Jury Awards $20 Million In Texas Hotel Tax Dispute

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A group of online travel services companies plans to appeal a $20 million verdict awarded to more than 170 Texas cities in a dispute over hotel occupancy taxes.

The 2006 class-action lawsuit was brought by cities wanting to collect tourism tax revenue they alleged was underpaid by Internet hotel room wholesalers. San Antonio and other Texas cities alleged the online companies booked blocks of rooms at, for example, $75 a night, resold them for $100, then paid taxes on the lower rate.

Jurors found the companies controlled hotels under the cities' ordinances and should have paid hotel occupancy taxes on the amounts they charged. The verdict was returned Friday in San Antonio, where the suit was originally filed.

The 11 companies sued included Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire, Hotels.com, Priceline and Orbitz. They contended they do not control the hotels because they don't control the actual building and that they paid all the taxes due to the cities.

"We believe that we are well positioned on appeal to win," Andrew Weinstein, a spokesman for the Interactive Travel Services Association, said Tuesday.

___

Information from: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, http://www.star-telegram.com