Tag Archives: Hotel Occupancy Tax
Travis County asks voters to approve future hotel tax for expo center
Travis County isn’t giving up on getting a taste of the hotel tax. On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court voted to put a measure on the November ballot that, if approved, would authorize the county to levy a 2 percent tax…
Elections • By Jack Craver • Aug 20, 2019
Council approves hotel tax increase
Despite requests from Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and commissioners Margaret Gómez, Brigid Shea and Jeff Travillion, Austin City Council voted early Friday to approve a 2 percent increase in the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax, which will allow the city…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Aug 9, 2019
Showdown over hotel tax increases could put city and county at odds
A week after the Travis County Commissioners Court voted to explore tapping a 2 percent increase in the local Hotel Occupancy Tax for its own uses, Austin City Council appears set to claim the same tax increase to fund an…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 7, 2019
Travis County eyes hotel tax to renovate expo center
The Travis County Commissioners Court made a move Tuesday that could put it in direct competition with the city of Austin for millions of dollars of future revenue from hotel stays. The three commissioners present voted unanimously to ask county…
Travis County • By Jack Craver • Jul 26, 2019
Music advocates push for portion of possible hotel tax increase
Local groups organized around improving the financial standing of Austin musicians are preparing to push city leaders to dedicate funds from the proposed expansion of the Austin Convention Center toward the city’s commercial music industry. The groups include Music Moves…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 20, 2019
Council OKs Palm School, convention center ideas
In a stunning victory for Mayor Steve Adler and Council Member Kathie Tovo, the Austin City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a 27-page resolution directing city staff to gather all the information necessary to move forward with an extensive renovation…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • May 24, 2019
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Tourism Commission asks Council to pursue hotel tax collection on STRs
The Tourism Commission wants City Council to revisit and possibly make changes to its ordinance covering short-term rentals, with the goal of increasing the amount of Hotel Occupancy Tax coming into city coffers. The commission voted unanimously at this month’s…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 22, 2019
Tourism Commission examines whether hotel tax could keep live music on Sixth Street
The handful of music venues still operating in the city’s historic district along Sixth Street could be considered for preservation and infrastructure improvements using money from the Hotel Occupancy Tax. That idea was one of several offered for further examination…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 11, 2019
As hotel tax growth slows, Tourism Commission targets short-term rentals
The growth of short-term rental activity in the city and a possible saturation of the local hotel market are seen as the biggest causes behind a flattening of Austin’s once fast-growing Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue. That was the conclusion at…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 22, 2019
UT study at center of debate on tourism, hotel tax and expansion proposal
A forthcoming report from a group of University of Texas architectural students may be the next significant piece of research shaping the ongoing debate over how the city uses its Hotel Occupancy Tax funds. That study – commissioned last year…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jan 22, 2019
Tourism Commission pushes for broader use of hotel tax dollars
Austin’s Tourism Commission wants to see the city push for more latitude in how to spend local hotel occupancy tax dollars, with an eye toward next year’s session of the state Legislature. At Monday’s meeting, the commission approved a recommendation…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 14, 2018
Debate over convention center, hotel tax funds spreads to Music Commission
A recently created music activism group has been thrown into the fray of the debate – largely playing out in meetings of the new Tourism Commission – over how to spend money the city generates through its roughly $100 million…
