Visit Laredo reviews year-end finances; staff outlines hotel-occupancy-tax funding and short-term-rental collection work

Visit Laredo staff reviewed monthly financials and reminded the advisory committee that nearly all the bureau’s operations are funded by the hotel-occupancy tax.

"We are the only department in the city that's fully funded by the tax that the visitors paid to the hotels," a staff member said, explaining that salaries, office operations and many programs rely on those collections.

Staff reported they are monitoring collections closely because the city is operating under a recent budget moratorium and because timing differences in hotel reporting can produce monthly variances. Committee members raised a $200,000 dip in May collections; staff said that figure may be a reporting timing issue and that they will monitor the next months before concluding it is an actual decline.

The committee also discussed short-term rentals (Airbnb and similar platforms). A member asked whether a legislative change was required to collect occupancy tax from short-term rentals. The staff member said Visit Laredo is coordinating with the city tax department and does not expect a legislative fix is necessary, and that a meeting with tax staff is scheduled to gather information to begin collection efforts.

Staff reiterated that organizations funded with hotel-occupancy tax monies must follow the bureau’s spending rules and submission requirements to receive reimbursements, and that third-party grants tied to occupancy tax also follow those rules.

No formal budget action or reallocation was taken at the meeting; staff said they will return to the committee if substantive policy or spending changes are needed.