For the fifth month in a row, Orange County has brought in fewer tourist development tax dollars on hotel and other rental stays compared with last year.
TDT revenue collected during the month of August was down around 5.6% compared to this time last year.
Visit Orlando predicts hotel bookings for the remainder of the year, including for the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, will be lower than last year as well.
August's numbers were about $5 million less than what the county brought in in July.
In a statement, Visit Orlando blamed the decline in TDT on increased competition within the global travel market along with a dip in demand for travel.
The agency still expects some last-minute bookings to be made ahead of the holidays. They also have plans to continue robust marketing campaigns in areas of the country, like the Midwest, that tend to drive short-term bookings.
Here's some additional data from Visit Orlando:
- "Metro Orlando hotel performance in August 2023 was softer than during the same month in the prior year. Occupancy at the area hotels was 62.9%, down -6.8% year over year.
- The Average Daily Rate was $158.61, down from $178 in July and down slightly from the prior year’s August performance (-2%).
- Orlando’s hotel bookings for the remainder of the year are pacing slightly behind last year’s performance (-3.9%).
- November and December are only 1% and 2% behind last year’s pace currently.
- The latest lodging forecast from STR anticipates a small 0.9% growth in demand for 2023 overall. Year-to-date through August hotel demand is up 0.9%. Average Daily Rate is up 6.2% YTD through August compared to the same time in 2022."
