About Us
Learn about Visit West Hollywood.
What is a TBID?
A TBID, or Tourism Business Improvement District, is a unique funding model that allows destinations to designate funds specifically for destination marketing purposes, based on self-assessed hotel fees collected beyond the typical Transient Occupant Tax (TOT), or hotel bed tax. TBIDs can also be called Tourism (or Business) Improvement Districts (TID/BIDs) or Tourism Marketing Districts (TMDs), depending on the destination.Today, there are more than 130 TBIDs globally, and growing, but West Hollywood was the first!
Learn more about our TBID, and other West Hollywood Business Improvement Districts
Organization History
The West Hollywood City Council established the West Hollywood Business Improvement Area and the Hotel Marketing Benefit Zone to promote West Hollywood as a travel destination in 1989. While the business improvement district was one of the first in the area, other nearby cities had since formed similar organizations that began to vastly outspend West Hollywood in tourism marketing efforts.
Thus, in 2014, the city created the new West Hollywood Tourism Business Improvement District, funded by an increase in the hotel assessment, to address this imbalance and continue positioning the city as a top travel destination in Southern California and beyond. In a city of only 1.9 square miles, West Hollywood now has 20 hotels and an annual visitor economic impact that has grown to more than $1.83B USD in direct visitor spending.
Our Team
Tom Kiely – President & CEO
Jeff Morris – Chief Marketing Officer
Sean K – Chief Sales Officer
Vicki Heitland – Vice President, Administration
Jeanie Yom – Vice President, Business Development
Denis Zyuzin – Senior Director, Business Development
Maribel Munoz – Director, Administration
Eric Parker – Director, PR & Communications
Ashlea Tate Markazi – Manager, Brand Marketing
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Bill Karpiak, Chair
General Manager, Ramada Plaza West Hollywood
Sheldon Duncan, Chief Financial Officer
Senior Vice President, Marketing, Universal Studios Hollywood
Terry Buchholz, Secretary
General Manager, The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills
Rod Gruendyke, Past Chair
General Manager, Sunset Marquis Hotel & Villas
City Staff
Laura Biery, City of West Hollywood
Paolo Kespradit, City of West Hollywood
Board Members
Chris Bonbright, Principal, Avison Young
Gulla Jondsdottir, Principal, Atelier Gulla Jonsdottir
Brett Latteri, Owner, The Den on Sunset
Mark E. Lehman, Law Offices of Mark E. Lehman
Brandon McBain, Corporate Director of Sales, Springboard Hospitality
Robert Thomas, General Manager, The West Hollywood EDITION
Honorary Board Members
Laura Biery, Director of Economic Development, City of West Hollywood
Len Lanzi, President/CEO, West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
Jackie Rocco, City Manager, City of West Hollywood
History of West Hollywood
West Hollywood was founded in 1984 as the 84th city in Los Angeles County, but our community’s history stretches back hundreds of years. Read about our infamous and colorful past, from our origins in the railroads and burgeoning entertainment industry to our status as a cradle of rock ‘n’ roll and LGBTQ+ visibility.
In Memoriam
In December 2015, Visit West Hollywood’s President and CEO Brad Burlingame passed away, leaving an 18-year legacy on the organization, city of West Hollywood, and California tourism industry. A remarkable visionary, Burlingame served in leaderships roles on numerous boards and associations. Burlingame was past Board President of the Western Association of Convention & Visitors Bureau (now DMA West) and a committee member for Visit California. He served on the Board of Trustees for DMAI Foundation, in addition to serving as the California Travel Association Chair and helping to create the CalTravel PAC.
Burlingame’s groundbreaking strides in the industry did not go unnoticed, as he was an awardee of Travel and Tourism Marketing Association’s Anastasia K. Mann Leadership Award and CalTravel’s Norman F. Clark Tourism Champion of the Year, in his memory. In 2013, Burlingame was awarded DMA West’s Spirit of Leadership award, which has since been renamed the Brad Burlingame Award in his honor in 2016. Burlingame was also one of four industry leaders to be inducted into the 2016 Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) Hall of Fame, an honor given to individuals who have left a significant mark on the destination marketing industry. Visit West Hollywood continues to work and support its mission to market the City of West Hollywood as a top choice visitor destination.