Saturday, October 11, 2014

Palm Beach County tourism tax collections up 11 percent

It's a great time to be in the Bed and Breakfast business! Too bad we don't have more hotel rooms, but that is soon to change with the addition of the new hotel on 10th Avenue North, west of I-95, and the eventual reopening of the Gulfstream Hotel. Click title for link. From the article:
County tourism leaders announced this week that bed tax collections grew by $3.3 million, or roughly 11 percent, during the fiscal year the ended on Sept. 30 — a sign that recent marketing efforts to compete with other tropical destinations are working.
“The economy has changed,” said Palm Beach County Mayor Priscilla Taylor, who chairs the county’s Tourist Development Council. “It is turning around. I just think people are looking at us as a destination.”
An extremely cold winter in the northern part of the country drove a surge in local hotel stays early this budget year and helped boost bed tax collections. Summertime sporting events and marketing to attract Florida residents kept hotels full during the warmer months.
Note too the Roger Dean Stadium was used during the summer by groups other than major league baseball teams.