{"id":45622,"date":"2025-11-13T21:10:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/45622\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T21:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:10:14","slug":"orlando-dem-carlos-guillermo-smith-revives-push-to-rein-in-public-money-given-to-big-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/45622\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Dem Carlos Guillermo Smith revives push to rein in public money given to Big Tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"

State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, has revived a hearty push to allow for more flexible use of the revenue that local governments collect through the tourist development tax<\/a>, a 6 percent tax levied on stays in hotels and short-term rentals.<\/p>\n

Florida law currently restricts<\/a> how much of that tax money can be used to address some of Orlando\u2019s most pressing issues, such as homelessness and transportation, instead requiring most of it to be spent to boost the region\u2019s world-renowned tourist attractions, convention centers, and tourism promotion agencies.<\/p>\n

Orange County, for example, collected nearly $360 million<\/a> in hotel tax revenue during the 2024 fiscal year, the largest pull of any other county<\/a> in Florida. Nearly one-third of that ($105 million) was distributed to Visit Orlando<\/a>, a private, nonprofit marketing agency that pays a dozen of its executives six-figure salaries<\/a> on a budget that is mostly comprised of public money.<\/p>\n

It was also recently dinged<\/a> by the County Comptroller\u2019s office for misclassifying $3.5 million in public money as private, and called out for spending public money on garish outlays like a $12,000 car allowance for its CEO and a lavish $75,000 dinner party<\/a> promoting local tourism up in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring a time where more than 62 percent of families here in Orange County are cost-burdened \u2014 particularly on things like housing affordability \u2014 to me, it\u2019s unconscionable that we spend $105 million a year, not on community needs to support the homeless, for transit, but $105 million a year on corporate advertising at Visit Orlando with public monies,\u201d Sen. Smith argued, speaking on a panel organized by the Orange County chapter of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters early Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Smith, a progressive who formerly served in the Florida House, has introduced a slate<\/a> of<\/a> bills<\/a> for consideration by Florida legislators next year that would reform state law on the tourist development tax, plus require a dollar-to-dollar match<\/a> on private to public money given to tourism agencies like Visit Orlando.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the industry needs to have skin in the game for their tourism advertising budget,\u201d Smith argued. Roughly 92 percent <\/a>of Visit Orlando\u2019s budget, for instance, is made up of public TDT revenue. \u201cWhy is it that the tourism industry won\u2019t invest in these dollars themselves? Because they want us to pay for it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Orange County Comptroller’s Office<\/a><\/p>\n

Proposed reforms to the hotel tax, such as allowing that revenue stream<\/a> to help pay for housing that\u2019s affordable for tourism workers, road improvements and public transportation, have faced strong pushback<\/a> from the tourism industry, which would \u2014 to no one\u2019s surprise \u2014 like to hold onto its public money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rosen Hotels CEO Frank Santos, for instance, sparred with Smith over the issue Wednesday, telling the League of Women Voters audience that he\u2019d prefer to retain the current restrictions on hotel tax revenue, and create a separate tax or surcharge on tourists<\/a> to fund transportation needs.<\/p>\n

Santos described his pitch as a \u201ctourist transportation tax,\u201d or TTT, that he said would be levied exclusively on tourists, not Florida residents. \u201cI believe that there\u2019s more and more support for a separate tax funding,\u201d he said, referring to unnamed elected officials he\u2019s spoken to and others in the hospitality industry. \u201cI think as long as we stay away from that six sacred cents,\u201d he added, referring to the hotel tax collection, \u201cI think we have a lot of opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Smith, to the amusement of his audience, rose to the challenge of meeting Santos\u2019 congenial proposal with his own. While expressing support for \u201cdedicated source of funding for transportation,\u201d Smith described himself as a \u201cyes, and\u201d proponent, questioning the tourism industry\u2019s unwillingness to fund their own marketing themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is it that the tourism industry won\u2019t invest in these dollars themselves? Because they want us to pay for it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf $105 million a year as the budget for Visit Orlando really is the right amount, we need tourism to invest in some of those dollars themselves,\u201d Smith argued. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe senator,\u201d Santos responded, \u201cdoesn\u2019t really understand the cost of doing business as a hotelier and a hospitality company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Costs for marketing, Santos explained, are up 20 to 40 percent for Rosen Hotels since the COVID-19 pandemic. \u201cThat\u2019s just a part of doing business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The revival of a yearslong fight<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time elected officials and tourism industry hawks have fought over what to do with the generous pot of money that the hotel tax brings in.<\/p>\n

In addition to supporting the relaxation of Florida\u2019s child labor laws<\/a>, slashing the minimum wages for servers specifically<\/a>, and affiliating with a parent organization that has lobbied to weaken food safety regulation<\/a>, the state\u2019s hospitality industry \u2014 via the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association \u2014 has also lobbied to keep TDT revenue earmarked for tourism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each year, as local electeds divvy up the revenue between Visit Orlando, the Pentagon-sized<\/a> Orange County Convention Center and the sports stadiums (and yes, a portion also goes to smaller arts venues and organizations), venue owners simultaneously plead poverty<\/a> while claiming they offer their hourly workers good wages and benefits, in a bid to get hold of more public money.<\/p>\n

\u201cPromoters need to decide to use this facility, either here or they go to Tampa or Jacksonville, or Vegas or Nashville and Atlanta, and we want them to choose Orlando more often than not,\u201d Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, told county commissioners in his pitch for improvements to the city-operated Camping World Stadium in 2023. \u201cThat\u2019s what brings the visitors, that\u2019s what brings the impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current law already allows some of the hotel tax revenue to be spent on \u201cpublic facilities,\u201d including transportation, if at least 40 percent of the revenue<\/a> is dedicated to tourism promotion, specifically, and an \u201cindependent analysis\u201d is conducted to demonstrate \u201cthe positive impact of the infrastructure project on tourist-related businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that 40 percent isn\u2019t forked over, officials are left with more limited options. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s certainly imagination for more. Some local elected officials, for instance, have pitched using a portion of TDT revenue to fund an expansion of Sunrail. Expanding the local rail system\u2019s hours later in the evening and on weekends would cost an estimated $26 million<\/a> per year \u2014 still just a fraction of the revenue that Orange County pulls in through the hotel tax. And that\u2019s assuming other neighboring municipalities don\u2019t pitch in, too.<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Central\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

A proposal from Smith that nearly made it into a bipartisan state budget package earlier this year (before being removed at the last minute<\/a>) would have made it easier for local governments to spend TDT revenue on public transportation and infrastructure. Smith plans to push for this again in 2026.<\/p>\n

Santos, who rose to the position of CEO of Rosen Hotels shortly after the death of hotelier Harris Rosen last December, said he similarly supports expanding Sunrail. He just wants to see that expansion done through something like his proposal \u2014 without touching TDT revenue.<\/p>\n

Smith is planning to move forward with his reform proposals regardless. The senator told Orlando Weekly after the panel Wednesday that he believes Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani (also a Democrat from Orlando) is prepared to sponsor a couple of his TDT reform bills in the Florida House, and is still working on finding a House sponsor for a couple of others (since House members have limitations on how many bills they can sponsor).<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s proposals include:<\/p>\n

SB 446<\/a>: Would require a \u201cone-to-one match\u201d of private to public contributions to fund \u201clarge-scale county destination marketing organizations\u201d like Visit Orlando<\/p>\n

SB 454<\/a>: Would delete the part of Florida statutes that requires a certain percentage of TDT revenue to be spent on promoting tourism<\/p>\n

SB 458<\/a>: Would otherwise revise the percentage to require just 20 percent (instead of 40 percent) of TDT revenue be used for promoting tourism<\/p>\n

SB 456<\/a>: Would allow for revenue from TDT to be used to help fund the development of workforce housing, public safety improvements (because theme park-goers want to feel safe, too) and other affordable housing developments<\/p>\n

Legislation filed by state lawmakers must be approved by majorities in both the Florida House and Senate, and then receive final approval from the governor to become law. Florida\u2019s 2026 legislative session is scheduled to begin Jan. 13, 2026, and end March 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\u2018We just want to get some of that money back so that our communities can benefit from it.\u2019\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"OnePulse\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe local group calling for \u2018No Pulse Museum\u2019 seems to have achieved its goal.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Orange\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tOf nearly $800 million in TDT funds, the bulk is earmarked for an Orange County Convention Center expansion.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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