DC wants to raise hotel taxes to increase tourism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who aren't vacationing in DC because of fear of being murdered are also not vacationing in NYC, Chicago, LA, Seattle... in other words, people who are very fearful of crime avoid large cities. Your risk of being a victim of crime while vacationing in DC are ridiculously low.

The actual threats to tourism in DC are the closures of bars and restaurants and the decline in activity in popular tourist destinations like Chinatown. If raising tourism tax helps the city invest in those neighborhoods and support small businesses, it genuinely could benefit the city.

Many DC tourists stay outside the city anyway. The big tour groups often stay in budget hotels just outside the city and then take the buses downtown and to the Mall.

We don't vacation as a part of tour groups, and yes -- I am afraid of crime in DC. Murder isn't my primary concern -- being mugged, robbed at gunpoint, or carjacked would be the concerns.

That's fine. Would you vacation in New York City, central Boston or Chicago, downtown Seattle or San Francisco? Or, for that matter, central London or Paris or Berlin or Tokyo or Hong Kong or Buenos Aires? My guess is no. If you won't visit large cities with some inevitable incidence of crime, then there is likely nothing DC could do to make you feel "safe".

Enjoy Disney World or the OBX or wherever it is you do enjoy traveling.

PP here. I've traveled to quite a few cities in the states and Europe in my lifetime. Feel free to dismiss the crime in DC.

Which cities? When? The point is, if you are currently unwilling to travel to DC because of crime, you must not travel to other major cities which all have the same issues with crime at the moment. I am a resident of DC and don't dismiss the crime at all -- I know it's happening and would like it to be addressed, plus understand that we likely need to address some of the systemic issues driving it at the moment (like housing costs resulting in more unhoused people, lingering issues with truancy and criminality among teenagers owing in part to school closures during Covid, and inflation and cost of living increases that are leading people on the economic bubble to turn to property and violent crimes).

But it's silly to act like we should address crime so that YOU can feel more comfortable visiting our city, when it's unlikely you would visit any city right now due to your sensitivity to crime. Cities have crime. If that is too scary for you, don't visit cities! I don't think DC should tailor it's policies to pleasing you, a person who does not live here and doesn't want to visit.

PP here. I'm not asking anyone to tailor policies for ME, thank you. I made a comment about tourism. If DC has plenty of tourists, then don't do anything about the crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LA has close proximity to many known beaches, high end places that people want to experience, tours of homes if the rich and famous, nearby cities to visit like San Diego or Santa Barbara. Plus great weather.

NYC has the big name, shopping, interesting nightlife and amazing food.

DC has… free museums, that draws a certain type of tourist but not large masses, government buildings- the main draw to DC. Also draws a certain type of tourist but not masses.

If I didn’t live here, I’d visit DC once for a few days, mostly for the government buildings. Once you’ve seen them, you’ve seen them.

I go to NYC multiple times per year and LA once a year and Miami at least once a year. DC is a great city but not on tourism par with other big cities.

Exactly. Maybe you visit DC once for just a long weekend, perhaps around the 4th of July, when your kids are 10 or something like that. If they make it as expensive as LA or New York then I’m not sure of the value. The actual cool stuff that forms great memories, like the elevator to the top of of the Washington Monument or a White House tour are now so difficult that they are basically impossible to do. You can see a space shuttle in LA. You can see much better art in both LA and New York. You can see a better natural history museum in New York. The only unique DC things generally open to the public are the Capitol Building, Library of Congress and Arlington Cemetery and the only essential visit out of those three is the cemetery and it’s not even in DC proper. What’s the unique value proposition again?

DP. You are acting like DC has never had a tourism industry before and is trying to build one from scratch. DC has had a thriving tourism industry in the past that it now needs to re-vitalize post-covid. Many cities are facing this.

What you don’t seem to understand is that other cities have vibrant tourism industries too. DC should not be comparing itself to NYC, LA or Miami like they are peers. They definitely are not. DC is a different value proposition and the price increases as a result of this tax will end up hurting tourism in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Liberals never met a tax they didn’t like, especially if they don’t have to pay it, e.g., soak the rich tourists.

Lodging taxes:
DC: 14.95%
Miami: 16% (6% state sales tax + 6% short-term transient rental taxes + 4% Miami Beach resort tax)

The highest lodging taxes are mostly in big cities of Red states - Georgia, Alabama, Ohio - over 20% total.

Anaheim (Disneyland) is pretty high - north of 18%
Orlando (Disneyworld) is around 14%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LA has close proximity to many known beaches, high end places that people want to experience, tours of homes if the rich and famous, nearby cities to visit like San Diego or Santa Barbara. Plus great weather.

NYC has the big name, shopping, interesting nightlife and amazing food.

DC has… free museums, that draws a certain type of tourist but not large masses, government buildings- the main draw to DC. Also draws a certain type of tourist but not masses.

If I didn’t live here, I’d visit DC once for a few days, mostly for the government buildings. Once you’ve seen them, you’ve seen them.

I go to NYC multiple times per year and LA once a year and Miami at least once a year. DC is a great city but not on tourism par with other big cities.

Exactly. Maybe you visit DC once for just a long weekend, perhaps around the 4th of July, when your kids are 10 or something like that. If they make it as expensive as LA or New York then I’m not sure of the value. The actual cool stuff that forms great memories, like the elevator to the top of of the Washington Monument or a White House tour are now so difficult that they are basically impossible to do. You can see a space shuttle in LA. You can see much better art in both LA and New York. You can see a better natural history museum in New York. The only unique DC things generally open to the public are the Capitol Building, Library of Congress and Arlington Cemetery and the only essential visit out of those three is the cemetery and it’s not even in DC proper. What’s the unique value proposition again?

DP. You are acting like DC has never had a tourism industry before and is trying to build one from scratch. DC has had a thriving tourism industry in the past that it now needs to re-vitalize post-covid. Many cities are facing this.

What you don’t seem to understand is that other cities have vibrant tourism industries too. DC should not be comparing itself to NYC, LA or Miami like they are peers. They definitely are not. DC is a different value proposition and the price increases as a result of this tax will end up hurting tourism in the end.

Eh, not really. People will still come here to see the monuments, do the museums, etc. You can't replicate that at the beach.
Companies will still send brigades of executives here because this is where budgets are decided and policy gets made. Law enforcement and military travel here all the time for work purposes.

The federal government itself spends a lot on DC hotels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LA has close proximity to many known beaches, high end places that people want to experience, tours of homes if the rich and famous, nearby cities to visit like San Diego or Santa Barbara. Plus great weather.

NYC has the big name, shopping, interesting nightlife and amazing food.

DC has… free museums, that draws a certain type of tourist but not large masses, government buildings- the main draw to DC. Also draws a certain type of tourist but not masses.

If I didn’t live here, I’d visit DC once for a few days, mostly for the government buildings. Once you’ve seen them, you’ve seen them.

I go to NYC multiple times per year and LA once a year and Miami at least once a year. DC is a great city but not on tourism par with other big cities.

Exactly. Maybe you visit DC once for just a long weekend, perhaps around the 4th of July, when your kids are 10 or something like that. If they make it as expensive as LA or New York then I’m not sure of the value. The actual cool stuff that forms great memories, like the elevator to the top of of the Washington Monument or a White House tour are now so difficult that they are basically impossible to do. You can see a space shuttle in LA. You can see much better art in both LA and New York. You can see a better natural history museum in New York. The only unique DC things generally open to the public are the Capitol Building, Library of Congress and Arlington Cemetery and the only essential visit out of those three is the cemetery and it’s not even in DC proper. What’s the unique value proposition again?

DP. You are acting like DC has never had a tourism industry before and is trying to build one from scratch. DC has had a thriving tourism industry in the past that it now needs to re-vitalize post-covid. Many cities are facing this.

What you don’t seem to understand is that other cities have vibrant tourism industries too. DC should not be comparing itself to NYC, LA or Miami like they are peers. They definitely are not. DC is a different value proposition and the price increases as a result of this tax will end up hurting tourism in the end.

Eh, not really. People will still come here to see the monuments, do the museums, etc. You can't replicate that at the beach.
Companies will still send brigades of executives here because this is where budgets are decided and policy gets made. Law enforcement and military travel here all the time for work purposes.

The federal government itself spends a lot on DC hotels.

Depends on your definition of here. Here could be Crystal City, VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't vacation anywhere that I didn't feel safe and think DC should consider crime as a factor of decreased tourism.

This. And also sprawl of tent cities and horrendous rodent problem in its popular touristy areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LA has close proximity to many known beaches, high end places that people want to experience, tours of homes if the rich and famous, nearby cities to visit like San Diego or Santa Barbara. Plus great weather.

NYC has the big name, shopping, interesting nightlife and amazing food.

DC has… free museums, that draws a certain type of tourist but not large masses, government buildings- the main draw to DC. Also draws a certain type of tourist but not masses.

If I didn’t live here, I’d visit DC once for a few days, mostly for the government buildings. Once you’ve seen them, you’ve seen them.

I go to NYC multiple times per year and LA once a year and Miami at least once a year. DC is a great city but not on tourism par with other big cities.

Exactly. Maybe you visit DC once for just a long weekend, perhaps around the 4th of July, when your kids are 10 or something like that. If they make it as expensive as LA or New York then I’m not sure of the value. The actual cool stuff that forms great memories, like the elevator to the top of of the Washington Monument or a White House tour are now so difficult that they are basically impossible to do. You can see a space shuttle in LA. You can see much better art in both LA and New York. You can see a better natural history museum in New York. The only unique DC things generally open to the public are the Capitol Building, Library of Congress and Arlington Cemetery and the only essential visit out of those three is the cemetery and it’s not even in DC proper. What’s the unique value proposition again?

DP. You are acting like DC has never had a tourism industry before and is trying to build one from scratch. DC has had a thriving tourism industry in the past that it now needs to re-vitalize post-covid. Many cities are facing this.

What you don’t seem to understand is that other cities have vibrant tourism industries too. DC should not be comparing itself to NYC, LA or Miami like they are peers. They definitely are not. DC is a different value proposition and the price increases as a result of this tax will end up hurting tourism in the end.

Eh, not really. People will still come here to see the monuments, do the museums, etc. You can't replicate that at the beach.
Companies will still send brigades of executives here because this is where budgets are decided and policy gets made. Law enforcement and military travel here all the time for work purposes.

The federal government itself spends a lot on DC hotels.

Depends on your definition of here. Here could be Crystal City, VA.

+1 Trip Advisor reviews suggest Crystal City and give other tips for where to stay/not stay for safety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LA has close proximity to many known beaches, high end places that people want to experience, tours of homes if the rich and famous, nearby cities to visit like San Diego or Santa Barbara. Plus great weather.

NYC has the big name, shopping, interesting nightlife and amazing food.

DC has… free museums, that draws a certain type of tourist but not large masses, government buildings- the main draw to DC. Also draws a certain type of tourist but not masses.

If I didn’t live here, I’d visit DC once for a few days, mostly for the government buildings. Once you’ve seen them, you’ve seen them.

I go to NYC multiple times per year and LA once a year and Miami at least once a year. DC is a great city but not on tourism par with other big cities.

Exactly. Maybe you visit DC once for just a long weekend, perhaps around the 4th of July, when your kids are 10 or something like that. If they make it as expensive as LA or New York then I’m not sure of the value. The actual cool stuff that forms great memories, like the elevator to the top of of the Washington Monument or a White House tour are now so difficult that they are basically impossible to do. You can see a space shuttle in LA. You can see much better art in both LA and New York. You can see a better natural history museum in New York. The only unique DC things generally open to the public are the Capitol Building, Library of Congress and Arlington Cemetery and the only essential visit out of those three is the cemetery and it’s not even in DC proper. What’s the unique value proposition again?

DP. You are acting like DC has never had a tourism industry before and is trying to build one from scratch. DC has had a thriving tourism industry in the past that it now needs to re-vitalize post-covid. Many cities are facing this.

What you don’t seem to understand is that other cities have vibrant tourism industries too. DC should not be comparing itself to NYC, LA or Miami like they are peers. They definitely are not. DC is a different value proposition and the price increases as a result of this tax will end up hurting tourism in the end.

Eh, not really. People will still come here to see the monuments, do the museums, etc. You can't replicate that at the beach.
Companies will still send brigades of executives here because this is where budgets are decided and policy gets made. Law enforcement and military travel here all the time for work purposes.

The federal government itself spends a lot on DC hotels.

They'd still come here for the first visit, but they aren't likely to return if the value isn't there. There are cities that are vacation destinations and where people return to visit again and again, DC isn't a vacation destination, more of an exploratory once-in-a-lifetime trip for many, or likely a business/conference/school related visit. Even NYC doesn't get a lot of repeated visitors unless they are loaded and enjoy certain amenities only NYC can offer. Miami and some parts of LA get repeated visitors because of the weather and the beach, not because of the city itself or its cultural amenities, duh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LA has close proximity to many known beaches, high end places that people want to experience, tours of homes if the rich and famous, nearby cities to visit like San Diego or Santa Barbara. Plus great weather.

NYC has the big name, shopping, interesting nightlife and amazing food.

DC has… free museums, that draws a certain type of tourist but not large masses, government buildings- the main draw to DC. Also draws a certain type of tourist but not masses.

If I didn’t live here, I’d visit DC once for a few days, mostly for the government buildings. Once you’ve seen them, you’ve seen them.

I go to NYC multiple times per year and LA once a year and Miami at least once a year. DC is a great city but not on tourism par with other big cities.

Exactly. Maybe you visit DC once for just a long weekend, perhaps around the 4th of July, when your kids are 10 or something like that. If they make it as expensive as LA or New York then I’m not sure of the value. The actual cool stuff that forms great memories, like the elevator to the top of of the Washington Monument or a White House tour are now so difficult that they are basically impossible to do. You can see a space shuttle in LA. You can see much better art in both LA and New York. You can see a better natural history museum in New York. The only unique DC things generally open to the public are the Capitol Building, Library of Congress and Arlington Cemetery and the only essential visit out of those three is the cemetery and it’s not even in DC proper. What’s the unique value proposition again?

DP. You are acting like DC has never had a tourism industry before and is trying to build one from scratch. DC has had a thriving tourism industry in the past that it now needs to re-vitalize post-covid. Many cities are facing this.

What you don’t seem to understand is that other cities have vibrant tourism industries too. DC should not be comparing itself to NYC, LA or Miami like they are peers. They definitely are not. DC is a different value proposition and the price increases as a result of this tax will end up hurting tourism in the end.

Eh, not really. People will still come here to see the monuments, do the museums, etc. You can't replicate that at the beach.
Companies will still send brigades of executives here because this is where budgets are decided and policy gets made. Law enforcement and military travel here all the time for work purposes.

The federal government itself spends a lot on DC hotels.

Depends on your definition of here. Here could be Crystal City, VA.

+1 Trip Advisor reviews suggest Crystal City and give other tips for where to stay/not stay for safety

You'd have to take Metro, and it's not really that cheap if you want to do stuff in the city most of the time and have ability to come to your room midday. You are likely going to be forced to leave and only come back at the end of the day to avoid wasting time and money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who aren't vacationing in DC because of fear of being murdered are also not vacationing in NYC, Chicago, LA, Seattle... in other words, people who are very fearful of crime avoid large cities. Your risk of being a victim of crime while vacationing in DC are ridiculously low.

The actual threats to tourism in DC are the closures of bars and restaurants and the decline in activity in popular tourist destinations like Chinatown. If raising tourism tax helps the city invest in those neighborhoods and support small businesses, it genuinely could benefit the city.

Many DC tourists stay outside the city anyway. The big tour groups often stay in budget hotels just outside the city and then take the buses downtown and to the Mall.

We don't vacation as a part of tour groups, and yes -- I am afraid of crime in DC. Murder isn't my primary concern -- being mugged, robbed at gunpoint, or carjacked would be the concerns.

That's fine. Would you vacation in New York City, central Boston or Chicago, downtown Seattle or San Francisco? Or, for that matter, central London or Paris or Berlin or Tokyo or Hong Kong or Buenos Aires? My guess is no. If you won't visit large cities with some inevitable incidence of crime, then there is likely nothing DC could do to make you feel "safe".

Enjoy Disney World or the OBX or wherever it is you do enjoy traveling.

PP here. I've traveled to quite a few cities in the states and Europe in my lifetime. Feel free to dismiss the crime in DC.

Which cities? When? The point is, if you are currently unwilling to travel to DC because of crime, you must not travel to other major cities which all have the same issues with crime at the moment. I am a resident of DC and don't dismiss the crime at all -- I know it's happening and would like it to be addressed, plus understand that we likely need to address some of the systemic issues driving it at the moment (like housing costs resulting in more unhoused people, lingering issues with truancy and criminality among teenagers owing in part to school closures during Covid, and inflation and cost of living increases that are leading people on the economic bubble to turn to property and violent crimes).

But it's silly to act like we should address crime so that YOU can feel more comfortable visiting our city, when it's unlikely you would visit any city right now due to your sensitivity to crime. Cities have crime. If that is too scary for you, don't visit cities! I don't think DC should tailor it's policies to pleasing you, a person who does not live here and doesn't want to visit.

PP here. I'm not asking anyone to tailor policies for ME, thank you. I made a comment about tourism. If DC has plenty of tourists, then don't do anything about the crime.

PP thinks that all criminals are victims and tourists not nice enough to understand this and pay extra for the privilege are not going to be missed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suppose visitors could stay in Virginia and then use the free Metro to visit sites around DC.

Metro is free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who aren't vacationing in DC because of fear of being murdered are also not vacationing in NYC, Chicago, LA, Seattle... in other words, people who are very fearful of crime avoid large cities. Your risk of being a victim of crime while vacationing in DC are ridiculously low.

The actual threats to tourism in DC are the closures of bars and restaurants and the decline in activity in popular tourist destinations like Chinatown. If raising tourism tax helps the city invest in those neighborhoods and support small businesses, it genuinely could benefit the city.

Many DC tourists stay outside the city anyway. The big tour groups often stay in budget hotels just outside the city and then take the buses downtown and to the Mall.

Extra tax won't revive the areas that don't get enough foot traffic. To make areas vibrant you need to attract people to live there and/or work there (who would support businesses at street level). parts of downtown DC that have more apartment buildings have more stuff open, more restaurants, etc. Areas with office buildings and hotels are dead everywhere in every city after half the workers moved to remote work and won't come back. DC is starting to slowly convert some commercial empty office building into residential, that should help making city more attractive for tourists too. You don't need extra tax to do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems pretty straightforward. How much does anyone pay attention to these tax rates when planning their vacation anyway? And, as the article notes, the proposed rates are similar to other large cities. The money just goes into promoting more tourism.

Honestly, DC has to work extra hard to undo the stink of the Trump years.

People do pay attention to the overall cost. They are benchmarking themselves against NYC and LA. But DC is not NYC or LA. If it’s just as expensive to stay in DC as NYC or LA it won’t be hard for people to decide where they would prefer to visit.

Comparing NYC/LA/DC is like comparing oranges/apples and cherries. Each city has its unique attractions and range of prices, but overall, DC is cheaper than the other two, and also has less variety of stuff to do or reasons to come here.

[Anonymous]

If it makes you all feel better, SF downtown and touristy areas are in even sadder shape, there were not many people even with the Christmas shopping season in full swing in SF's usually busy shopping areas. Market St looks terrible from what I remember years ago even in front of the Westfield luxury mall. Union sq was deserted during the week day, pretty sad. It used to be full when I worked there, because tons of workers were commuting DT, there were people walking down the streets during the weekday. In comparison, DC monuments still attract people, even local crowds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LA has close proximity to many known beaches, high end places that people want to experience, tours of homes if the rich and famous, nearby cities to visit like San Diego or Santa Barbara. Plus great weather.

NYC has the big name, shopping, interesting nightlife and amazing food.

DC has… free museums, that draws a certain type of tourist but not large masses, government buildings- the main draw to DC. Also draws a certain type of tourist but not masses.

If I didn’t live here, I’d visit DC once for a few days, mostly for the government buildings. Once you’ve seen them, you’ve seen them.

I go to NYC multiple times per year and LA once a year and Miami at least once a year. DC is a great city but not on tourism par with other big cities.

Exactly. Maybe you visit DC once for just a long weekend, perhaps around the 4th of July, when your kids are 10 or something like that. If they make it as expensive as LA or New York then I’m not sure of the value. The actual cool stuff that forms great memories, like the elevator to the top of of the Washington Monument or a White House tour are now so difficult that they are basically impossible to do. You can see a space shuttle in LA. You can see much better art in both LA and New York. You can see a better natural history museum in New York. The only unique DC things generally open to the public are the Capitol Building, Library of Congress and Arlington Cemetery and the only essential visit out of those three is the cemetery and it’s not even in DC proper. What’s the unique value proposition again?

DP. You are acting like DC has never had a tourism industry before and is trying to build one from scratch. DC has had a thriving tourism industry in the past that it now needs to re-vitalize post-covid. Many cities are facing this.

What you don’t seem to understand is that other cities have vibrant tourism industries too. DC should not be comparing itself to NYC, LA or Miami like they are peers. They definitely are not. DC is a different value proposition and the price increases as a result of this tax will end up hurting tourism in the end.

Eh, not really. People will still come here to see the monuments, do the museums, etc. You can't replicate that at the beach.
Companies will still send brigades of executives here because this is where budgets are decided and policy gets made. Law enforcement and military travel here all the time for work purposes.

The federal government itself spends a lot on DC hotels.

Depends on your definition of here. Here could be Crystal City, VA.

+1 Trip Advisor reviews suggest Crystal City and give other tips for where to stay/not stay for safety

You'd have to take Metro, and it's not really that cheap if you want to do stuff in the city most of the time and have ability to come to your room midday. You are likely going to be forced to leave and only come back at the end of the day to avoid wasting time and money.

But this is exactly what groups have been doing for decades. Clearly staying in Crystal City is worth it to them.