Duke Energy Convention Center remake moves ahead as commissioners approve hotel tax hike

The $200 million in planned renovations to the Duke Energy Convention Center will move forward after it cleared a big hurdle on Thursday.

Hamilton County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 to approve a one percentage point hike in the hotel occupancy tax. The hotel tax hike is a key piece that will pay for $40 million of the renovation of the Downtown convention center.

Prior to the vote, business and labor leaders, restaurant owners and hotel operators addressed the three commissioners for more than 45 minutes and urged them to pass the tax increase.

The business community told commissioners an improved convention center will mean more visitors and dollars in the economy. They see a revitalized Duke Energy Convention Center as key to a prosperous future for downtown Cincinnati.

"Cincinnati has one vital piece missing to its Downtown core, and that is the convention(center)," said John Lanni, co-founder and co-owner of the Thunderdome Restaurant Group. Thunderdome owns and operates eight restaurants in Downtown, including the Eagle, Bakersfield and Currito. "We can't afford to not have a world-class convention center so we can compete with other cities in the region."

Shortly after the vote, tourism officials praised the decision. The county's hotel tax will rise from 6.5% to 7.5% beginning Dec. 1.

The tax is paid by hotel guests.

The increase had the support of hoteliers and tourism officials, who see it as crucial to the convention center project.

The Cincinnati Hotel Association and Visit Cincy, the region's convention and visitors bureau, endorsed the increase.

“We are pleased the commissioners voted to invest in the convention district,” said Julie Calvert President and CEO of Visit Cincy. “This allows the Duke Energy Convention Center to get the attention it so desperately needs. This investment will enhance our city’s ability to attract and host events, boosting tourism and benefiting our local economy in the long run.”

A hotel bill in Cincinnati includes 18.3% in local and state taxes, including 6.5% for a county lodging tax, a 4% city lodging tax and a 7.8% sales tax.

The one percentage point increase in the county's hotel tax will raise the tax burden for a hotel bed in Cincinnati to 19.3%.

By comparison, the combined sales and hotel taxes in Cleveland and Columbus are both 17.5%, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation's most recent figures in 2021.

Not all the commissioners supported the tax increase. Hamilton County Board of Commissioners President Alicia Reece voted against raising the hotel tax. She said she wanted the financing plan to pay for more than just convention center renovations. She wanted it to include the construction of an 800-room convention center headquarters hotel.

The proceeds of the tax are going exclusively to the convention center renovations.

The county demolished the deteriorated Millennium Hotel in 2022. Reece said the county needs a guarantee if it invests in the convention center, another 800-room hotel will get built.

She also once again floated the possibility of using a portion of the hotel tax for renovations to Paycor Stadium, something that county officials and others have not said if it's possible.

"I'm totally disappointed because it is the first time in my career I've had to vote against a tourism project because it's not complete," Reece said. "The details aren't here. The guarantees are not here and there's a ton of questions."

County administration and developers have told the commissioners a major hotel operator won't consider building a large headquarter hotel until the convention center is upgraded.

After Reece spoke about her opposition, Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus moved to pass the hotel tax increase.

"The hotel won’t go until this gets done," Driehaus said.

Hamilton County Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas sided with Driehaus in passing the tax increase.

The vote on Thursday followed some drama between Reece and the developer in charge of the project Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., better known as 3CDC. Reece has called out what she saw as "totally disrespectful" behavior. She confirmed with The Enquirer that 3CDC President and CEO Stephen Leeper was the individual who treated her in a disrespectful manner.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hamilton County commissioners reach decision on hotel tax