"Our industry is already grappling with a 20% decrease in hotel revenue over last year, in November alone," says John Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of the Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel and the chairman of the Hotel Association of New York City, in a prepared release. "This tax increase, on top of the 14.54% our customers already pay" in the form of other state and local taxes in addition to the room tax--"is a lump of coal in a holiday stocking that will drive visitors away. The net result will be reduced revenue for the city and the state and increased job losses at hotels and the businesses we support."

In the release, the association cites an analysis conducted by Sean Hennessey, CEO of Lodging Advisors. Hennessey's data projected that even a 1% increase on the hotel tax would cause a loss of more than $533 million in room sales and associated visitor spending, 3,716 jobs in the hotel industry and businesses supported by hotels and more than $162 million in wages at hotels and businesses supported by hotels.

"This tax would make New York City's combined hotel rate the second highest in the country after Houston," says Hennessey in a release. "Instead of generating new revenues, any increase in taxes could have the opposite effect. More taxes on top of a strengthening US dollar could divert tourists and travelers elsewhere or cause them to shorten their stays."