Hotel tax revenue has dropped 15.7 percent in Bartholomew County this year, and innkeepers say there are plenty of culprits to blame, including lousy spring weather, cutbacks in corporate travel and even political snarls in Congress.
“The market, in general, was down 15 to 20 percent in the first quarter. We were seeing travel restrictions from a lot of corporate business, and even the federal sequestration played into it. That hurt government and military travel. Plus, we had far more snow days this spring than in 2012 when spring came early,” said Cindy Waddle, general manager of Hotel Indigo in Columbus.
Collections from the 5 percent innkeeper’s tax in Bartholomew County totaled $345,019 for January-April, according to the latest figures from the Columbus Visitors Center, which promotes the travel and convention business and is partially funded by the tax revenue. That’s less than the comparable period in 2012, when the four-month tax total reached $409,311, county data show.
