Another election, another new tax

As a resident of Richmond Heights, I get to vote for the hotel tax they want to impose to the visitors to their three hotels, the Cheshire Lodge, the Residence Inn by the Galleria and the new Hilton Homewood Suites. The vote for this tax occurs on the same day that Clayton residences will be voting to impose a similar tax on their many more hotels. Both taxes are similar and will allow the cities to add up to a 5% tax on top of the already over 15% tax to bring the total hotel tax to over 20%. If every hotel in the metro area imposed this same tax would be one thing, but if the hotel taxes in Clayton and Richmond Heights are that much higher than other locales, I think some visitors would look to stay elsewhere.  For example their is a new Marriott Springhill Suites in Brentwood which would not be imposing this new tax located only a mile or so south of the Residence Inn and also located close to a Metrolink station. Frankly, I think the best thing that could happen for Richmond Heights would be if their own tax fails and the one in Clayton passes. Then the prices in Clayton will be even higher than they are now, and more visitors might choose to stay in one of the Richmond Heights hotels instead.

To be realistic, Richmond Heights is not and will never be a big destination point for people to visit, but Clayton is, primarily for business travelers dealing with the County government or one of the many Clayton businesses, or for visitors of Washington University. The only large, local Richmond Heights institution substantial enough to draw hotel visitors is St. Mary's Hospital, and it does not have the national draw to out-of-town visitors of more prominent hospitals like Barnes-Jewish or Children's. Even all the retail sales are driven not by one big company, but by a bunch of smaller ones (i.e. the Galleria, Boulevard Saint Louis, etc.) Richmond Heights is more of a retail and residential area that serves the employees of the local universities, hospitals and Clayton businesses than a visitors' destination. So I am going to vote against the tax. Even though that small revenue increase may help the city, I do not think it is worth it, and I believe it makes our three hotels more competitive if they are not as heavily taxed as other municipalities. Would an out of town visitor working with a Clayton business choose to stay in Richmond Heights if it weren't cheaper than staying in Clayton? I don't think so. It sounds like some Clayton hotels like the Ritz-Carlton are ready to fight the tax, so it will be interesting to see what the voters decide.

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