Hillsborough tourism smashes $600 million hotel revenue goal

As of Dec. 31, 2017, visitors to Tampa and Hillsborough County generated more than $644 million in taxable hotel revenue and produced a record-setting $32.3 million in bed taxes, up more than 8 percent from the total for Calendar Year 2016. Ten of the 12 months of 2017 produced record bed-tax collections. The bed tax tally for January (based on December room sales) -- $2.7 million – was up nearly 36 percent over the previous January, which was itself a record.

Tampa Bay crossed the $30 million threshold after years of strong and steady growth that dramatically outpaced the state and nation. According to industry analyst STR Inc., between 2014 and 2017 Hillsborough County’s hotels saw their total revenue grow by nearly 31 percent. Revenue per available room, a key indicator of hotel profitability, grew 30 percent for Tampa Bay, compared to 17.7 percent for Florida as a whole and about 13 percent for the U.S.

Visit Tampa Bay’s sales and marketing success has made Tampa and Hillsborough County an increasingly popular travel destination and helped push room rates up nearly 22 percent during the period, versus 11.2 percent for Florida and 10.3 percent for the U.S. Yet even as rates rose, Tampa Bay remains one of Florida’s most affordable destinations – average daily room rate is less than the state and national averages. Occupancy for Tampa Bay’s 21,900 hotel rooms hit 74.1 percent in 2017, up nearly 7 percent since 2014 and higher than both the state (5.9 percent) and nation (2.3 percent).