FROM OUR PRINTED JUNE 2024 EDITION
by Lonnie Brennan
Three years ago, the state of Massachusetts began forcing hotels and motels within specific regions to collect a “special assessment up to 2% from guests.” More than $32 million from this fund was given last year to Meet Boston, a “private not-for profit” organization which prior to 2023 was known as the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau (GBCVB). “All lodging businesses with fifty (50) or more rooms located within the boundaries of the cities of Boston and Cambridge shall be subject to the special assessment,” according to the Mass. Dept. of Revenue.
Meet Boston listed 74 staff members in their 2023 annual report. The group’s Boston Pride 2024 website promotes drag brunches, pride night with drag queen Thorgy Thor, Boston’s Gay Men’s Chorus, a LesbianNightLife Rooftop party at the Revere Hotel Boston Common, a Boston Dyke March (June 7), and other such events. They also promote June 11 as Fenway Park Pride Celebration Day with an “exclusive Red Sox Jersey in Pride colors” for ticket holders who purchase through their “special offer.” ♦
