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13300 Revenue Retrieval: Locating New Resources

 

13300. HOTELS
Ideally, as new hotels open, they contact the tax collector to begin reporting their TOT. However, this does not always happen, and sometimes the smaller, bed-and-breakfast-type establishments may go unnoticed for long periods of time. Following is a list of methods that may be used to locate new hotels, including the smaller ones.

1) Check local phone books.

2) If the tax collector has field staff, they should watch for advertisements, signs or any other indication of new or existing hotels.

3) If the tax collector does not have field staff, other county departments with field staff should be asked to watch for new hotels and report them.

4) If a business license tax is collected in the unincorporated area, the files can be cross-checked against the TOT files. 

5) Ask the county assessor for a list of all parcels in the unincorporated area that have a zoning for motel/hotel and that have improvements.

6) Ask the county assessor for a list of unsecured businesses that have a hotel/motel type of business in the unincorporated area. Ask for a complete list, including the motel/hotels that may have values too small to assess (the smaller bed-and-breakfasts may not have much assessable property).

7) Existing TOT taxpayers are another source of information. If they are paying TOT, generally they will want their competition to pay also.

8) Check local newspapers for advertising (travel section, help wanted ads, etc.).

9) Contact local chambers of commerce and better business bureaus. Some have directories of area businesses, which are available at little or no cost. 

10) Check on-line travel services (America Online, Prodigy, etc.).

11) Check trade catalogs, like Best Western.

12) If staff members subscribe to travel magazines, have them bring in old issues.

13) Check travel agencies (officially or unofficially) for rooms available in the area.

14) Include a notice on all property tax bills or insert a separate notice with the tax bills, advising of the requirement to register and report TOT tax. This may be more applicable in smaller counties.

15) Contact the county planning department for a report of any new hotels in the area.