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Director along with the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee tracks Lodging Tax revenues. <br />Revenues have increased every year but one since the recession,which adversely affected rates <br />in 2009.So far in 2015,monthly Lodging Tax revenues have increased every month but one <br />and,barring any unforeseen circumstances,2015 will represent a record year in Lodging Tax <br />collection.This is a positive trend that is likely to continue and points to increasing demand <br />placing positive upward pressure on the local hotel market. <br />National trends in hotel and visitor stays point to continued interest in alternative forms of <br />lodging,including smaller boutique inns,self-catering inns,and specialty lodging that are close <br />to tourist attractions and are within walking distance of the area's key restaurant and dining <br />options.National hotel chains are paying attention to this trend and have responded with creative <br />brands such as Hotel Indigo by IHG,Canopy and Curio by Hilton,and Aloft by Westin to <br />address this demand.Furthermore,this trend is migrating from bigger city markets to smaller <br />communities where both independent hotels and chain affiliated hotels are being developed in <br />downtowns even while other hotel products in the markets continue to thrive. <br />2.3.7 Office Market Opportunities <br />Perhaps the most difficult market to evaluate in a community like Ellensburg is the office <br />market.There is little speculative office space in the market and as a consequence there is no <br />historic absorption rates,consistent rent rates,and vacancy rates.The issue is exacerbated in <br />downtown where upper floors that might be conducive to office space are in various states of <br />repair. <br />During the interview process,the price of $10 per square foot a year was cited as reasonable for <br />space that was already suitable for a tenant.This rate hovers just at a level where buildings <br />owners have difficulty maintaining old buildings for the rent they are commanding.Ideally,the <br />market should work to slowly get the rental rates from $10 per square foot to $12 per square <br />foot.An effective way to do this is to develop "right-sized"ground floor spaces that work for <br />smaller specialty shops. <br />The recommendations portion of this report will explore some creative solutions to jump start <br />office space use in downtown Ellensburg and work toward slowly escalating rent returns to allow <br />for additional investment in downtown buildings. <br />20