St. Louis Park Looks Toward Visitors Bureau, but Hotels Question Cost
City officials and hotel managers debate the 3 percent lodging tax that would fund a new office to promote business and tourism.
St. Louis Park officials want to bring more business to local hotels. Michael Kottke is afraid the city's new plan will drive business away. The sales and marketing director at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park is fighting a city proposal to establish a local convention and visitors bureau and institute a 3 percent lodging tax to pay for it. Hotels would add those taxes to guests' bills. The proposal comes up for a final city council vote Monday, Dec. 20. "It's not going to have any value," Kottke said. "They're going to push business away, not in." Kottke believes the new tax would put his hotel at a competitive disadvantage compared to hotels in nearby cities such as Minnetonka, Plymouth, Golden Valley, Edina and Hopkins, none of …
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Hansen
2:19 pm on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Ben and Maxine, Well, it has been more than a year since this folly started. Who in St. Louis Park thought this was needed? All it has to show for itself is higher taxes for hotels and those who stay in them. Oh, and the city hand picked a former council member with no experience in tourism to head it up. So far, they've attracted nothing to the city and our hotels and restauarants are no better … more ›