It’s good to know how quickly you can move to action. Never is that tested more than when disaster strikes.
This week the tourism industry in Georgia was blindsided by House Bill 170, a transportation bill.
Late Tuesday night the Georgia House of Representatives as well as the state Senate passed the bill, which included a new tax of $5 to be added to all lodging establishments in the state. The tax will be levied per room, per night effective July 1.
This tax revenue is slated to pay for roads and bridges that we desperately need. However, lawmakers signed off on a questionable way of funding this bill.
Without any notice, the Conference Committee added the tourism tax to the bill in the 11th hour. When they presented this idea on the House floor on Tuesday night, they admitted they did not study the ramifications of this new tax for the tourism industry.
Let me be clear: This will have negative ramifications on the tourism industry across the state.
Already hoteliers are telling me they have room cancellations because of this tourism tax. I’ve also heard of groups that are looking elsewhere because the added cost.
And this is just the beginning.
This tax will not affect just lodging properties — fewer room nights mean fewer people in our restaurants, retail stores, attractions and tours.
The only hope we had of stopping this from happening was pleading with Gov. Nathan Deal to veto House Bill 170.
At the time of writing, Deal has not signed it into law, but we have every indication he
plans to do so. He tweeted about how excited he was to sign it.
So, for the last few days, we have asked people to move to action and call the governor’s office and request that he veto the bill.
It was a statewide call to action that poured across the state and into our neighboring states, Florida and South Carolina.
I asked everyone who called the governor’s office to email me. My inbox was full of hundreds of people from across the state — hotels, motels, inns, large and small, convention and visitor bureaus around the state, restaurants, retailers and attractions.
It was exciting and encouraging to see our tourism community snap into action.
And it wasn’t just tourism people. I had emails coming in representing military, banks, realtors and attorneys. It shows this bill affects more than just out-of-state guests, which is what was touted when presented on the House floor.
Georgians travel within Georgia. In Savannah, 42 percent of our visitors come from within the state. Georgians are our No. 1 customer.
If you live in Georgia, this will affect you. Next time you stay in Atlanta or the Golden Isles, you will pay this tax.
This is a tax on Georgians.
When I spoke with several hoteliers, they were surprised by the arbitrary nature of $5. In fact, most of them told me that if it had been $1 or $2, it would not have been as big of an issue.
Even though we know this bill will most likely be signed by the governor, I’m encouraged about how quickly our tourism community in Georgia reacted.
Maybe next time it will make lawmakers think twice about doing this to an industry. Maybe next session, we can get this repealed. Maybe next time our state legislators will step up and look at any other possible funding model that is on the table rather than taking again from the $11 billion goose that laid the golden egg.
Perhaps the most frightening part of this whole process is that our lawmakers can impose this arbitrary tax without any research.
What will the next arbitrary tax be and when will it come? This should have everyone taking note.
Michael Owens is president/CEO of the Tourism Leadership Council, the largest nonprofit trade organization that supports and represents the tourism community. Contact Owens at michael@tourismleadershipcouncil.com or by calling 912-232-1223.
By Michael Owens