Leaders in the tourism and hospitality industry proposed a new tax on hotel rooms in New Orleans to help improve infrastructure in the city.

However, while Mayor Cantrell said the proposed 0.55 percent tax on hotel rooms is, “a good first step,” she also acknowledged that it is inadequate to the city’s needs.

“I’m happy to see the industry leaders now acknowledging the importance of these issues, and I appreciate their proposal as a first step. But it is not adequate to the scale of our need. Calls to ‘make a plan’ are inadequate. We’ve had plans from the outset, from the Urban Water Plan to comprehensive damage repair. What we need is revenue.”

Mayor Cantrell then went on to point out that while city hospitality workers were directly responsible for generating $200 million in hospitality revenue, only 10 percent of that revenue came back to the city. The majority of it wen to only four hospitality companies. And, while New Orleans has had more than 18 million visitors in the past year, only 1.2 million of those went through the Convention Center.

“I will continue to fight to get our people all that they deserve. This is our approach across the board,” Cantrell says. “We look forward to working with all of our stakeholders to make this a win-win that benefits everyone.”