Hotel rooms

Today, Governor John Bel Edwards signed a proclamation to help Louisiana hotels house first responders, essential health care workers and utility workers to restore critical infrastructure in the State after Hurricane Ida.

“Right now, the priority for the entire state of Louisiana is the recovery from Hurricane Ida, and we simply cannot afford to have one of our first responders, employees of health or utility workers from their hotel rooms for any reason. It is unacceptable that those who work tirelessly to support our state are kicked out onto the streets, ”Governor Edwards said. “Southeast Louisiana still has more than half a million power outages from Hurricane Ida, and restoring power is a major hurdle for communities still struggling after the storm. We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of our employees and restore services as quickly as possible. “

Visitors planning to travel to Louisiana for reasons unrelated to hurricane response should check with their hotels prior to travel to ensure their rooms are not being used to house this emergency workforce. essential.

Governor Edwards also today issued an order suspending all legal time limits in the state until September 24. The Louisiana Supreme Court has previously issued an order staying statute of limitations, pre-emption, and waiver in statewide court proceedings, as well as a stay of certain time limits in criminal proceedings. in parishes affected by Hurricane Ida. View Louisiana Supreme Court Orders here and here.

Governor Edwards said, “People across the state of Louisiana are spending this week assessing the damage to their homes and communities and getting their lives back on track after the devastation of Hurricane Ida. We need to focus on recovery, not on being held to a judicial deadline. We still have several parishes in the state where 100 percent of homes and businesses are without electricity. The people who live and work there simply cannot be expected to meet the deadlines that were in place before the storm. “

The governor’s decree takes effect immediately and runs until September 24. It can be renewed if necessary. Click on here read the command.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The Lawrence Community Shelter, 3655 E. 25th St., is pictured in this 2015 file photo.

Douglas County leaders will soon consider a health ordinance calling on the county to provide funds and resources to support off-site quarantine places for collective living spaces such as homeless shelters.

As part of its Wednesday meeting, the Douglas County Commission will consider a public health emergency order providing non-collective shelter options such as dormitories, hotels and motels to shelters and other such agencies in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.

In a note to the committee, the director of emergency management, Robert Bieniecki, says that in recent weeks, community agencies serving the homeless and precarious have had to provide temporary isolation housing to those who have tested positive for COVID-19. Bieniecki says social distancing measures at these agencies have significantly limited the ability to provide adequate spaces in these facilities that do not endanger staff, other clients and the community at large.

As Journal-World recently reported, executives at Lawrence Community Shelter earlier this year announced plans to increase the capacity of the main building in East Lawrence, but then changed those plans after an increase in prices. cases of COVID due to the more contagious Delta variant. Specifically, leaders said the shelter’s capacity will remain at 40 so the shelter has room to quarantine and isolate people exposed to the virus or tested positive.

The refuge has the capacity to serve 125 people most of the time and 140 people during the winter. It initially reduced its capacity to 65 people in August 2019 due to budget issues and changes to its staffing model following an external review commissioned by the city and county. Then it further reduced the number of people housed in its main building to a maximum of 40 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The shelter received federal coronavirus relief funding to help run a temporary hotel shelter program earlier in the pandemic, which allowed it to serve additional guests beyond those allowed at its facility, but this program ended on April 1.

Bieniecki says in the memo that, based on consultation with the housing and social services branch of the United Command – a group of health and government officials working to tackle the pandemic – and health councils County of Lawrence-Douglas, the most feasible solution for future isolation is to temporarily accommodate guests in hotel rooms for the designated period of time.

The proposed health ordinance states in part that Douglas County will support non-collective accommodation options for community members who are homeless, members of treatment programs or those who live, work or are exposed to places. gathering, as well as members of their household. This does not include those incarcerated in the Douglas County Jail.

County support would include funding to pay for space in college dorms and hotel and motel facilities. This would also include the management of shelters and support to non-clustered sites, including feeding, laundry and cleaning operations, as well as coordinating the larger system of quarantine and isolation procedures.

If the commission approves the proposed order, county spokesperson Karrey Britt said the Douglas County government would provide the financial and other support listed in the order using funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA) or the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) if possible. The ordinance would go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on September 9 and would remain in effect unless canceled or changed by the health worker or county commission.

The county committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. Residents can attend the meeting in person, virtually, or by phone, and more information on these options is available at douglascountyks.org/commission/meetings.

Louisiana has been approved for a federal program that allows Hurricane Ida survivors to stay in a hotel for up to 30 days, officials said Friday.

The program is managed by FEMA – the Federal Emergency Management Agency – and is called Transitional Shelter Assistance.

It is separate from state and parish-run shelters, which house 3,427 people at 28 sites, according to Catherine Heitman, director of communications for the Ministry of Children and Family Services.

Those interested in a hotel should register for help – www.disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362.

Applicants must show their residence in one of the declared disaster areas, be able to verify occupancy and be relocated and unable to live in the house they occupied before the storm arrived on Sunday.

Hurricane survivors cannot request a hotel.

However, FEMA will identify eligible survivors and notify them by phone, text, or email.

Those who play by the rules must find and reserve their own rooms.

The hotels participating in the program are listed on Disaster Assistance.gov under the Transitional Shelering Assistance Program link or by calling the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

FEMA officials also said those who qualify for a hotel may have to travel a significant distance to find a room.

Hotels have been approved for Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

FEMA only pays the room and taxes.

Survivors are responsible for meals, transportation and other costs.

The current plan covers 30 days – September 2 to October 2. 2.

Hotel charges are not retroactive until September 2, but hurricane survivors can submit their receipts to FEMA for possible reimbursement of personal expenses.

Eligible individuals must also sign a document upon registration and agree to follow the guidelines of the program.

Those looking for a local shelter can call 211 or get information by texting 898-211 and typing lashelter.

The hotel option applies to residents of the 25 parishes declared federal disaster areas.

The two state shelters are the Raising Cane’s River Center, 275 S. River Road in Baton Rouge and the Rapides Coliseum, 5600 Coliseum Road in Alexandria.

The space of local shelters is constantly evolving.

“It’s very fluid,” Heitman said.

“They are constantly opening and closing as needed, according to their resources,” she said.

Check back with The Advocate for more details.

With rental periods ranging from a year or two – or sometimes longer – some apartment developers have found how to monetize their empty, not yet rented units by turning them into short-term hotel rooms.

One of the latest to embrace the pop-up hotel concept is the Kiley, a new 315-unit building that has just started renting in Washington DC’s Capital Riverfront neighborhood, where UIP Cos. donated 125 units to a local company to operate as short-term rentals.

“We’re here to fill the void,” said Bao Vuong, co-founder of WhyHotel, a fully-staffed hotel operator.

Twin Benefits

For UIP, the benefits are twofold, said director Peter Bonnell. It creates energy when the building is in its infancy.

“With more people around, it brings the building to life. Otherwise, it will still be vacant, ”Bonnell said.

But at the same time, it generates income during the rental period. Bonnell expects to rent about four units per week at the Kiley, which offers a host of eco-friendly amenities that together have earned it LEED Silver certification from the US Green Building Council. It will therefore take more than a year to complete it.

Under UIP’s agreement with WhyHotel, the two companies will share the start-up expenses and the revenue generated by the hotel units will be used to reimburse these costs. Any profit after that will be shared between them. Due to a nondisclosure agreement, Bonnell said he couldn’t reveal what percentage of the profits each company will receive.

WhyHotel will relinquish its apartments in the Kiley as they become available. The units will be returned to the developer ready for rental. When all of its units are leased, the company will close its store and move on.

Why not

Created in 2017 by former apartment developers, WhyHotel could just as easily be called WhyNot, as it offers one of those rare win-win situations for developers and consumers alike. Developers use it to generate income and business, while occupants get the value and space of a home similar to what Marriott and Airbnb offer in the short-term home rental industry, as well as the consistency and service of a hotel.

The Kiley, for example, has a wide range of apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom and two-story lofts. And the list of equipment is just as wide. Among other things, there’s a rooftop pool and recreation area the size of two football fields, a 24-hour concierge, a garage with charging stations for electric vehicles, and contactless elevators. A separate fitness center with a yoga studio, sports simulators, and a playground can be found on the lobby level.

Potential hotel guests are not just tourists wishing to stay for a week or a weekend. An ideal prospect would be someone who is considering moving to a building full time but would like to test the location or neighborhood before signing a long term lease.

Another candidate could be someone who is already committed to the property and needs a place to stay while their apartment is ready for occupancy. And a third could be a road warrior who comes to town during the week and returns home for the weekend, repeating the scenario over and over again.

Branching out

As part of an agreement with the 700-unit, three-building property of AMLI Residential in Midtown Miami, WhyHotel, which has a number of locations in the DC area and describes itself as a turnkey hotel operator, now extends beyond its roots in Washington. And similar businesses are popping up all over the country: Stay Alfred in Spokane, Washington; Stay Tony in Los Angeles; London-based Yotel and more outdoor group retreats in Denver and PopUp Hotel and Flash Camps in Australia.

The concept works for apartments, especially luxury properties with plenty of hotel-like amenities, but not for condominiums and co-ops, Vuong said. Condo buyers want new, never lived in units, the WhyNot manager explained, while tenants don’t care as long as the place is clean. Additionally, condominiums can sell in advance, while apartments typically don’t begin the rental process until shortly before the building is ready for occupancy.

WhyHotel units are billed like any other hotel, Vuong said. But the rooms are bigger and better equipped. Kiley’s kitchens, for example, feature subway tile backsplashes, stainless steel appliances, and under-cabinet lighting. Each residence also comes with a full size washer and dryer.

Other concepts

WhyHotel’s competitors operate in a similar but different way. Stay Tony, for example, offers to finance rents for qualified residents, without interest for six months or with interest for one year. Launched by Los Angeles real estate agent-turned-developer Tony Diamond in 2012, it would be the first short-term furnished housing company to offer financing rather than asking for money on top of the barrel.

The Stay Tony’s concept works for people who are moving for whatever reason, but it is especially suitable for those who take on temporary work, who are leaving their homes while they are undergoing a major renovation, or who are coming to town for a job. medical reasons. Another possible candidate would be a young university graduate who would move to the area to start a new career.

Diamond believes her MO is a “game changer” because it helps residents save their money.

“One of the most paid points for moving to a new city is the huge upfront cost,” he said.

Diamond’s partner in this venture is Uplift, a travel financier that offers monthly payment options to vacationers.

“People are already funding one-time life events like weddings, medical procedures, and vacations,” he said. “We thought, why not fund the life event of a move? “

Nobility obliges!

While most hotel friends depend on housekeeping to clean up the mess they leave behind in their rented rooms, there are some conscientious vacationers right now donning an apron and enjoying the maid.

British resident Darren Dowling last week posted an image on Facebook showing off her hotel room tag, and it went viral. The photo reveals his behavior of removing the sheets from his mattress and carefully folding every part of the mattress before leaving.

The image sent Facebook customers into a daze, with nearly 550 commentators debating the protocols of hotel visitors – the entry starting with the insistence that it’s as much as paid workers at try this out, to customers claiming it is a courtesy that needs to be extended to these employees.

“I always try to leave a hotel room like this,” he wrote in the caption. “Is this the right or the wrong thing to do?” “

Hazelnut or plain, Dowling is not alone.

“I wish everyone would do this,” said Stephanie Thompson, 50, who lives in Cincinnati.

Thompson, the director of National Down Syndrome Adoption Network, has a typical pre-departure cleaning routine that she shares with her husband – 51-year-old firefighter Jon Thompson – to minimize the pressure on hotel cleaners.

During the previous decade, at the end of their trip, Jon tidies up the suitcases and checks all the drawers to see if the couple left anything behind. As this happens, Stephanie removes the mattress from her sheets, gathers all the used and unused towels and places them in the tub, and condenses all the garbage into a bag and knots it. And even throughout their stay, the couple – who say they often keep their surroundings clean and tidy – refuse housekeeping visits every day. What’s more: they leave a tip of $ 25.

“I also leave a handwritten note that says, ‘Thank you very much! Have a wonderful day, blessings, ”Stephanie told the Post, claiming that she offered a smiley face at the end. “We’ve been doing it for so long, it’s routine.”

For the Thompsons, it’s just the right thing to do.

“I have always been called to serve those who serve people who have the privilege of going on vacation,” said Stéphanie. “I don’t even know if these people are making enough money to even go on vacation – so their daily lives are cleaning up after privileged people… I guess there are times in their day that they step into. one room and it’s just gross, and they’re depressed.

Emily Mathison, 34, agrees. She says she in no way thought his primitive and proper program of lodge assistance service was strange until he was faced with admissions of negligence on the part of acquaintances.

“I go to LA one week a month for work,” said the East Village resident, who works because the artistic director of McQueen Flowers, a high-end florist. “I stay in the same hotel each time, tidy my room and get rid of all the garbage. “

But it’s Mathison’s behavior of building her mattress every day – even with the data the household undoes and strips the mattress when she leaves – that separates her from her friends.

“I didn’t think it was unusual,” she said. “That’s what my mom does. Also, isn’t it nicer for the maid? I make my bed everyday anyway, why change because I’m in a hotel? It’s just what I do at home. Clean and tidy and shaped like a ship.

Dowling’s Facebook posts also drew responses from the housekeepers themselves, who said the gesture was certainly welcome.

“Saves us extra work and makes it easier,” one wrote, while another replied, “You have no idea how much things like this are appreciated”.

Dede Gotthelf, owner of Southampton Hostel in the Hamptons, said its employees pass out when a visitor goes an extra mile.

“Although it is their job to clean the rooms during and after a guest’s stays, housekeepers and housekeepers are human beings and appreciate caring and respectful people very much,” she said. . “There is no need to undress or make the beds. But throwing out the trash, cleaning up spills, and leaving a clean room ready for them are much appreciated. ”

“Especially during these times when CDC cleaning protocols and UVC lamps take a long time to prepare for our next guests,” she added of procedures related to the pandemic.

But for the Thompson’s, all that matters is service with a smile, even when they’re the one serving.

“I want it to be such a treat for them that the next set of rooms they do, if they’re gross they can go back and go,” At least I had a room that was so easy, and j ‘got a tip for that!’ », Declared Stéphanie.

The idea was to do something different. To an 8^e Encamped on South Avenue and South King Street in a parking lot under an overpass on Interstate 5, four organizations joined together last year under the banner of a coalition called “JustCare” to show that hotel shelters can be used to remove homeless settlements and get the people who lived there into stable housing.

Fifty-seven people entered and the encampment dissolved. But 10 months later, 20 people left the program and it is not known where they are. JustCare could not immediately provide data on 16 other people who were part of the original settlement.

City and county politicians who got money for the effort say these numbers are in line with what they would expect from a program with uncertain funding and inconsistent access to housing resources over the course of the last year. But the data also raises questions about what will happen to the more than 200 residents of the camp that JustCare took off the streets during the pandemic: whether the program will prove to be a meaningful intervention in their lives or yet another shelter program. that gets people through the system without landing them in permanent housing.

JustCare, originally a collaboration between the nonprofit programs Public Defender Association, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, Chief Seattle Club and REACH, has emerged as an innovative way to combat the growing encampments of people who had been left to survive outdoors as the shelter system struggled and reorganized during the pandemic.

Since 2020, the city and county have together allocated more than $ 43 million to JustCare as good as The Public Defender Association’s Co-LEAD program and LEAD diversion program come from a combination of local and federal funds. The program has been touted by officials in Seattle and King County as an alternative to the mayor’s current approach to camp removal and outreach.

In the aftermath of the politically charged decision of the city council’s decision to cut funding for the navigation team, the controversial group of police and city workers who removed the encampments and made referrals to shelters, JustCare executives called their method a compassionate and effective way of dealing with encampments, with care tailored to Seattle’s cultural demographics and individual hotel rooms.

A University of Washington report on the program released last June praised the effort, citing a relatively low failure exit rate of 13% based on numbers reported earlier in the year.

And the first results are striking. With before and after photos of the King Street encampment, JustCare showed that an encampment causing frustration among neighbors can quietly disappear without the usual trauma, chaos, and displacement that can accompany city camp cuts.

But almost a year later, it’s also clear that a significant number of people who have stepped off the streets are likely homeless again. Of the 36 camp residents who participated in the Co-LEAD portion of the JustCare program, 20 had unsuccessful outings – meaning they left voluntarily, were evicted after uttering threats or breaking rules, or did not engage with social workers.

Five people were accommodated permanently via Co-LEAD.

JustCare said it could not provide immediate data on all of the 17 program participants who visited hotel rooms managed by the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, but said a person from that cohort was housed permanently. Four other people visited hotel rooms run by the Chief Seattle Club, which left the partnership due to lack of funding. The four were moved to another accommodation program run by the nonprofit at the King’s Inn, where they remain today.

It is not known what outcomes those remaining inside JustCare hotels will face. One of the residents of the King Street encampment who entered through Co-LEAD said she was told she would have to leave the South Lake Union Civic Hotel at the end of her nine-month stay.

“When we first got here, they said we would be inside indefinitely until they found us in permanent accommodation, that we would not go back to the streets”, Megan Besgrove, 30 years, noted. “Then when six months comes, (they said) it’s a six to nine month program and if you don’t do anything to improve yourself, we have to kick you out. ”

Lisa Daugaard, director of the Public Defender Association, the organization that runs the LEAD and Co-LEAD programs and manages the JustCare partnership, disputes the idea that program participants were told they could stay indefinitely.

“The JustCARE field team would never promise indefinite hotel stays,” Daugaard said via email. “Back then and today, we did not have access to hotels indefinitely, and these are not meant to be permanent accommodation.”

Program participants also sign an accommodation agreement that states that the hotel stay is temporary, Daugaard said.

But the Besgrove case highlights in some ways the issues JustCare shares with other hosting programs.

She completed a housing assessment in March and her case manager told her she should try another housing program, which Besgrove has not explored. She also missed nine appointments with case managers over the summer. Giving Besgrove a date to leave, Daugaard said, was a tool to get him to work with them.

Daugaard added, “If our program is stable (i.e. we don’t close ourselves), we won’t leave participants on the streets if they make an effort to collaborate on a transition plan. , but sometimes a release date is needed. tool to achieve this commitment.

Of the 20 people in Besgrove encampment who obtained hotel rooms through Co-LEAD but left without permanent accommodation, three posed security concerns or were responsible for illegal activities, four chronically raped the ‘hosting agreement, six left voluntarily, five had one of these issues and would not work with case managers, and two would not work with case management, Daugaard said.

The overall figures for Co-LEAD’s hotel accommodation and retention program are better than those of the King Street camp example: of the 183 people that Co-LEAD has placed in hotels, 34, or nearly 19 %, were permanently housed. Yet 84, or nearly 46%, left the program unsuccessfully.

The low rate of movement of people to permanent housing may be more indicative of difficulties within the shelter model and a lack of housing than with JustCare.

Hosting five of the 36 that Co-LEAD has welcomed from the King Street encampment “could actually be a high profile success for those most in need,” said Derrick Belgarde, executive director of the Chief Seattle Club.

At the King’s Inn, a city-funded program run by the Chief Seattle Club that also welcomes people directly from outside, Belgarde said there was a fair amount of turnover – often people leave and don’t are not coming back, and there are people who pose real security risks.

In the Belgarde program, 111 people passed through the hotel, but only two, or less than 2%, left for permanent accommodation. Twenty-six people, or 23%, have left King’s Inn because they chose to, due to safety concerns or issues with the rules. At the Executive Hotel Pacific, another city-funded hotel refuge run by the non-profit Low Income Housing Institute, 209 people participated in the program, 11% were housed and 16% left for safety reasons. , transferred to other shelters or abandoned their place.

Co-LEAD’s permanent housing rate is higher than that of these two programs, as is its 46% exit rate to the street or to unknown places.

Belgarde said he could see Daugaard’s point about using a release date to get someone to work on goals, but added that “the release should be the last approach for any organization.”

Seattle City Council member Andrew Lewis, a champion of the JustCare and Co-LEAD approach, defended the measures provided by Daugaard. At the time JustCare was working with residents of the King Street encampment, the program did not have access to rental vouchers or even a stable source of funding, Lewis said.

This month, Lewis said, that has changed. The city is now committed to connecting JustCare participants with vouchers that would subsidize rent for up to 12 months, Lewis said, and the program also recently got a year. $ 15 million city and county contract focused on shelter and outreach in downtown Seattle. Uncertainty about the funding and the future of the program, he said, has caused some people to leave the program.

“The bottom line is that JustCARE has done a great job providing immediate street-to-shelter resources at a time when no other program is providing this service,” Lewis said.

King County Council member Jeanne Kohl-Welles, another supporter of the program, said she was prepared to wait longer to see the success of the program, given that it focuses on people facing overlapping barriers to entering and staying in a dwelling, such as mental health problems. health or substance use disorders.

“At first glance, these early numbers are disappointing but not surprising,” Kohl-Welles said in an emailed statement. “It will be understood that engaging people with these lived experiences will require continuous and concerted efforts. ”

Despite the program’s mixed results, the city recently brought in JustCare to work with residents of the controversial City Hall Park encampment outside King County Superior Court.

But Besgrove, whose deadline to leave the hotel was recently extended to September, believes the schedule has left her worse than before as she no longer has a tent.

“They basically postponed our homelessness,” she said.

Correction: The original version of this story misidentified the organizer of JustCare, the collaboration between organizations working to move people inside the camps. The organization that manages the partnership is the Association of Public Defenders.

KELOWNA WEST – As wildfires continue to rage in western Alberta, tourists are urged to postpone any planned visits to British Columbia’s Okanagan region.

West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom is asking tourists to be alert and help free up accommodation for potential evacuees.

“We are just asking Okanagan tourists to do all they can to help those in need of hotel rooms,” he said.

“To help [us] even freeing up some of the short-term homes for those who have been or may still be evacuated.

READ MORE: ‘Don’t Go To Fire Affected Areas’: Albertans, Time To Cancel Your Trip To British Columbia

Thousands of people in West Kelowna have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the Mount Law wildfire, which spans approximately 800 hectares.

Milsom recently said that there has been some cooperation from Mother Nature, bringing cooler temperatures and light rains.

“The firefighters from BC Wildfire and our local fire department and other fire departments came together and did a great job fighting the blaze.

Some evacuation orders and alerts have been downgraded or canceled due to the progression of the fire.

British Columbia Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth on Monday urged people to avoid vacationing in places like the Okanagan, to ensure that residents of communities affected by the fires can evacuate if necessary.

“Given the conditions we see in our communities and on our highways, I want to be clear: do not travel to areas affected by fires for non-essential reasons. We want to make sure that people in communities affected by the fires can evacuate if necessary and access the supports they need, ”he said.

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“If you are planning to travel to these areas, now is the time to change your plans. Instead, visit an area of ​​the province where your presence will not strain local resources and have a positive impact, ”added the Minister of Security.

There are currently over 260 wildfires burning in the province, the majority of them in the Kamloops and Southeast fire centers.

These two regions are home to popular travel destinations, such as the Okanagan and the Kootenays.

-with files from NEWS 1130

“Kelowna is at full capacity”

Photo: Cindy White

Evacuees move into West Kelowna Walmart parking lot

Emergency support services are struggling to find a place to house evacuees from the Mount Law and White Rock Lake wildfires, as tourism and fire season end at odds in central l ‘Okanagan.

Central Okanagan EOC director of emergency operations Brian Reardon told reporters on Monday that “Kelowna is at full capacity when it comes to hotel rooms.”

“We are exploring other options, including mass housing, but COVID-19 protocols are hampering our efforts in this regard, so we are looking further south and west of Kelowna,” he added.

The city of Penticton activated an evacuee center on Sunday evening and cots were placed on the ground at Mount Boucherie High School in West Kelowna.

About 1,000 people were displaced by the Mount Law fire in Glenrosa on Sunday night, adding to the thousands already out of their homes due to White Rock Lake along Westside Road.

Last week, the provincial government asked tourists to leave the northern Okanagan to make room for evacuees from large fires in the area.

Castanet News has asked West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom and Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran whether they are prepared to make similar statements.

The Walmart parking lot in West Kelowna is now filled with campers and RVs from Glenrosa residents.

An evacuee from the Sutherland Avenue Evacuee Reception Center told Castanet on Monday that there was a waiting list of more than 100 people for a hotel room in the Kelowna area.

Photo: COSAR

Des Cots installed the Mont Boucherie high school on Sunday evening

Officials in the parish of East Baton Rouge, LA, are open to the idea of ​​taxing the additional rooms that are given to players at L’Auberge Baton Rouge as well as at the Belle of Baton Rouge. The Metro Council, along with local tax advisers Alejandro R. Perkins and Drew M. Talbot, are expected to vote on an emergency contract today.

Ministry of Finance and parish prosecutor’s office want new tax

East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council will meet with the two lawyers today to discuss the contract, which could be worth up to $ 50,000. Lawyers would be called upon to represent the city-parish whenever there is a problem with collecting tax revenues involving casinos.

Parish city revenue manager Tiffani Delapasse said this article is the product of an earlier case settled this year in which a Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans owed taxes. to the State on the equipped rooms. Harrah’s Casino parent company is Caesars Entertainment, which recently unveiled its most dynamic betting app.

Caesars would owe millions in taxes

With the ruling, Caesars owes the state $ 43 million, but showed some leniency when the legislature passed a bill that settled the case and determined payments. According to the legislature, Caesars will have to pay $ 39 million now and then make annual payments of $ 1.3 million for the next 32 years. These latest payments are part of a restructuring of the operator’s current deal that requires the company to pay state sales, use and occupancy taxes that total approximately $ 1.6 million. per year. This money is donated to two state entities, the Louisiana Stadium and Exhibition District and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

The state is apparently in the process of making a deal with Harrah’s just months after the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state. Federal documents show Harrah’s owes the state about $ 43 million in unpaid taxes when challenging the law.

Wade Duty is against taxes on Comped rooms

Delapass added that there is potential for litigation and that all of this is still highly contested. Casino Association of Louisiana executive director Wade Duty said the ruling against Harrah’s was not applicable to hotels connected to riverboats because it was only applicable to physical casinos.

According to Duty, taxing players on rooms booked because they bet at a hotel that has a casino is like taxing customers who continue to book rooms at Marriott or Hilton because they demonstrate loyalty to the brand.

He says the ruling is “a door opening into a room that has no boundaries.” According to Duty, if the parish city has the authority to levy room taxes, this could result in taxes on just about any product or service provided at a certain hotel-casino, as the services and products may be labeled as part of a client. Loyalty program.

Due to the fact that there is a huge gray area where customers can be taxed on countless things, this is an undesirable scenario.