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Reprinted with permission of the Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia hotel industry discussing changes
By Erin Einhorn The booming Philadelphia hospitality industry, anxiously expecting 3,500 new hotel rooms and a stampede of big-spending Republicans, is on the verge of a number of structural changes--from how it's funded to who's calling the shots. The results could mean a guaranteed role for Mayor Rendell, even after he steps down as mayor, and different roles for some other players in the city's increasingly crucial tourism and convention game. Among possible changes is a 1 percent hotel tax increase for Philadelphia. If it is passed, as expected, the the state Legislature and is subsequently endorsed by City Council, it could make the city's hotels among the highest taxed in the country. It will bring the per room tax to 14 percent, but supporters, including the mayor and the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, say the extra $3 million-plus is key to insuring heads in beds even after the total number of hotel rooms bloats by more than 50 percent. The money is expected to fund the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), which runs ad campaigns and other marketing programs for the region. Another major change expected to be announced in the next few weeks is the creation of a powerful hospitality board that would coordinate the efforts of smaller organizations that currently do everything from booking conventions, to luring tourists, to making sure they have a good time. There's GPTMC, which targets tourists; the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, which books large events at the Convention Center, does public relations and some tourism promotion; and the Convention Center Authority, which runs the Convention Center, books smaller events and does some PR. On top of that, there are smaller groups that do related work like, Welcome America!, the millennium celebration, and the Penn's Landing Corporation. "Reorganization makes a lot of sense," Rendell said. "It's both cost effective and will allow for better control." A study the mayor commissioned last spring recommends an umbrella group comprised of seven to nine "stakeholders" in the industry, said Bruce Crawley, who heads the mayor's Hospitality Cabinet, which shepherded the study. "I'm not sure whether all of the implementation strategies will be worked out in broad strokes," Crawley said, "but the idea is to create a powerful entity in town...insulated from the whims of public officials." If the mayor signs off on the recommendations, they would have to be approved by the boards of the organizations affected. The study recommends the board have sway over the budgets, priorities and staffing of all the hospitality organizations, mainly the three largest ones, setting a consistent agenda. "One of the things we've been concerned about is whether, going forward, there would continue to be the kind of top-down strategic impetus behind hospitality development that we've had with Mayor Rendell," Crawley said. This mega-board could step up to fill that role. So would Rendell be interested in heading this powerful group? "I'll need a job that pays," he said, dismissing the notion. But, at the same time, he added, he is the chairman of Welcome America!, Historic Philadelphia, Inc., the millennium celebration, and the National Constitution Center. He will be a stakeholder, and some suspect he'll be looking for a way to stay visible in the area in case he decides to run for governor. "I won't be a participant on the umbrella
organization," Rendell said. "But I will be very active." |