For the last several years, Madison’s downtown welcome center on East Jefferson Street has been open 360 days a year, closing only on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
However, declining hotel-and-motel tax revenue and visitor numbers prompted the Board of Directors of the Madison-Morgan Convention and Visitors Bureau to ask the Madison City Council to close the welcome center Monday through Wednesday from January through March of 2025.
According to CVB executive director Jennifer Rosa León, the CVB received nearly $12,000 less income this year from the hotel and motel tax, which is calculated the year after it was collected.
León said part of the decline in the tax was due to the Super 8 motel closing for four months to become part of the Sleep Inn hotel chain. The Sleep Inn’s 60-room inventory represents approximately 10 percent of Madison’s total number of rooms. The former Red Roof Inn was also closed for a time as well.
The CVB is also now paying the building’s rent of $6,000 per year as part of its budget, which, according to city manager John Klimm, had to be done for legal reasons, according to city manager John Klimm.
León also said the welcome center had 9,433 visitors last year but has hosted only 7,154 through October 2024.
Charles Marvil, vice chair of the CVB board, said spending revenue on public relations efforts online and printed brochures makes more business sense than keeping the welcome center open when business is extremely slow, averaging about eight visitors a day in January.
City councilors did not agree with the proposal to close the welcome center. However, they expressed optimism about improving attendance, as the conservation safari park is now open, and a large, new hotel owned by Ben Patel is under construction off the Madison bypass.
“I just can’t image what people would think if they show up on a Tuesday and the welcome center is shut,” Councilor Betsy Wagenhauser said. “They will wonder what is wrong with this town.”
CVB representatives argued that Madison gets a 10-to-1 return on public relations efforts but a much lower return on investment with the welcome center during the slow winter tourism months.
Carol Sanchez, the chair of the CVB board and the manager of Hard Labor Creek State Park, acknowledged that the park also reduces office hours during the cold winter months, when demand is lower.
Klimm said the welcome center is a “very important” asset to the city and suggested the CVB board hold off for a couple of months to see if the negative trends continue. He also said the CVB had $100,000 in reserves and should be able to weather the difficult times without problems.
“I think we’re trying to solve a problem we don’t have,” Klimm said.
City councilors asked if the CVB could use volunteers, but CVB representatives said that wasn’t a viable option.
León is the only full-time employee who works in the welcome center. The center has a marketing person, but they work part-time and spend only one day per week in the center, and the rest of the week work from home.
The council asked the CVB representatives to maintain the same hours for now and, if the trends continue, come back before the council in a couple of months.