BCTDA records best-ever monthly room sales

BCTDA room sales graph
PEAKS AND VALLEYS: October 2020, the rightmost point on the green line, marked the highest-ever monthly lodging sales in Buncombe County, driven largely by a 75% year-over-year increase in vacation rental room sales. Graphic courtesy of the BCTDA

“An accurate statement is we are in good shape,” remarked Don Warn, fiscal agent for the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, during a Dec. 16 presentation to the BCTDA board. For October, at least, that may be an understatement.

According to the BCTDA’s most recent financial documents, the county logged $53 million in room sales for October, the latest month for which data is available. The figure represents a 6% increase over the $50 million in sales for the same month in 2019 — and an all-time monthly record.

“On the balance sheet, I think we’re in a good position,” Warn continued, regarding the occupancy tax revenue on those room sales managed by the BCTDA. “We have plenty of fund balance, plenty of cash sitting in the bank.”

In the authority’s operating fund, which by law must be spent on tourism promotion, those undesignated cash reserves totaled $11.7 million through Nov. 30. As noted by BCTDA board Chair Himanshu Karvir, part of that strength comes from unusually low expenses in 2020.

Due to COVID-19, Karvir pointed out, the BCTDA has paused paid advertising through channels other than social media and search engines. From July 1 through Nov. 30, its marketing spend has totaled about $1.36 million, less than half the money deployed over the same period last year.

Over $2.25 million in undesignated cash reserves has also built up in the authority’s Tourism Product Development Fund, which represents the 25% of occupancy tax revenues required by state law to be invested in community projects. New awards from that fund have been frozen since 2019, when the BCTDA embarked on a long-term planning process for use of the money. Initially scheduled to conclude in April, that process has been delayed indefinitely as the authority continues to navigate the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, the BCTDA and N.C. General Assembly collaborated to pass emergency legislation authorizing $5 million from the TPDF to be allocated as grants to local tourism-dependent businesses. Board member Andrew Celwyn asked if a similar measure might be enacted when the state legislature goes back into session in January.

While Karvir, as well as board members John McKibbon and Kathleen Mosher, expressed openness to that idea, the chair added that passing the previous legislation had required “a Herculean effort.” He said hospitality industry leaders, not the BCTDA board, had led the push for the emergency measure and would likely need to do so again.

“I just hope that we don’t take a look back on this time and say, ‘Boy, we wish we could have done more,’ and have that $2 million sitting there until the spring or the summer,” Celwyn replied.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Daniel Walton
Daniel Walton is the former news editor of Mountain Xpress. His work has also appeared in Sierra, The Guardian, and Civil Eats, among other national and regional publications. Follow me @DanielWWalton

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

5 thoughts on “BCTDA records best-ever monthly room sales

  1. Bright

    Any correlation with the escalation of c. virus cases? Yes…and if you’ve survived thus far, enjoy the money.

  2. Jason Williams

    Maybe the BCTDA can share some of their “good position” to help the out of work gig workers, and underpaid service workers upon whose backs this economy is built on?

  3. Charlie

    While most of the country is under stay at home orders and urging people not to travel, we instead are setting records for visitors while our hospital sets new records every day and will soon be full. Restaurants announce shut downs every day due to workers getting Covid.
    What’s wrong with this picture?

  4. bsummers

    Room sales are up? You know what that means…

    WE GOTTA BUILD MORE HOTELS, AND I MEAN NOW!!!!!

    And then we’ll hafta…

    ADVERTISE MORE TO FILL THE HOTELS WE OVERBUILT!!!!

    Naturally, that means we’ll…

    SET MORE RECORDS FOR MONTHLY ROOM SALES!!!!

    Leading us to…

    RINSE AND REPEAT UNTIL ASHEVILLE IS THE MYRTLE BEACH OF THE MOUNTAINS™!!!!

  5. kevin houle

    these figures are nothing to be proud of, but lets congratulate these hotels for promoting the spread of corona-tourism!

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.