Many Wyoming voters will have a county-level bed tax on their ballots for the Nov. 5 election.
Collect lodging tax for tourism-dependent park counties near Yellowstone National Park wide support In a poll four years ago, 71 percent were in favor. This year, Park County voters will decide whether to renew it.
The local 2 percent lodging tax is in addition to the statewide 5 percent lodging tax. parliament Of that 5 percent, 3 percent is administered by the state and the remaining 2 percent is spent by counties.
Scott Weber owns Gunrunner Firearms & Auctions in Cody. He said he has long opposed the state-wide lodging tax as well as the Park County lodging tax.
“Let's embrace people like me. I'm a businessman. I travel around the state all the time. This month I spent four days in Laramie. I spent three days in Casper. I had to pay that tax,” he said.
Weber is also concerned that the Park County Travel Council is not using its funds wisely. it came down recent criticism For using Canadian-based marketing company VERB.
Ryan Hawk, executive director of the Park County Travel Council, said the council strives to work with Wyoming-based businesses. When it went out to bid in 2022, it contracted with nine Wyoming companies. But none of them fit. The council plans to go out to tender again in 2027.
“In fact, eight people immediately responded that they couldn't do that. They would have too many people. It would require too much bandwidth for them. It would take too long,” he said. Ta. “Our accounts are too big for them to handle.”
Hauck said the Travel Council's most recent fiscal year 2025 budget is $4.3 million, which includes revenue from local taxes, state lodging taxes and grants. Of that amount, $1.3 million will go towards marketing, sales and public relations plans. He said that while VERB is paid agency fees, the bulk of the $1.3 million is spent on advertising.
“This will go towards digital and traditional working media, influencer and brand partnerships, creative work, web maintenance and content marketing,” he said, including Google and Facebook ads, promotional videos and more. It added that this includes the production of.
Jennifer Thoma, executive director of the Cody Chamber of Commerce, said the travel council's marketing efforts would be cut in half if the lodging tax is not renewed.
“Visitors to Park County will decline rapidly. That will impact all tourism-focused businesses and, of course, directly impact all residents, restaurants, attractions, and hotels. Deaf,” she said.
Most of the lodging funding comes from tourists, Thoma said, noting that Park County's lodging taxes are low compared to other parts of the country.
In fiscal year 2023, Park County Lodging Tax generated $2.7 million. Park County and the cities within it will receive 10 percent of that funding, with the remainder going to the Travel Council.
a mailer The 2023 lodging tax collection, which was sent to residents, was used to support organizations such as staffing for the Cody Visitor Center, the Cody Country Art League and the Homesteader Museum.
