JEFFERSON, LA – Jefferson Parish hotel owners and administrators voted overwhelmingly to begin self-assessing a 1% daily room charge effective Thursday, September 1, 2016. to better fund the destination's sales and marketing efforts led by the Jefferson Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.
A referendum on the assessment was conducted by the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association (GNOHLA), utilizing an independent CPA firm. The balloting ended July 29, 2016. Over 90% of the hotel owner and administrators voting supported the measure which required 2/3 of the votes cast to approve or ratify the hotel assessment. Each hotel casting a ballot had a number of votes equal to the number of rooms in their property.
The self-assessment was made possible by Senate Bill 169 by Senator Danny Martiny (R – Jefferson) which was passed in the 2015 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature and became Act 265 when signed by the Governor on June 29, 2015. That legislation authorized the levy of an optional hotel assessment by a tourism organization (the Jefferson Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.) upon its hotel members and provided for treating such assessment as a surcharge to hotel guests.
The decision by hotel leaders was a strong vote of confidence for the Jefferson Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. which has guided the Jefferson Parish tourism collaborative to becoming a $1 billion industry funding almost 10,000 jobs, JCVB reps said. JCVB President & CEO Violet Peters said, "Our hotel industry in Jefferson Parish is united in the will to grow our economic base and strengthen the tourism experience for our guests. We appreciate their inspiring support, and we will use this vote to begin attracting more visitors to our destination."
David Teich of the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans who serves as President of the GNOHLA said, "It is encouraging to see our hotel executives invest in our industry and our region's potential growth in tourism. Their remarkable vote proves their commitment to making this area a leading destination for visitors both business and leisure.”
David Mock, Chairman of the JCVB Board of Directors and General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott New Orleans Westbank/Gretna said, "We have a great deal of trust in our tourism bureau, and it showed in our vote. Our industry is unified to grow our business and to do so we need to give our marketing team the resources they need. This action will benefit our industry, and we are thankful to all who supported this measure."