The Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau on Wednesday dropped its controversial proposal to increase the city’s rental-car tax by one percentage point to fund the promotion of Denver to tourists and conventioneers.
Instead, a Denver City Council committee approved a proposal from the convention bureau that includes only a one- percentage-point increase to the lodging tax. Residents most likely will vote on that increase in November, following final approval of the proposal by City Council next month.
The visitors bureau had hoped to raise as much as $2.8 million with the rental-car tax increase, but the lodging-tax increase would bring in an additional $3.2 million. That would provide a significant boost to the bureau’s $8.6 million budget, president Richard Scharf said.
“It’s definitely going to have an impact, but the good news is this will still be more money than we’ve ever had to spend to market Denver as a convention and tourism destination, and that was our goal,” he said.
Three national car-rental chains had spoken out against the proposed tax increase, saying it would have a negative impact on their local customers, a growing segment of the national car-rental industry.
Denver’s hotel tax would increase from 13.85 percent to 14.85 percent under the proposal approved Wednesday by the City Council’s Economic Development Committee.
The Metro Denver Hotel Association supports the increase because it recognizes the positive economic potential of the increased marketing budget, director Ilene Kamsler said.
“We recognize that when the convention center was expanded, the bureau’s marketing and sales budget was not expanded to correspond to that,” she said. “We’re certainly willing to step up to the plate and pay our fair share.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
