Georgia’s Hotel Industry Fights New $5 Fees
Monday, April 27th, 2015
Georgia hospitality heavyweights have launched a behind-the-scenes campaign to soften the sting of a new nightly $5 fee tacked on to hotel and motel stays that will fund transportation improvements.
They are already lobbying Gov. Nathan Deal and legislative leaders to scale back the fee next year, and industry executives pledge to turbocharge their political campaign donations. And, in the meantime, they are exploring litigation that could prevent the rate increase from taking effect in July.
The hoteliers are playing catch-up after they were blindsided by the fee. House and Senate leaders struck a late deal to attach it to a broader transportation package that would funnel more than $900 million each year into road and bridge repairs.
