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Commission reviews midyear finances as hotel tax collections stay strong
Summary
Commission staff reported year-to-date hotel tax collections of $66.8 million and a clean audit for the June 2024 year; commissioners approved the financial report after a brief discussion and a spelling correction to the minutes.
Jeff Mefford, finance staff, told the Tourism and Convention Commission that hotel tax collections reported through November totaled $66,817,000, with $19,360,000 of that amount dedicated to tourism promotion.
The report matters because the commission reimburses eligible tourism-promotion expenses from those receipts rather than receiving the tax revenue directly; Mefford said, “the hotel taxes do not come directly to the CVC. We're only reimbursed for the actual expenses which are incurred in promotion of the city.”
Mefford said overall revenue for the reported period was $21,247,000 and that the portion allocated by the CVC to the metro contract for the first half of the fiscal year was $17,318,000. He told commissioners that revenues and expenses are “tracking very much in line with expectations at this midpoint of our fiscal year,” and that the city’s June 2024 CPA audit issued an unqualified (clean) opinion. Mefford also noted that hotel tax collections for the five-month period are 40% higher than in the same pre-pandemic months in 2020.
Commission members asked clarifying questions about the scope of the tax. Mefford confirmed the technical term is an occupancy tax and that collections include short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb. After addressing a spelling correction in the prior meeting minutes and hearing the financial presentation, commissioners moved to approve the minutes and then the financial report; both motions passed with an affirmative voice vote.
The financial presentation emphasized that recent monthly hotel tax receipts include record months (October set an all-time monthly high) and that expenses have been weighted toward marketing because of timing of activities; Mefford said he expects spending to equalize over the fiscal year. He invited commissioners to ask questions and offered to circulate the audit report to the city once it is filed.
Less critical details: Mefford apologized that the financial report had not initially been placed in meeting folders and offered to address follow-up questions by email.
