ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County’s Tourist Development Tax (TDT) collections in May showed decreases from the prior month and year, according to Comptroller Phil Diamond.
The county brought in $26,216,500 for May 2023, lower than in April by $7.4 million and down 6.7% compared to May 2022, but still $9.3 million higher than collections in May 2021. The latest TDT collections also marked the first time since February 2021 that two consecutive months showed year-over-year decreases.
The average daily rate at hotels in the Orlando Metro was $186 in May, down from $221 in April, and the metro’s hotel occupancy rate at large fell 2.5% year over year, now down to 69.3%. Diamond related these figures to dropping attendance at the Orange County Convention Center, despite a rise in the number of events scheduled there and in citywide attendance.
“This was the first month since February 2021 that the convention hotel segment saw a decline in demand. While the number of events at the Orange County Convention Center in May increased year over year, the groups were smaller, meaning less overall attendance. For the year overall through May, citywide attendance is up 24% and is forecasted to be strong through the end of the year,” Diamond said in a statement.
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TDT reserves increased by $14.4 million in May to $335,946,674 total, according to the release.
Diamond told News 6 that the county needs to watch that money closely, given the number of projects pitched to the Orange County Tourist Development Tax Task Force.
“We’re coming off a season of 14 record-setting months and you just can’t keep that up forever,” Diamond said. “There’s a TDT task force looking at priorities and how to spend money in the future (...) that might mean that you can’t do projects simultaneously, maybe you have to do them in sequence to make sure the funding is there, maybe you need to make sure there’s more cash on hand before you start those.”
Some projects already recommended by the task force include $800 million for the installation of a roof at Camping World Stadium, $176.6 million to build a sports village at UCF and $975 million for the construction of a baseball stadium for the Orlando Dreamers.
According to the comptroller’s website, the TDT is a 6% tax paid by guests renting or leasing living quarters or other accommodations in Orange County for six months or less. What the money is spent on is limited by state statute to such expenditures as the acquisition and operation of sports stadiums and museums, tourism advertising and the payment of debt services on construction-related bonds.
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