But vacation rentals are emerging as a major revenue competitor for hotels.
Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the TDA, said vacation rental sales exceeded hotel sales in February and nearly matched them in March, when hotels made up for 50% of the total lodging sales and vacation rentals claimed 48%.
“That continues to be good news for our local residents who are participating in the vacation rental market
as they’re benefiting economically from visitors to our community,” she said.
Further, hotel rentals dropped 5% from April 2019 levels to April 2021 levels while vacation rentals have increased 24% in those months, Isley’s presentation showed.
ASHEVILLE - Revenue generated from lodging sales taxes is surging to record levels despite physical distancing and other restrictions faced by tourists.
The Buncombe County Tourism Authority, the independent body that controls the county s hotel taxes, has increased its revenue projection 72% in the face of spiking demand for vacation rentals.
Originally estimating $14.8 million in taxes, the TDA is now expecting to generate $25.4 million, a number higher than revenues before COVID-19, Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the TDA, said May 5. During the spring of 2020 – the world – including the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority – was at the beginning of an unprecedented global pandemic. Not knowing what the next year would bring, the TDA board approved a conservative forecast, Isley said.
Asheville residents could one day hop on a train at the local Amtrak station for their next trip to the Carolina Coast or their next business trip to Washington, D.C.
That s if an expansive $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs bill passes that includes big investments in Amtrak s passenger rail network across the country.
President Joe Biden s American Jobs Plan includes $80 billion for Amtrak to expand to new cities, as well as address repairs, modernize its rail system elsewhere and improve existing corridors.
It s been more than 45 years since an official passenger train left Asheville, and the next one could be about 15 years in the future, if Congress approves the bill.
Plan adds Amtrak rail service from Asheville to Salisbury, other routes across South
Asheville residents could one day hop on a train at the local Amtrak station for their next trip to the Carolina Coast or their next business trip to Washington, D.C.
That s if an expansive $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs bill passes that includes big investments in Amtrak s passenger rail network across the country.
President Joe Biden s American Jobs Plan includes $80 billion for Amtrak to expand to new cities, as well as address repairs, modernize its rail system elsewhere and improve existing corridors.
It s been more than 45 years since an official passenger train left Asheville, and the next one could be about 15 years in the future, if Congress approves the bill.