Tourism officials are working to set up a citywide special taxing district that will raise money to market Tulsa to potential visitors.
Tourism improvement districts were authorized by a state law that took effect Nov. 1, and VisitTulsa President Ray Hoyt aims to have Tulsa’s established by April.
"It's only hotels and not restaurants or anybody else, and the goal is that assessment is on occupied rooms. The hoteliers, like a business improvement district, have to agree to it — 50 plus one percent," Hoyt said.
The improvement district would institute a new 2.5 percent room tax on 92 hotels.
"Every time a hotel is built and opened in the district, it would just automatically become part of the assessment," Hoyt said. "It's hotels 50 rooms and more. Those hotels are typically in our marketing sweet spot."
The law authorizing tourism improvement districts says revenue can be spent to market events reasonably expected to increase hotel occupancy.
"It can't be spent on things that don't have a direct impact to the hotel industry, and that's what's key to it. It's like any improvement district: It has to benefit the district," Hoyt said.
More than 100 cities in almost a dozen states have such improvement districts. Oklahoma lawmakers rejected a measure in 2015 that would have allowed the districts before approving one last year.
