According to the lead araicle “Hotel group blocks release of room tax records”:
“Hoteliers must fill out a ‘monthly report,’ which has spaces for hotel and excise tax amounts, and — if hoteliers choose to provide it — total potential and occupied room nights, and their receipts.‘confidential and proprietary,’ they say, ‘because either alone or in combination, the numbers can be used to calculate and discover trade secrets.’ ”
“In their appeal, the hoteliers contend that the entire monthly report is exempt from disclosure under the Right to Know law. The report is ‘confidential and proprietary,’ they say, ‘because either alone or in combination, the numbers can be used to calculate and discover trade secrets.’ ”
Although the information is proprietary, there is little new information to be provided by publication of the tax results that isn’t already available to the hoteliers who subscribe to the STR Report. Every week and also monthly the information provided allows subscribing hotels (which is all for practical purposes) to know how they performed by occupancy and daily rate compared to their direct competitors, called their “competitive set.” Knowing precisely how each competitor does would add little useful information.
NewsLanc’s publisher, with hotel interests outside of the Lancaster area, considers the local hoteliers concerns to be substantive and legitimate, but does not see the practical reasons for their objections.
