Cessnock councillor Chris Parker and Maitland councillor Ray Fairweather have raised questions at council meetings this week about the feasibility of uniform operating hours for hotels in their local government areas.

Cr Parker was to address a council meeting on Wednesday night but withdrew his question after he received an overwhelming response from hoteliers, residents and police in Cessnock after he aired his concerns in The Herald.

"I was not aware that the key stakeholders are already working together in a bid to combat antisocial problems in Cessnock later at night," Cr Parker said.

"Hotels in Cessnock are already doing their best to raise their image and curtail bad behaviour.

"The problem seems to be youth but it is still alcohol-related, but I have learned they are not buying it directly from hotels," Cr Parker said.

He said some hotels in the city had a licence to stay open until 3am but closed at midnight.

At a Maitland City Council meeting this week Cr Ray Fairweather asked if was possible for all inner-city hotels to close at 11pm.

"The reason I asked the question is because everyone is reading about these serious assaults taking place in Maitland and I think the city is getting a bad reputation because of it," Cr Fairweather said.

He said that if hotels stayed open later than 11pm they should contribute to security measures for the mall and other areas of central Maitland.