Area hospitality sector slow in January

There is some hope that the national and local hospitality industry will see improving conditions in 2010.

Don’t base that hope on January results.

January tax receipts in Van Buren were $27,711, 8.5% below January 2009, according to figures provided by the Van Buren Advertising and Promotion Commission. A&P Director Maryl Koeth said the numbers show an 8.79% decline in hotel receipts, a 10.09% dip in restaurant receipts and a  and 1.49% gain in convenience store and delis compared to January 2009.

Van Buren collects a 1% tax on lodging and restaurants. 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 numbers were a little better in Fort Smith with January hospitality tax collections totaling $47,637 down just 0.5% compared to January 2001.

Claude Legris, executive director of the Fort Smith Advertising and Promotion Commission, said bad weather cut the number of teams able to travel to Fort Smith for the Battle at the Fort volleyball tournament. Without the weather, “we would have more than likely exceeded the January 2009 figure,” Legris said.

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.

Legris said he is hopeful that events scheduled in 2010 will push business activity in the regional hospitality sector over the anemic level seen in 2009.

We’re hopeful this (relative improvement seen in January) will continue to be the trend because many in our industry nationally have remarked that ‘Flat is the new up,’” Legris said.