COVINGTON — Hoping to boost tourism and fill hotel rooms, Northern Kentucky's hospitality industry has embarked on a grass-roots lobbying campaign to push for an increase in the region's hotel tax.

        The effort is aimed at winning approval within the next few months for a 1-cent increase in Northern Kentucky's hotel tax, now at 4 cents on the dollar. The increase would raise an estimated $1 million a year that would be used to market tourist attractions.

        Elected officials in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties who must approve the tax increase have received dozens of postcards in recent weeks from hotel and restaurant workers asking for the tax hike.

        “People (in the hospitality industry) are nervous,” said Dan Fay, president of the Covington-based Commonwealth Hotels, operator of some of the biggest hotels in the region, including the Commonwealth Hilton in Florence and the Marriott and Embassy Suites hotels on Covington's riverfront.

        “There are people who have lost their jobs, and those who still have jobs want to do what they can to get some more (tourism) business for the area,” he said.

Travel industry in slump

        Because of the slowing economy, a drop in tourism following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the summer's long Comair strike, business at some Northern Kentucky hotels is off by as much as 50 percent, according to Jim Willman, chairman-elect of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors.

        “On top of that we have a glut of hotel rooms,” he said. “In 1997, we had 4,200 hotel rooms in Northern Kentucky. Today, we have 7,200. We have had increases in tourism, but the business travel is down, and that's hurting a lot of the hotels.”

        Tourism had been growing in the 13-county Northern Kentucky region. Spending by tourists in the region jumped 11.8 percent last year to nearly $727 million, the largest increase of any part of the state, according to figures from the Kentucky Tourism Development Cabinet.

        Tourism has been buoyed by the Kentucky Speedway in Gallatin County and the Newport Aquarium.

        But more marketing needs to be done to keep tourists coming to the area and to let people in other cities know about the region's attractions, including the aquarium and the Newport on the Levee entertainment and shopping venue.

        “People are still going to spend money,” Mr. Fay said. “But the question is, do they spend it in Northern Kentucky or Columbus, Ohio.”

        Mr. Fay, hotel operators and the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau — which would receive and spend the tax money — orchestrated the lobbying campaign.

Workers support increase

        As of Thursday afternoon, the Campbell County Fiscal Court had received about 50 of the postcards at its Newport office. Officials in other counties reported receiving cards too.

        Most of the postcards are form letters seeking the county fiscal court members' support of the tax. They are addressed to fiscal court members and signed by a restaurant or hotel worker, many from Commonwealth Hotels and the Drawbridge Inn, a Fort Mitchell hotel that laid off 100 workers in November.

        “Please vote to increase the hotel tax by one percent so that the convention bureau can advertise more,” the cards read.

        “More visitors will help me to keep my job and it is visitors who pay this tax. Your yes vote will keep our industry and my job going.”

        Others are handwritten notes, such as one from a Drawbridge Inn housekeeper, who writes, “My job depends on travelers.”

Ohio situation

        The effort comes as Hamilton County is pondering an increase of 2.5 percentage points in its hotel tax. Commissioner Todd Portune said the increase would help finance $59 million in capital construction bonds for an expansion of Cincinnati's convention center. Mr. Portune wants commissioners to vote on the proposed increase in January.

        In Warren County, commissioners recently enacted a hotel bed tax hike that goes into effect in January. Money raised by the tax — which will rise from 2 percent to 3 percent — will go to the county Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote tourism.

        Northern Kentucky county officials have actually had the power to increase the tax since 1998, when state lawmakers passed a law allowing the increase.

        But none of the counties has ever put the issue to a vote.

"Jury's still out'

        “I think everybody has been waiting for somebody else to make the move,” said Campbell County Judge-executive Steve Pendery, a Republican who supports the increase.

        “But I don't know how somebody can say they don't see the need for this right now. We have new attractions we need to market and hotel rooms to fill. This is a way to help do that.”

        Campbell County Commissioner Dave Otto, a Democrat, agreed.

        “We have the people whose business this will affect, the hotel owners, telling us they want the tax increase,” Mr. Otto said. “We should give them what they need to operate their businesses in the best way they know how.”

        Kenton County Judge-executive Dick Murgatroyd said he has seen the postcards and realizes “the industry is really hurting.”

        “There (are) a lot of rooms here, and they are not filling up those rooms like they once did,” said Mr. Murgatroyd, a Republican.

        “If the momentum is out there, I'll support it.”

        But Boone County Judge-executive Gary Moore, also a Republican, said he is undecided. Mr. Moore said the convention and visitors bureau has not yet made a strong presentation to the Boone County Fiscal Court on why the increase is needed.

        “Until they do, the jury is still out,” he said.

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