JoCo city hopes to maximize tax revenue from World Cup visitors. Here’s how
.jpg "Does this mural look a little dated? It’s about to be replaced in downtown Shawnee.")
Shawnee is joining other metro cities in updating their policies as part of an effort to gain more tourism dollars during the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer.
In Shawnee, the City Council voted 8-1, with Ward 3 Councilmember Kurt Knappen dissenting, to approve a 1% increase in the city’s transient guest tax — or the tax visitors pay when renting hotel rooms, short term rentals (like AirBnbs) and other accommodations for 28 days or less.
For perspective, Shawnee’s Chamber of Commerce lists the city as having five hotels.
The city first adopted a transient guest tax policy and established an 8% rate in 2020 and went into effect in 2021, Duffy said. In 2025, the city garnered $923,507 from its guest tax and $959,123 in 2024.
Total revenues from the tax help fund Johnson County Parks and Recreation District’s improvements to local sports complexes, Visit Shawnee and Shawnee Town 1929’s operations to promote tourism in the city, and other economic development purposes, Deputy City Manager Colin Duffy told council members last week.
By raising the tax to 9% Shawnee has the opportunity to generate an additional $115,000 annually.
“I think this is a very special time and opportunity to do this,” Ward 2 Councilmember Jeanie Murphy said. “I might not be for it if it was a general motion, but because of what’s coming up with the World Cup, the amount of tourism, I’m in favor of making this increase.”
What do guest taxes look like across Johnson County?
Shawnee’s vote last week puts the Johnson County city in line with Overland Park and Mission. Olathe took similar action to raise its tax to 9% last summer.
Just behind them, Roeland Park, Gardner, Leawood and Lenexa’s rates sit at 8%, according to Kansas Department of Revenue data.
In comparison, KCK’s transient guest tax sits at 10%, Duffy told council members.
Spring Hill has the lowest rate in Johnson County at 4%. De Soto and Edgerton have 6% rates.
Prairie Village charges a 9% transient guest tax at their only hotel in the city, the Inn at Meadowbrook, which England’s soccer team recently booked for its stay during the World Cup.
Kansas Department of Revenue data didn’t include Westwood, Fairway, Lake Quivira or Mission Hills’ rates.
‘A money grab’
Most council members saw the increase as an opportunity since the World Cup is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Kansas City this summer, council member Knappen called the move “a money grab.”
“To me, we are not out of line with other cities, but on the higher end,” Knappen said.
During public comment, Shawnee resident Joe Quinn said he appreciated Knappen’s concerns, but he understood the city’s rationale behind the increase.
“With the World Cup coming to our region we’re expecting a surge in visitors and short term rentals and matching the 9% rate of neighboring cities like Olathe, Mission and Overland Park makes sense to capitalize on the economic opportunity,” Quinn said.
Instead, he suggested that the City Council adopt a sunset clause to tie the 1% increase to the World Cup period and automatically revert to 8% when the tournament ends in mid-July.
“This would give Shawnee a competitive edge over neighbors in the long term after the World Cup period — attracting more ongoing tourism and business without permanently burdening our hotels and short-term rentals,” Quinn said.
Knappen said Quinn’s idea was the “next best option,” and requested that the City Council bake in a sunset clause to the tax increase.
However, Assistant City Manager Duffy said that the state requests that the city instead revisit the tax and issues a separate vote, but said that staff could make a note to come back to the discussion once the tournament ends on July 19.
Shawnee will return to the transient guest tax at a later date in order to add specific language on short-term rentals within the city’s ordinance.
This story was originally published February 16, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
