Oklahoma County board hears Days Inn valuation appeal; hearing officer cites low occupancy and sales comps

The Oklahoma County Board of Equalization heard an appeal on May 12, 2025 over the assessed fair-market value for the Days Inn near Frontier City, with parties disputing income and sales comparables used to set the assessment.

The dispute centers on a commercial hotel at 12013 North Interstate 35 Service Road (account 122701150). Oklahoma County Assessor Larry Stein’s office initially set the value at $2,791,940 and later reduced it to $2,190,000; the property owner asked the board to set the value at $1,760,000. The hearing officer reported an intermediate adjustment to approximately $30,000 per room based on sales comps and income data presented at the informal meeting.

Why it matters: commercial motel values in the Frontier City corridor affect tax bills for owners in an area several speakers described as having declining tourism and market support. The board is considering whether income statements, vacancy rates and local sales comps justify a lower assessment.

At the hearing, Jason Helm, an evaluation analyst, summarized the assessor’s review of income and sales data. Helm said actual income for the subject property ran about $18,679 per room, with a typical income figure close to $18,807 per room, and that motel sales comparables clustered near $35,000 per room. Helm said he adjusted the valuation down to $30,000 per room and provided notices of the change to the agent.

The property owner’s representative described sustained drops in occupancy in the Frontier City corridor and the effect of short-term rentals and downtown marketing programs on outlying hotels. The parties disputed the number of rentable rooms (records and speakers alternately referenced 73 and 74 rooms) and whether recent capital improvements or deferred maintenance should affect the valuation.

Helm and others emphasized that the property’s reported actual occupancy in the income statement was about 39 percent, a figure the assessor’s office used in its income calculation. The hearing officer told the board that the income approach produced a materially lower value than the sales comps alone, and that he had chosen a midpoint to reflect both data sources.

The board closed the hearing on BOE number 98 without announcing a final decision and notified parties that the appeal record is appellate in nature (no new evidence will be received unless the assessor consents). The board said it will notify the parties by mail when it issues a determination.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn directly from the hearing record.