On Friday’s Z107.7 Up Close Show, host Gary Daigneault spoke with Chair of the County Board of Supervisors Dawn Rowe, who discussed her assessment that the short term vacation rental boom in the high desert is cooling off.
She explained how the county utilizes funds from the Transient Occupancy Tax, also known as TOT, which is a fee collected on all short term vacation rentals.
The City of Twentynine Palms has projected a loss of $100,000 in TOT revenue for the next two years, but Rowe said the downturn in short term vacation rentals won’t hit the county as hard.
Dawn Rowe: “It won’t have a significant impact on us, plus our TOT is really low at the county. It’s like 7%.”
Daigneault confirmed that Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms each have higher TOT rates, to which Rowe announced an upcoming ballot initiative that may standardize TOT rates across the board.
“I think that Basin-wide, we’re going to try to all be the same, and we’re looking at 11%. I think that will be an issue that comes before the voters at the county level probably in 2024, to see if they want to increase that transient occupancy tax.”
You can hear the full interview below – and subscribe to the Up Close Show, and all our podcasts, right here.
