California nonprofit corporation and is the official owners' association for the Humboldt County lodging industry.

In 2012, a group of Humboldt County lodging owners passionately committed to our County’s future decided to proactively search for a way to strengthen the Humboldt County tourism industry without adding a new tax or financial burden in the cities or the County itself.

After working closely with local city and county officials, the group created one of California’s first “Tourism Business Improvement Districts” (TBID), and the Humboldt Lodging Alliance was born. The HLA TBID ultimately was renewed for 10 years from 2017-2027.

Unlike a traditional TOT assessment, the TBID acts as a self-imposed tax only on Humboldt County lodging property owners. It is important to note this TBID was established and voted on by Humboldt lodging owners county-wide, not through a public vote like a TOT assessment. The TBID calls for a 2% tax to be collected by local hotels with five or more units for three main funding priorities in Humboldt County:

1. Marketing outside Humboldt County,

2. Funding for events that can draw visitors from out of the county, especially in shoulder seasons

3. Capital Projects that have the ability to draw visitors from the county (like the Redwood Sky Walk at Sequoia Park Zoo).

HLA is comprised of eight jurisdictions within Humboldt County: Eureka, Arcata, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell, and the unincorporated county divided into County South, County North, and County East. Each of the Humboldt County jurisdictions are represented by board members elected every two years to represent these areas of the county. The number of directors is based on the size of each jurisdiction’s TBID revenues. View ByLaws, the management district plan and other agreements on humboldtlodgingalliance.org.

It is also important to note that HLA Bylaws and the Management District Plan (MDP) through the State of California, similar to other TBID”s throughout the state, offer stringent guidelines on how those funds can be used. In short, HLA funds are required to support only those activities that generate overnight stays to HLA member properties.