The president of Ottawa's tourism authority is willing to talk to hoteliers about using a portion of the proposed hotel fee to help fund the core operations of his agency.
Jacques Burelle, president of the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority, faces a possible 89-per-cent cut in funding. A final decision on cuts will be made March 24 with the release of the city's budget.
Burelle said he would prefer to continue to receive city funding for core operations, while getting the province to legislate a three-per-cent hotel tax for marketing purposes. However, given the municipal budget crunch, Burelle is open to hoteliers considering putting a portion of the revenues from a voluntary hotel levy toward staff operations at the tourism authority.
"(Hoteliers) will have to decide if they want to reconsider."
Last week, tourism authority officials presented their case to city hall's corporate services and economic development committee. Councillors voted to uphold the proposed cut, which would spell the end of the tourism authority, Burelle said.
Members of the Ottawa Hoteliers de l'Outaouais are not impressed that city hall is considering removing most of its support for the tourism authority and looking instead at revenues from the voluntary three-per-cent hotel fee.
"There was a concern among the hotels the city would try to duck out of its responsibility to provide for OTCA funding," said Dick Brown, executive director of the Ottawa Hoteliers de l'Outaouais. "We are shocked the city would eliminate the OTCA."
Brown said he is unsure why city councillors think the hotel fee should get them off the hook, especially since it is a voluntary fee that does not yet have the backing of all his members, which do not include all hotels, or any motels and bed and breakfasts.
Southway Inn owner William Zlepnig opposes the fee. His preference is a provincially legislated tax that will allow all tourism-related businesses to benefit.
He said he does not want the city to remove itself from funding the tourism authority since, as a taxpayer, he expects to see benefits from those dollars.
"The city has a responsibility to promote Ottawa because I pay a business tax."
Monterey Inn general manager Jason Kelly supports the voluntary fee, but is not sure how he feels about using the funds for the tourism authority's base operations.
"I agree with the three-per-cent destination marketing fee in principle, but I have mixed feelings if it means substituting core OTCA funding because then we're no further ahead. It has deferred the city's responsibility onto the hoteliers."
Even if the hotels put through the voluntary fee, any revenues would still be months away, leaving the tourism authority with no operating capital at the end of this month, Burelle said.
"Regardless of which source (would fund OTCA), it is not going to help us in 2004."
Tourism officials estimate $5 million a year would be generated by the voluntary fee. Brown said he wants the tourism authority to continue operating through city funding and be the key deliverer of those marketing dollars.
An e-mail and poster campaign highlighting the impact of budget cuts on front-line tourism workers has begun, Burelle said. The tourism authority and the hotel association plan to continuously lobby city council up to March 24.
"We will continue to try and make sure city councillors are apprised of tourism in Ottawa," said Brown. "My sense is that there is not enough understanding of the tourism sector. Thirty thousand employees are directly tied to tourism (who are) currently not getting (many) hours of work in the (current) slowdown."
