The city of Savannah, Chatham County and Tybee Island each had its strongest first three quarters ever for hotel/motel tax collections, according to a report compiled by Visit Savannah.
The Savannah area collected $16 million in hotel/motel tax in the first three quarters of 2014, a nearly 14 percent year-over-year growth from $14 million in 2013.
“The strong collections throughout the entire Savannah marketplace for hotel/motel tax collections reflects more rooms being sold than ever before and at higher rates,” said Jack Bussert, general manager of the River Street Inn and Visit Savannah board chair. “When you talk about the economic impact of an industry in a community and an almost 14 percent gain, the story doesn’t get much better than that.”
The city of Savannah, Chatham County and Tybee Island collect a 6 percent room tax on hotels. From 2012 to 2013, overnight visitors to Savannah increased from 7 million visitors to 7.3 million visitors with an overnight visitor spending increase of 12.5 percent from $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion.
A visitor’s average length of stay also increased from 2.3 to 2.4 nights.
“Savannah’s overall popularity as a top U.S. visitor destination continues to have a very positive economic impact on our community,” said Joseph Marinelli, president of Visit Savannah. “More people than ever before are visiting here, and fortunately, they’re staying longer and spending more.”
With the conclusion of this year’s Savannah Film Festival, Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon weekend, Savannah Food & Wine Festival and the Historic Preservation Convention, Visit Savannah is forecasting a strong fourth quarter.