Galesburg Reporter

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, Galesburg is experiencing substantial decreases in hotel tax revenues, the Galesburg Register-Mail recently reported. 

Throughout the month of April, the city's hotel tax revenues took a steep dive of 35 percent. In Galesburg, the city collects 10.8 percent of the hotel and motel occupancy tax from room rentals within the city’s limits. 

Given the impact of the coronavirus, however, this funding has fallen a great deal. The city had budgeted for $815,000 of hotel tax revenues for 2020 but it is now more likely that the balance will be closer to $440,000, City Manager Todd Thompson said. 

Galesburg City Manager Todd Thompson | https://www.ci.galesburg.il.us/

While Thompson said that it was too early to make any accurate predictions, revenue from January-April may be paid later with the city-instituted extension for the original tax date. Contributing to the hospitality industry's downturn were the recently lifted stay-at-home order and the fact that a number of summer events, such as the Knox College commencement, have been cancelled. 

One anonymous Airbnb owner said that the room she normally rents out had to be closed up for the stay-at-home order, but she is hopeful that she will be able to begin hosting guests again in July. 

While the Galesburg Fairfield Inn & Suites experienced a slowdown, it seems to have recovered reasonably well in June. Manager Misty Bowman said that certain accommodations had to be made in their operations due to the coronavirus. 

“It has been very tough financially and morale-wise, but we made a decision and commitment early on to stay open and step up our procedures,” Bowman told the Register-Mail.

In an email, Thompson told the Register-Mail that the city had instituted a plan to make up for lost revenue. This plan involves postponing replacement program contributions for the city's tourism contract and cancelling projects, if need be.