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?
