Tulsa tourism leaders urge lodging-tax hike to fund marketing, incentives and convention capacity

Representatives from the Tulsa Regional Chamber and VisitTulsa presented a proposal to the Urban Economic Development committee on Nov. 5 to raise the city lodging (hotel/motel) tax to increase tourism marketing, staff capacity and event incentives.

VisitTulsa staff described a rapid increase in conventions and visitor demand and said Tulsa's existing marketing and incentive budget was outpaced by neighboring markets. The presenter cited Oklahoma City's recent increase of lodging tax and the way that jurisdiction expanded its tourism budget from roughly $6.5 million to $27 million. At the meeting VisitTulsa said raising Tulsa's lodging tax to 9.25% would generate about $3.8 million in new revenue annually at current demand levels.

What they told the council: The tourism representatives said that higher lodging proceeds would fund staff to pursue national conventions, underwrite incentives that keep large recurring events (for example NCAA, regional trade shows and sporting events), and expand marketing to sustain growth tied to high-profile attractions and the Route 66 centennial. The presenters also noted the city's existing tourism improvement district (TID), an opt-in 3% fee on properties over 110 rooms used today to incentivize events, and flagged the TID's structure as something that could require reexamination if the overall lodging-tax rate were changed.

Council questions: Councilors asked whether the lodging tax would be paid mostly by out-of-town visitors (VisitTulsa said roughly 60% of room nights are transient, with about 40% group business) and about timing of collections (officials said collections would begin after standard administrative lead times following a vote; Feb. ballot timing would delay collections by several weeks). Members also requested specific ROI calculations showing how each additional dollar would ripple through restaurant, retail and sales-tax revenues; VisitTulsa offered to provide supporting economic-impact analyses and past audit figures.

Next steps: The Chamber and VisitTulsa said they will provide the council with a written breakdown and the city would need to evaluate the TID and stakeholder opt-in dynamics should the lodging-tax rate change. No formal council action was taken at the meeting.