ROANOKE, Va. – City leaders in Roanoke say the region’s hospitality industry is still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the loss of at least three hotels since 2020, amounting to about 600 hotel rooms and potentially, lost tourism revenue.
On June 2, Roanoke City Council members discussed a proposed hotel tax abatement program aimed at reversing that trend. The initiative would provide temporary property tax relief to developers building new hotels or rehabilitating existing ones, if the renovations increase the number of available hotel rooms.
“Abatements are a concept that’s not new to our city at all,” said Roanoke City Council Member, Phazhon Nash. “And for the hotels specifically, we’re trying to incentivize the creation of hotels and hopefully this will take down some of the hindrances that are stopping them from being constructed right now.”…