Mariposa County’s lodging tax brought in a record $4,872,000 for August.
But don’t get too attached. It is not a trend. It’s an accounting aberration.
The boost in county coffers is attributed to two payments in August from Aramark, the company that runs the Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Valley Lodge and other lodging in Yosemite National Park.
Aramark, known locally as Yosemite Hospitality, made two large payments for its transient occupancy tax — for June and July — that were both deposited in August.
Yosemite Hospitality’s payment for June 2026, due July 31, was processed Aug. 3, while its payment for July 2026 was processed on Aug. 31.
The Mariposa County Tax Collector predicts that September’s balancing report will likely ref lect the delayed payments from Aramark.
The $4.8 million collected last month raised eyebrows among county officials and the Mariposa Yosemite Tourism Bureau, because it would be an all time record and a 20 to 50 percent increase from previous years.
For comparison, the lodging tax one year ago, August 2025, brought in $3.2 million and nearly $4 million in August
2024.
Mariposa County’s lodging tax is composed of a 12 percent transient occupancy tax (TOT) on all stays shorter than 30 consecutive days. It includes short-term rentals and traditional hotels and motels.
There is also an extra Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) levy of 1.5 percent, which goes to the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau.
Together, TOT and TBID account for a 13.5 percent tax on all lodging in Mariposa County.
For FY25-26, which ended June 31, the combined TOT and TBID taxes brought in $27.8 million. It was $27.3 million the previous year.
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