“For British Open, Rooms With Any View Will Do” plus 1 more

For British Open, Rooms With Any View Will Do

Posted: 17 Jul 2010 08:46 AM PDT

But the thousands of golf enthusiasts here for the 150th British Open are finding that St. Andrews, population 18,000, is a small town after all.

With 260,000 to 280,000 visitors descending on the town, the three main streets and surrounding estates are struggling to accommodate everyone. As hotels, and bed and breakfasts, declare no vacancies, the remaining options fall to vacation apartment rentals from real estate agencies, Web sites and homemade signs in windows.

Every year, 6,000 to 8,000 students clear out after classes end in May and vacationers arrive to fill the seaside town's accommodations. With an increasing number of visitors, local residents reap the added seasonal revenue. But the years when the Open is played here are the most lucrative.

Yvonne Moffat, the owner of Six Murray Park, a bed and breakfast near the Old Course, said bookings were filled for this year's Open only days after the 2009 Open in Turnberry. Like many bed and breakfasts in the area, she imposed a minimum seven-day stay, with an overall price of £1,200, or about $1,800, for bed, breakfast and a light dinner. The usual rate is £70, about $100, for one night in a double room.

On North Street, one of the three main streets, a boutique hotel is among the many establishments that more than doubled its rates during the Open. For seven days, including breakfast, the rate ranged from £2,500 to £3,000, or about $3,800 to $4,600.

For many hotels, the added revenue during the Open makes up for the three weeks before it starts, when the golf courses are closed to the public for maintenance and preparation. During that time, revenue can drop 20 percent to 30 percent, owners say.

Those hoping to find a cheaper option by renting private apartments rather than a hotel room were out of luck, though.

Pagan Osbourne, the official rental agency to the Open in St. Andrews for 25 years, estimated that the average price for a property rented during the week of the Open was £4,500, about $6,800. The highest price for a one-week rental stood at £20,000, about $30,500.

"We market the properties at rates we know are in line with market conditions," said Matthew Gray, the property sales director at Pagan Osborne.

Although the prices remained high by British standards, foreign visitors were buoyed by a weakening British pound.

During last year's Open in Turnberry, a pound was worth $1.65. This year, it has fallen to about $1.50, a drop of about 10 percent. For a £2,000 accommodation bill, that means an American golf tourist can save about $300 compared with last year.

But after paying for air fare, a car rental and tickets to the event, "What's a few more dollars for lodging?" said Lex Page, a golf enthusiast from Oregon who attended the last Open at St. Andrews, in 2005.

The demand for accommodation during the Open means that bills often reach four or five figures, although that price does not always mean five-star accommodations. Luxury, comfort and style are not guaranteed, as many of the golf rentals are the same apartments in which students of the University of St. Andrews stay. Houses with dated kitchens and party-stained carpets can still be expensive.

What counts to many tourists is the proximity to the golf courses. One two-bedroom apartment that is a five-minute walk from the courses was rented for £1,700, about $2,600, for the duration of the Open, about double what it would cost students the rest of the year.

"The bargain pricing of the house is due to the fact that for most of the year, it is let out to university students and as a result is not furnished to luxury standards," said one advertisement for housing on standrewsopen.com.

Some tourists booked accommodation in university residence halls in the town center. At £700, about $1,070, for the Open, it is one of the cheapest options, but the ratio of bathrooms to bedrooms in some halls is about 1 to 6.

In a town where the average home price is 8.63 times the average salary and houses sell on average for £431,585, about $660,000 — compared with the national average of £147,854, about $226,000 — many homeowners are happy to rent their property for one week during the Open. One local resident said she would be able to rent her home, take a vacation during the week and come back having made a profit.

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Jackson hotel tax being considered for vote

Posted: 17 Jul 2010 09:32 AM PDT

Originally published July 17, 2010 at 10 a.m., updated July 17, 2010 at 11:19 a.m.

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Voters defeated a lodging tax three times during the 1990s.

In 2006, elected officials decided they wouldn't even ask voters to consider it again.

Now, two years later, the sales tax on valley hotel rooms could appear on the November ballot after town and county leaders consider the measure next month.

During a joint meeting this past week, the Jackson Town Council and Teton County Board of Commissioners asked staff to draft a ballot question for their review in August. Councilors and commissioners also will review a proposed structure for the board that would oversee the expenditure of funds collected through the tax.

If the tax is approved to be considered during November's general election, voters would again be asked whether they want to tax hotel rooms to generate funds mostly for promotion but also to offset tourist impacts and provide services.

"I prefer the lodging tax option versus a general sales tax," County Commissioner Paul Vogelheim said during the talks about the possible tax. "It depends on how this would be structured, and we would have to have that discussion in August."

Wyoming statutes allow cities, towns and counties to levy up to 4 percent on most sleeping accommodations for guests staying fewer than 30 days. The tax requires voter approval; 60 percent must be spent on promotion, 30 percent on visitor impact services while 10 percent goes to local governments.

Leaders must send ballot language to the Teton County clerk by Aug. 23.

Commissioners resurrected the idea of a lodging tax last winter as they were looking for revenue to make up for declining sales tax, property tax and direct funding from the state.

Though they considered a sales tax hike, the measure failed because leaders said that levy would affect residents, too. One consultant estimates that 60 percent of sales tax is paid for by residents.

A lodging tax would be paid by visitors. A 1 percent tax would generate $1.4 million annually, according to an estimate made in 2008, the latest available.

County leaders have asked the Department of Revenue for an updated figure for 2010 but have not heard back yet, Vogelheim said.

Voters killed the 2 percent lodging tax in 1994 and again in 1996 and 1998. State law at the time mandated 90 percent of the money pay for tourism promotion with the balance for local government to spend on visitor impacts.

But a change in the statute in 1998 allowed local governments to limit promotional use to 60 percent with the other 40 percent for visitor impact services and local government general revenue.

Town councilors and county commissioners again mulled the concept in 2006 but decided not to move forward. This year may be different, as the town and county were forced to slash budgets by millions.

This time, the lodging tax has the support of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce and the lodging community.

But Chamber Executive Director Tim O'Donoghue said hotel operators want to know more details about how the money will be spent.

Commissioner Ben Ellis said he envisions that the county would no longer fund the chamber if the tax passes. Instead, a portion of the lodging tax would be used for the organization.

This fiscal year, the county will contribute $166,000 to the chamber for visitor services and special events.

Deputy County Attorney Keith Gingery said that some money could be used for public services such as restrooms, pathways and transit.

The lodging industry can reap benefits from the tax if it is structured appropriately, said Jim Waldrop, general manager of The Wort Hotel.

That 60 percent could be used for a "world-class national campaign" to promote Jackson Hole, he said. Without combined efforts, the lodging industry doesn't have the power to undertake such an effort now, he said.

Hotels also could benefit from funding for the START bus and pathways.

"Those are great advantages to us as a community," Waldrop said.

The biggest worry in the travel and tourism industry is that past problems with the tax would arise again, he said. It had been overseen by the Jackson Hole Visitor's Council, a group formed to administer spending and marketing.

"When the visitors council was in place before, there was extra pressure put on the council to spend money in different ways," he said.

This time, the lodging community wants agreements clarified before a vote so innkeepers can see how money could and could not be spent.

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Information from: Jackson Hole News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com