This week’s “Daily Journal” guest columnist is Michael Lowrey, associate editor of Carolina Journal.

CHARLOTTE — August is a popular month to take a vacation. This year it was also a popular month for local governments to engage in some economic development activity involving vacationing and travel: Government-sponsored hotel deals made the news in Fayetteville and Wilmington. In both cases, citizens could use an extended holiday from this sort of questionable dealmaking.

Fayetteville is largely a one-industry town, and that industry is the military. And the community has not been particularly vibrant in recent years. Cumberland County’s population is up by only 3.5 percent from 2000 to 2007. By comparison, North Carolina’s population as a whole grew by 12.7 percent over the same period.

The area, though, is poised for a significant boost over the next few years. As a result of the most recent round of basing realignments and closings (BRAC), Fort Bragg will gain two major Army commands and thousands of net jobs in 2011. This has caused visions of sugar plums and other delights to dance in the heads of local government and business leaders. It’s possible Fresh Market and the Bonefish Grill could come to town. And, yes, be joined by nicer hotels.

AAA rates hotels on a diamond scale ranging from one (lowest) to five (highest). Fayetteville has about a dozen three-diamond hotels but nothing rated higher than that. This upsets the local powers that be.

The Fayetteville Observer noted that four- and five- diamond hotels get that rating by offering more amenities, including “spas, laundry service, thicker sheets and towels, room service and catering — the kind of service the generals relocating to Fort Bragg from Atlanta will expect, according to a BRAC Regional Task Force report last year that says additional full-service hotels and convention space are needed.”

Generals demand spas? Who knew! Armed with that information, the local chamber of commerce spent $50,000 drafting an incentives policy for high-end hotels. The idea, which local governments seem inclined to go along with, would offer government assistance to developers willing to put up at least $20 million for a high-end facility. Possible help would include rebates on property taxes, subsidized loans, waived fees, and site improvements.

Meantime in Wilmington, construction is progressing on a new convention center. The project would be a better deal for the city if a hotel, preferably a ritzy one, were next door.

And that’s the problem. The city tried for some time to attract a big name, high-end chain but came up empty. It settled for a Hotel Indigo, an up-and-coming midline chain. Then that plan fell apart in September when the developer, after six extensions from the city, couldn’t submit an acceptable letter of credit. It’s back to the drawing board for Wilmington.

Even if you’re a fan of direct government incentives to businesses, some ideas are beyond the pale. Like giving incentives to retail stores and hotels. The success of a retailer, especially a large chain store, depends largely on local demographics — population and per capita income. Either you have them or you don’t. Incentives won’t change those factors. As a community’s population and income increases, high-end retail stores will inevitably follow.

The same is true with hotels. Either your community has the amenities to attract enough big-spending visitors to support luxury hotels, or it does not. If a hotel chain thinks there’s a viable market, it will step in to serve it. It’s that simple.

Unfortunately, some local government and chamber of commerce types have difficulty accepting this reality. They think taxpayers should subsidize hotels catering to wealthy visitors. That’s an unnecessary side trip, especially in a soft economy.