Hillsborough tourism leaders say first-quarter bed-tax collections lag year ago; timing tied to hurricane-season effects
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
At the Feb. 12 Tourist Development Council meeting, staff reported first-quarter bed-tax outlays outpaced collections and that 3¢ collections were about 17% below the prior year, a difference officials attributed largely to last year’s hurricane-season timing and not an underlying long-term decline.
Ron Barton, the council’s administrative presenter, told the Hillsborough County Tourist Development Council on Feb. 12 that first‑quarter outlays typically outpace collections and that the 3¢ bed‑tax collections were running “about 17% below last year.” Barton said the pattern is partly driven by a timing difference tied to hurricane‑season activity in the prior year that produced occupancy bumps and cautioned the council against overreacting to the raw year‑over‑year number.
Santiago, a Visit Tampa Bay staff member who led the marketing and market‑metrics portion of the update, said occupancy, average daily rate and RevPar comparisons are complicated by last year’s hurricane‑season impacts. Santiago said Visit Tampa Bay’s revenue and hotel taxable revenue for the first quarter were generally pacing well versus peer markets, and that the organization is monitoring trends into busier months.
Santiago highlighted Visit Tampa Bay’s partner work — nearly 1,000 engaged partners — and said earned media value in the quarter exceeded $3,000,000. He also noted international outreach, including Aeromexico’s planned increase from six weekly flights to daily service in March, and ongoing paid media and influencer campaigns.
During questions, board member Mr. Placencia asked about group‑business pace over the next two to five years. The presenter said lead volume year‑to‑date is up compared with 2024 and 2025, and that convention‑center room‑night pace is ahead of targets for 2028–2031 (2027 was cited as lagging after a large group chose another city). Staff said they are pursuing multi‑year agreements to smooth year‑to‑year volatility.
The council moved to accept the administrative report and voted unanimously to do so. Chair and staff said they will invite city convention‑center staff to give an update at a future meeting so the council can better understand financing and scope questions.
The council’s next steps include monitoring collections as the year progresses and coordinating a convention‑center update for a future meeting.