Short-term rentals bring a positive economic impact

• They provide a city with additional income through tax revenues

• STR guests spend money in the community (a benefit for businesses and increased sales tax collection)

• Can help residents to make ends meet.

• Increase tourism

 

Visitors staying at our city's short-term rentals pay a 4% lodging tax. The largest percentage of Port Angeles' lodging tax revenue (30%) is generated by short-term rentals. In 2023, the city's short-term rentals are projected to raise an estimated $420,000 in lodging taxes, with approximately $336,000 generated by STRs in low- and mixed-density zones.

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Short-term rentals are particularly important in Port Angeles given that tourism is the primary economic driver of our economy today. In 2022, there were 2.3 million visitors to Olympic National Park, with many, if not most, passing through Port Angeles. 

 

Port Angeles's Lodging Tax Fund is the primary source of City funding for activities, operations, and expenditures designed to increase tourism. Short-term rentals help support numerous local organizations.

 

2022 Lodging Tax Recipients:

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Destination Marketing                                            $138,000

Visitor Center Operation (Fixed)                             $117,300

Port Angeles Youth Basketball                               $85,000

Port Angeles Fine Arts Center                                $75,000

Field Arts & Events Hall                                           $58,500

Lincoln Park BMX Track                                          $50,000

Port Angeles baseball                                             $50,000

Capital Reserve (Fixed)                                            $38,200

OPTC                                                                         $32,000

Port Angeles Downtown Activity Center                $25,000

Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club Shuttle          $22,500

Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club Operations    $15,000

Fiero Marine Life Center                                           $15,500

Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts                     $15,000

OPTC Co-Opt Marketing                                           $15,000

Port Angeles Marathon Association                         $14,500

Peninsula Trails Coalition                                           $6,000

Olympic Culinary Loop Association                           $5,000

ROW, Traffic Control and Utilities                               $4,300

Other Fixed Costs                                                      $59,500

 

Lack of Lodging

Events leaders in Port Angeles have expressed concerns about not enough housing for visitors coming to events. While tourism is robust, our hotel capacity has declined in recent years, according to City Manager Nathan West. In addition, hotel stays are often too costly for families and groups of friends traveling together, and many prefer to stay in a home where they can all be together, with multiple bedrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities.
 

Not a Wealthy City

The City serves a population with a median income of $28,774. Our average household income is $65,000 (minimum wage times two earners). Many people here inherited their family homes, and economic impacts from imposing draconian regulatory requirements or fees on short-term rentals would likely drive a number of them out of business. STR owners tend to be older, many of them retirees or veterans living on fixed incomes. Losing this source of income would be financially catastrophic for many, including the hundreds of service workers who gain a substantial part of their income from short-term rentals.