The following words, terms and phrases are defined as follows:
Consideration.
The cost of the room in a hotel only if the room is ordinarily used for sleeping, and not including the cost of any food served or personal services rendered to the occupant of such room not related to the cleaning and readying of such room for occupancy.
Hotel.
Any building or buildings in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations, including hotels, motels, tourist homes, house or courts, lodging houses, inns, rooming houses, or other buildings where rooms are furnished for a consideration, but not including hospitals, sanitariums or nursing homes. For purposes of the imposition of a hotel occupancy tax under Texas Tax Code Chapters 156 and 351, "hotel" includes a short-term rental.
Monthly period.
The regular calendar months of the year, the first month being September 1991.
Occupancy.
The use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, of any room or rooms in a hotel if the room is one which is ordinarily used for sleeping and if the occupant is other than a permanent resident as hereinafter defined.
Occupant.
Anyone who, for a consideration, uses, possesses, or has a right to use or possess any room or rooms in a hotel under any lease, concession, permit, right of access, license, contract or agreement, other than a permanent resident as hereinafter defined.
Permanent resident.
Any occupant who has or shall have the right to occupancy of any room or rooms in a hotel for at least thirty (30) consecutive days during the calendar year or preceding year.
Person.
Any individual, company, corporation or association owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel.
Short-term rental.
The rental of all or part of a nonresidential or residential property to a person who is not a permanent resident as herein defined.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-21; Ordinance 25-01 adopted 3/10/2025)
(a) 
There is hereby levied a tax of seven (7) percent of the price paid for a room in a hotel on every person who, under a lease, concession, permit, right of access, license, contract or agreement, pays for the use or possession or for the right to the use or possession of a room that is in a hotel, costs two dollars ($2.00) or more each day, and is ordinarily used for sleeping. The price of a room in a hotel does not include the cost of food served by the hotel and the cost of personal services performed by the hotel for the person except those services related to the cleaning and readying of the room for possession.
(b) 
Exceptions are as follows:
(1) 
No tax shall be imposed upon a permanent resident.
(2) 
No tax shall be imposed for federal or state employees traveling on official business.
(3) 
No tax shall be imposed for diplomatic personnel who present a tax exemption card issued by the United States Department of State.
(4) 
No tax shall be imposed for federal or state military personnel traveling on official military business. This exemption does not cover military staff on leave or between stations.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-22)
(a) 
Every person owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel shall collect the tax levied by this article for the city.
(b) 
The hotel operator shall be entitled to one (1) percent of the hotel occupancy tax revenues collected as reimbursement for the operator’s administrative costs for collecting the tax. However, as hereinbelow provided, this reimbursement may be forfeited at the discretion of the city, if the hotel operator fails to timely pay over the tax or timely file a report as required by the city or files a false report with the city.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-23)
On the twenty-fifth day of the month following each monthly period (beginning the twenty-fifth day of October of calendar year 1991), every person required to collect the tax imposed hereby shall file a report with the city secretary showing the price paid for all room occupancies in the preceding month, the amount of the tax collected on such occupancies, and any other information the city secretary may reasonably require. Such person shall pay the tax due on such occupancies at the time of filing such report. The report shall be in a form prescribed by the city secretary. The city secretary is hereby authorized and directed to do all such things necessary or convenient to carry out the terms of this article. The city secretary shall have the authority to request and receive within a reasonable time documentation for information contained in the report to the city by the hotel. At the end of each quarter, each hotel shall provide a copy of the quarterly report filed with the state comptroller to the city.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-24; Ordinance adopting Code)
The city secretary shall have the power to make such rules and regulations as are reasonable and necessary to effectively collect the tax levied hereby, and shall upon reasonable notice have access to books and records necessary to enable him or her to determine the correctness of any report filed as required by this article, and the amount of taxes due under the provisions of this article.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-25)
(a) 
If any person shall fail to file a report as required herein or shall file a false report or shall fail to pay to the city secretary the tax as imposed herein when said report or payment is due, he shall forfeit five (5) percent of the amount due as penalty, and after the first thirty (30) days he shall forfeit an additional five (5) percent of such tax. However, such penalty shall never be less than one dollar ($1.00).
(b) 
Delinquent taxes shall draw interest at the rate of ten (10) percent per annum beginning sixty (60) days from the due date.
(c) 
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article, including hotel operators who fail to collect the tax, fail to file a return, or file a false return, or who are delinquent in their tax payment, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be fined in any sum not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), and each twenty-four (24) hours of any such violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-26)
The city is hereby authorized to take the following actions against any person required to collect the tax imposed hereby and pay the collection over to the city and who has failed to file a report, or filed a false report, or failed to pay the tax when due:
(1) 
Require the forfeiture of any revenue the city allowed the hotel operator to retain for its cost of collecting the tax;
(2) 
Bring suit against the hotel for noncompliance; and/or
(3) 
Bring suit against the hotel seeking any other remedies provided under state law.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-27)
The city attorney is hereby authorized to bring suit against any person required to collect the tax imposed hereby and required to pay the collection over to the city and who has failed to file a report, or filed a false report, or failed to pay the tax when due. Such suit may seek to collect such tax not paid or to enjoin such person from operating a hotel in the city until the tax is paid or the report is filed or both, as applicable and as provided in the injunction.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-28)
(a) 
The revenue derived from any hotel occupancy tax imposed and levied by this article may be used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry, and that use is limited to the following:
(1) 
The acquisition of sites for and the construction, improvement, enlarging, equipping, repairing, operation, and maintenance of convention center facilities (as such is defined in V.A.T.S. Tax Code, section 351.000);
(2) 
The furnishing of facilities, personnel, and materials for the registration of convention delegates or registrants;
(3) 
Advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to attract tourists and convention delegates or registrants to the municipality or its vicinity;
(4) 
The encouragement, promotion, improvement, and application of the arts, including instrumental and vocal music, dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture, design and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, motion pictures, radio, television, tape and sound recording, and other arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of these major art forms; and
(5) 
Historical restoration and preservation projects or activities or advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to encourage tourists and convention delegates to visit preserved historic sites or museums:
(A) 
Which are at or in the immediate vicinity of convention center facilities; or
(B) 
Which are located elsewhere in the municipality or its vicinity that would be frequented by tourists, convention delegates, or other visitors to the municipality.
(b) 
Revenue derived from the hotel occupancy tax shall be expended only in a manner which directly enhances and promotes tourism and the convention and hotel industry as hereinbefore delineated. Such revenue shall not be used for the general revenue purposes or general governmental operations of the municipality which are not directly related to promoting the hotel and convention industry or tourism in the municipality.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-29)
(a) 
The city council may, by contract, delegate to a person, including another governmental entity or a private organization, the management or supervision of programs and activities funded with revenue from the hotel occupancy tax. The city council shall approve in writing in advance the annual budget of the entity to which it delegates those functions, and shall require the entity to make periodic reports to the city council at least annually listing the expenditures made by the entity of revenue from the tax provided by the municipality.
(b) 
The entity must maintain the revenue provided by the municipality from the tax in a separate account established for that purpose and may not commingle that revenue with any other money or maintain it in any other account.
(c) 
The municipality may not delegate to any person or entity the management or supervision of its convention and visitors programs and activities funded with revenue from the hotel occupancy tax other than by contract as provided herein.
(d) 
The approval by the city council of the annual budget of the entity to which these functions are delegated creates a fiduciary duty in the person or entity with respect to the revenue provided by the municipality to the person or entity under the contract.
(e) 
A person or entity with whom the municipality contracts to conduct authorized activities and maintain complete and accurate financial records of each expenditure of hotel occupancy tax revenue made by the person or entity, on request of the city council or other person, shall make the records available for inspection and review.
(f) 
Hotel occupancy tax revenue may be spent for day-to-day operations, supplies, salaries, office rental, travel expenses, and other administrative costs that are incurred directly in the promotion and servicing of expenditures hereinbefore authorized. The portion of the total administrative costs for activities for which hotel occupancy tax revenue may be used may not exceed the administrative costs actually incurred in conducting the authorized activities.
(g) 
Hotel occupancy tax revenue may not be spent for travel for a person to attend an event or conduct an activity the primary purpose of which is not directly related to the promotion of the person’s job in an efficient and professional manner.
(1987 Code, sec. 21-30)
The provisions of this article shall apply equally to hotels, as defined in the Texas Tax Code and this article, within the corporate limits of the city, and to hotels, as defined in the Texas Tax Code and this article, in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (“ETJ”) of the city pursuant to state law, provided that the combined rate of state, county, and municipal hotel occupancy taxes in the ETJ shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the price for a room in a hotel or motel, as provided by Texas Tax Code section 351.0025.
(Ordinance 14-02 adopted 3/24/14)