Tourism Commission Board April 20, 2022, at 3 pm City Hall Chambers Room 1001 301 W. Second St. Austin, Texas 78701 Some members of the Tourism Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for contact Felicia Ojeda, 512.404.4022 or felicia.ojeda@austintexas.gov remote participation. To register CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Alta Alexander Ed Bailey Bill Bunch John Riedie District 9 Vacant Mayoral Vacant Greg Chanon Rachel Magee Ken Smith Lois Rodriguez Mike Cannatti AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. March 21, 2022 2. OLD BUSINESS The Commission may discuss and take action on the following agenda items: a. Election of a Vice Chair 3. NEW BUSINESS The Commission may discuss and take action on the following agenda items: a. Report from the Parks and Environment Working Group on any updates or make new appointments b. Report from the TPID working group on any updates or make new appointments. c. Report on the 5-year fund summary histories for: i. Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund ii. Tourism & Promotion Fund iii. Cultural Arts Fund iv. Historic Preservation Fund v. Live Music Fund d. Presentation from Heywood Sanders regarding convention center expansions FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS The Commission may discuss and take possible action to request information and identify future agenda items, topics, or presentation: a. Presentation from the Austin Convention Center on the redevelopment and expansion project and an update of the finance reports of the project b. Presentation on now the hospitality workers and those that work in live events, including art organizations are impacted by the current economic state. ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the …
Hotel Occupancy Tax: Tourism Commission Request April 2022 This document contains information requested by the Tourism Commission related to Hotel Occupancy Tax collections and the related funds. The first two sections were provided to the Commission previously, while the sections following that relate to the request for information stated at the March 2022 meeting of the Tourism Commission. The document gives a primer on allowable uses of Hotel Occupancy Taxes, the City of Austin’s flow of funds related to Hotel Occupancy Tax, and then a history of collections for the funds that receive Hotel Occupancy Tax. Contents ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Review of Texas Tax Code Chapter 351 and allowable uses of Hotel Occupancy Taxes .............................. 2 Hotel Occupancy Tax Flow of Funds ............................................................................................................. 3 Overall Hotel Occupancy Tax Collections ..................................................................................................... 3 Five Year History of Hotel Occupancy Tax Collections .................................................................................. 4 Tourism and Promotion Five Year Fund Summary ................................................................................... 5 Economic Development Department Response ........................................................................................... 6 Hotel Occupancy Tax: Tourism Commission Request April 2022 Review of Texas Tax Code Chapter 351 and allowable uses of Hotel Occupancy Taxes Of the 17% HOT collected on room rentals, the City receives 11%. The remaining 6% goes to the State of Texas. The Chart on the next page illustrates the flow of funds from the Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund to the various recipient funds. The State of Texas authorizes hotel occupancy tax (HOT) assessments under Chapter 351 of the Texas Tax Code and under Chapter 334 of the Texas Local Government Code. Chapter 351 requires HOT assessed under this chapter must first meet the criteria of promoting tourism and convention and hotel industry, and fall into one of the authorized categories, not all of which are applicable to Austin. Those categories allowable in Austin include: • • • the acquisition of sites for and the construction, improvement, enlarging, equipping, repairing, operation, and maintenance of convention center facilities or visitor information centers, or both; the furnishing of facilities, personnel, and materials for the registration of convention delegates or registrants; • advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to attract tourists and convention delegates or registrants to the municipality or its vicinity; the encouragement, promotion, improvement, and application of the arts, including instrumental and vocal music, dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture, design and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, motion pictures, radio, television, tape and sound recording, and other arts related …
AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION: PROMISES AND PERFORMANCE HEYWOOD SANDERS UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO C.H. JOHNSON CONSULTING, INC. Experts In Convention , Sport and Real Estate Consulting the obstacles to future growth in Austin's Convention Center business have continued to mount. Table 2-1 summarizes the major reasons for lost business. The reasons are distributed by the number of room nights lost. Table 2-1 Reasons for Lost Business Primary Reason Facility dates unavailable Inadequate meeting space Lack of large hotel Room rates Political Large room block not available Location No response from hotels Meeting canceled Other reasons Room Nights Lost % of Total 69,820 31,045 28,155 25,133 11,874 11, 130 11,002 9,625 9,175 33,488 29% 13% 12% 10% 5% 5% 5% 4% 4% 14% Source :Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau Meeting planners reported the lack of available facility dates more than any other reason for not using the Convention Center. The lack of available dates stems from the size of the facility, which prevents the occurrence of simultaneous events. Lack of adequate meeting space was the second most frequently cited problem. The availability of hotel rooms at reasonable rates is also important. Hotel-related factors (four categories in total) account for over 31 percent of the lost business . Additional hotel supply and greater cooperation from tl1e existing hotel community are essential if the city is to realize its meeting market potential. The current convention center is too small to accommodate Austin's pot ential demand . Center management is now facing severe problems in its attempts to retain a number of annual repeating events . Many national rotating events that previously came to Austin and liked the community cannot return because they are now too large for the facility . Many state events have also outgrown the facility. The chart below shows potential scenarios for exhibit-hall occupancy under three potential growth rates (2, 4, and 6 percent) . Exhibit-hall occupancy is the number of days an exhibition hall is rented (including move-in and move- OUt days) divided by the number of days in the year. The following chart h 'b ' t hall occupancy and potential future occupancy under a displays recent ex 1 1 - range of growth rates. I nnn R;innP. StriltP.nV• Austin r.nnv11ntinn r.,mtDr C.ortil\t'l ? _ 0!'!1"o ,:; C.H. JOHNSON CONSULTING, INC. Experts In Convention , Sport and Real Estate Consulting the obstacles to future growth in …
