Hope for the dropped Orange hotel tax

Orange County’s tax on hotel room nights and shortterm rental stays fell monthover-month in January for the first time since last April, when the region’s tourism economy collapsed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tax, a 6% levy, raked in $7,678,100 in January, a 70% decrease over the same month last year. The fall from December was expected given that the NFL’s Pro Bowl wasn’t played here this year as it was in 2020, the Citrus Bowl limited its capacity and December is historically a big month at the theme parks, due to holiday festivities.

In December, the tax, used to promote tourism and build and renovate big venues like the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and the Orange County Convention Center, brought in $10,592,000 to the county coffers, comptroller Phil Diamond said.

“This amount is less than we’ve collected in any pre-pandemic month since September 2004,” Diamond said. “In short, TDT collections are still at historic low levels.” At the Orange County Convention Center, where cancellations of major tradeshows and meetings marked the beginning of economic turmoil locally, officials are optimistic business is beginning to return.

The center’s executive director, Mark Tester, said this past weekend the building had roughly 30,000 guests across four events, including a boat show and several amateur sporting events including a cheerleading competition and volleyball tournament.

The events collectively produced 21,000 room nights, said Tester, who projected a $35 million economic impact.

“We’re really optimistic about the summer and the fall at the convention center,” Tester said, adding this past weekend was its “best weekend to date” amid the downturn.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said this month and months to come “look really good” for convention business in Orlando and no COVID-19 outbreaks have been linked to shows hosted there so far.

“So we know how to do it and we know how to do it safely,” Demings said. “So I’m encouraged that as we move forward with the remainder of the pandemic that we will see economic recovery occurring.”

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