ORLANDO-Central Florida's 2006 tourist season is off to an auspicious start with Orange County chalking up its second straight $10-million-month in tax collections from the area's 116,000 hotel and motel rooms, reports county comptroller Martha Haynie.
November revenue from the 5% tax totaled $10.45 million. The county collected $10 million in October, the first month in its fiscal 2006 period, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. Haynie's staff had projected November revenue of $9.33 million, 11.9% below the actual figure. "It was a good November," Haynie says. "This kicks the new year off to a great start."
The county ended its 2005 fiscal year Sept. 30, setting a 26-year collections record of $120.1 million. Owners of the larger area hotels are predicting a strong booking season this year, hotel marketers tell GlobeSt.com.
Gaylord Entertainment Inc., the Nashville parent of the 1,406-room Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, near Walt Disney World, is especially anticipating a good season, the publicly traded company has told investment analysts.
Colin V. Reed, chairman and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, says he is counting on Gaylord Palms' 400,000-sf convention center to increase the company's revenue flow. Revenue for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 rose 9.2% to $208.5 million from $191 million in the same period a year ago, the company has reported to its shareholders. Gaylord Palms' convention center is the largest hotel convention space in Central Florida, as GlobeSt.com has previously reported.
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