Testimony in Support of House Bill 161 — Joe Savarise, Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association

Summary

Testimony of Joe Savarise, President & CEO of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association (OHLA), to the House Development Committee in support of House Bill 161, dated April 30, 2025. The testimony states that the bill takes a step toward tax parity between traditional hotels and short-term rental operators, and that OHLA supports a consistent threshold for taxation based on the number of rooms, with existing law defining a hotel as an establishment with five or more rooms. It states that, in calendar year 2022, lodging taxes alone totaled $268,549,470 across the entire state, citing the Ohio Department of Taxation. It also gives short-term rental listing figures for Cleveland, Columbus and the Logan area in Hocking Hills.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                                                               OHIO HOTEL & LODGING ASSOCIATION
                                                                          175 S. THIRD ST. SUITE 170
                                                                              COLUMBUS, OH 43215
                                                                                    P: (614) 461-6462


                     Testimony to the House Development Committee for H.B. 161
                                              April 30, 2025
                    Joe Savarise, President & CEO  Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association

Chairman Hoops, Vice Chair Lorenz, Ranking Member Abdullah, and members of the House Development
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of House Bill 161 on behalf of
the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association (OHLA) and the tens of thousands of hotel owners, operators,
managers, and employees we represent across the state, as well as hundreds of companies that make
brick-and-mortar investments and provide jobs in Ohio communities.

Our industry and our organization include lodging businesses of all sizes, from the largest hotels to unique
properties that are part of the expanding short-term rental market. We appreciate the General Assembly’s
attention to this growing part of our state’s travel economy and the potential impact on local
communities. We have consistently advocated for a level playing field for the taxation of any form of
transient accommodations, including short-term rentals.

House Bill 161 takes an essential step toward tax parity, clarity, and fairness in how our state treats lodging
providers—both traditional hotels and short-term rental operators. With the proliferation of platforms
facilitating single-room and multi-room short-term rentals, these have become fully commercial lodging
enterprises, but they are often not subject to the same tax obligations as traditional hotels.

This bill’s language addresses the need to align taxation policies to ensure a level playing field between
traditional lodging providers and short-term rental operators. Applying sales and lodging taxes uniformly
will correct our current market imbalances and stop the loss of critical revenue streams for local
governments and local convention and visitors bureaus.

Additionally, OHLA supports the bill’s approach to creating a consistent threshold for taxation based on
the number of rooms. Under existing law, a hotel is defined as an establishment with five or more rooms
– while local political subdivisions can pass ordinances/resolutions to take this collection down to one
room. This provision, once intended to protect small rural bed-and-breakfasts, is now a loophole regularly
exploited by commercial short-term rental operators using online platforms. We believe that the
adjustment of this definition at the state level to include one or more rooms for the purposes of taxation
ensures clarity, fairness and consistency in the application of lodging taxes. It is simple, fair, and
enforceable.

                                                 (continued)
OHLA TESTIMONY – H.B. 161
HOUSE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
APRIL 30, 2025


Collection and remission by the platforms facilitating rentals will aid local governments in implementing
workable mechanisms to ensure compliance.

Tax parity matters because hotel and lodging businesses already pay their fair share, including state and
local sales tax, county lodging taxes, and municipal or township lodging taxes. In calendar year 2022, the
most recent available from the Ohio Department of Taxation, lodging taxes alone totaled $268,549,470
across the entire state. By the end of 2025, that number will be nearer $300 million.

But short-term rentals have not been a consistent contributor to this amount, even as the market grows.
Cleveland hosts more than 1,860 short-term rental listings, averaging as high as $161 per night. Columbus
hosts more than 1,700 listings, up nearly 1,000 from 2021. The Logan area in Hocking Hills boasts more
than 1,130 listings, generating up to $56,000 per unit annually. In small communities from Powell to
Napoleon to Chardon, short-term rentals are gaining ground, with occupancy rates and revenue streams
that can rival small hotels.

These businesses should contribute to the travel and tourism promotion conducted by their local CVBs
and to infrastructure efforts which benefit them – just as other hotel and lodging businesses already do.

In recent years, we’ve seen more pressure for lodging tax revenues to be diverted to uses that do not
produce more travel spending, eroding the very purpose of the tax and weakening Ohio’s competitive
edge. There are also efforts to increase or create new taxes on hotels. This bill will help ensure that more
visitor-generated dollars go back into the system that brings them to Ohio, without making us less
competitive as a destination.

That’s how our state grows tourism, increases overnight stays, and multiplies economic returns for small
businesses, attractions, and communities. This legislation reflects what modern travelers expect and what
modern business demands: fairness, accountability, and reinvestment.

On behalf of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association and our members across the state, I respectfully urge
your support for House Bill 161. Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration.




Joe Savarise, CTA, CHIA, IOM, President & CEO
Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association


File and source

File

2025-04-30_development_testimony_testimony-5765.pdf

Size

173,258 bytes

SHA-256

1f4fbbfd1aeefffe7e4f145733f7afda2ea0ccf27f92315336b602437af7ba85

Our copy

2025-04-30_development_testimony_testimony-5765.pdf

Original

No public link identified.