By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – Normal’s city manager said the canceled deal that would have rebated hotel/motel taxes to Hyatt Place is far from the death knell for the nearly two-year old hotel, considered one of the centerpieces of Uptown Normal’s development.

Ownership group Uptown Circle dropped its request Monday for the town council to approve a partial rebate of about $88,000 in hotel/motel taxes in the first year of a two year agreement.

City Manager Mark Peterson said the owners didn’t want to saddle the town with extra financial stress after the state mandated local governments to pay a sales tax collection fee, which town leaders said will cost Normal $320,000 a year.

Peterson acknowledged Hyatt’s owners also may not have wanted bad publicity after initial reporting of the rebate created a firestorm of negative comments on social media.

Peterson said the Hyatt will survive.

“It’s not closing. It’s not in danger of closing. It’s got a strong ownership group behind it, well financed,” said Peterson.

“They’re trying to be successful, and in this current hotel market, it’s tough. I think all the hotels are feeling some stress,” the city manager added.

Peterson said the hotel market is sagging locally as more employers cut costs by holding virtual training sessions instead of sending their workers on the road to attend conferences and seminars.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]