For at least the second year in a row, Fort Lauderdale has grabbed first place among the top 50 destinations in the United States for the lowest combined travel-related taxes, according to a report released Monday.
Chicago had the highest travel tax burden with $40.31 in combined single-day travel taxes, making it 81 percent more expensive to visit than Fort Lauderdale, with taxes of $22.21, the Global Business Travel Association Foundation report showed.
The record’s scores factored generally sales tax and discriminatory trip taxes on hotels, automotive rentals and meals.
Business trip is a key motive force of monetary growth, but overly burdensome taxes on industry travel can ceaselessly do more harm than good, especially when the ones taxes unfairly target guests, mentioned Joseph Bates, GBTA basis senior director of study. cities and states should think twice in regards to the sales that native businesses will lose because of the upper prices that shuttle taxes impose.
Discriminatory travel taxes and fees imposed on travel-related services can result in an average increased cost on visitors of 57 percent above general sales tax, the GBTA research showed.
While Fort Lauderdale’s ranking wasn’t surprisings, the repeat top placement in 2012 further validated the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau’s efforts to keep the hotel room tax low, President and CEO Nicki E. Grossman said Monday.
It’s good for us to be on best of this list as meeting planners do have a look at taxes as one of the crucial identifying factors on the place to convey a gaggle.
Tied with Fort Lauderdale for the No. 1 spot were West Palm Beach and Fort Myers, while Orlando ranked No. 10 and Miami No. 16 with combined taxes of $24.50 and $27.58 respectively
West Palm Beach also isn’t a newcomer to the GBTA ranking.
The Palm beach County conference and guests Bureau has long promoted the financial savings possible of its low bed tax in gross sales pitches, especially to assembly and conference industry, Senior vice chairman of worldwide sales Doug McLain mentioned.
Those savings can add up to be in the tens of thousands, depending on the group size, length of stay, and itinerary of activities.
For example the hotel room tax in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach is 5 percent, while it’s 16 percent in Chicago.
It’s a tremendous selling point for us and one we know resonates powerfully with our prospective and repeat business, said McLain.
A low hotel room tax is just one part of Fort Lauderdale’s value proposition, Grossman noted.
The CVB also touts its hotel rates as being generally better than in top-tier convention cities, its lower entertainment costs and other destination standouts such as warm weather and proximity to key airports.
At fort Lauderdale’s Hyatt Regency Pier sixty six, along with a low room tax rate, incentives similar to loyalty points, discounted parking and complimentary wireless also assist to win company trade, Ben Johnson, director of company/leisure particular person commute stated.
For Atlanta-based consulting professor Hector Morales it’s the business-friendly attitude and international appeal that keeps him returning.
The city ranked average on affordability, but got top marks for ambience, quality of life and natural beauty, said Morales as he taught an online class from his laptop in the Hyatt’s lobby.
Part of the reason for Orlando’s lower overall tax rate is that it doesn’t have a table tax, said Brian Martin, spokesman for Visit Orlando, the area’s convention-and-visitors bureau. Some destinations charge the extra fee on restaurant dining.
Taxes, he said, do influence the overall price of meetings and therefore impact decision-making.
When we’re asked about affordability, we definitely tout that we have lower tax rates, he said, adding later, … A few dollars a night, that can really make or break decisions.
But for Duane Winjum, normal manager of the Crowne Plaza Orlando Downtown, tax charges usually aren’t part of the dialog with industry vacationers.
It doesn’t seem to be a point of contention, or a point of discussion, he said.
Still, he considers it an advantage that Orlando has developed a reputation as a value destination.
We’re lucky that we’ve got this kind of prime extent of commute to crucial Florida that we’re able to handle a very competitive tax construction, he stated.
While the tax burden may be lower in Orlando than other cities, Orange County still manages to collect a hefty sum of money from its visitors. Last year, the county’s 6 percent tax on hotel rooms generated $176 million. That does not include taxes on rental cars or tolls on the area’s highways.