NATCHEZ — A local tourism group is expressing concerns that the way business opportunities tied to the Natchez Convention Center business are presented to local businesses is not “equitable, fair, open and transparent.”

The Natchez Hotel, B&B and Dining Group — which describes itself as a “private, invitation-only collaborative” — presented its concerns in the form of a report distributed to the Natchez-Adams Council Chamber of Commerce’s Tourism Council Monday.

The group is slated to bring those concerns to Natchez aldermen today.

In a news release that accompanied the report, the group says that while the number of conventions to Natchez has increased, “local lodging and dining tourism partners have uniformly noticed a steady decline in convention business opportunities, except that one hotel reports full or near-full occupancy.”

The group likewise said it was concerned no centralized place exists for businesses to vet requests for proposals and/or bid requests for convention business.

“Lodging for convention attendees is inequitably distributed in favor of one hotel and local restaurants nearby are not sufficiently included in the convention planning,” the release said. “Caterers complain that the management at the convention center has set the fees so high that long-time caterers simply cannot afford to cater at the convention center…”

Natchez Convention Center General Manager Walter Tipton — who works for the management company contracted by the city, New Orleans Hotel Consultants — said he disagrees with the characterization of how things are promoted from the convention center, and that the center posts all upcoming conferences at conventioncenter.org at least a year in advance.

“We send that list to the chamber (of commerce) and the Convention and Visitor Bureau, and every time we have a meeting, we bring a listing that shows all those groups coming up,” Tipton said.

“In a lot of cases prior to a conference we go downtown and let the restaurants know that groups are coming, when they are going to have time to be about the town. We actually make up the welcome fliers for them to post in their businesses.”

Tipton said the convention center is “as proactive about that as we can be,” and that anyone who wants to help with groups, “We love it.”

The release from the private group also expresses concerns that the upcoming expiration of the convention center’s management contract could be subject to political steering now that the Natchez Convention Promotion Commission’s board has resigned en masse.

The resignations were tendered last week at the same time the board of aldermen voted to terminate Convention and Visitor Bureau Director Kevin Kirby’s contract after several weeks of quiet and then public management conflict between Kirby and the board.

The NCPC has authority over the convention center by the law, the release said, but the city has acted as the negotiating partner for the NCPC in the past, and shortly before the commissioner’s resignations city officials met with the current management company’s leadership.

The release said the Natchez Hotel, B&B and Dining Group believes the NCPC commissioners were “actively moving in the direction of investigating suspicions of steering and would immediately correct all problems” prior to their resignations.

The hotel group is worried the city will enter into a new agreement with the NCPC that will allow the city to “do what it likes” with the convention center, the release said.

Instead, the group has a list of 10 requests for the mayor and board of aldermen, which include in the group’s own wording:

4Hold public meetings about the Natchez Convention Center management, as well as management of the civic and visitor’s centers first.

4Table and cease consideration of appointments to the NCPC until after the next administration is sworn in. In the meantime, the commission’s advisory committee can monitor activities and the City Clerk’s office can docket payables using commission funds.

4Any appointments made to the commission before the next administration is sworn in should be interim appointments.

4Appointees must be vetted and commit to transparency, fairness and legal compliance.

4Commission nomination should be published at one aldermen meeting before confirmation at the next.

4Favoritism should not be condoned.

4Insist that all publicly owned convention, civic and visitor centers are transparent, open, equitable and fair.

4Properties should be inventoried for clarification of which properties are under the authority of the commission.

4Clarify if rents from properties under authority of the commission should be deposited in commission accounts.

4Quarterly watchdog reporting to the commission and aldermen is critical.

Hampton Inn Manager Patricia Lozon, who acted as a spokesperson for the group Monday, said the timing for the report and its requests was chosen because of the upcoming election and an incoming new mayor.

Lozon said in addition to presenting the concerns to the aldermen today, the group wants to emphasize the need for public hearings about the convention center management.

“These points will be brought up and discussed in the public hearing, and if the leaders won’t uphold the public hearing, we will hold our own public hearing to discuss these details,” she said.

Those who signed the hotel group report included Lozon, Rolling River Bistro owners Rene Adams, Donna Sessions and Michael Gore, Bisland House B&B owner Christine Tims, Devereux Shields House owner Ron Fry, Dunleith and The Castle Restaraunt General Manager John Holyoak and Pig Out Inn owner Ann Vidal Willett.