Hotel Occupancy Tax
A tax on the rental of a room in a hotel or other rental properties (including apartments) that cost 6 percent of the cost of a room.
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Look at all these rumors
Film Commission rumor not confirmed… Louis Black, who is retiring as publisher of the Austin Chronicle, emailed City Council last week claiming that the recent vote to allocate a portion of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax from Visit Austin (previously known as the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau) “to fund operations and maintenance of city […]
Posted inCity Council
‘Downtown puzzle’ plan sets aside millions for Austin music
City Council endorsed one new plan for hotel occupancy taxes last week. At the end of this month, it will take up another. Last Tuesday’s release of Mayor Steve Adler’s Initial Financing Framework for Downtown Investments – known colloquially as his “downtown puzzle” plan – puts some numbers to a recently simmering idea for the […]
Posted inCity Council
Council supports reducing HOT funds for convention center, visitors bureau
After a lengthy public hearing featuring scores of public speakers on all sides of the issue, City Council unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday night in support of diverting millions of dollars generated by hotel occupancy taxes from the Austin Convention Center and Visit Austin (formerly the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau) to historic preservation efforts. […]
Posted inAustin
Adler attacks plan to move hotel tax money
Mayor Steve Adler made clear at Tuesday’s work session that he would try to derail Council Member Ellen Troxclair’s plan to reallocate money from the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue when it comes up for City Council consideration on Thursday. Without saying exactly why, Adler expressed the idea that the Troxclair plan would prevent Council […]
Posted inCity Council
Council debates best use of HOT dollars
Some City Council members are clearly more convinced of the role that the Austin Convention Center plays in driving the city’s tourism industry and economy than others. The day after several Council members signaled support for a proposal by Council Member Ellen Troxclair that would slightly reduce the amount of Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue dedicated […]
Posted inCity Council
Troxclair: Hotel tax plan separate from Adler’s ‘downtown puzzle’
Today’s City Council budget work session will almost certainly feature discussion about a proposal from Council Member Ellen Troxclair that seeks to reallocate money from the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax to pay for more expenses for Austin’s parks, which she argues will free up money from the General Fund budget that can pay for historic […]
Posted inCity Council
Taxes from unregistered short-term rentals sit unused
Millions of dollars in tax revenue from unregistered short-term rental properties sits unused because the city cannot collect it, according to Visitor Impact Task Force Chair James Russell. In 2016, City Council passed an ordinance to phase out Type 2 short-term rentals, properties that owners rent out without living there and for less than 30 […]
Posted inAustin
Council takes long view on convention center, with eye toward spring
A decision on whether City Council will opt to expand the Austin Convention Center likely won’t come until spring 2018, based on discussions at Tuesday’s Council work session. That time frame came from Mayor Steve Adler after more than two hours of presentation and discussion on the recommendations of the city’s Visitor Impact Task Force, […]
Posted inAustin
Increased support outside ARCH to target crime, help homeless
Four months after city officials called on the Austin Police Department and other public safety departments to address a spike in drug use around the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, the next phase of help is about to begin. Starting Aug. 15, a coalition of public safety and social services groups will begin a […]
Posted inAustin
County still wants a piece of the ‘downtown puzzle’
Travis County got cut out of Mayor Steve Adler’s so-called “downtown puzzle” plan, and County Judge Sarah Eckhardt has let it be known that she eventually wants back in. On Wednesday, Eckhardt sent a letter to Adler and City Council conceding that Adler’s plans to fund an expansion of the Austin Convention Center with a […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Arts Commission encourages artist collaboration to save funding
The Arts Commission is encouraging collaboration among Austin artists not only for a sense of community but also to safeguard its cultural arts funding process. Commissioner Richard “Bears” Fonte said artists have double-dipped in the cultural arts fund by splitting into separate art groups working toward the same or similar projects and applying for grants, and […]