MEDINA, Ohio – After months of planning and discussion, council has officially approved legislation that will impose a 3 percent tax on hotel stays within the city.
Hotels with 16 rooms or fewer will be exempt from the tax, but the tax will apply to those who stay at the future Legacy Hotel after it is constructed.
“I want to thank everyone who contributed to this,” Councilor Paul Rose said. “This was a lot of work and a lot of discussion, but I am thankful for everyone who gave us input and made us stop and think about the process.”
Rose had said that Wadsworth and Brunswick are already imposing such a tax at their hotels and said that based on the 66 percent occupancy rate expected at the Legacy, the city could collect as much as $100,000 per year through this tax.
Council President John Coyne explained that while the revenue generated from the tax will go into the city’s general fund, it is the intention of council to use the revenue to invest in improvements and upkeep in the downtown area where the Legacy Hotel will be located.
“The idea is to use these funds to help make the downtown more attractive so that the patrons of the hotel will get the full benefit of the revenue created from this tax,” Coyne said.
“I do also want to stress that the only way anyone pays this tax, is if they stay at the hotel,” Rose said. “If you aren’t staying at the hotel, you aren’t paying this tax.”
Work on the Legacy Hotel broke ground this summer and is expected to be completed in late 2025.
