CHENANGO COUNTY – The county Board of Supervisors this week saw results of an accommodations study that affirms a long-held notion that the lack of quality lodging in Chenango is putting the county at an economic disadvantage.
The study, carried out by Susan Payne, a strategic planning and economic development consultant contracted by the Development Chenango Corporation (DCC), provides a snapshot of the supply and demand of available accommodations in the county, including hotels, motels, inns and bed and breakfasts. DCC says it will share findings of the study with public and private entities in an effort to improve quality lodging in the area.
“This study really confirmed what a lot of what we already expected; that is a stock of hotel rooms in Chenango County are largely outdated and it’s leaving an economic impact,” said Commerce Chenango President and CEO Steve Craig
In addition to a basic overview of the county’s two flag hotels, two independent hotels, nine bed and breakfasts, and three motels (totaling 257 rooms), the study compares Chenango’s accommodations to larger competitors in nearby Binghamton, Oneonta and Hamilton.
The findings suggest Chenango County is losing $750,000-$800,000 per year in traveler spending due mainly to its lack of quality lodging and brand name hotels, outdated facilities, and proximity to major highways and airports. Lost sales tax revenue related to lodging alone is upwards of $60,000 per year.
The study finds travelers are choosing accommodations outside the county which is leaving a negative mark in other areas like retail, food service, fuel sales, and recreational expenses, even while nationwide trends in these areas have increased each year since 2009. Approximately 90 percent of local corporate lodging is booked outside of Chenango County, according to the study.
“This is something that we have expected for a long time, but it’s good that we now have the hard data to back it up,” Craig said. “The most valuable piece of overall information is the fact that 90 percent of business lodging is outside Chenango. If we can harvest just half that 90 percent, that would be a huge contribution to the county.”
In May, DCC made the case that a lodging study was long overdue. A similar study was done in 2007, prior to expansion of large local corporations such as Chobani, NBT, Frontier Communications, and Golden Artist Colors. A motion to provide public funding of $9,000 for the study was approved by the Chenango County Board of Supervisors in June, notwithstanding debate among county officials regarding the role of public and private sectors in lodging development.
The DCC has set a goal of using the most recent data to attract private developers to the county for building projects and to entice existing hotel and motel owners to make improvements to their facilities, said Craig. The organization may also use the study to propose a large-scale development project in the next statewide round of regional economic development funding.
“If we could figure out a way to gain funding through a (Consolidated Funding Application) to leverage private investments in the area, it would be a major push,” said Craig, citing similar state aided projects for lodging facilities in Corning and Margaretville.
The study will also be used to promote synergies among in-county and out of county attractions, Craig added. Plans are to grow partnerships between local venus and events (including the Northeast Classic Car Museum, Colorscape Chenango, the Chenango Blues Festival, the Unadilla Valley Sports Center, and the Gus Macker basketball tournament) with surrounding venues like the Baseball Hall of Fame and Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, and colleges and universities in Oneonta, Binghamton, and Ithaca.
“I think this information gives us a lot of good information to get us started on a few different fronts,” Craig added. “It gives us some opportunities in marketing the area that we haven’t seen.”