One idea. I am not sure how enforcement and auditing has been happening. It's possible that audits are being done remotely by the employee that telecommutes from Birmingham, and a large audit collection can skew numbers. Been there, done that, got a few t-shirts.
More likely though...this could have changed since I left, but traditionally 75 - 80% (at least) of Walton County's bed tax collections come from only 5 companies - none of which are affected by the CU issue because they are largely self-contained, have entertainment, shopping, things that put the heads in their beds - and they also have their own beach. Toss in another six relatively large companies and you now have 85 - 90% of total collections. The point is that no matter how much angst most of the rental companies with properties with limited beach access are going through, collections are going to be up if guests for numbers 1 - 5 keep coming back. And since properties with beach access can now command more of a premium, prices could have increased too.
More likely though...this could have changed since I left, but traditionally 75 - 80% (at least) of Walton County's bed tax collections come from only 5 companies - none of which are affected by the CU issue because they are largely self-contained, have entertainment, shopping, things that put the heads in their beds - and they also have their own beach. Toss in another six relatively large companies and you now have 85 - 90% of total collections. The point is that no matter how much angst most of the rental companies with properties with limited beach access are going through, collections are going to be up if guests for numbers 1 - 5 keep coming back. And since properties with beach access can now command more of a premium, prices could have increased too.