Online Travel Companies (OTCs) advertise hotel rooms and charge customers the same or more as hotels do when they sell their rooms directly. But OTCs do not remit taxes on the amount they charge customers. As a result, hotels, which are often locally owned, are taxed at a higher rate than the out-of-state OTCs for the same room, sold for the same amount, on the same day. Ohio and its communities lose out on revenue needed for infrastructure, law enforcement, destination marketing and other priorities. The burden falls on Ohioans. Ohio should join the growing number of states that are eliminating the OTC tax loophole and require these out-of-state companies to remit the tax they acknowledge in internal memorandum they owe.

Lodging taxes work in Ohio because our model is based on local control, and because it ensures that an adequate amount of revenue raised by taxation of our business is invested in economic development activities which produce more travel, more visitor spending, and more business overall. We must ensure that this model is not changed to use one industry as a source of revenue for unrelated programs, or to increase the tax burden on travelers such that Ohio becomes an uncompetitive travel and event destination. Lodging tax must comply with the principles in existing statute. New models such as Tourism Improvement Districts can provide additional options for economic development, but must involve appropriate controls and protections for hotels.

To allow its effective marketing efforts to have greater reach and produce more travel business, Ohio should be competitive in committing adequate resources at the state and local levels to promote travel business and spending throughout the state. Ohio’s funding model for state travel marketing should be permanent and rank higher than the bottom half amongst all states.

Ohio’s hotel & lodging properties seek opportunities to collaborate with federal, state and local agencies to combat the scourge of human trafficking. Additional opportunities for resources from the state can be put to effective use by the industry positioned most closely on the front line of this effort.

The hotel & lodging industry must be strongly represented in all discussions which affect commerce throughout the state, including taxes, licensure, workers compensation, health care, labor law, energy, environment, education and more.