Oklahoma City voters on Tuesday approved an increase in the local hotel occupancy tax to provide more funds for tourism development.
Effective October 1, the tax will increase from the current 5.50% to 9.25%. The tax increase applies to people staying at an Oklahoma City hotel or renting shared accommodations such as Airbnbs.
The last time Oklahoma City residents considered a hotel tax increase was in December 2004, when voters approved it with an overwhelming 89.4% approval. Tuesday night’s results weren’t quite as lopsided, but support for the new ordinance was still strong at 66%.
Supporters of the increased hotel tax said it would help fund the city’s expanded marketing efforts, support major events and attract more visitors.
“Oklahoma City’s hotel room tax helps our city thrive by attracting national conventions and sporting events and supporting our venues and visitor services,” Oklahoma City Manager Craig Freeman said in a press release before the vote. “It’s been 20 years since the tax was adjusted and 52 years since we increased funding for tourism promotion. This update allows us to better keep pace with the growth of OKC and our competitive destinations.”
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In addition to the hotel tax increase, there is also the state VAT of 4.5%, the current hotel tax of 5.5% and the municipal VAT of 4.125%, resulting in a total room tax of 17.875%.
Tuesday’s vote also changes how hotel tax revenue is spent. 75% of the hotel tax will go to promoting tourism, while 13.3% will go to event sponsorships. About 6.7% will also be used to fund capital improvements at the OKC Fairgrounds and 5% will go to improvements at the MAPS 3-branded Oklahoma City Convention Center.
Currently, 55 percent of the hotel tax goes to the exhibition center, 36 percent goes directly to promoting tourism and 9 percent goes to event sponsorship.
Representatives of the electoral committee said the vote totals so far are provisional. The final results will be confirmed in the next few days.
