REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- Renting the new Rehoboth Beach Convention Center will be more expensive come next year.
On Friday, the commissioners voted to increase the Convention Center fees starting in January of 2019. The changes include for profit organizations paying $800 a day to rent the space during the week and $2500 over the weekend—up from $600 and $1100 respectively.
Non-profits will pay $640 during the week, compared to $550 currently. But Friday through Sunday, they'll pay $2000 a day instead of $800. Other fees include doubling conference suite rentals from $250 to 500 for for-profit rentals, and up to $400 for non-profits.
Mayor Paul Kuhns says the prices are fair for the brand new space.
"From our perspective we just put in some new upgrades in the Convention Center," he tells WBOC. "So we thought it was time to take a long hard look at the rates and make some changes."
Kuhns says the new Convention Center is more welcoming and has more amenities, something that many people asked for. He also says that many people pointed out that Rehoboth's Convention Center was less expensive than other options in the county.
Rehboth and Dewey Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carol Everhart says the increase in costs may push away clients-- especially non-profits. During Friday's meeting, it was noted that the Convention Center is used 95 percent of the time by non-profits.
"They are the very people who are extremely sensitive to pricing, so [the city] could see a loss," she says.
Everhart says if the convention center attracts less people, it will impact local businesses as well.
"They come, they stay overnight, they have meals in the restaurants., they pay the parking meter," she explains. "So if we have less people utilizing the hall, the negative impact is there is less across the board."
During Friday's meeting the commissioners also increased rental and permit fees in Grove Park and wedding reservation fees for Rehoboth Beach. The latter is going from $175 to $500.
