CityofSantaBarbara
By the City of Santa Barbara
The City of Santa Barbara collected $3.45 million in Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) for August 2023, the second month in the City’s fiscal year.
The result came in 12.7% below the monthly budget, reflecting a decline both in demand (especially in mid-week business) and average daily rates, likely exacerbated by the Tropical Storm Hilary warning.
The Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is a Tax on “Transient” guests staying in any hotel, inn, motel, or other commercial lodging establishment for a period of less than 30 days.
The City’s annual TOT budget for all funds is $33 million, of which $27.5 million is budgeted in the General Fund.
The Transient Occupancy Tax table can be viewed on the attachment. The City’s TOT tax rate is 12%, of which 10% goes to the City’s General Fund and the remaining 2% goes to the Creeks/Clean Water Fund.
So the response of the city is to approve more hotels? Let’s dig the hole deeper.
OMG, the tourists must be figuring out that we also have a homeless problem! All of my kids have worked DT and all of them have had bad encounters with the homeless. My boys can handle themselves, but both daughters were assaulted. Well the boys too, but… Cops involved, courts involved, no change. The same people were back on the street and did it again to one. Lots of racist and homophobic crap from them. Crickets… Figure it out SB!
The more hotels, the more TOT tax, the more City employees, and the raises that go with it.
August, 2023, is the second month in the fiscal year; what was the first month’s TOT returns?
There’s no there there.