NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Hendersonville approved a new tax on hotels that city officials believe could improve tourism in the city.
The lodging tax was approved by the state legislature in 2017 and Hendersonville Mayor Jamie Clary and city alderman approved the measure last week.
It's a 2.75 percent tax on room stays at all the hotels inside the city limits. Hendersonville has six franchise hotels that amount to about 600 total rooms.
"We don't know how much money's going to come in," said Mayor Clary. "We haven't done this before, the county has been doing it for a little while, but all of the money is going to go back into tourism. This is an investment in tourism in Hendersonville."
Clary said the city has to use the money for tourism projects.
"It's not something where we take it from hotels and we put it into streets," Clary said. "We can't take it from hotels and put it in sidewalks. This is something that, if it's a lodging tax, it has to go back tourism to generate more stays at those lodges."
The money could be used to expand upon the city's park system and sports fields. Hendersonville's tourism industry is driven off of people who come for events and tournaments. Clary said it's hard to say how the money would be used until they figure out how much the tax will bring in.
"We're going to make sure that the impact that this has to hotels is offset and that it's a benefit to hotels," he said.
