BY GRACIE WARHURST
Georgetown HOT revenue There is a one month lag in reported revenue. For example, April numbers are reflected in May.
The local impact
In related news
Garey Park, the 535-acre city property that includes Garey House, underwent Phase 2 of renovations at the beginning of the year. Set to open before Vaughn and Pham’s wedding in November, the renovations will make improvements to the wedding venue, including: • Interior renovations of Garey House • Paved parking • Enclosed outdoor space to add seating for 75 guests • Increase house capacity from 125 to 200 “I did want somewhere that had a sizable guest count,” Vaughn said. “We wouldn’t have chosen [Garey House] if it weren’t for the renovation that they just did, which lets us have up to 200 folks in our guest count, which is great because that’s what we needed.”
Hotel occupancy tax revenue—or the money generated from the 13% city and state tax guests pay on their hotel rooms and short-term rentals—has seen year-over-year increases in Georgetown. While seasonal travel affects trends seen in HOT revenue data, there are cyclical spikes particularly in April and October, which correspond to the local busy seasons for weddings, said Rita Healy, Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center manager. Healy said wedding season generally runs from March through June, and then picks up again from October through December. During these times, her hotel might accommodate as many as six to eight different wedding parties on any given weekend. In addition to supporting wedding parties through hotel blocks, Healy’s hotel also has event venue space available to book.
2020
2022
2024
$6M $5M $4M $3M $2M $0
SOURCE: TEXAS COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
“Because there’s so many great wedding venues in Georgetown … we host a lot of room blocks for weddings that are being held in another venue somewhere in Georgetown,” Healy said. Healy said the Sheraton hotel is the only full-ser- vice hotel option in the Georgetown area, which makes it attractive for out-of-town guests.
Timeline of Garey House renovations
Wedding licenses issued in Williamson County
1966: Jack and Cammy Garey purchase the ranch property 1995: The Gareys build their home on the property 2004: The Gareys donate the land, home and $5 million for development to the city 2008: Voters approve a $10 million bond for the park 2017: Ground breaks on Garey Park 2018: Garey Park opens 2022: Jack Garey dies, leaving $20 million for park development within five years 2023: Garey Park renovations Phase 1 2025: Garey Park renovations Phase 2
A larger trend
The volume of marriages in Williamson County grew significantly in and after 2020. Following the pandemic, the city also saw larger gatherings, Healy said. “People were so happy to be able to get together and had put such a high value on spending time with friends and family that those wedding gather- ings got much bigger,” Healy said. While marriage licenses issued in Williamson County reflect this spike during and immediately after the pandemic, it also shows a steady increase in marriages over time. The number of marriage
4K 3K 2K 1K 0
SOURCE: WILLIAMSON COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
licenses issued last year was 27.3% higher than the number of licenses issued in 2019.
SOURCE: CITY OF GEORGETOWN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
3-5 Bedrooms, 2,500-4,661 SF Low Tax Rate 1.55% Georgetown ISD 15 Minutes to Georgetown Square Natural Gas S C O F I E L D F A R M S E S T A T E S 1+ ACRE HOMESITES Georgetown, TX
STARTING IN THE MID $700s
512-820-5087 www.giddenshomes.com
31
GEORGETOWN EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook