Athens City Council approves program to incentivize hotel projects

ATHENS, Texas ( KETK ) – On Monday, the Athens City Council approved guidelines for their new Hotel Capital Investment Program to “spur the redevelopment on existing hotels in Athens.”

According to the city, the program offers hotel owners a dollar-for-dollar match for projects that “improve their properties’ marketability.” The Athens City Council said that they will reimburse up to 50% of a projects cost, based on the total Hotel Occupancy Tax funds remitted to the city by the hotel in the past five years.

“This initiative aims to attract more visitors, increase hotel occupancy rates, and ultimately boost local economic development through strategic hotel property renovations and upgrades.”

The City of Athens

The city said that requirements for projects eligible for reimbursement are:

• Projects must include direct capital investment into the property, such as renovations or upgrades, that improve marketability and increase overnight visitors. Furniture and fixtures can be included but must constitute less than 50 percent of the project costs.
• Hotel owners are required to submit plans to the Development Services Center for approval, hire qualified contractors, and comply with all federal, state, and local laws during the project.
• Hotel owners must track and report the hotel’s occupancy rate annually to measure the program’s success, maintain accurate project expense records, and promote the renovation to the public.
• Projects will be funded on a reimbursement basis from the City of Athens Hotel Occupancy Tax collections.

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