Clear Creek County Wants to Triple the Lodging Tax from 1.9% to 5.9%, Giving Us Among the Highest Lodging Tax Rates in the State
While there are varying rates for owner-occupied and short-term rentals, under 1A Clear Creek County (including Buena Vista, Poncha Springs and Salida) would have among the highest lodging-tax rates in the state:
Steamboat 1%
Vail 1.4%
Aspen 2%
Keystone 2%
Carbondale 2%
Telluride 2.5%
Breckenridge 3.4%
Crested Butte 4.9%
Clear Creek County* 5.9%
(currently 1.9%)
We don’t want to be like Vail or Aspen, but 1A gives us higher taxes than both.
The County Doesn’t Have a Revenue Problem — It Has a Spending Problem
Clear Creek County spending grew 192% from $25.8M in 2015 to $75.3M in 2024. How much bigger does our local government need to be?
Lodging tax revenue has nearly tripled, from $477,130 in 2015 to $1.2 million in 2023
General Fund sales tax revenue has more than doubled, from $3.3 million in 2015 to $7.5 million in 2024
Property tax revenues nearly doubled, from $3.4 million in 2015 to more than $6 million this year
County staffing grew from 181 FTEs in 2015 to 261 in 2025, a 44% increase, with wages and payroll rising steadily.
The Burden of a Tax Hike Won’t Just Fall on Visitors, It Will Hit Business and Residents
Hotel and lodging occupancy rates are down across Western Colorado, and a 210% lodging tax increase will only make it worse. If tourism is softening, tripling lodging taxes to 5.9% will discourage visitors and negatively impact our local economy.
Tourism is Clear Creek County’s economic engine. Increased lodging costs will drive visitors to competing mountain towns.
Nearly all small businesses — shops, guides, outfitters, restaurants — will feel the ripple effect as visitor numbers drop.