Kansas City STAR Continues Downtown Convention Hotel Cheerleading

The STAR's Kevin Collison would PROBABLY be a good writer if he A) used ALL the facts regarding a story and B) could see forests through trees.


In Tuesday morning's Business section- Collison's article "KC Hotels Seek An Awakening" could have been more aptly titled "KC Hotels Seek A Defibrillator."


Collison's listed facts about the Kansas City hotel industry in 2009:

1) "Hotel occupancy was 52.3 percent-"

2) "Revenues per room were $42.16 (where does one get a DECENT hotel room for $42.16???)- down 15 percent from 2008-"

3) Of "a half-billion dollars in distressed properties in K.C.- hotels made up $259.1 million" of that total- more than half-

4) "A recent city report estimated that the number of major conventions over the next decade will shrink to 5.9 per year. down from 24.8 per year from 2000 through 2009. As a result- room nights are expected to drop to 1.4 million through 2019- down 66 percent from the previous decade (2000-2009)."


You'd think that Mr. Collison's listed "facts"- plus the UNDISCLOSED elephant in the room Collison didn't even bother to mention- that being a new- 1000 room hotel would necessitate HUGE taxpayer subsidies to build and operate- would tone his story toward a negative conclusion for such a monstrous new hotel.

Nope- Collison played the bubbly- optimistic cheerleader.

He quoted a Tom Holden- who is director of the Hotel & Lodging Association of Greater Kansas City regarding hotels being more than half of the city's "distressed properties" as- incredibly- "an invisible crisis."

Collison goes further- quoting Bill George- the co-chairman of "a task force" armed with that half-million dollars of KC-MO taxpayer money looking into the feasibility of that 1000-room hotel with gems like "a new hotel should increase the demand for rooms in K.C. by attracting more major conventions."

Say what?
Did Mr. George read Collison's Fact No. 4 regarding the DECREASE of major conventions?

Bill George goes on with this even MORE incredible quote: "We (mouse in pocket and him) don't believe there will be a problem with the financial success of a new hotel...."

Well HELL NO Mr. George- with those heavy taxpayer subsidies to BUILD and OPERATE such a new hotel- the developer and the operator are completely off the hook as far as ANY loss is concerned!

The Kool-Aid is freely flowing not only at The STAR- but at City Hall and the new hotel "task force's" office.

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