BUENA PARK : Increase in Hotel Bed Tax to Be Considered

The City Council next week will consider imposing a 2% increase in the hotel bed tax in an effort to help offset a projected $2-million budget deficit. Local hotel operators say such a move would chase business away.

“I think it’s going to have a direct affect on occupancy,” said Kia Abtin, general manager of the Holiday Inn Buena Park. “People are going to be less interested in staying in Buena Park.”

The council in recent months has taken other actions to cover the projected budget shortfall, such as eliminating jobs, reducing employee benefits and imposing a spending and hiring freeze.

The city is proposing to raise the hotel bed tax from 10% to 12%, which is expected to generate $460,000 in new revenue, officials said.

The council meeting will be on Tuesday instead of Monday because of the holiday. A public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the council chambers.

The city hasn’t raised the hotel bed tax since October, 1989. At that time, the tax was increased from 8% to 10%. The tax currently raises about $2.4 million in revenue for the city, officials said.

Other local hotel operators said that the tax increase will adversely affect business and their ability to attract people to stay in Buena Park.

“It’s more of a concern of Buena Park losing business to other cities in the area because you can use the occupancy tax as a selling tool,” said Scott Normali, general manager of Embassy Suites Hotel.

Normali said if the tax is increased, tourists are more likely to stay in neighboring cities, such as Anaheim.

“One of our competitive advantages is that we have a lower occupancy rate than Anaheim does,” Normali said, adding that by increasing the bed tax, it “doesn’t give them another reason to stay” in Buena Park.

Anaheim’s bed tax is 13%, a city official there said.