Laredo CVB board seeks clarification after citywide budget freeze; Airbnb tax and collections discussed

At a meeting of the Laredo Convention & Visitors Bureau advisory committee (date not specified), members reviewed the CVB’s monthly financial statements and sought clarification about a summerbudget freeze that staff said applied “across the board.”

The CVB director told the board the office began the new fiscal year on Oct. 1 and that some projects previously planned were held and moved into the new budget after the freeze. “We did have a budget freeze this summer,” the director said, adding that the pause did not affect day-to-day operations but delayed a few projects until the new fiscal year.

Board members pressed staff on why a freeze that affects city budgets would apply to the CVB, which the director said is funded by hotel/motel (bed) tax rather than the city’s general fund. The director said the freeze was implemented citywide: “That’s across the board,” the director said, and projects that could be deferred were moved forward in the new budget.

Members also discussed efforts to collect lodging taxes from short-term rentals. Staff said the state currently collects sales and lodging taxes on many short-term rental platforms and that implementing a local collection mechanism requires an ordinance and interdepartmental work. The director said the tax department is coordinating with municipalities and that adopting local collection procedures can be a lengthy process.

Packet figures shown to the board included short-term rental metrics on the packet page cited by staff: Airbnbs accounted for roughly 36% of occupancy and an average-daily-rate figure listed as $154; another packet figure was cited as $922, but staff did not specify the exact metric or period in the meeting.

The board voted to ask staff to place an item on a future meeting agenda requesting that the CVB director and the city manager (referred to in the meeting as “Mr. Ned”) provide a formal clarification of whether the CVB is exempt from or subject to the citywide freeze. That request was phrased as direction to staff rather than a formal ordinance or budget amendment.

Procedural votes recorded in the meeting packet included a motion to excuse Lasita Valdez for business travel and approval of the September minutes; both motions were moved, seconded and carried by voice vote.

The board asked staff to return with clearer budget and collections information in a future packet, particularly a year-over-year comparison of visitor and revenue metrics to detect any emerging negative trends.