Discussion on lower tax receipts continues

During the Tuesday meeting of Hot Springs Travel and Tourism, the board continued discussion regarding the county having lower lodging tax collections. A report from the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division showed the county had a -0.7 percent change in lodging tax collections for the 2017-18 fiscal year. Hot Springs County was the only county that had a decline in lodging tax revenue.

Hot Springs State Park Superintendent Kevin Skates said the fact that we were the only county to see a decline was alarming, and he wanted to figure out what’s happening and come up with a plan to address the issue. He further pointed out the board could be a catalyst in getting more people to come to Thermopolis, which would benefit everyone. He suggested possibly having a work session specific to addressing this issue.

At a previous meeting, it was suggested the decline was due to there not being as many sport tournaments. However, Travel and Tourism Director Amanda Moeller reached out to Hot Springs County School District Activities Director Brandon Deromedi and found out there are 13 tournaments this school year, and those plus another three will be held next year.

Moeller was also informed by Deromedi that budget cuts to school funding has made it so the district is allotted enough for only two overnight stays. There have also been comments from coaches and activities directors of visiting schools, Dermoedi reported, that they haven’t been impressed with updating and cleanliness of some of the hotels when they stay in Thermopolis.

Skates said he hears many people say they think the town is about the same as it was in the 1980’s.

Board Chair Carl Leyba noted construction projects in communities can certainly have a positive impact on lodging tax receipts, though projections for construction show there is not much upcoming planned for the town. He was for having a discussion among the hoteliers to generate ideas on what can be done.

Skates said Thermopolis has plenty of things that can draw people to down, and his thoughts on having a discussion would be to determine how to get people to make improvements. Board member Angie Guyon noted they can have as much discussion as they want, but many aren’t willing to make the improvements.

Skates noted there is now a Hot City Outdoor Alliance, which spun off from the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Task Force, with the idea of getting agencies working together and coming up with outdoor recreation activities, make things happen and generate some ideas to add to what we already have here. Among the ideas are some new trails for hiking, biking and rock crawling.

While there is plenty to do in town, the big issue is getting people to stay overnight, which would help bring lodging tax receipts up. Ideas brought up at the board meeting included putting together special packages that would include too many activities to do in a day.

Also at the meeting, Moeller spoke to the 2019 Legislative session, as a $2.5 million supplemental budget was requested by the Wyoming Office of Tourism. That supplement would be used to advertise Wyoming.

Another piece of legislature is the statewide lodging tax. Moeller said to make it as simple as possible it will be five percent statewide. The Wyoming Office of Tourism will get three percent of that, and the Travel and Tourism Board will get two percent guaranteed. When the local lodging tax comes up, it will be a vote on a two percent tax rather than a four percent.

“In our county,” Moeller said, “instead of the lodging tax being four percent it would actually be seven because three percent would go to the state out of the five, two percent’s ours and then we have a county-wide two percent tax.” Moeller also learned the board would still be in control of how the money is spent. If the lodging tax bill passes, Moeller said, it could result in help in getting the hotels updated.