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Council approves letter supporting innkeepertax increase; tourism group projects $680,000 in new revenue
Summary
Discover Boone County asked the council to support Senate Bill 252 to increase the innkeeper tax; council voted to send a letter of support. The tourism group projected roughly $680,000 more per year and said the increase would add about $3.41 to the average hotel room night.
Discover Boone County, the county tourism organization, asked the Boone County Council to send a letter supporting Senate Bill 252, which would raise the county innkeeper's (lodging) tax dedicated to visitor and tourism services.
Allison Gumbayna, with Discover Boone County, told the council the county is one of the fastest-growing in the state and that visitor spending already contributes local revenue. She said a 3-percentage-point increase in the innkeeper's tax would yield about $680,000 annually in Boone County and would increase the average room charge by about $3.41 per night, based on a county average room rate of $113.
Gumbayna said the tax is paid by visitors who stay in county hotels, not by residents who do not use lodging, and that proceeds would be used for marketing, workforce support and infrastructure for tourism.
A councilmember moved to approve and submit a letter of support; the motion was seconded and the council approved the letter by voice vote with no recorded opposition.
