Spring in Sugar Land and Missouri City means the cities’ events calendars are packed. Both cities are moving forward with tourism initiatives as Sugar Land prepares for its summer event season and Missouri City enacts new funding opportunities.


On April 4, Missouri City City Council approved a policy for use of hotel occupancy tax revenue generated by the city’s two hotels. The funds can be used for purposes that boost tourism or advertise special events, according to the policy.


Sugar Land is already using its HOT funds for city projects. With a steady stream of events scheduled for Sugar Land Town Square and Constellation Field, that revenue is projected to rise.


HOT & Airbnb“We believe that having a variety of different types of events is important [to] maximize the utilization of your hotels and hotel rooms,” Sugar Land City Manager Allen Bogard said.



HOT taxes


State HOT taxes are collected for room and space rentals costing more than $15 per day in hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, condominiums, apartments and houses. Texas’ HOT rate is 6 percent.


In addition, city governments are allowed to impose a higher local rate, and therefore Missouri City collects a 7 percent local HOT tax. Local hotel taxes apply to sleeping rooms costing $2 or more per day, according to state code.


“Now that we have this policy we’ll be able to market the community,” Missouri City City Manager Anthony Snipes said.


Missouri City HOT tax revenue from fiscal year 2011-12 to date was $532,885.25, according to  Michael Higgins, Missouri City interim finance director.


Missouri City’s policy states that applicants—legal entities including nonprofits and event venues—can request HOT funds for tourism-related projects, including building convention and visitor information centers, promoting the arts, and historical restoration and preservation, according to city documents.


Priority is given to applicants who can attract overnight visitors to Missouri City.


hotel occupancy tax revenueBy comparison, Sugar Land received nearly $2.5 million in HOT tax revenue in FY 2014-15 and anticipates it will generate about $2.63 million in FY 2015-16, according to city documents. HOT tax revenue accounts for about 1.2 percent of the city’s annual revenue, according to the FY 2015-16 budget.


HOT tax revenue was used to construct the Smart Financial Centre performing arts venue, which is scheduled to open this fall, according to the city.



Visiting Missouri City


In Missouri City, staff at both the La Quinta Inn & Suites and the Hampton Inn & Suites—both located on Hwy. 6—said city-sponsored events are not the biggest generator of bookings. Both businesses said their rooms are always full for the annual oil and gas Offshore Technology Conference, which took place in Houston on May 2-5.


Another popular event for the La Quinta Inn is the Cen-Tex Grasshoppers golf tournament. The last time the event was held at Quail Valley-Golf, Grille & Events in Missouri City, the hotel was fully booked, staff said.


The Hampton Inn was full for the 13th annual Sugar Land Wine and Food Affair, but the lack of a central gathering place means Missouri City is not a hub for overnight visitors, said Mike Meloy, the hotel’s assistant general manager.


Sugar Land Town SquareMissouri City collected $2.71 million in sales tax revenue from arts, entertainment and recreation in the third quarter of 2015, up from $2.48 million in the third quarter of 2014, according to the Texas comptroller of public accounts.


“Our main thing is still corporate bookings,” Meloy said. “Monday to Friday we’re still sold out for business travelers.”


He said the hotel would likely request HOT funds to promote local or regional events, rather than a national event such as the Super Bowl or NCAA Final Four, which already have substantial advertising campaigns.


“When it comes to the HOT [revenue], it just became available, so I know that there’s some events that we’d like to [promote] in mind,” he said. “We’ll be able to use it for advertising purposes and things of that nature.



Visiting Sugar Land


When generating HOT tax revenue, Sugar Land is at an advantage with five more hotels than Missouri City. With its proximity to Sugar Land Town Square, the Marriott hotel at 16090 City Walk benefits from annual celebrations, said Teresa Preza, Sugar Land tourism and destination services administrator.


April’s Sugar Land Wine and Food Affair and the International Texas Dragon Boat Regatta on May 7-8 are among the biggest generators of bookings while New Year’s Eve on the Square is the highest-attended city-sponsored event to consistently generate hotel stays, she said.


“The Marriot at Town Square is typically full,” Preza said.


Another major draw for the city is the Sugar Land Skeeters’ 7,500-seat baseball stadium Constellation Field—opening day was held April 21. Community Impact Newspaper reported in September that the stadium had 247,568 attendees for home games and more than 98,000 attendees for non-baseball events in 2014, the most recent data available.


A city report from 2014 predicted an annual benefit to Sugar Land of $7.7 million or a return of $169 million to the local economy over 30 years, generated from the stadium.


City staff said the 30-year estimate is based on net present value, which is the difference between a project’s projected earnings and anticipated costs.


Keri Schmidt, president of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, said she expects area visitors to increase once Sugar Land gains its Smart Financial Centre performing arts venue in the fall and a new Festival Site in Brazos River Park by 2018.


A new 185-room boutique hotel is already planned for the former sugar refinery’s Char House at the Imperial Market development, Bogard said.


“We will have the amenities to attract larger conventions but need places large enough to accommodate,” Schmidt said. “I don’t think we can build fast enough to keep up with the demand.”



Sales tax: arts, recreation and entertainmentBringing in the crowds


Sugar Land brought in $12.32 million in sales tax revenue from arts, entertainment and recreation in the third quarter of 2015, down from $12.73 million generated in the third quarter of 2014, according to the Texas comptroller of public accounts.


“Overall, these types of events held throughout the year have a positive impact in our economy as traveling guests not only contribute through hotel occupancy tax but also through sales tax as they dine and shop in the plethora of options in Sugar Land,” Preza said.


The only Sugar Land Town Square event organized by the retail complex that generates overnight visitors is the annual Spring Charity Corvette Car Show, which occurred April 23, according to Taylor Scott, event program manager for Sugar Land Town Square.


Most of the complex’s public events do not charge admission.


“Our main goal is to have events and also involve our retailers,” Scott said.


The 2015 event season brought about 115,000 attendees to Town Square, up from the nearly 100,000 attendees during the 2014 season, Scott said.


“We definitely have a spike in attendance if there’s any kind of conference at the Marriott,” she said.


No events around next year’s Super Bowl in Houston have been planned for Town Square, but Scott said she hopes the hotel will be booked and businesses will bring increased foot traffic. Being an outdoor venue, Town Square faces slower activity in February, she said.


Bogard said the city is ready for more hotels, and a market study of local hospitality businesses in 2014 indicated a need for increased room capacity. Starting in the 2017 Texas legislative session, the city will seek state financial support for a potential hotel and conference center near the Smart Financial Centre, Bogard said.


“The market is a little soft right now with the downturn in the oil economy,” he said. “Again, tourism can help with that.”