Add Fairview Heights, Il to the list of cities suing online travel companies.
Philadelphia and Los Angeles are already among cities suing Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia and other online companies, claiming they are short-changing city taxes.
The travel companies arrange to rent rooms from hotel chains at discounted rates and then sell hotel stays to the public at a higher rate, says the city in its complaint.
Art Sackler, an executive with a trade group that represents online travel companies, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the suits were based on a misunderstanding of how online business operates.
His view is that the online companies charge service fees, not price mark-ups. He claims service fees are not subject to city taxes.
Fairview Heights is just outside of St. Louis.
Report by David Wilkening
