Convention events boost area hospitality sector in May

The overall decline continues in the Fort Smith area hospitality sector, but May brought the first gain in Fort Smith collections in more than a year.

According to figures from the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau, April 2010 collections totaled $57,481, up 3.89% over the April 2009 total of $55,358. Fort Smith hospitality tax collections for the first four months of 2010 are $213,694, down 5.6% compared to the same period of 2009.

Fort Smith hospitality taxes are collected from a 3% tax on hotel room rates.

For 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.

“This monthly increase (one of the first in over a year) is due to a wide range of group activity throughout the Fort Smith hospitality industry,” Claude Legris, executive director of the Fort Smith CVB, said in a statement. “We’re hopeful that this will be the start of a trend, though I am told that May was a bit slow for some properties.”

The large groups in Fort Smith during the reporting period include the Arkansas Gideons Association; the Arkansas Human Resources Conference; the shareholders’ meeting for Baldor Electric Co.; the Junior Bowlers Tournament; and the Baptist Missionary Association Convention.

“Some of these events involved use of the Convention Center, some were hotel only conferences, and some involved off site events (softball and bowling),” Legris noted. “What they all absolutely have in common is that they brought money into our community that would have gone to another destination.”

VAN BUREN
Van Buren hospitality tax collections in April were $31,602, down 3% from April 2009, when revenues totaled $32,593. Van Buren collects a 1% tax on lodging and a 1% tax on restaurants.

Collections for the first four months of 2010 total $123,462, down 3.2% compared to the $127,486 collected during the same period of 2009.

For all of 2009, the city collected $381,372 in hospitality taxes, 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.

“The lodging sector is improving slowly, but still about 4% below last year. Restaurants revenues are also recovering, but at a much slower pace,” said Maryl Koeth, executive director of the Van Buren Advertising and Promotion Commission. “Restaurant revenue is not quite 7% below last year. As I told the commissioners at this month’s meeting, we are seeing the revenues take two or three steps forward and one step back.”

Koeth said she expects recovery in the regional hospitality sector “will be painfully slow,” but she is “guardedly optimistic” the restaurant and lodging numbers will continue to climb.

“I think the hospitality industry is seeing the same trend that is evident in other areas of our economy. Housing numbers continue to fluctuate and we are still seeing up and down unemployment numbers,” Koeth explained. “We continue to do additional advertising in those areas that we know are a good market for Van Buren.”

STATEWIDE
Arkansas’ tourism and hospitality sector continues to struggle, with May employment in the sector dropping to 98,300. The sector employed an estimated 99,500 in April, and 100,400 in May 2009. The sector reached an all-time employment high of 101,800 in August 2008, but has seen its numbers steadily fall since.

Also, collections of the state’s 2% tourism trust fund tax generated $2.323 million during the first quarter of 2010, an 8.3% dip from the same period of 2009. Collections of the tax in 2009 totaled $11.378 million, down 5.2% compared to the $12.005 million in 2008.