Haines Borough lodging tax income jumped 54 percent during the past five years and the expanding vacation rental market might explain the increase.
In 2011, the borough collected $71,965 in lodging taxes from local vacation businesses. Last year the number stood at $115,716.
Randa Szymanski has owned a travel agency in Haines since 1986. She started managing her first and only vacation rental 17 years ago. Now, she said, the market is “booming.”
“The vacation…