Lodging tax revenues received so far in 2024 are outpacing congregate sales taxes reported by Sharla Beesly, the town’s grant coordinator who reports the municipality’s monthly financial statics.
In October, the town’s sales tax collections of $2,051,185 represented a 2.01% decrease from the $2,093,353 seen last year. Year to date, sales tax collections are down 3.49% from 2023.
Those receipts do not mirror those received by Visit Estes Park during the same period, although the taxing entities encompass different boundaries. Town receipts reflect only those tax dollars received inside the town limits and include all sectors of business from lodging, restaurants, auto parts, grocery stores and retail outlets.
VEP receipts are collected in a much larger area, encompassing an area the same size as the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District without any property in Boulder County. VEP boundaries stretch west to Rocky Mountain National Park along U.S. 34 and Tunnel Road, South to Boulder County, northeast to Glen Haven and east along U.S. 34 to Drake and US 36 to Big Elk Meadows.
According to Mike Zumbaugh, interim CEO of VEP, October’s preliminary lodging tax receipts data shows $3,254,512 collected which accounts for, a 4.3% increase over that received in 2023. Using the October distribution received from the state, from January through October, total income is 2.9% over that of 2023.
A final analysis of town receipts in all categories is expected as soon as staff can produce detailed monthly reports. VEP board members will get a look at the complete October financial report when it meets Thursday afternoon.
At the September VEP board meeting Zumbaugh said lodging tax revenues are ahead of budget projections. Data used by the lodging organization that promotes visitation to Estes Park shows that through September the visitor guest count exceeds 63,000, reflecting a 5.5 percent increase compared to 2023.
In September visitation to Rocky Mountain National Park increased 3.45% while year-to-date overall visitation to the park was only up slightly at 1%, according to Kyle Patterson, public affairs officer for the park.
Some decline in lodging as reported by several hoteliers in Estes Park, is similar to that seen state-wide according to Smith Travel Research, an industry-respected research firm. That company reports that statewide hotel performance has been in a period of decline in 2024.
The 2025 Colorado Business Economic Outlook, released by the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business said the drop “is attributed to post-pandemic demand starting to normalize after the high year-over-year growth during 2021 and 2022.”
One of the most-watched bellwether reports conducted by Longwoods International shows that “travel trends, both in terms of visitor numbers and spending, are returning to levels more in line with 2019.”
Also measured in the Leeds report was the overall positive impact of arts and culture and outdoor recreation, including that of Rocky Mountain National Park.