Tulsa hotel tax increase: Vote NO

The City of Tulsa is asking voters to approve doubling the hotel tax rate in order to pay for deferred maintenance for the BOK Center and the Arvest Convention Center. At the same time, the voters, unwittingly, would be giving a massive and undeserved pay raise to the Tulsa Regional Chamber. Tulsa voters should give a big thumbs-down to the Chamberpots and insist that the City make better use of the money it already has.

If Tulsa voters say yes on November 3, the hotel tax rate will increase permanently from 5% to 9.9% on January 1, 2027, and the allocation of funds will shift temporarily toward facilities and away from marketing and tourism. The percentage for the general fund and economic development (GF and ED in the list below) will stay constant, but the percentage for marketing & tourism (M&T) will drop for four years before returning to its previous level, with Facilities getting the extra proportion. The facilities share will be pledged to cover revenue bonds to pay for arena and convention center updates, so some bankers and bond advisors will make money, too.

Funds for the BOK Center were approved by Tulsa County voters in 2003. It opened its doors in 2008. The presentation pushing for the tax increase has photos of worn seats and old-fashioned lockers. The presentation claims that $128 million in updates are needed, but only $48 million is available.

The summary of the proposal says that the current 5% generated $10.4 million in 2026. Collected at 9.9% and assuming no erosion of hotel stays, that would be $20.6 million.

• Current: 2% GF, 4.5% ED, 45% M&T, 48.5% Facilities
• 2027: 2% GF, 4.5% ED, 40% M&T, 53.5% Facilities
• 2031: 2% GF, 4.5% ED, 45% M&T, 48.5% Facilities
• After revenue bonds: 2% GF, 4.5% ED, 50% M&T, 43.5% Facilities

In constant-dollar terms, the current tax would raise $20.1 million for facilities over the next four calendar years. The proposed increase and the new proportions would turn that into $44.1 million. If $128 million is needed, that means we're looking at 12 years to retire the revenue bonds. Over 12 years the current tax and proportions would raise $60.5 million for facilities; the new tax and proportions would raise $124 million.

Notice how the tax increase will boost revenues for marketing and tourism and economic development, money that mostly goes to the Tulsa Regional Chamber and its subsidiaries under service contracts. Money for marketing and tourism, all of which goes to the Chamber, would rise from $4.68 million annually under the current rate and proportion to $8.24 million. Funds for economic development, of which the Chamber receives more than half, would grow from $468 thousand annually to $927 thousand. One might ask, if facility needs are so dire, why not raise the tax rate but alter the proportions so that all the increase goes to facilities?

The fund summaries in the 2026-2027 City of Tulsa budget tell the tale.

Fund 131, Convention and Visitors, is funded by 45% of the hotel tax. "The fund shall be used to market and promote tourism and the use of convention facilities within the City of Tulsa." "The City of Tulsa contracts with the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce for these marketing activities." In FY27, an estimated $4,554,000 came in through the hotel tax, and all of that is budgeted to go to "Managed Entities," namely, the Tulsa Regional Chamber.

Fund 130, Economic Development, is funded by 4.5% of the hotel tax. "The funds will be used by the City for economic development activities. The City contracts with the Tulsa Authority for Economic Opportunity (TAEO) and Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce for economic and community development services to the City of Tulsa." Each year, $250,000 of that amount goes to "Managed Entities," namely, the Tulsa Regional Chamber.

When I think of Tulsans whose efforts have brought visitors to Tulsa, Danny Boy O'Connor is one of the first names that comes to mind. For love of the book The Outsiders and the movie based on it, he bought the old Crutchfield house used as the Curtis home in the movie and turned it into a museum and a place of pilgrimage for his fellow Outsiders fans. I think, too, of William Franklin, who built Decopolis on Route 66 and added the new Decopolis Tulsarama last year. I think of Linda Collier and her devoted care for the Cave House. What has the Chamber done to make these attractions possible?

And yet you'll see minuscule Chamber CEO Mike Neal showing up to ribbon-cuttings and grand openings as if he or the Chamber had anything to do with the hard work and creativity being celebrated. It's infuriating.

When Mike Neal and G. T. Bynum led a group of 150 Tulsans to New York for the Broadway premiere of "The Outsiders" musical, how much of the cost of that junket came from hotel/motel tax dollars? How much of that tax goes to help Neal and his staff rack up frequent-flier miles and hotel points, while doing nothing significant to build Tulsa's economy?

This hotel tax increase would be a huge gift to this entity that considers itself private when it comes to public accountability but practically a branch of government when it comes to entitlement to government revenues. Unfortunately, we don't have any city councilors with the courage to examine whether dollars sent to the Chamber are effective in increasing tourism and tourist spending. The diminutive mediocrity who specializes in gripping, grinning, and cutting ribbons will be very pleased if voters approve a near-doubling of his annual budget. Back when we had courageous city councilors, they pushed for competitive bidding and other reforms for convention and tourism promotion and economic development, but the reform ordinance they passed was vetoed by then-Mayor Bill LaFortune.

The City had a fair amount of extra money to play with recently. The Vision Tulsa sales tax ran a $103 million surplus. That money was intended for economic development and capital improvements, but the Council and Mayor Monroe Nichols repurposed $23 million of it for the Homeless Industrial Complex. More money for the Philanthropocrats.

In the real world, owners of theaters, restaurants, nightclubs, and other venues hold back some of their profits to pay for repairs, renovations, and updates needed to continue to attract customers. A hotel that fails to replace wallpaper and bed linens and to keep the mechanical systems in good working order will find itself losing its franchise agreement and sliding down the hierarchy of hotel chains, cutting rates and losing desirable customers on the way: Hilton becomes Clarion becomes OYO becomes burned-out squatter nest. But in government world, operating contractors and tenants keep all the ticket profits, and the taxpayers have to pay for updates.

Proponents claim that this is the only tax that you don't pay, except that you pay this tax in other cities, and an increase in one city enables increases in other cities. Tulsans may wind up paying part of the this tax by one degree of separation: Out-of-town contractors who come to Tulsa to do work and provide services for Tulsa businesses and residents will pay the higher hotel tax and pass the extra expense on to the locals who hired them.

Rather than put the burden of convention and sports facilities on travelers, most of whom are just passing through or perhaps in town to visit family, why not directly tax those who attend events at the BOK Center and the Convention Center to fund updates?

Tulsans should say NO to any hotel tax increase until the City puts convention, tourism, and economic development services up for competitive bid and until the City gets its budget priorities in order.

Here is the gist that will appear on the November 3, 2026, ballot:

Do you approve Ordinance No. 25830, which increases the levy of an excise tax from five percent (5%) to nine and nine-tenths percent (9.9%) upon the gross proceeds or gross receipts derived from the rent from every occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel in this City and establishes an effective date of January 1, 2027?

Ordinance No. 25830 was approved by the Tulsa City Council on July 22, 2026. It was approved unanimously by the seven councilors present (Hall-Harper and Bush were absent) It modifies paragraph A of Title 44, Section 101 as follows (deletions are shown with strikethroughs, additions with underlines:

There is hereby levied an excise tax of five percent (5%) nine and nine-tenths percent (9.9%) upon the gross proceeds or gross receipts derived from the rent from every occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel in this City, except that the tax shall not be imposed where the rent is less than at the rate of Ten Dollars ($10.00) per day.

There are no other changes to the rest of Section 101, which defines other exemptions (e.g., for veterans and government agencies), and Section 100, which defines what a hotel is. The council tweaked the definition of taxable rent in 2024 and 2025 to exclude taxes, parking fees, food and beverage, late checkout fees, rollaway crib charges, and other add-ons.

If voters approve the tax increase, another ordinance, also approved unanimously on July 22,will go into effect on January. Section 118 of Title 44, which defines how the hotel tax money is to be spent, will be changed as follows: