New hotel room fee moves closer to approval; convention center plans refined

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- The local hotel industry has given a thumbs up to a new room fee designed to raise money to better market Austin as a tourism destination, according to a top tourism official.

But plans for the so-called Tourism Public Improvement District — in which hotels with 100 rooms or more would implement the 2% nightly fee — still must be vetted by the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association and receive final approval from the Austin City Council, said Tom Noonan, president and CEO of Visit Austin.

Meanwhile, city officials said the possibility of adding a hotel to Austin's future convention center through a pubic-private partnership, or even a multifamily housing component, isn't compatible with the goal of opening it in time for the 2029 spring festival season.

Read this full story at the Austin Business Journal.