Local hoteliers are the big losers!
Two articles that appear on the June 28 Sunday News when juxtaposed provide revelations concerning the economic impact of the Convention Center Project on the hotel industry.
“Kneeded: Hundreds of guest rooms for pretzel maker” relates that Josh Nowak of Interstate Hotels & Resorts claims that the Auntie Anne’s event will require hundreds of additional guest rooms beyond those available at the Marriott. Later the articles says “Others will generate a significant number of overnight stays, such as the Mid-Atlantic District Barbershop Chorus Contest scheduled Oct. 2-3″ although only the Barbershop Chorus Contest, scheduled only for one night, Oct.2-3, is mentioned.
According to another article “Room tax revenues are on the decline”, the hotels in the county are taxed approximately $6 million dollars annually to support the Convention Center project. For the half of 2009 that remains, that amounts to $3,000,000
Okay, let’s give the Project the benefit of the doubt and say that it will generate a total of 2000 guest room nights yet this year beyond those accommodated by the Marriott. That’s for half a year.
Two-thousand room nights at an average of $100 per night = $200,000 in extra revenue for the regional hotels.
What hoteliers would choose to pay $3 million dollars in Hotel Room Tax in order to generate $200,000 in revenue?
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