According to a report from the Office of the County Treasurer, the revenue from the Hotel Room Rental Tax and Hotel Excise Tax dropped from $813,607 in 2008 to $699,781.
The new Marriott Hotel was open during that period. However, the Brunswick Hotel was closed for repairs.
The majority of the tax is to subsidize operations and debt service of the Convention Center.
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How long will it be until Penn Square Partners and company come to the city and county taxpayers DEMANDING more money to keep their pet project in operation? Where is all the income they promised would be generated by the convention center and hotel? Where are all the fancy numbers they used to support this project? Why don’t they invest more of their own money if this is such a worthwhile project? Where are the answers to these questions?
Be aware that in order for the hotel tax to meet the projections that were presented to the Commissioners in 2003, to substantiate the bond guarantee, the Marriott would be solely responsible for providing a 15+% BOOST in tax revenues. Clearly that is not the case.
Furthermore, my sources indicate that occupancy to date at the hotel fell well below 50% with an average daily rate less than $110/night during the height of the tourist season. These stats along with what is lackluster performance county-wide and a long cold winter ahead do not bode well..
This year will be very difficult to assess the true picture for what impact the new hotel will have on bed tax contributions.
The three delays in opening dates caused significant financial hardship for the hotel whereas the convention center realized a financial benefit due to minimizing their scheduled financial losses. Rumor has it that the hotel displaced close to $1M in business as a result thereof.
The occupancy assumption listed above is probably dead on due to the required ramp up time of a newly built hotel. It usually takes a new hotel at least 6 months to gain stability within a market. The low average daily rates were probably influenced by absorbing the business from the Brunswick as a concession to the downtown district.
In a nutshell, it is too soon to tell and no more tax payer contributions!