BURBANK HOTELS INCREASE BUSINESS.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer BURBANK - The lodging business increased 16 percent in Burbank for the first quarter of this fiscal year, thanks to a mix of higher occupancy and increases in room rates. The increased business means more revenue for the city, which charges a 10 percent bed tax on hotels, inns, motels Motels may refer to any of the following:
``Because the hotel business has been somewhat tenuous tenuous Intensive care adjective Referring to a 'touch-and-go,' uncertain, or otherwise 'iffy' clinical situation and in decline, we didn't think it was the right time - just when they were starting to increase their business - to increase their taxes,'' said City Councilman Jef Vander Borght. The bed tax generated $4.2 million in revenue for the city in the fiscal year that ended June 30, compared with $3.4 million for the previous fiscal year. In the first quarter of this fiscal year, revenues increased by 16 percent to $1.1 million, from $950,000 during the same quarter the previous year. The revenue increase appears to be due both to price increases on rooms and to increased occupancy. Ray Cruickshanks, general manager of Courtyard by Marriott Courtyard by Marriott is a brand of hotels owned by Marriott International. They have over 2,800 hotels worldwide, as of June 2007. Courtyard by Marriott is designed for business travelers. , said that was the case for his hotel, which opened in 2002 as part of the Empire Center project. The 190-room hotel increased its weekday room rate by $10, to $179, about two months ago. And the hotel has been busier in recent months. ``As the economy has picked up steam, the hotel business certainly is on the cutting edge of that as people start traveling,'' Cruickshanks said. Victoria Jones, director of sales and marketing at the Hilton Burbank Airport, said business there has increased in 2004, and that the hotel expects a 6 percent increase next year. ``We consider that 2005 will be a very good year,'' said Jones, whose hotel has a 30,000-square-foot convention center and 488 rooms, the most of any Burbank hotel. The City Council shelved the proposed bed tax increase Oct. 26. Increasing the tax to 12 percent would have required a yes vote from residents in April's election. Burbank is attractive for travelers because it has an airport and is close to such attractions as the Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheatre at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, California, USA, that is used primarily for music performances. The "bowl" in this context is the natural cavity in the earth into which the amphitheater is built, rather than the shape of the and Magic Mountain, said Gary Olson, executive director of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce. ``It's a good location from the standpoint The Standpoint is a newspaper published in the British Virgin Islands. It was originally published under the name Pennysaver, largely as a shopping-coupon promotional newspaper, but since emerged as one of the most influential sources of journalism in the of where we are, but also it's a safe environment,'' Olson said. One of the additional sources of bed tax revenue for Burbank has been the opening five months ago of the Best Western Media Center Inn & Suites, at 3910 W. Riverside Drive A number of cities around the world have a Riverside Drive. In the United States:
Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (ran in Glen/Bur edition only) The rise in hotel business in Burbank has seen employees such as Courtyard For alternative meanings of the word "court", see: Court (disambiguation). A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. by Marriott's Marlene Serrano ser·ra·no n. pl. ser·ra·nos A cultivar of the tropical pepper Capsicum annuum having small, blunt, highly pungent red or green fruit used in cooking. of Van Nuys working longer hours. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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