Brown County hotel room tax to go up

GREEN BAY - The hotel room tax in Brown County could be going up soon. But the debate continues over where the money collected should go.

When guests check into a hotel in Brown County, an 8 percent room tax is added to the bill. The money goes toward paying off bonds used to build the KI Convention Center in downtown Green Bay and the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.

But none of that room tax goes to the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote the area.

"The Lodging Association supports the room tax to be increased from 8 percent to 10 percent to go toward marketing dollars," said Aaron Wolf, president of the Brown County Lodging Association.

The plan would generate about $1 million a year for the CVB to help promote area amenities and fill up area hotels.

"Our product is growing and we should be doing more marketing and instead what we've been doing is cutting," said Brad Toll with the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.

But the city of Green Bay would also like room tax funding for a $26 million expansion to the KI Convention Center.

At first the city was pushing for a portion of the additional 2 percent tax, but that would hurt the visitors and convention bureau.

"We'd be in the same situation we are now where we're out marketed by our competition," said Toll.

City officials are now floating a new plan. They want to take any excess money from the current 8 percent room tax, after paying the bonds, and use that to help fund the convention center expansion project. The city declined to comment on the plan ahead of a Brown County executive committee meeting discussing the issue Monday night.

"The city and mayor hasn't really come to the hotel association, lodging association or room tax commission with a specific proposal," said Lawry Larson, a hotel manager and member of the Brown County Room Tax Commission.

Larson says the commission doesn't know yet how much extra revenue they might have from the current room tax.

"We don't know what surplus there is or going to be," Larson said.

Hotel owners indicate funding for marketing is needed first, but certainly would support anything that brings in more business.