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Hyatt Revenue Factored Into Wichita City Budget

The City of Wichita anticipates a quarter million dollars in projected hotel cash flow from the city-owned downtown Hyatt as part of the proposed 2013-14 budget.

Wichita City Manager Bob Layton gave an overview of the proposed budget as part of a formal public hearing during Tuesday’s city council meeting.  Layton told council members one issue that helped shape the budget has to do with the Hyatt.

“This budget anticipates for the first time, a revenue flow to the city from the Hyatt operations,” said Layton.

“As you know in the past, profits from the Hyatt have gone back into the hotel and the first 10 years of operation, we had a 5 percent reserve fund for improvements to the hotel and then any other profit that was generated would also go into that reserve fund.”

Layton told the council his concern was the city was not acting as prudent as it could as the owner of the hotel. Layton, along with the Wichita and national Hyatt staff worked with a consultant to determine additional profit.

“We should be able to generate about $250,000 in owners profit that can be returned to the city, initially, short term, we’re recommending that that money go into the general fund to help balance the general fund through 2014.”

Layton says the projected hotel cash flow would be used in the general fund for one time expenditures, not for annual operating expenses such as the support of salaries.

The return is only one of the cash flows from the Hyatt. The hotel has provided about $21 million back to the state, county and city through taxes or the payment of fees.

Another public hearing and adoption of the 2013-14 City budget is set for August 14.

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.