New hotel coming to Cape after near-record month for hotel tax revenue

Last month, hotels generated more than $74,000 in tax revenue for the city — about $300 short of a record high. This weekend also saw several Cape Girardeau hotels booked solid in part because of sporting events. Some visitors reportedly had to seek accommodations in Perryville after failing to find vacancies in Cape Girardeau.

While hotel tax revenue has gradually increased over the last decade, some developers expect that trend to continue.

Jeff Maurer, one of the developers behind the Marriott hotel under construction downtown, announced Monday his company, Mayson Capital Partners LLC, hopes to begin construction next year on another Marriott on Cape Girardeau’s west side.

The new hotel, Maurer said, will be a Fairfield Inn and Suites and will be near the Mercato di Rodi on South Mount Auburn Road.

It’s too early to say how many rooms the proposed hotel will have, Maurer said, because the franchise license has just been granted, and no plans have been drawn up.

But construction, he said, is tentatively slated to begin in late 2018.

Maurer called the new project, together with the Courtyard by Marriott underway on Broadway, “a significant investment” in Cape Girardeau.

“We’re excited to bring a brand like Marriott into Cape Girardeau,” he said, adding the nearest Marriott locations are in St. Louis and Memphis, Tennessee.

He said the downtown hotel is on schedule for its target opening in late spring or early summer next year.

He cited the recently completed SportsPlex and Drury Plaza Hotel and Convention Center as important factors that draw people to Cape Girardeau.

“They do have the potential and do bring people to the community,” he said, adding once people arrive in town, they tend to patronize many businesses.

“They eat at the restaurants and shop at local stores,” he said. “There’s such a great spillover effect.”

John Echimovich, director of hotel operations for Midamerica Hotels Corp., expressed similar sentiments, especially about the SportsPlex.

“Cape is just a fantastic town for athletics events, soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming,” he said. “We’ve seen some of these tournaments are incredible drivers, and they’ve hit the ground running with the SportsPlex. It’s fantastic to see that kind of growth as a hotel industry.”

He said last weekend, all three Midamerica Hotels properties were booked.

During fiscal year 2017, the city saw only two months where hotel tax revenue cleared $70,000. Four months into fiscal year 2018, three months have done so.

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO John Mehner pointed out while the first two months of the current fiscal year were down compared with last year, the sharp rise in September and October coincides with the opening of the Drury Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

The growth is not only in Cape Girardeau, Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce director Brian Gerau said. A tax-increment financing agreement has allowed a new hotel to begin development in Jackson.

“We have noticed a tremendous increase in hotel occupancy over the last years,” Gerau said. “You are seeing more and more business events during the week with the usual sporting events on the weekend. Our area has the desirable tourism spots along with sports and medical facilities that attract travelers. Our area is not just a weekend destination. It is exciting to see a vision to meet this need. The last thing we want as an area is for someone to have to travel 30 miles north or south to find accommodations.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627