Lower hotel occupancy forces visitors bureau cuts

Falling hotel occupancy is taking its toll on the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The nonprofit organization, which derives most of its discretionary income from hotel taxes within the city limits, said Thursday it is cutting $570,000 in spending this year, including $250,000 in salaries.

Occupancy in metro Atlanta has fallen 4.9 percent so far this year, compared with 2.6 percent nationwide, according to Smith Travel Research.

Mark Vaughan, ACVB’s chief sales and marketing officer, said Atlanta is harder hit because it is more dependent than other cities on business travel, which has slowed in the current economy.

Hotels in downtown and near the airport saw the steepest drops, with occupancy dropping 10.2 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively, in June over the previous year.

Tim Mescon, president of Columbus State University, said hotel occupancy is a good barometer of Atlanta’s economic health because of its connection to other industries such as restaurants and retail. “Also, at the end of the day, it impacts tax revenues.” he said.

Gregory Pierce, ACVB’s chief financial officer, said the organization has furloughed staffers two days a month in the third quarter, which started in July. Pierce said there have not been any layoffs. ACVB is also eliminating $250,000 in programming among other cuts.