Edmond's hotel market looks rosy

City continues to study conference center plan

Despite a national increase in gasoline and food prices, the hotel and motel business is one market in Edmond that continues to thrive.

Cathy Williams-White, director of the Edmond Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the revenue per available room increased from $29.03 during the 2003-04 fiscal year to $45.97 during the 2007-08 fiscal year. Edmond currently has 11 hotels and motels with a total of 681 available rooms.

“That tells us our market is not overbuilt and not stressed,” Williams-White said.

Revenue per available room is determined by dividing the total sales by the total room nights available. For example, the gross income of rented rooms was $11.5 million and the total of room nights available for the year was 249,612.

“That lets us see how financially healthy they are,” Williams-White said.

She said Edmond’s hotel and motel occupancy rate and revenue per available room are higher than other cities. Toni Weinmeister, associate director for the Edmond Economic Development Authority, said Edmond’s occupancy rate is about 70 percent.

Williams-White said the two major reasons for the continuing growth of Edmond’s market are an increase in the number of state and national events in Edmond and the addition of the Fairfield Inn by Marriott in March 2007. She said they were fortunate that the Fairfield didn’t just share the already existing customer base with the other hotels and motels.

“They’ve brought new consumers to Edmond,” Williams-White said.

She predicts that the same thing will happen with Comfort Suites, which is under construction at Interstate 35 and Second Street and estimated to be completed in the fall. Comfort Suites will add about 90 rooms to Edmond’s room availability. Also, a Hilton Hotel soon could come to the University of Central Oklahoma campus.

Another factor in Edmond’s success is that about 10 new state and national events have or will be sponsored in Edmond for 2008. For example, Williams-White said the Triple Crown Girls Fastpitch Series brought 250 teams to Edmond during a six-day period.

“We’re doing more outreach efforts,” Williams-White said.

She said they now have a full-time staff that can make more outside calls and attend more trade shows.

The increase in events offsets another trend. With an increase in gasoline prices, many families are opting not to travel with their children for these events. Another trend related to gasoline prices, is that many families, including golfers, are opting to travel in state instead of out of state, Williams-White said.



City looks at future hotel needs

Williams-White said there is a need for more hotels and motels in the market and a need for the proposed convention center and hotel, which the EEDA continues to study.

“We need something that will hold 300 to 500 comfortably,” she said.

She said she needs a conference room that will hold about 1,000 people 20 times a year. Currently, she books these conferences at the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma Christian University. However, both institutes have academic missions, which means there are constraints on when things can be booked for outside conferences.

Weinmeister, said a contract, not to exceed $28,000, has been awarded to PKF Consulting to conduct a feasibility study for the conference center and hotel. She said a previous study was conducted in 2005 to determine if Edmond could support such a facility and the report came back positive. According to PKF Consulting’s proposal, the new study will be completed within 30 days.

Adding to the need for more hotels and motels in Edmond is the future arrival of the Oklahoma City NBA basketball team, Williams-White said. There will be nights when downtown hotels and motels fill up, displacing business, Williams-White said.

“I would like Edmond to be in a position to take that business,” she said.

Also, the UCO Forensic Science program already books 40 to 100 room nights a month. Williams-White said the opening of the new Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation building on Second Street easily will book twice that many rooms each month.

Joe Geis, owner of Sleep Inn, 3608 S. Broadway, said he chose to build his hotel in Edmond because of its demographics and growth.

Geis said when he opened the hotel in 1998, there were only 8,500 rooms available in Oklahoma City. Now, there are 19,661 rooms and another 1,800 currently under construction. He said supply is expected to go up about 5 percent.

“As long as demand grows, we are OK,” Geis said. “If demand goes down 5 percent and supply goes up 5 percent, the hotels will begin to feel it.”

A growth in Edmond’s hotel and motel market would add money to the city’s tax base, which provides direct services to residents, Williams-White said.

“(Hotel and motel customers) pay city and state and lodging tax and spend their money in Edmond. It benefits our shopping district. It benefits our restaurants,” Williams-White said.

The lodging tax for 2007-08 was $418,640. The current estimate on lodging tax for 2008-09 is about the same at $418,000, which does not include any new business that may be brought in by Comfort Suites. Williams-White said she didn’t want to add Comfort Suites’ business to the forecast in case construction takes longer than estimated.

While no other plans have yet been submitted to the Planning Commission, there are other people looking at sites to build hotels and motels, she said.

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