Record month for hotel/motel tax

City of Cape Girardeau hotel/motel tax receipts for the month of April were $105,715.44, reportedly the first time monthly revenues for the levy have surmounted a six-figure threshold.

In the nine-month period of July 2022 through April 2023, the 7.5% tax on hotel rooms within city limits had amassed $867,833.47, 8.2% ahead of the same period one year ago.

Assuming the tax brings in at least the same revenue for May and June this year, revenues should surpass $1 million for the 12-month period of July 2022 to June 2023, which would also be a first.

"Definitely with inflation, with prices increasing, with wages going up and with expenses up significantly, all of this is combining to push tax revenue forward," said John Echimovich, vice president of operations for Midamerica Hotels.

Midamerica's properties in Cape Girardeau are Auburn Place Hotel & Suites, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

Construction of a Tru by Hilton hotel, the latest announced project of the company, should begin later this year next door to Cape Girardeau Sportsplex.

"We've been extremely busy in Cape with sporting and university events plus spring break travel was phenomenal up and down Interstate 55. It's been a great combination in the travel industry as a whole," Echimovich said.

In comments to the Southeast Missourian, Echimovich said "booking windows are shortening," meaning travelers are waiting longer to reserve hotel rooms.

"Because of this metric, there are questions whether the demand is going to stay incredibly high the way it has since travel returned post-COVID," he said. "In my experience, these numbers move with consumer confidence. With concerns about the economy and interest rates, patrons are starting to shy away from committing to travel so far in advance. When people see the economy as a bit uncertain, they tend to take a wait-and-see approach. We see this in the booking windows, which are significantly different now across all our properties compared to this time last year."

Dining out

City restaurant tax collection may break the $2 million mark for the July 2022 through June 2023 period if the current trend continues.

Tax revenues from city eateries pushed past the $200,000 level in April for the first time to $200,769.90, bringing 10-month levy collection to $1,704,189.12.

More than $339,000 was received in May/June 2022 as restaurants continue to see patrons returning to bricks-and-mortar locations post-pandemic and to the increasing number of mobile food trucks in the area.