Hotel Bed Tax Rises

The City of Santa Barbara received $2.33 million in transient occupancy tax (TOT) for the month of August, which is a 9.2 percent increase relative to August of last year. The 12 percent tax is imposed on visitors occupying a room in a hotel, motel, inn, or similar establishment. Jennifer Tomaszewski, city finance and treasury manager, attributed the growth to “an increase in average room rates and the opening of a new hotel within the year.” The city’s adopted TOT budget of $19,605,700 will partly be devoted to Creeks Restoration and Water Quality Improvement.