Hoteliers study tax district for marketing
Kalispell's 16 hoteliers are trying to join together to create a tourism business improvement district, which they hope to approve at a meeting on Aug. 5.
Organizers hope the district will give Kalispell a new opportunity to market itself within the state and nationally.
"It's an opportunity for the city of Kalispell to promote the city of Kalispell, for us to be competitive from a tourism standpoint," said Chris Walters, general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn.
The district would be funded by a new fee assessed by all Kalispell hotels for each visitor room night.
Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls and Helena all have tourism business improvement districts, each of which assess a $1 fee per room night. The money is placed in a fund used to market each city. Missoula's fee is 75 cents a night.
"If we're not effectively marketing ourselves, we're losing business," said Gib Bissell, owner of the Aero Inn.
A preliminary meeting last week was attended by Winnie Storli of the Blue & White Motel, Bissell, Lori Fisher of the Hampton Inn, Beau Bledsoe of the Holiday Inn Express,
Bryan Scott and Mark Himsl of the Outlaw Inn, Dan Moderie of Super 8, Janet Clark of the Kalispell Grand Hotel, Lisa Brown of the Red Lion Hotel Kalispell, representatives from Flathead Travel and Flathead Convention & Visitor Bureau, Joe Unterreiner of the Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Pam Kennedy.
At that meeting, the consensus was to create the district and tentatively assess a 2 to 3 percent fee per room each night.
The hoteliers, as well as those representing Travelodge, Motel 6, Glacier Peaks Inn, Comfort Inn, Econolodge, Hilltop Inn and Glacier Ridge Suites, will meet again on Aug. 5 to decide whether to move forward with the plan and the amount of the fee.
A district must be approved by hoteliers representing 60 percent of total lodging rooms in Kalispell. Lodging operators are hoping for 100 percent approval.
If they opt to establish a district, they must then draft a petition and approach the Kalispell City Council. It would go into effect 30 days after council approval. A governing board of five to six hoteliers would be developed.
Kalispell's target district funding is $500,000. With that money, the district, overseen by the Chamber of Commerce, would create a marketing campaign.
"We have culture, museums. This is a tourism destination location," Kennedy said. "We've got to find a way to market this community."
The district automatically would end in 10 years unless reapproved by the City Council. If the hoteliers feel that the initiative is not producing visible returns, they can vote to dissolve the district.
At the meeting, Storli and Scott expressed reservations about the effectiveness of the district, as well as the desirability of adding another fee to the 7 percent tax rate on rooms in Montana. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, in 2008 the national average for room taxes was 13.4 percent.
"I have a strong feeling that the big outfits are going to benefit from this and not the little guys," Storli said.
Scott said he was concerned that even investing $500,000 will not produce quantifiable results.
Walters responded that the governing board will include large, medium and small hotels so that all viewpoints are represented.
"I'm a little guy," Bissell said. "I don't have time to go to meetings because I'm cleaning toilets. But [my hotel] doesn't fill until the big boys fill. If Kalispell is a good destination, it's good for all of us. We've got to get in the game or decide it's everybody for himself."
Reporter K.J. Hascall may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at kjhascall@dailyinterlake.com