🔒CT Lodging Association’s ‘26 legislative agenda: more funding, short-term renter registry

This year’s legislative session was not a particularly successful one for the state’s hospitality and tourism industries. So, the Connecticut Lodging Association (CLA) convened a special meeting Tuesday afternoon at the Water's Edge Resort in Westbrook to, among other things, discuss the goals for the short legislative session coming in 2026. The meeting, which attracted about three dozen people both in person and online, was held to discuss strengthening the state’s hospitality industry as it faces significant challenges, the organizers said. Perhaps the most important goal, and the biggest challenge, is to get the legislature and Gov. Ned Lamont to appropriate more funding for the industry. Government funding for tourism marketing — which benefits the hospitality industry by attracting visitors who stay for one or more nights — has fallen each year since it received a big boost in fiscal 2022, when the budget was $12.1 million. In 2023, it slipped to $11.7 million, but just $4.1 million of that was state funding; the other $7.6 million was federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. ARPA funds supplemented the state marketing budget in each of the next two fiscal years, but that federal money is now gone and the budget for fiscal year 2026 is just $4.5 million, 63% below the level just three years ago. By comparison, New York’s tourism budget is $69.5 million. Frank Burns, executive director of the Connecticut Tourism Coalition, told the attendees there is hope for the 2026 legislative session, despite the fact that Lamont has consistently been reluctant to spend public money on the industry. Burns said a proposal to take 10% of the state’s 1% meal tax, which collects $107 million annually, and share it among the arts, hospitality and tourism industries had support among the leaders of the state House and Senate during the 2025 legislative session. “Unfortunately, they all kind of capitulated to the governor, and we did not get the funding in the end,” Burns said. After the session, however, he said he met with legislators who serve on the finance and appropriations committees and who told him there is a plan for the next session. “They feel confident enough that they can get a percentage of the meal tax early on in the session,” Burns said. “And they think they have enough support with the leadership … to carry this thing so it would be put to bed early in the next session. It would not become a bargaining tool.” Both Burns and Zach Dendas, of lobbying firm Sullivan & LeShane in Hartford, which began representing CLA this year, said it’s important for hospitality and tourism industry members to speak with legislators and explain the challenges they face. “I encourage you to invite legislators to have coffee with you, to really get to know you,” Dendas said. “Because the more that they do that, the better served you are.” Dendas said another priority for the 2026 session is to try to regulate so-called short-term rentals, like those offered by Airbnb and Vrbo. House bill 6493 proposed during the 2025 legislative session, he said, sought to create a $200 registration fee for all short-term rental offerings that would have been enforced by the state Department of Revenue Services (DRS). DRS “didn't have the capacity at the time, so we hope to rewrite that bill and come back next session and get that done,” Dendas said. Connecticut Lodging Association President Meri Wick, owner of the Westbrook Inn Bed & Breakfast, said her association is not against short-term rentals, but wants to level the playing field. “What we recognize is that we have a lot of short-term rentals that do it under the radar,” she said, adding that requiring them to register would make them more visible and make it easier to ensure they are collecting the 15% state occupancy tax. Rachel Lenda, director of the Connecticut Office of Tourism, said tourism acts as a catalyst for the broader economy, noting that a 10% increase in tourism activity generates about 2.5% growth in other industries. Lenda also touted CTVisit.com, which she said is among the top 10 state tourism websites nationwide. The website has “roughly 9 million unique visitors per year,” she said. “That puts us in a better influential category than GQ magazine.” Lenda also discussed a new “loyalty program” coming this fall, in which Connecticut residents who share tourism experiences via social media can earn points that can be used to buy state-branded merchandise or one-of-a-kind experiences. In addition to Lenda, other speakers during the event included Sarah Bratko, vice president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and Bob Murdock, president of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau. Bratko provided updates on changes at the federal level, while Murdock discussed the bureau’s efforts to attract more events to the state. While he cautioned that the past fiscal year was not the CCSB’s best, it brought in $55.8 million in total sales revenue for events. “These supported 16,000 jobs in the Connecticut hospitality industry, and these events brought in $3.4 million in state sales tax,” which he said amounted to a $6.12 return for every dollar invested. “That's pretty much the story of the hospitality industry, the tourism industry — historically, $4-to-$8 range has been the return on investment in the same year,” Murdoch said. “So, you're not waiting five years to get this money back, it's coming back right away.” Also on hand was state Rep. Devin Carney (R-Old Saybrook), who was an unscheduled speaker and offered his support to the CLA and its efforts at the Capitol. After the meeting, Carney said there just aren’t enough legislators who understand the importance of supporting hospitality and tourism in the state. “I think it's really about making it a priority, convincing legislators that it is a priority, talking about all the economic impact, the benefits to our state, things like that,” he said.