Lynn Haven workshop weighs joining Bay County tourism district and levying a bed tax

Jennifer Vigil, CEO of Destination Panama City, told Lynn Haven commissioners at a special workshop that the city could seek to be included in Destination Panama City’s footprint — or try to set up its own destination marketing organization — but only Bay County can levy the local tourist development (bed) tax.

"Only counties in the state of Florida...have the ability to leverage a tourist development tax," Vigil said, noting the Bay County Clerk of Court collects the revenue. She cited Chapter 125.0104 of the Florida Statutes as the legal framework that limits how the funds may be spent, saying roughly "40% of those funds currently are committed towards promotion and marketing" and the rest toward operations and destination development.

The commission’s discussion focused on three practical questions: how much revenue Lynn Haven might expect, who would decide how the money is spent, and how to place the measure before voters. Vigil said conservative occupancy and room-night estimates show Lynn Haven would likely generate "less than $200,000" annually if added to Destination Panama City’s footprint, a number driven by the city’s one hotel and an estimated 80–90 short-term rental listings.

A commissioner asked whether money from a bed tax levied for Lynn Haven would necessarily be spent only inside the city. Vigil answered that if Lynn Haven were added to an existing DMO footprint, funds collected within the city would flow into that DMO’s allocation pool and be spent according to the DMO’s board-approved budget. She added that board representation is determined by collector size and room-night inventory, not municipal lines, and a city joining a larger footprint would likely be a minority partner on the board.

Vigil described the event assistance funding program run by Destination Panama City as competitive and scored, and said eligibility depends on objective data such as geospatial counts and whether events bring out-of-area visitors (industry practice considers visitors from more than 50 miles away likelier to stay overnight). "The city of Lynn Haven could be an applicant, but so could a regular citizen of Lynn Haven," she said.

Commissioners raised concerns about fairness and compliance. Vigil noted education would be needed for short-term rental operators, who sometimes view the tax as money kept by the operator rather than a pass-through remittance. She also warned of enforcement complications when platforms like Airbnb remit bulk payments: "That nullifies the clerk’s duty and ability for enforcement because they don't know who is individually paying those taxes," she said, summarizing litigation history between platforms and local authorities.

The group discussed process and timing. Vigil said recent changes in state law mean implementing a new tourist development tax requires a binding referendum of affected voters, and she recommended lining up education with an upcoming election cycle to give the city time to inform voters and coordinate with nearby municipalities pursuing similar measures.

Commissioners and staff requested follow-up work. The chair closed the workshop by asking staff to consider the discussion and to return the item for consideration at the April 14 commission meeting, and commissioners asked staff to coordinate with the Chamber of Commerce and invite the city’s hotel owner and short-term rental representatives to a future session.

No formal motion or vote was recorded during the workshop; next procedural steps identified were additional outreach, stakeholder meetings and a staff report to the full commission.