ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County saw more revenue from hotels in June 2024 than in May or in June 2023, according to the latest Tourist Development Tax numbers released by the comptroller’s office.
Orange County collected $30,547,500 in June in tourist tax dollars. That’s the 6% tax levied on hotels and other short-term rentals in the county.
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Comptroller Phil Diamond says that $2.2 million more than collected in May 2024, an increase of 7.6%.
Year over year, it’s $519,200 more than collected in June 2023, an increase of 1.7%.
[RELATED: Orange County’s tourist tax collections break records. Here’s what the money is used for and why]
Overall, Diamond reports collections are down 0.2% for the fiscal year so far, by $475,700.
Generally, the revenues collected in the TDT must be used for facilities that benefit the tourism industry, according to state law.
In Orange County, the TDT is used to fund Visit Orlando, the county tourism promotion agency, the Orange County Convention Center and the three downtown Orlando venues (Kia Center, Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center and Camping World Stadium), as well as arts and sports programs.
According to Visit Orlando, the county’s convention and visitor’s bureau, the average daily rate for a hotel room in the Metro Orlando area for June 2024 was $189.08, an increase of 1.9% from the previous year. Hotel occupancy was at 72.9%, down 1.5% from June 2023.
Visit Orlando is forecasting that hotel demand over the next few months will lag about 1% compared to last year, while short-term rental demand is pacing ahead by 3%. The agency also says advance airline ticket sales for the next few months are up about 5.4% from last year, so they are hoping for a surge in demand for hotel bookings in August and September.
July TDT collections will be released in September.