Orange County finished its fiscal year Oct. 31 by posting arecord $111 million in room tax collections, up 19% from $93.3million in 2003. The previous high was $108.2 million in fiscal2000. For September, collections totaled $8.1 million, up 30% overSeptember 2003 and the highest September month since collectionsbegan in 1979, says county comptroller Martha O. Haynie.

Ironically, September's record collections were attributed tothe hurricane crisis, area hospitality industry consultants tellGlobeSt.com. Residents forced to leave their homes during thestorms filled most of the area's hotel and motel rooms for periodsup to a month. Some of the rooms were priced at higher than normalseason rates, according to complaints received at the time by theOrlando/Orange County Visitors & Convention Bureau.

Despite the healthy tourist tax numbers posted for the year,hoteliers and consultants agree the real test of the area'shospitality industry recovery will come next hurricane season whichgenerally begins in June and ends in November.