Asheville accommodations, trip leases keep afloat throughout pandemic

Despite the pandemic, Asheville hotels and vacation rentals had a good year.

According to a Buncombe County tourism development agency, revenue from local accommodations was $ 323.8 million from July 2019 to March 2020, while the same period through March 2021 was $ 311.5 million Financial report. The $ 12.3 million difference leaves officials optimistic that the damage caused by the pandemic was not significant.

The TDA is an independent body that controls the county’s hotel taxes.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic that brought the country to a standstill in March 2020, property sales for fiscal year 2021 – which runs from July 2020 to June 2021 – are holding up year-on-year.

“You can see 2021 is above all else, which is a good indication of things to come, I hope,” said Don Warn, Buncombe County’s chief financial officer.

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The income from the accommodation is subject to a property tax rate of 6%. According to state law, this percentage is used for localities – 75% for tourism marketing and the rest for projects that increase the hotel business. This included signposts, sports fields and greenways.

For the current fiscal year, TDA is expected to generate more than $ 19.1 million in revenue. In April alone, those taxes totaled more than $ 1.6 million.

Jennifer Kass-Green, TDA member and Discover Asheville Finance director said there is currently talks on state legislation to move from 75% of accommodation tax revenue for tourism marketing to 66.6%.

If lawmakers approve the change, the difference could be about $ 2 million in taxes in fiscal 2022, Kass-Green said.

The projected tax revenue for fiscal 2022 is approximately $ 20.4 million.

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The bulk of property sales, nearly 60%, for fiscal 2021 were made by hotels. Apartments follow at around 37%. Bed & Breakfasts lagged behind, accounting for around 3% of total accommodation sales.

However, vacation rentals are becoming a major revenue competitor for hotels.

Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the TDA, said vacation rental sales outpaced hotel sales in February and almost reached them in March, when hotels accounted for 50% of total vacation rental and vacation rental sales, which accounted for 48%.

“This is still good news for our residents participating in the vacation rental marketYou profit economically from the visitors to our community, ”she said.