U.S. Hotel Industry Asks Congress For Support

LOS ANGELES— Major U.S. hotel and travel industry groups asked Congress on October 5 to include a range of tax breaks and financing in an upcoming economic stimulus bill to support the struggling tourism industry. The groups called on Congress to help the thousands of unemployed hotel and travel workers and to encourage business travel and tourism, which have fallen sharply after the Sept. 11 attacks. The debate over government relief has divided the U.S. hotel industry. Chief executives of Marriott International, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Loews Hotels have joined the lobbying effort. But Hilton Hotels Corp., which supported the $15 billion airline bailout, believes such assistance is not needed for the hotel industry. The Travel Business Roundtable (TBR), chaired by Loews’ CEO Jonathan Tisch, said U.S. hotels stand to lose more than $2 billion in room revenues from cancelled meetings and reservations. In Thursdays petition to Congress, the American Hotel & Lodging Association said that cancelled bookings in the 10 days after the attacks equated to $700 million in lost revenue. Both industry groups called for new tax incentives to encourage travel, including full tax deductions for business meals, entertainment, and accompanying spouses. The groups also called on Congress to provide matching funds for states/cities having difficulty processing and paying unemployment claims. SOURCE: Reuters