October TDT figures worse
Tourist-tax collections fell slightly in October, compared to the same month in 2022, continuing a downward trend that began in April.
The year-over-year drop was the sixth month in the past seven that revenues fell short of collections from the previous year, said Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond, who tracks receipts from the assessment also known as the Tourist Development Tax or TDT for short.
Before this, TDT collections broke records as travel rebounded after the COVID19 pandemic.
Revenues from the tax, a 6% levy on short-term lodgings including hotel rooms and home-sharing options like Airbnb rentals, totaled $29.4 million in October, up about $4.5 million from September but down $2 million from October 2022.
Citing data from Visit Orlando, Diamond said hotel occupancy in metro Orlando dipped to 70.6% in October, a drop of about 10% from October 2022. The average daily room rate was $189.24, about the same as the previous year.
TDT reports usually lag about five weeks behind collections. The November report is expected in January.
Tourism experts are hopeful the new year will reverse the recent slide in revenues.
Hotel demand for the Christmas/New Year’s holiday week is favorable with advance bookings up 1% from 2022, said Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, marketing agency for Orlando and Central Florida tourism.
“Our research shows that travel performance for 2024 is off to a solid start with advance hotel bookings for the first quarter up 8% compared to the same time last year,” she said in an emailed statement. “Airline service to the Orlando area remains plentiful and growing with direct seat capacity for the first quarter of 2024 expected to surpass the same period of last year by 11%.”
Diamond has urged county leaders to spend tourist-tax revenues cautiously, comparing the volatile ups and downs of the money stream to a rollercoaster. He persuaded the board to keep at least $300 million in reserves.
TDT collections in fiscal year 2022-23, which ended Sept. 30, set a new record of $359.3 million, besting the fiscal year 2021-22 total of $336.3 million.
The record levels led Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings to assemble a citizens task force to evaluate projects that could be funded with a share of future TDT revenues.
Orange County commissioners recently approved a request to spend $560 million on an expansion of the Orange County Convention Center, a project halted in 2020 when tourist-tax collections crashed amid the pandemic.
Critics of the expansion have urged county leaders to spend future TDT funds on affordable housing, transportation projects and other pressing community needs.