The fight for the right to market Lakeshore Drive hotels and other accommodation operations continues as the city and the Penticton Hospitality Association break off talks that were supposed to take place Monday.
(SHANNON QUESNEL / iNFOnews.ca)
January 08, 2014 - 10:58 AM
PENTICTON - Negotiations between the city and Penticton Hospitality Association might be bound for the courtroom after all.
Mayor Garry Litke said the two sides were to meet Monday to discuss the hotel room tax which generates roughly $400,000 per year in marketing money. According to the mayor the association canceled that meeting.
“We reached an agreement in principle with the Penticton Hospitality Association on Dec. 16 to resolve outstanding issues with the HRT funds, and were scheduled to meet again on Jan. 6 to continue discussions on creating a united tourism entity for Penticton," Litke said. "However, last Thursday, the PHA notified the city that they were withdrawing from discussions."
Litke said council is "disappointed."
In November, the association hired the Pushor Mitchell legal firm out of Kelowna to do battle with the city over the $400,000 collected from the two per cent hotel room tax. This money is earmarked for marketing Penticton to the world at large. The city said the association has not been doing enough or spending enough of the money. The association disagreed and said it has made significant progress.
To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065, send tweets to @shannonquesnel1 or @InfoNewsPentict.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014