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OTAs win court battle over Florida hotel taxes
The online travel industry has welcomed the decision of the Florida Supreme Court to reject claims online travel agencies should pay tourism taxes on the fees they charge hoteliers.
The state’s highest court sided with the OTAs in a 5-2 decision and said the tourism development tax that Florida counties receive should only relate to the amount paid for a hotel stay and not including fees or commission charged by a middleman.
"It is irrelevant to the taxation issue at hand which actors are involved and what roles they play in transactions for facilitating hotel room reservations," the court said in its ruling.
"We conclude that the statute concerns only the amount of funds a hotel requires for a customer to occupy the hotel room it rents on a transient basis."
Trade group The Travel Technology Association, which represents the interests of major online travel companies, lauded the ruling.
"We applaud today’s confirmation by the Florida Supreme Court that Florida hotel taxes do not apply to online travel agents and the amount they charge for their services," said TTA president president Steve Shur.
"As the state Supreme Court, and dozens of U.S. courts before it have recognized, online travel companies are not hotels, and therefore should not be paying hotel taxes," Shur added.
A legal battle had been brewing for more than a decade as local lawmakers argued tax should be paid based on the full amount of a hotel stay, include OTA commissions.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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