Room Taxes

You’re paying an average of 12.36% extra for your hotel room in major U.S. cities, thanks to taxes, but the figure varies quite a bit. The most popular place to park the money? In a city’s general fund.

City....Hotel/lodging tax

Atlanta............14.00%

Boston.............12.15%

Chicago............14.90%

Houston............17.00%

Las Vegas...........9.00%

Los Angeles........14.00%

Miami..............12.50%

New Orleans........11.00%

New York...........13.25%

San Diego..........10.50%

San Francisco......14.00%

Seattle............15.60%

Washington, D.C....13.00%

Top ways to spend hotel taxes*

1. General fund

2. Convention & visitors bureaus

3. Convention facilities

4. Other travel-related programs

5. Sports complexes

6. Arts/history/culture

7. State travel offices

8. Special events

*Note: Ranks are based on the number of cities that spend in each category.

Source: Travel Industry Assn. of America survey of 50 cities. Figures from 1998, the latest available.