CENTREVILLE, VA. (PRWEB) – The City of College Station, Texas recently renewed its contract with Avenu Insights & Analytics to provide Audit and Administration Services for Hotel and Motel Occupancy Taxes. The contract includes Avenu’s Discovery and Recovery services which increases compliance and revenue by identifying and collecting from unregistered properties within the City’s limits.
Avenu is a leading provider of audit and tax administration services in Texas where hotel and motel operators are required to collect state hotel occupancy tax from their guests who rent a room or space in a hotel costing $15 or more each day. The hotel industry books billions of dollars in business each year which translates into relevant tax revenue for local Texas governments—as long as it gets remitted correctly.
“The challenge is that our staff is responsible for reviewing many different tax types in a short period of time,” said College Station Purchasing Manager, Lisa Davis. “Having the expertise and ability to allow the Avenu team to audit Hotel Occupancy Tax provides detailed inspection that will result in uncovering unpaid or underpaid taxes owed to the City.” Avenu’s best practices previously resulted in over $70,000 of additional tax revenue to the City over a four-year period.
“Avenu partners with 100s of jurisdictions across Texas and we are thrilled to continue supporting the City of College Station. Ultimately our goal is to help sustain and improve services for citizens,” shared Paul Colangelo, Avenu CEO. “When we are able to identify and maximize revenues owed to a City, they are able to better provide for their constituents…without raising taxes.”
About the City of College Station, Texas
College Station has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 10 places for business, jobs, families, and retirees. The City boasts having one of the state’s lowest crime rates and property taxes as well as being the only city in the country with six nationally accredited departments — parks, public works, water, fire, police and public safety communications. With a population of more than 124,000, the city still maintains a small-town feel. Being home to Texas A&M University brings a healthy diversity of race, culture, and nationality reflected in the abundant entertainment and recreational opportunities. To learn more, visit the City of College Station.
About Avenu Insights & Analytics
As a leading provider in State and Local government solutions, Avenu has partnered with over 3,000 state and local governments to boost revenue, optimize operations, and reduce costs. Avenu provides revenue enhancement and administrative solutions that uncover new sources of untapped revenue and deliver software that streamlines day-to-day operations. State and local governments partner with Avenu to increase revenue without raising taxes, streamline internal operations, and improve services by enhancing connectivity for constituents. Avenu is a portfolio company of Mill Point Capital. To learn more, visit http://www.avenuinsights.com.
Avenu’s friends in the South may have spotted the Avenu booth at the 50th annual Alabama Municipal Revenue Officers Association (AMROA) Summer Conference at The Westin, Birmingham this week. A dedicated partner to revenue administrators around the country, Avenu is thrilled to be a Silver Sponsor of the event and support the professionals who help ensure their municipalities are fiscally secure.
Avenu Business Development Executive Yolanda Watkins Bailey was on site throughout the event, answering questions, introducing Avenu’s tools and services, and listening to agencies needs and concerns when it comes to their financial matters.
“I love getting to meet Alabama’s municipal finance officers face to face and learning what helps them succeed. Avenu has such great resources available and I very much enjoy when we can show that to a local audience.”
If you missed Yolanda this week, feel free to reach out to her with any questions about Avenu or its services at ywatkins@avenuinsights.
Hotel taxes are heading upward in Las Vegas partly due to the large turnout for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. This aligns with the expected growth in hotel usage across the U.S. (Deloitte research projects $170 billion in gross bookings this year). That’s a lot of hotel tax to cities and counties—as long as it’s found and collected.
If your government is leaving some of that revenue unclaimed, join our March 29 webinar at 1 pm ET to learn four steps to making the most of your occupancy tax. We’ll cover ordinance evaluation, record review, technology needs, and a case study of El Paso, Texas. Register here.
Avenu’s March 29 webinar will offer a case study and methodology for U.S. cities and counties to increase the revenue they are owed from local lodging operators.
Edmundo Calderon, chief internal auditor for El Paso, Texas, will present his city’s approach to recouping tax revenue, including how non-complying hotels are selected for audits, training, and administration of the collections as well as what non-financial benefits occur. Also presenting will be Avenu’s Ted Kamel, an auditor and client services manager, who will share best practices including:
Join us March 29 at 1 pm ET for the no-cost webinar Underpaid Lodging Taxes: How Local Governments Can Correct the Imbalance. Register here.