Waco Tribune-Herald: Waco Occupancy Tax Revenue Rises

The Waco Tribune-Herald reports on the state of the area’s vacation rental business in an article entitled Vacation rentals double revenue over last year, riding Magnolia’s coattails published on October 3rd. Special attention is given to how this increases the Waco Occupancy Tax revenues.

While the story focuses on AirBNB and VRBO-type properties, deeper in the text journalist J.B. Smith looks at Waco’s mainstream lodging business, naturally using statistics from Source Strategies, Texas’ leader in hotel/motel data. Speaking with Carla Pendergraft, marketing director for Waco and the Heart of Texas, the article notes:

Pendergraft said the vacation rental industry doesn’t seem to have hurt conventional hotels. Information from the firm Source Strategies shows the Waco Hilton had 88 percent occupancy in the second quarter of this year, up from 75.7 percent the previous year.

Overall, Waco hotels had a second-quarter occupancy rate of 75.5 percent this year, beating all Texas markets except Austin-Round Rock, which had 76.6 percent, according to Source Strategies. Statewide, occupancy rates were less than 65 percent, according to the firm.

The article also has to discuss Waco’s notable celebrity from the popular television show Fixer Upper starring Chip and Joanna Gains.

Read the full article on the Waco Tribune’s site.