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Major US city looks to hike hotel fees to boost tourism
By Ashley DiMella
Published February 28, 2025
Americans are flocking once again to Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the Twin Cities seeing a rebound in visitors.
Many local hotels are pushing to create a tourism improvement district (TID) which would implement a hotel tax in order to fund different tourism initiatives.
TAX ON TOURISTS AND TRAVELERS COMING SOON TO THIS POPULAR CITY
Last summer, Minneapolis had a "record-breaking" number of hotel guests bringing in $131 million, which is 8% more revenue seen than in the summer of 2019, according to Meet Minneapolis, the city's convention and visitor’s bureau.
Hotels in Minneapolis, Minnesota are looking to implement a booking tax in order to create a tourism improvement district. (Ariana Lindquist/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Roughly 680,000 hotel rooms were booked during the summer with a 68.1% occupancy around the city.
"The Minneapolis Convention Center hosted nearly 50 meetings, events, conventions and trade shows, attracting more than 116,000 attendees to the downtown venue," Meet Minneapolis reported.
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State legislation passed in 2023 requires 51% of hotels to opt in along with City Council approval to form TID.
About 680,000 hotel rooms were booked in Minneapolis last summer. (iStock)
Melvin Tennant, Meet Minneapolis CEO, shared that 73% of hotels are on board to create the tourism improvement district, Axios reported.
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The group is looking "to get even more ‘to show that this is a mandate,’" according to Axios.
Tennant said the group is looking at a 2% surcharge on bookings. (iStock)
Tennant said the group is looking at a 2% surcharge on bookings.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Meet Minneapolis for comment.
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/major-us-city-looks-hike-hotel-fees-boost-tourism