An organization representing Cincinnati-area hotels will discuss next week whether to endorse a tax increase that would make Hamilton County guests among the most heavily taxed in the Midwest.

        The hotel/motel tax increase unveiled Thursday by Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken and Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune is the largest chunk of a $198 million plan to expand the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center.

        The proposed boost is more than area hotels anticipated, but Greater Cincinnati Hotel & Motel Association President Michel Sheer said it's a necessary step.

        “My personal view is I think it's well worthwhile,” said Mr. Sheer, managing director of the downtown's Omni Netherland Plaza Hotel. “I think it's great that there's a deal on the table.”

        Mr. Sheer will meet Cincinnati-area hotel executives Monday and Tuesday to discuss a financing plan that would boost the city's hotel tax from 1.5 percent to 3 percent and the county's tax from 3 percent to 7.5 percent.

        Add in a 6 percent sales tax, and the total tax rate for a Cincinnati hotel room would be 16.5 percent. That means a customer booking a $100 room would pay $116.50.

        That would give Cincinnati hotels a higher tax bill than eight other Midwest cities it closely competes with to attract conventions. Among those cities, Charlotte and Louisville share the lowest total rate, 12 percent; Columbus' overall rate of 15.8 percent is the closest to Cincinnati's proposed rate.

        Mr. Sheer expects the 40-member hotel organization could adopt a formal position on the tax increase next month.

        County commissioners plan to vote on the tax increase within 30 days, and the City Council's finance committee will discuss the increase Feb. 4.

        Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau Chairman Dave Anderson expects hotel and convention executives will scrutinize the current funding scheme.

        “The building itself isn't all that we need,” Mr. An derson said. “Marketing the region is just as important as expanding the convention center.”

        Customers booked at Cincinnati hotels offered mixed views on the proposal.

        “That's a steep tax,” Steve Tindle of Louisville said. “Sure, that could affect my decision” to book a hotel room.

        Mr. Tindle and his wife are staying at downtown's Millennium Hotel this weekend while attending a car show at the convention center. Other car show participants scouted out cheaper rates at suburban hotels, Mr. Tindle said.

        Kenneth Clark, a Palo Alto, Calif., lawyer who travels to Cin cinnati for business, said a tax increase would not matter to him.

        “That sounds like a great plan,” Mr. Clark said. “Anything that helps revitalize the core of Cincinnati is a good thing.”

        Generating business for downtown hotels, restaurants and retailers is the main reasonbusiness leaders have lobbied for an expansion for years.

        Under the current plan, the hotel taxes would generate $9.1 million a year to help repay $141 million in bonds issued to pay for the expansion. The package would also include $20 million from the state, $16 million in corporate contributions and $15 million from Delta Air Lines for naming rights.

        The new expansion plan is a scaled-down version of a $325 million expansion on the drawing board for two years.

        The current plan would push the convention west on property now owned by WCPO Channel 9. It would add 30,000 square feet of exhibit space to the center's 162,000 square feet, double ballroom space to 70,000 square feet and add a second loading dock.

        The current plan also would outfit the existing center with modern convention amenities.

        The upgraded center would be large enough for 75 percent of all nationwide meeting groups, Mr. Sheer said. Convention officials still must acquire WCPO's property.

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