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Travel Medford reports record lodging tax months, expanded sports tourism push
Summary
TJ Holmes presented Travel Medford’s quarterly (Jan–Mar 2025) report to the council, saying transient lodging tax (TLT) revenue hit record February and March months, average daily rate set quarterly records, Travel Medford is investing 85% of its TLT into promotion, and the organization is prioritizing sports tourism and new marketing assets.
TJ Holmes, senior vice president for Travel Medford, presented the tourism organization's January–March 2025 quarterly report to the Medford City Council, saying the destination recorded its strongest February and March on record and that Travel Medford is focusing investment on marketing and sports tourism.
Holmes said Travel Medford’s share of the transient lodging tax (TLT) — 25 percent of net TLT — reached record months with February at roughly $99,000 and March at about $109,000; he said the quarter finished about 1 percent above Travel Medford’s previous record quarter in 2022. “February was up to $99,000, a record February. March at a hundred 9,000,” Holmes told the council.
Why it matters: Local lodging revenue funds Travel Medford's marketing; Holmes said about 85 percent of Travel Medford’s TLT receipts are reinvested into tourism promotion and advertising to attract out‑of‑town visitors and generate hotel revenue.
Holmes highlighted several performance metrics: average daily rate (ADR) for the quarter hit a record $106 and occupancy was about 55 percent, but he noted a rising supply of hotel rooms compared with earlier pandemic years. He said short‑term rental intermediaries generated a record $56,000 for the quarter and now account for roughly 18.7 percent of total TLT in this quarter’s figures.
On marketing, Holmes previewed new creative assets including a primary video produced for seasonal campaigns and said paid advertising directly attributed to $1.5 million in hotel revenue from an Expedia direct-booking campaign with about $89,000 spent on ads through March. He also described a performance campaign with the Oregonian that produced more than 2 million impressions and tens of thousands of clicks.
A major emphasis is sports tourism and event support. Holmes said Travel Medford contracted Huddle Up Group to refresh a sports tourism strategic plan after stakeholder input from more than 90 organizations. He said the city won the bid to host the American Legion Regional Championship for 2026 and 2027 and is producing a new sports-experience guide to recruit events to Medford.
Councilors asked about competitiveness on hotel rates and room blocks for events. Holmes said event rights holders and room-block negotiators typically work directly with hotels and that Medford’s relatively lower ADR can be an advantage for recruiting events: “You could just get more bang for your buck in what we're trying to do here,” he said.
Ending: Holmes invited councilors to upcoming events including a Know Your Role night (sports-officials recruitment) and the inaugural Big Savor Southern Oregon wine event. The council commended Travel Medford’s work and asked staff to continue sharing metrics as tourism and hotel supply evolve.
