Hotels in Anaheim near theme parks and the convention center will begin contributing funds to support affordable housing for hospitality workers, following a unanimous vote by the Anaheim City Council on Tuesday. The measure involves changes to the Anaheim Tourism and Improvement District (ATID), which collects a 2 percent assessment on hotel stays in addition to the city’s 15 percent hotel-stay tax.
The approved resolution and ordinance must still pass a second Council vote scheduled for December 9. If passed again, the changes would take effect in January, with funding directed toward affordable housing starting February 1.
ATID currently includes 93 hotels that fund tourism marketing and transportation improvements through self-assessment. Under the new plan, ATID’s rules will expand to include workforce housing as an area of funding. Nine percent of ATID assessments will be allocated to affordable housing for hospitality workers via the Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund, which was established in 2024 and formalized in May.
According to city projections, about $3 million per year will be dedicated to workforce housing beginning in February. The overall ATID revenue for 2025 is expected to reach $32 million; approximately $22 million is set aside for tourism marketing, while $7 million goes toward transit and transportation improvements. Administrative costs account for around $320,000. The allocation percentages for tourism marketing and improvements remain unchanged but will see adjusted balances as some funds are redirected toward workforce housing.
The trust fund currently holds $16 million—$15 million from Walt Disney Co., contributed earlier this year for affordable housing initiatives, and $1 million from federal sources. Nearly $10 million of this has been earmarked for building new affordable communities within Anaheim, which already hosts nearly 40 such communities with more than 4,000 apartments.
Affordable units are reserved for residents at or below Orange County’s median income of $136,600 for a family of four. Rent is typically set at about one-third of household income. The trust also supports first-time homebuyers earning up to $200,000 with loans up to $50,000 toward down payments and provides emergency rent assistance grants up to $5,000 per household facing eviction risk.
An ATID Housing Committee will be created to make recommendations on how workforce housing funds are distributed among building projects, rent assistance programs, and homebuyer support—all targeted specifically at employees working at Anaheim hotels and motels.
Other approved changes include expanding ATID boundaries to add the Viv Hotel along Anaheim Boulevard (increasing total participating hotels from 93 to 94) and incorporating timeshares built after these amendments into future assessments. Additional funds may also go toward special events, development studies, signage improvements within The Anaheim Resort district—which covers Disneyland Resort theme parks, hotels, restaurants, shops—and potential transit links between ARTIC (Anaheim’s train/bus hub) and visitor destinations.
“ATID replaced city funding of Visit Anaheim with hotelier funding via self-assessment,” according to city materials. “Visit Anaheim…serves as ATID operations manager.” Funds collected under ATID are considered public money restricted solely for designated uses; they cannot be used by the city outside those purposes.
A second City Council vote is required before these changes become final.
