Thunderbolt City Council approved a resolution on the city’s first hotel / motel tax in a special session on Tuesday.
The bed tax would enable the city to generate income from short-term vacation rentals. The Town Clerk Deatre Denion estimates that there are around 30 houses, apartments and boats available as vacation rentals.
There are currently no hotels in Thunderbolt, although there are two bed and breakfasts in town. B & Bs are subject to separate rules.
The excise tax, previously set at up to 8%, was changed to 6% after the Chatham County’s state legislative delegation weakly supported a proposal to increase Savannah’s hotel / motel tax from 6% to 8%. The delegation asked the Thunderbolt City Council to approve a revised resolution that complies with the existing hotel / motel tax of Savannah and other Chatham County parishes.
All council members voted to pass the resolution, with the exception of council member Edward M. Drohan, who stepped down because he is a short-term landlord.
Thunderbolt Mayor Beth E. Goette says the revised resolution is expected to be passed by the Georgia General Assembly.
“We have seen an enormous increase in people who have bought, renovated and rented houses,” says Goette. “Lots of people come here to visit the view, so we have a lot to offer.”
Thunderbolt’s River Drive borders the Wilmington River, once the east coast’s shrimp capital, and is now home to several marinas as well as Thunderbolt Marine, one of the busiest ocean-going service facilities in the country. North of town is Bonaventure Cemetery, a popular picnic spot listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A decision to levy a hotel / motel tax has been in progress since last year and will be discussed for some time. According to several councilors, no vocal opposition was identified.
However, Drohan admits that in addition to the added cost, “what has traditionally been a really simple process becomes a little more complicated”.
“Now you do sales tax and hotel / motel tax and you have to do all filings and all costs that come with that,” says Drohan.
Although the additional revenue to be generated is not specifically foreseen, the resolution states that “such a tax would benefit the city of Thunderbolt by providing additional revenue for the promotion of tourism, conventions, trade shows and the development of Tourism products “.
Typically, bed tax revenue is used for marketing to visitors.
“There was talk of using funds to make Thunderbolt a more desirable place to visit,” says Drohan.
Bringing in more tourism would, in turn, also benefit short-term landlords.
A regulation detailing how the proceeds will be used will be drawn up after the government has approved the decision.