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Council hears HOT revenue trends; members consider short-term-rental permitting to shore up collections
Summary
City staff told the council weekend hotel occupancy is high while weekday occupancy lags and said consultants will produce short-term rental counts; councilmembers discussed creating a permitting program and cross‑checking permits to improve compliance and revenue projections.
City staff told the council the hotel occupancy tax (HOT) fund is healthy on weekends but weaker on weekdays, and that collection consultants will provide reports on short-term rental unit counts and revenue variance to help project FY27 HOT revenue. Staff noted weekend occupancy rates have been running high and cited a prior weekday average in the 50–60% range; councilmembers emphasized the uncertain reporting cadence for short-term rentals.
A councilmember urged the city to consider a permitting program for short-term rentals to improve compliance and make collections less reliant on an honor system. Staff said the current vendor conducts audits, identifies listings and pursues owners who fail to report; the vendor's work can include going back to January to recover unreported revenue when new listings are discovered. Council discussion included the possibility of a city “certified Tomball bed-and-breakfast” label to encourage voluntary compliance and a future formal permitting program.
Why it matters: HOT revenue funds tourism marketing and grants; unpredictable short-term rental reporting creates revenue-forecasting uncertainty. The council asked staff and the consultant to bring short-term-rental counts and collection-variance reports to a future meeting.
