Albany County Legislature votes to raise hotel tax

The Albany County Legislature passed a proposal to raise the county’s hotel occupancy tax on Monday night. However, opponents of the bill say this will only stop hotels in the county from attracting new business.

 This measure will raise the county hotel tax from 6% to 6.5%, and this was a part of the 2025 Executive Budget released by Albany County Executive Dan McCoy.

The 26 to 9 vote means the tax will be raised for three years, giving the county an estimated revenue of $10.4 million from the hotel tax. Some county officials say the extra money would be used to promote tourism in the county.

However, county legislators like Mark Grimm of Guilderland said he was concerned the law would deter visitors from visiting the county since nearby counties charge less than six percent.

“The fact of the matter is, if you were to look at the numbers here, it would be $800,000 a year for that half percent, based on the old estimates in the 2025 budget. And this legislation is for three years, that’s $2.4 million. This is real money. This money is going to the government; it could instead have been in the hands of real people,” Grimm said during the meeting. “People say to me this is for economic development, but my question is, how will we be charging more money to visitors for a hotel room and attract more business? It won’t.”

The tax will go into effect on January 1 and stay in place for three years. It would not apply to long-term residents of hotels. On Tuesday, there will be a public hearing about the law at the Albany County Office building from 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.