Rain Rock Hotel Casino Hotel, Yreka’s Newest Lodging
The hotel, with 72 guest rooms and eight “cottage suites” will be fully open in March, with weekend rates starting at $299 a night.
If you want to check out Yreka’s newest hotel accommodations, book a night or two at the Rain Rock Casino Hotel before the end of the month.
Rates are only $89 a night this month, but climb to $139 during the week and $299 on weekends once the hotel is fully open in March, according to the hotel’s online booking site. Hotel officials are planning a grand opening for the property adjoining the Rain Rock Casino on Feb. 28. The hotel boasts 72 guest rooms and eight “cottage suites.”
Rates for March 1 at the Holiday Inn Express in Yreka start at $118 a night, while the same stay at the Best Western Miner’s Inn in downtown Yreka is $112 a night, according to the booking sites operated by the hotels.
A new hotel property — with rates orbiting around $300 a night — will likely be welcome news to city leaders eying transit occupancy tax collections, otherwise known as hotel bed taxes.
The tax collections have been steady or declining the last several years. In fiscal year 2021-22, the city collected $1,264,820 in TOT, followed by $1,228,525 the next year and $1,094,011 in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Hotel rooms and vacation rental stays are levied a transient occupancy tax of 10 percent in Yreka, a rate City Manager Jason Ledbetter, has said should probably be revisited, possibly putting the rate in line with neighboring cities like Mt. Shasta, which has a TOT rate of 12 percent. Weed has a TOT rate of 10 percent. Ledbetter has hinted he may propose a 2% increase to the TOT rate in 2026 “to match what the rest of the local jurisdictions collect.”
The measure would require voter approval. TOT, generated from visitors rather than residents, is often seen by cities as a welcome slice of general fund revenue.
The Rain Rock Hotel, is of course, part of the Karuk Tribe, and operates as a Native American property. The city established Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the tribe, which splits a 10 percent “transient occupancy fee,” with 5 percent going to the city, and 5 percent staying with the tribe, explained Ledbetter.
Back at the Rain Rock Hotel, the property includes room amenities like a mini-refrigerator, microwave, Keurig coffee brewer and “Seattle's Best coffee pods,” and also has all of the other basics like hair-dryer, 55-inch smart TV, Internet access, and more. There’s a fitness center on the property, and hot-tubs. (Hotel officials did not return a request for commenting on whether there is also a swimming pool onsite. It is also unclear if a stay at the hotel includes a complimentary breakfast.)
The hotel and casino complex includes a restaurant, serving breakfast ranging from $16 to $23, with a la carte items like waffles, ($9), or biscuits and gravy ($6). The lunch menu includes a collection of sandwiches and burgers ($9 to $17), and other items like pot roast ($16) or fish and chips ($18). Dinner entrees range from Chicken Schnitzel ($21) to a ribeye steak ($48). Diners can also select from “lighter fare options” like a club sandwich ($16) or fried chicken ($17). The hotel does not offer room service, according to a front desk agent.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify the transient occupancy tax collection with the new Rain Rock Casino Hotel.
Did the tribe make an agreement to pay TOT to the city when the casino was established? Because otherwise it is trust land and so would normally be exempt from local taxes.