Dear WH&LA Lodging Member:
In honor of Tourism Week, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism released the following 2019 Economic Impact Data for Tourism in Wisconsin:
A couple of key facts for our industry that their contracted study showed:
- Lodging accounts for 27% of Visitor Spending in 2019
- For every $1 invested in state tourism marketing, $8 in tax revenue is generated within our state
- Overall tourism in Wisconsin generated $1.6 Billion in state & local taxes
AH&LA Webinar on new “Safe Stay” Program
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) rolled out to the public their new “Safe Stay” initiative which provides guidelines for the lodging industry to follow as you plan to welcome travelers back in the coming weeks. While we included a preview on Friday of the
Safe Stay Protocols
document before it became public, this Thursday AH&LA will feature as part of their weekly Government Affairs update focus an overview of this new national program designed to also build traveler confidence in staying at lodging properties as the pandemic phases out. This FREE webinar will be Thursday at 2:00 pm Central Time, but you MUST pre-register to access it. You may want to bookmark their Webinar page for future reference as each week there are new featured topics, PLUS all who register can also access the recording of the webinar two days later:
https://www.ahla.com/covidwebinars
.
More Wisconsin Updates
- Yesterday the State Supreme Court heard arguments on the lawsuit challenging the authority of DHS Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm to Extend an Emergency Order beyond the May 11 date that Governor Evers authority to continue his Safer at Home Emergency Order ends. It is anticipated that the Supreme Court will issue their ruling within a day or two, which will, in effect, determine if the currently extended Safer at Home expiration date of May 26 at 8:00 am will hold up as is or not. The potential repercussions on what could happen next are considerable, with many people on both sides of the possible rulings.
- DATCP has shared with WH&LA that they recently authorized that they will not charge any penalty or late fees for payments due for Recreational Facility & Lodging License Renewals, up to the end of December due to the impact of the pandemic. However, as most properties and pools go through their local Public Health for inspections, licenses, etc. this will be dependent upon whether the local Public Health will also adopt this policy or not. Please check with your local renewal official to clarify their payment policy.
- The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) has issued a “Proposed Guidance Document” in response to questions received related to room taxes and the public health emergency declared for COVID-19, including WI Act 185 recently passed by the state legislature. This relates to whether a municipality may extend room tax payment deadlines during the emergency period only, and the document suggests that a municipality may, at their discretion, extend it to June 10 (later only if extended further by the Legislature). It is important to note that this is proposed only, with comments accepted from the public until May 25, after which it may be finalized. What does this mean, if it is finalized as is after May 25? 1) A municipality MAY waive interest and penalties for late payment of room tax until June 10, if they so choose 2) A lodging provider would have to contact the municipality directly to ask for this (after May 25), it is not automatically provided, and 3) this bears repeating, each municipality has the authority and also the choice if they would allow this, which based on their expressed concerns of late over losing revenue, may be challenging to accomplish.
Stay well, and we will stay in touch!
Trisha
