A new Orange County audit is raising concerns about Visit Orlando’s spending public money on everything from the CEO’s car allowance to arena sky boxes and a $75,000 Michelin event in New York City as the probe questions the organization’s return on investment for Central Florida.
Visit Orlando (VO) receives $100 million annually from the countywide hotel tax — otherwise known as the tourist development tax (TDT) — to advertise Central Florida tourism. Still, the audit accused the organization of inappropriately spending some of that public money. The 66-page audit released Tuesday by Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond’s office comes as VO is facing growing scrutiny from local officials who are pushing to use the millions of hotel tax revenue to expand SunRail or toward other community problems.
“The long-awaited audit of @VisitOrlando is out — and it’s not good news for taxpayers. Improper use of public $$, lavish spending, questionable ROI,” wrote Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat who sponsored legislation to reform TDT this Session.
Meanwhile, VO leaders defended the organization and insisted they are good stewards of taxpayer money, although they acknowledged they are willing to make changes based on the audit’s findings.
“Recognizing that audits are opportunities to learn and improve processes, Visit Orlando has already worked through and implemented many of these new requests and will be working with the county to clarify others. We value our work and partnership with Orange County, which continues to result in significant economic and community impact,” CEO Casandra Matej said in a statement.
The audit found VO spent $860,000 on three luncheons in 2023 to celebrate VO’s milestones and discuss the tourism trends as well as $20,600 for two Kia Center sky boxes at the 2023 NCAA March Madness tournament.
For the arena boxes, “Only eight of the 48 attendees were potential clients. The rest were VO staff, VO members, and elected officials,” the audit said. “As only eight clients attended, the second sky box does not appear necessary for entertaining clients and should not have been paid for with TDT Funds.”
Matej responded to the audit by saying the sky boxes were used for “client engagement and tourism sales at a high-visibility national event which had an economic impact on our community.”
Another time, VO spent $75,000 on taxpayer money to showcase a Michelin-starred Orlando restaurant in New York City — a questionable return on investment, the audit said.
“We identified several events where the ROI was unclear, primarily due to their geographical location. One example is the Michelin Event held in New York City, which was intended to promote tourism by showcasing a Michelin-starred Orlando restaurant. The event was marketed as featuring Capa, an Orlando restaurant. It was held at The Musket Room in New York City and primarily featured dishes prepared by The Musket Room’s chefs,” the audit said. “This dinner, which hosted 40 guests, was paid for with TDT Funds totaling $75,000 — $1,875 per guest. Given that the event was held out of state and did not prominently feature the promoted Florida restaurant, we question whether it delivered sufficient value in terms of promoting Orange County tourism.”
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
