We’ve all heard the old saying that real estate can be boiled down to three things: location, location, location. That may be true, but politics is about timing.

Get the timing right and you can pass anything; get the timing wrong and even a no-brainer measure will meet huge opposition.

That’s a lesson that tourism leaders may learn the hard way as they work to lobby for passage of a new $2 per bed hotel occupancy tax. The revenue the tax will generate is earmarked for marketing efforts. The issue goes before voters on June 3.

On the surface, it is a fairly clear-cut issue. The tax — or fee as some people like to call it, preferring the softer, euphemistic name — doesn’t really hit the pocketbooks of most residents.

Since the occupancy tax only affects people staying in hotel rooms, it’s likely that few, if any, Natchez voters will see much in the way of an effect.

But the word “tax” will conjure up an automatic “no” from many voters, regardless of how it impacts them. But it’s not just the knee-jerk reactionists that are of concern. The timing is bad.

With rising gas prices, a still tight credit market and a weak U.S. dollar, the notion of another “tax” will probably also elicit a similar response from otherwise level-headed consumers and voters, too.

Tourism leaders should quickly begin to outline the details of what they plan to do with the funds if the tax is passed. Further, proponents should launch a marketing campaign to explain to voters what the tax means to them. Timing is critical to making the tax pass; and time is running out.