Mississippi Hotel/Motel and B & B “ Up Close ” Real and Personal Property Taxes Paid in 2011

1. Mississippi Hotel/Motel and B & B “Up Close” Real and Personal Property Taxes Paid in 2011 Southeast Travel and Tourism Research Association (SETTRA) Tunica Resorts, Mississippi March 20, 2012 Presenter: Tom E. Van Hyning, Research Program Manager FIND YOUR TRUE NERD Administration and Financial Services Bureau Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Tourism Division

2. Real and Personal Property Taxes for Counties Real Property Taxes comprise Land and Building assessments. Personal Property Taxes include equipment, furniture & fixtures. 48 County Tax Assessors and Collectors were contacted, Fall 2011. 32 County Tax Assessors/Collectors responded—66.7% response rate. Data (responses) were furnished via e-mail attachments or fax. Detailed coordination required between Tax Collectors and Assessors. Some counties had the SAME Tax Collector and Assessor. Smith Travel Research, Inc., Hendersonville, Tennessee, plus Mississippi CVB’s and Local Tourism Offices were helpful.

3. Real and Personal Project Logistics Helpful for Assessors/Collectors to have the PPIN—Personal Property Identification (ID) Number; they match it to an address. PHYSICAL Addresses of the Hotels/Motels and B & B’s come in handy; there are cases with out-of-state corporate addresses. Smith Travel Research (STR), Inc. Census Data for Mississippi Jurisdictions: VITAL. STR “Listings” are a treasure trove of data. Better cooperation from Assessors/Collectors IF business address is furnished by the person requesting the information. January-March = busy months for Assessors/Collectors.

4. RESPONDING HOTELS/MOTELS/B & B’s The 460 participating hotels/motels counties comprised 68.6% of the estimated 671 statewide hotel/motel properties based on our FY 2011 lodging inventory. A total of 39,500 hotel/motel rooms were represented, or 69.3% of the statewide inventory of 57,956, as of June 30, 2011; one prominent Tourism county was a no-show. Data for some 50 B & B’s, or 29.1% of the estimated172 statewide properties, were included.

5. UP CLOSE: REAL AND PERSONAL About $28.9 million were collected by 32 participating counties: $21.9 million from Real Property taxes, or 75.6%; and $7 million from Personal Property Taxes, or 24.4%. Four of seven counties with state-licensed casino hotels shared data for these types of hotels. They were: Coahoma, TUNICA, Warren (within Vicksburg) and Washington. TUNICA COUNTY is very interesting with 18 lodging properties equally divided between nine (9) casino hotels plus nine (9) independent, franchise, or other properties.

6. UP CLOSE: REAL AND PERSONAL • TUNICA COUNTY’s nine (9) casino hotels have 5,389 rooms, or nearly 600 per hotel, on average. The other nine (9) entities have 685 total rooms, or 76 per hotel/motel, on average. • All 18 properties contributed almost $8.2 million in Real and Personal Property taxes: $4.6 million (55.9 %) Real; and $3.6 million (44.1 %) Personal. Casino properties provided close to $8 million, or 98.4 %, of the $8.2 million. • The $8.2 million comprised 11.3% of the $72.56 Million in FY 2011 TUNICA COUNTY total (taxes, fees, etc.) revenues. TUNICA • COUNTY’s FY 2011 budget: $79.1 million.

7. UP CLOSE: REAL AND PERSONAL Tupelo/Lee County had 24 reporting hotels/motels, which do not include recently opened properties. The 24, per STR, included 10 Upscale, 8 Mid-Price, 5 Budget and 1 Economy. The aggregate Real Property taxes paid in 2011: $1.03 million. Personal Property taxes paid in 2011: $125,239. This was an $8 to $1 ratio, Real-to-Personal. A networking visit to the Tupelo CVB, August 2011, helped pave the way for contacting the Lee County Tax Assessor and Collector. These working relationships are crucial.

8. UP CLOSE: REAL AND PERSONAL The Hattiesburg Area—Forrest and Lamar Counties—had a combined $1.93 million in hotel/motel Real and Personal Property taxes. Their task was simpler once they received the “Fill-in-the-blank Table” which identified the property address. Both Tax Collectors found it easier to identify the PPIN once they received the physical addresses of Hattiesburg Area hotels/motels via e-mail. They were not rushed on the request. The Forrest County Tax Collector included the 2010-2011 Millage Rate. It determines the hotel Realty (Real Property) Tax, e.g. .024549 times the True Value of $3.72 million.

9. REAL AND PERSONAL TAKEAWAYS • Travel and Tourism Pays Its Own Way! MDA Tourism Division can present more thorough City/County Tax Collection data. Travel and Tourism is a catalyst for economic development. • Travel and Tourism lodging indicators can be expanded beyond census data, the important trifecta of Occupancy %, Average Daily Rate (ADR) and Revenue Per Available Room (REV PAR). • The excellent working relationship between Mr. Van Hyning and Mississippi Tourism Partners, STR et al, now includes elected • officials such as Tax Assessors and Collectors.

10. lijones@mississippi.org cmoor@mississippi.org tvanhyning@mississippi.org

12. MISSISSIPPI TRAVEL AND TOURISM FIND YOUR TRUE NERD tvanhyning@mississippi.org Phone: (601) 359-5753 VisitMississippi.org