Hotel tax revenue did not take as big of a hit as anticipated in Carbon County for the second quarter.

The potential impact of COVID-19 had county officials concerned that a large dip was on the horizon, but Treasurer Ron Sheehan said Thursday hotel tax revenue is only down $945.83 compared to the second quarter of 2019.

“We seem to be doing pretty good with collections despite everything that is going on with COVID-19,” Sheehan told commissioners.

Carbon’s hotel tax is an extra 3% fee visitors pay when staying at local lodging venues.

The county collected a gross amount of $219,496.19 for the second quarter of 2020.

For the first half of 2020, the county saw a gross hotel tax collection of $445,177.19, which is an increase of $45,790.63 over the first half of 2019.

Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau has estimated up to a 70% loss in hotel tax revenue from the four counties it serves. Carbon took in around $1 million for all of 2019.

Nonprofit organizations can apply for the funds, which are to be used to boost tourism efforts in the area. A committee reviews applications twice each year, and PVMB disperses the money to those organizations.

Though the virus is still a concern, Sheehan is confident the fall season will bring its normal uptick as visitors flock to the area.

“We’ll see what the third quarter brings,” he said Thursday. “We should have a full quarter of activity because many of the restraints that were in place were lifted at the end of the second quarter.”