Progress

August 27, 2008

Board: More hotels being built

Audit shows county tourism board fiscally healthy and new hotel outlook promising.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County’s tourism board on Tuesday got a clean bill of health from its auditor, despite receiving less revenue than anticipated this past fiscal year.

The Luzerne County Visitor and Convention Bureau had budgeted the receipt of $444,426 in hotel tax revenue and received only $419,352.

Despite the $25,074 shortfall, the bureau ended the year $41,143 in the black because it received $3,209 more than expected in membership fees and $4,013 more than expected in advertising revenue.

It also spent over $50,000 less than anticipated. The savings included $11,414 on salaries, wages, payroll taxes, benefits and retirement; $26,263 on advertising/printing; $13,157 on promotions.

The agency also realized savings elsewhere.

Kevin Noone, of the accounting firm Bonita & Rainey, said the bureau had a “clean audit with no reportable conditions.”

Executive Director Merle Mackin said board members shouldn’t be discouraged by the downturn in hotel tax revenue.

Although the county saw a 2.6 percent decrease in the revenue this past fiscal year, Mackin said the sale of a hotel in the 2006-07 fiscal year forced the payment of about $200,000 in back hotel revenue taxes that year, which skewed the financial picture.

Marketing Director Janet Hall also noted that two hotels were either partially or totally closed for several months while undergoing renovations. She said county hotels reported that occupancy increased about 10 percent over the last three years.

Hall also noted that a Residence Inn opened in Hazle Township on July 2; the Candlewood Inn & Suites is expected to open in Sugarloaf Township in November; a Courtyard by Marriott is set to open in Hazle Township in February; and a Fairfield Inn & Suites and a Courtyard by Marriott are set to open in Wilkes-Barre Township in January and December 2009, respectively.

The board then voted to join three other bureaus to form the Northeast Pennsylvania Tourism Marketing Corp., doing business as Northeast Mountain Region. The new non-profit agency will consist of the convention and/or visitor bureaus of Luzerne County, Lackawanna County, the Poconos, and the Endless Mountains. The latter two bureaus cover four counties each.

Hall said the new agency will qualify for a $320,000 state grant to fund regional advertising and promotions. She said the bureau’s participation will provide leverage in advertising, allowing Luzerne County’s offerings to appear in more and larger ads.

Mackin said the venture will give Luzerne County “our first real opportunity to work with the Pocono Mountains.”

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