Enough Heads in Beds: Local Government in the Hotel Business

Paul Landow and Carol Ebdon

Municipal Finance Journal, 2017, vol. 38, issue 2, 59 - 79

Abstract: Over the last two decades, cities around the country have built new or expanded convention centers at a rapid rate. These cities have increasingly decided to build and own hotels to support the convention business. This study uses the cases of three city-owned hotels—in Omaha, Houston, and Baltimore—to explore three questions related to cities entering the hotel business. First is the idea of capacity: Does the city have the financial wherewithal and the expert personnel necessary to complete the project (which is usually left to private enterprise) and to operate it once finished? Second: Is the city being financially responsible to the taxpayer? Third: Is the process open and accountable to the citizens? It is still not clear whether the decision to own a hotel was the right one for these three cities but, so far, it has not gone well. These hotels have struggled and lost money and have structures that are less than transparent but are financially dependent on city taxpayers.

Date: 2017
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