Saturday, 24 October 2015

Local communities lose millions as a result of OTA commissions

With our 15% occupancy tax assumption, every $100 travelers’ spend with Expedia, Hotels.com or Priceline, equals a loss of $3 for state & local communities – and a direct profit for OTAs.


Local Governments lose Billions due to OTA commissions


The Internet Booking Tax Controversy: The OTA Merchant Model has caused another major controversy that is alienating the OTAs from local governments and tourism promotion authorities. A number of local jurisdictions in the U.S. have filed at least 40 lawsuits against some of the OTAs for unpaid tax revenue because the OTAs have been remitting room taxes calculated on the merchant net room rates rather than what the guest paid for the room. Government officials claim that municipalities across the nation are losing an estimated $1 billion per year in tax revenue that can be used toward promoting tourism to the city or in some cases, paying for schools and law enforcement. (Source USA Today, Wall Street Journal and AH&LA)

The Billion Dollar “Leakage” Continues to Drain the Hospitality Industry

Book Direct to Support Local Tourism

Revenue "leaked" from the hotel industry to the OTAs in the form of abnormally high merchant commissions of 25% and higher will reach $5.4 billion in 2010. This leakage must be stopped and reversed as it drains the hospitality industry’s bottom line and threatens the mere survival of the industry