Minnesota’s hospitality industry urges lawmakers to ease regulations, seeking exemptions from fee bans and policy changes to support struggling businesses.

Hospitality Minnesota, a leading trade association, is urging state lawmakers to roll back certain regulations on hotels and restaurants this legislative session. One of its top priorities is securing an exemption from the state’s recently enacted junk fee law, which took effect on January 1.

Under this law, businesses must incorporate all mandatory charges into their advertised prices instead of adding extra service fees at checkout. While supporters argue this promotes transparency, industry representatives warn it forces establishments to raise base prices to cover operational costs.

Minnesota stands alone in not exempting the hospitality sector from service fee bans, making it an outlier nationwide. Additionally, it remains one of just four states that prohibit tip pooling—another rule Hospitality Minnesota is advocating to change.

Despite being a $392 billion industry, Minnesota’s hospitality sector has yet to fully bounce back from the pandemic. While the state saw a tourism boom in summer 2021 as travelers sought outdoor escapes, visitor numbers have since declined. Hotel bed occupancy remains 7 percent below 2019 levels.

A recent report from Hospitality Minnesota ranked the state last in the Midwest for hotel occupancy recovery. Furthermore, 51 percent of hospitality businesses reported lower customer traffic in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Industry leaders say labor shortages and rising costs continue to be major hurdles. Although the number of restaurants in Minnesota has increased by 6 percent since 2019, employment in the sector has actually dropped by 3 percent.

With mounting financial pressures and declining customer traffic, hospitality advocates are intensifying their call for legislative action to help businesses stay afloat.

The post Minnesota Hospitality Sector Struggles To Bounce Back, Urging Lawmakers To Roll Back Regulations That Make It Harder For Hotels And Restaurants To Compete appeared first on Travel And Tour World.