A drop in Montana's bed tax, or lodging facility sales and use tax, is impacting visitor bureaus and parks throughout the state as lodging facilities remain closed.
With a stay-at-home order in effect in most states, not many visitors have been visiting Montana, which has resulted in a decrease in lodging revenues, according to the Daily Inter Lake.
Executive director of the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau Dylan Boyle told the Daily Inter Lake he expects a 75% to 90% decrease in longing revenues, and Diane Medler with the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau agrees with the estimation.
“For the January to March quarter, our hotels were down 11% compared to last year. So we were able to squeeze out a few good months at the beginning of the year, but saw that decline start in mid-March,” Medler told the paper. “It will likely be a slow summer, and typically that’s when the majority of bed tax revenue comes in.”
Both Boyle and Medler told the Daily Inter Lake they are unsure what the future of lodging will look like, but hope for some financial stability in June.
“There are so many variables with this current situation that play into tourism,” Boyle told the Daily Inter Lake. “Looking into the future, we are really focused on what summer could look like.”
Visitor bureaus are highly supported by bed taxes, and bureaus statewide receive about $7.7 million from these taxes, according to the Daily Inter Lake. Without a steady flow of revenue and not knowing what the future holds for lodging facilities, many bureaus are unsure how badly they will be impacted by the pandemic.
“The problem is we just don’t have enough information yet,” Dustin Temple, with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told the outlet. “The summer is typically when we generate the most revenue, so we’ll have a better idea come August or September of how we’ve been impacted.”
But Temple said the bureaus don't solely depend on bed taxes. The lodging facilities also receive revenue through vehicle registrations, park fees and enterprise revenue, and Temple said vehicle registration fees have remained regular throughout the pandemic, which accounts for some revenue.
"We at least have these other funding means in place and those are looking stable," Temple told the Daily Inter Lake.
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