The Courier of Montgomery County reports that state approval is being sought by the City of Conroe to recover sales and hotel occupancy taxes for their new Hyatt Regency Hotel and Convention Center.
Expected to lose over $1 million in the hotel’s initial two years of operation because of low occupancy, those funds could be limited.
On Thursday, the council okayed a $55,000 contract with BCS in Austin to help put together an application and other required documents to send to the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
Available information from the city says that, under the state tax code, the hotel was constructed as a hotel project that qualified.
Assistant City Administrator and Director of Finance, Collin Boothe, said that over the next decade the hotel can get rebates on hotel occupancy and sales taxes. Per the cost of the room, Texas’ hotel occupancy tax rate rate is six percent. According to Boothe, the process in applying “is pretty lengthy.”
The City’s legislative consultant, Brandon Aghamalian, believes the time is right to apply for the rebate. He has hopes that in three to six months funds would be coming back from the state.
Since the beginning of the program, a September 2020 report from the House Committee on Ways and Means shows that eleven projects for hotels built across Texas have obtained or are getting tax rebates.
Hyatt Regency Conroe General Manager Roberto Intriago said the occupancy rates will stay around 30 percent to the end of the year, but pick up to 49 percent the first quarter of 2024.
