September had many of us asking “what mud season?”
Shoulder season otherwise referred lovingly by locals as “mud season” is typically during the months of September and October in the fall. It is a time in the mountains when the busy summer season has just ended and the ski resorts have yet to open.
In past years, these two months have been lower sales tax revenue producers but the 2016 year just keeps on giving.
As tourists continue to drive business in Summit County, the shoulder/mud season is becoming busier raising the sales tax revenue.
Most towns throughout the county saw increases in sales tax revenue for the month of August.
Frisco reported the largest sales tax revenue increase with a 10.57 percent increase in year-to-date sales. Breckenridge saw a similarly high increase of 7.56 percent. Dillon’s year-to-date increase hit 5.28 percent, and Silverthorne’s bump in revenue was 3.27 percent.
Breckenridge
Breckenridge saw a 6.13 percent increase for the month of August 2016 in comparison to last year.
- August 2015 increased 10 percent over the previous year.
- August 2014 showed growth of 9 percent.
Frisco
Frisco also saw a large increase in revenue for the month of August 2016 – more than 15 percent. Frisco has seen a steady increase in revenue for the month of August since 2012.
Silverthorne
Silverthorne saw a slightly less increase in comparison to Frisco and Breckenridge. They saw a 2 percent increase ($19,124) over 2015.
Dillon
The only town in Summit County that did not report an increase however was the town of Dillon. While the town of Dillon did see an increase in year-to-date revenue, the month of August was $31,497 behind what it did last year.
LODGING REVENUE
A large revenue producer for Summit County is lodging – it continues to bring in revenue for Summit County towns.
Frisco
In hotel and inn numbers, Frisco is up nearly 5 percent in year-to-date revenue. However, the month of August took a slight dip and fell about $1,273 short of what it did last year in comparison.
Breckenridge
Short-term lodging in Breckenridge is up 10.15 percent year-to-date.
Silverthorne
Silverthorne saw a more moderate increase in general revenue but a large increase in lodging numbers.
Silverthorne’s tax revenue from lodging was $15,236 for the month of August, a little more than 53 percent up over last year.
The town of Silverthorne has a new undertaking – tracking short-term rentals. They have a dedicated staff member to research and find people who are short-term renting on Airbnb and VRBO. The purpose is to ask short-term rental owners to get a license and start collecting the remitting sales and lodging tax.
Now is a great time to contact one of our experienced brokers at Real Estate of the Summit to see how you can take advantage of the ever-growing tourist destination that is Summit County, Colorado!
