Door County Room Tax Revenue Up 2.8 Percent Through May

Room tax dollars continue to increase in Door County, with Sister Bay bringing in the greatest increase over 2016 collections through May.

A report released by the Door County Tourism Zone Commission shows a 2.8 percent increase in room tax dollars collected from lodging operators, but it also shows a slow month of May and a big discrepancy between municipalities’ improvements from last year.

The commission’s 19 municipalities saw a 1.9 percent decrease in room tax dollars collected in May between 2016 and 2017. Similar decreases in January and February were offset by a 21 percent increase in April.

Jacksonport made the largest percentage gains through May, bringing in 26.09 percent more room tax dollars compared to 2016. The town added 54 rental units from 2016 and the occupancy rate increased by 3.7 percent. Rental units are defined as the number of rooms available multiplied by the number of nights in any given month.

While the City of Sturgeon Bay brought in the most room tax dollars through May this year ($140,008), Sister Bay made the largest gains in room tax dollars collected. The village collected $9,209 more room tax dollars than last year, an increase of 16.47 percent. Sister Bay added 521 rental units since last May and saw a 16 percent increase in occupancy rates for the month.

Ephraim’s 8.2 percent decrease in room tax dollars can likely be attributed to the loss of 2,775 rental units from May of last year. However, the loss of rental units has also resulted in a 6 percent increase in occupancy rate. Ephraim has had fewer rental units available for each month of 2017 when compared to last year.

Here are some other insights from the May 2017 room tax report:

• Brussels and the Village of Forestville continue to have no rental units available and do not bring in any room tax dollars. The Town of Forestville is the lowest-gaining municipality above zero, bringing in $17 in room tax dollars in 2017 so far.

• The average rate for a rental unit in Door County in May is $113. The most expensive municipality is the Town of Sturgeon Bay, with 522 units averaging $161 per night. The Town of Egg Harbor has the cheapest average room rate, with 12,504 units averaging $82 per night.

• The May occupancy rate for the entire county was 32.14 percent. Union filled the most of its available units, with a 54.84 percent occupancy rate of its 31 available units. Nasewaupee had the second-highest occupancy rate, filling 45.62 percent of its 3,036 available units.

• Of the $525,494 in collected room tax dollars, $157,648 has gone back to the individual municipalities while $346,825 has gone to the Door County Visitor Bureau.