Area hospitality tax collections up in January

Hospitality tax collections in Fort Smith and Van Buren were up during January despite the snow and cold.

January hospitality tax collections in Van Buren totaled $28,016, up 1.1% compared to January 2010. Van Buren collects a 1% tax on lodging and a 1% tax on restaurants.

For all of 2010, Van Buren hospitality tax collections totaled $395,195, down just 0.62% compared to 2009. For all of 2009, hospitality tax collections were down 7.1% compared to 2008. Hospitality tax collections for Van Buren in 2008 totaled $410,914, up 7.4% over 2007 and up more than 14.5% over 2006.

“We continue to see a slow climb in year-over-year collections even with the cold and snow with a 1.1% increase over 2010,” said Maryl Koeth, executive director of the Van Buren Advertising & Promotion Commission.

January hotel tax collections in Fort Smith totaled $48,271 up 1.5% compared to January 2010.

Claude Legris, executive director of the Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau, said said a $2,200 delinquency is likely to be paid in February, and would have boosted January collections up to 6%. Fort Smith hospitality taxes are collected from a 3% tax on hotel room rates.

“This starts the year with a positive, although not substantial trend,” Legris explained.

Hotel tax collections in Fort Smith during all of 2010 totaled $678,934, up 1.04% compared to 2009. During 2009, Fort Smith hospitality tax collections totaled $671,912, down more than 16% from 2008. Fort Smith hospitality tax collections in 2008 totaled $803,591, 11% more than the $723,548 collected in 2007, and more than 19% above 2006 collections.

Legris said the next few weeks and months will be important in setting a trend for the year.

“We have talked in years past about how world events can influence the local hospitality industry and we will be watching the spring break traffic very closely to see how the price of gas — influenced by world events in the middle east according to economists — may impact the industry. This could be a sign of spring and then summer travel,” Legris said.

Leisure and hospitality employment in the Fort Smith region has yet to see the benefits of recent upward trends in hospitality tax collections. The preliminary estimate for January leisure and hospitality employment in the region is 8,400, down from 8,600 in December and the same as January 2010. Employment in the sector peaked at 9,800 in August 2008.