Hotel Room Tax Collections Rising

Cumulative collections through January of the county's fiscal year that began Oct. 1 totaled $30 million, up 14.2% from last year at this time and near the budgeted amount of $30.1 million.

"It is important to remember, however, that this time last year, cumulative collections were nearly 25% below the previous year [2001]," Haynie says.

The monthly tax collection numbers are watched closely by hotel developers and investors as a barometer of the area's hospitality industry's health. The bulk of the money is used to pay down debt on the $750 million, one-million-sf expansion of the 20-year-old Orange County Convention Center. The center hopes to be at 2.2 million sf of exhibition/meeting space this year.

December collections of $6.6 million were about 14% higher than December 2001. Cumulative collections of $22.3 million for the first three months of the fiscal year, October through December, were up 15.9% and above the budgeted figure of $19.2 million.

But like her comments on the January collections, Haynie notes "the same period last year was 26% below collections" in the October-December period of 2001.

"This indicates that while we are making progress, we still have a ways to go to return to pre-September 11 collection levels," the comptroller says.

Neighboring counties such as Lake, Osceola, Volusia, Brevard and Polk collected hotel/motel room taxes separately from an estimated 13,000 rooms. Central Florida's total estimated hotel/motel room count is 113,000, according to the most recent tabulations from area tourist and convention bureaus.