I turn again to James Freeman’s Wall Street Journal Best of the Web column — yesterday’s “A tourist tax to attract tourists?” — this time with a local angle. James draws on the reporting of the Star Tribune while performing the satirical work that the native reporters and columnists refuse to do (links omitted):
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For those who have been thinking about visiting Minneapolis but for whatever reason haven’t booked a trip yet, the city’s politicians have an exciting new offer.
Deena Winter reports for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Three Minneapolis City Council members have proposed a new 2% fee on hotel rooms that would be used to promote tourism.
A tourism improvement district would be created and the roughly $6 million in revenue would pay for marketing, special projects and workforce development and training.
For tourists and business travelers alike, it may seem almost too good to be true. All that visitors to Minneapolis have to do is fork over another $6 million and in return the locals will urge them to visit Minneapolis. No word yet on whether bookings have soared since the announcement of this bold new proposal.
As long as visitors choose to stay at a fairly large lodging enterprise, it seems they’ll be able to participate in this exciting program. Ms. Winter reports:
Council Members Robin Wonsley, Katie Cashman and Michael Rainville are sponsoring the ordinance, which would allow a 2% “service charge” on the sale of rooms at hotels, motels, boardinghouses, bed-and-breakfasts, and other buildings with 50 or more rooms for rent.
Ms. Wonsley, a Democratic Socialist, and others backing the plan “agreed to write the ordinance to say activities and improvements will be “implemented equitably” with regard to geography, including areas outside of downtown,” adds the Star-Tribune, which notes:
Wonsley said Unite Here Local 17, the state’s hospitality union, also wants to ensure the ordinance increases investment in the hospitality workforce, so the tax revenue can be spent on workforce development and training.
It seems like everybody’s a winner. “Minneapolis is looking to boost tourism by adding a new fee on hotel rooms,” affirms Joe Mazan of ABC affiliate KSTP. After all, what could do more to boost tourism than making tourism more expensive for tourists?
Still, it does raise the question of why the new fee will be limited to 2%. Is there not even more boosting that could be done with a fee of 20% or 200%? Imagine the possibilities for Unite Here Local 17!
