Friday, December 08, 2006
public ownership / subsidy of hotels
Recently Baltimore's publically financed convention hotel has been in the news. A Google search suggests that quite a few cities in the past few years have used public funds to either sudsidize or completely fund the construction of hotels. This opens a number of questions regarding equity, competition, ROI, etc. A typical arguement in favor of this use of public funds is that these properties will result in more convention business. However, others question the equity and efficiency of using public funds in this manner.
I'm currently trying to pull together a study group to look at this issue since two nearby cities have made (Trenton) or are in the midst of making (Baltimore) this type of investment (additionally some of the hotels built here in Philly prior to the 2000 RNC received substantial public subsidy). If you're interested in working on this topic, drop me an email.
I'm currently trying to pull together a study group to look at this issue since two nearby cities have made (Trenton) or are in the midst of making (Baltimore) this type of investment (additionally some of the hotels built here in Philly prior to the 2000 RNC received substantial public subsidy). If you're interested in working on this topic, drop me an email.
