MAHONING COUNTY Stop bed-tax increase, convention bureau chief urges

The commissioners 'can basically put us out of business,' the bureau chief says.
THE VINDICATOR
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The head of the Youngstown/Mahoning County Convention and Visitors Bureau urged hotel and motel owners to unify in an attempt to stop Mahoning County commissioners from increasing the hotel bed tax and from taking control over the current bed tax.
"You need to speak out about this," Lawrence Richards, the bureau's president, told a group of hotel and motel owners Thursday.
Richards told the business owners to attend a meeting Wednesday to discuss the bed-tax issue. The bureau has invited the county commissioners, the Western Reserve Port Authority, state Sen. Marc Dann and state Rep. John Boccieri to the meeting.
What officials want
Commissioners want the bureau to give them $50,000 to help fund the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna. Richards contends that funding an airport with no commercial passenger flights does nothing to promote tourism and conventions in the county.
Dann, of Liberty, D-32nd, and Boccieri, of New Middletown, D-61st, helped get state legislation approved to allow Mahoning and Trumbull counties to increase the bed tax by up to 2 percentage points. The legislation also allows commissioners to take control away from local convention and visitors bureaus over the current bed tax -- 3 percent in Mahoning and 2.5 percent in Trumbull. Commissioners could use the money to fund the airport.
"They can basically put us out of business," Richards said.
Thursday's meeting was designed to discuss a long-range marketing plan for the county to improve tourism.
The $9,000 marketing study, conducted by McConnell Marketing of Youngstown, listed several suggestions for increasing hotel traffic in Mahoning County. To initiate all of the suggestions would cost about $175,000.
Suggestions
The recommendations are:
UCreate an advertising campaign with a logo and a tag line: "Youngstown -- We're On Your Way."
UCreate a partnership with area gas stations advertising $5 in free gas to people who stay in certain local hotels and motels.
UTarget amateur and scholastic coaches, managers and league officials through direct mail to bring sports tournaments to the area, which will increase occupancy rates.
UTarget motorcoach and bus tour companies through direct mail and national print advertisements to visit the area.
UA print ad campaign to promote meeting and conference space in the area to businesses in Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
UPlace an insert in a local business publication with discount coupons for hotel and motel stays that can be faxed by area business people to out-of-towners.
UStage a promotion among local hotel and motel workers and others to "educate and excite" them "about the positive aspects of Mahoning County so they can relay the information to guests."
skolnick@vindy.com