Pleasanton’s hotel tax has sat at 8% since 1983. Measure HH asks voters whether overnight guests should pay more so the city can plug a structural budget gap without tapping residents’ property taxes.

What the measure would do

Measure HH would raise the city’s Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) in two steps: from 8% to 10% on July 1, 2027, then to 12% on July 1, 2028, according to the official ballot question and the city’s Measure HH page. The tax applies to guests staying 30 days or less in hotels, motels and similar short-term lodging — not to Pleasanton homeowners.

The ballot estimates $1.4 million to $2.8 million a year in additional general-fund revenue for police and fire, parks and streets, recreation and other city uses until voters repeal it. The city’s July news release projects about $2.8 million annually once the full 12% rate is in effect, based on current occupancy; the hotel-tax explainer page says roughly $1.4 million in the first year of the phase-in.

Why the council put it on the ballot

On July 7, 2026, the City Council voted unanimously to place the measure on the Nov. 3 general municipal election ballot. Staff framed it as a response to a structural operating deficit. The city says 8% is among the lowest TOT rates in Alameda County; neighboring cities charge between 10% and 14%. Councilmembers Eicher and Nibert were named to draft the council’s argument in favor.

The city says it met with hotel operators, compared rates across Alameda County, and ran a FlashVote community survey before landing on the two-step increase. Because Measure HH is a general tax, it needs only a simple majority (50% plus one), not the two-thirds bar that special parcel taxes face. Revenue is unrestricted general fund money — unlike Albany’s special parcel taxes on the same Nov. 3 ballot — so the council decides how to spend it each year.

What your vote means

  • Yes: Hotel guests pay 10% starting July 1, 2027, and 12% starting July 1, 2028; extra TOT revenue goes to the general fund for city services.
  • No: The TOT stays at 8%, and the city keeps looking for other ways to close the deficit.

Arguments and the city attorney’s impartial analysis appear in the Alameda County voter guide. Hotel guests, not residents, write the check — but residents decide whether the rate goes up.