Orange County hits hotel tax revenue record as Spring Break season begins

Yoga at Hollywood Studios. (Gabrielle Russon)

Hundreds held their yoga poses in the predawn outside Hollywood Studios’ Chinese Theatre — a Zen moment before the runDisney races began at Disney World.

Toddlers joined commuters riding the SunRail as they headed north to see the giraffe and rhinoceros at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

These were some of the busy tourism moments across Central Florida as the Spring Break season shifts into gear. Already, the early tourism season is off to a strong start, as Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond announced that February’s tourism development tax (TDT) revenue total broke a new record, at $35.5 million.

“This represents the highest February collections on record, and is a 4.2% increase from the previous year,” Diamond said in a statement last week. “Compared to last month, February collections were higher than January collections by $2.1 million. In addition, collections were higher than February 2023 collections by $2.8 million.”

The TDT is a 6% surcharge on Orange County hotel rooms and short-term stays.

Events like MegaCon, which brought in 180,000 attendees, helped attract crowds to the Orange County Convention Center in February.

According to Visit Orlando, Orlando’s February hotel occupancy jumped to 80.4%, the highest monthly occupancy for Orlando since March of last year. Meanwhile, the average daily rate for Orlando hotels was $225.50, a 3.7% increase from the previous year’s rate.

For officials, the rising February numbers are a good sign since Orlando’s biggest upcoming event, Universal’s Epic Universe theme park’s grand opening, doesn’t happen until May 22. Currently, Epic Universe is in soft opening mode inviting in select media and employees for previews.

Diamond said the March TDT revenue figure should be announced in early May.

Looking ahead, Visit Orlando acknowledged that the timing of Easter makes this year’s season more challenging.

“Due to the Easter holiday shifting to April this year, which typically coincides with Spring Break trips, March is pacing 3.4% behind last year,” Visit Orlando’s President and CEO Casandra Matej said in a statement. “However, April is pacing 3% ahead, and May is looking strong with an 8% increase, driven by the group segment.”