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Wind River Visitors Council projects record lodging-tax receipts; plans website overhaul and Denver Airport advertising
Summary
The Wind River Visitors Council reported record lodging-tax collections and presented projects including a Simpleview website rebuild, a Denver International Airport banner campaign, a powwow video and wayfinding signage. The council said lodging-tax revenue will be used as the council's operating budget for FY26.
Representatives of the Wind River Visitors Council told Fremont County commissioners on May 24 that lodging-tax revenues are trending to a record year and outlined promotional and product-development projects for the coming fiscal year.
The update matters because the lodging-tax collections fund the council’s tourism-marketing and destination-development work, and higher collections increase the organization’s program and project capacity for the county and the Wind River Reservation.
Helen Wilson, Executive Director of the Wind River Visitors Council, gave an updated lodging-tax collection report. The council uses the last full fiscal year’s lodging-tax collections as its operating budget; the number for the upcoming year was reported as $994,034. Wilson said May and June collections were not yet complete but that preliminary totals indicate the council may reach roughly $1.04 million for the year.
Planned projects include a complete website rebuild with Simpleview to integrate the council’s listings with the Wyoming Office of Tourism; a Foodstar data-feeds subscription to provide countywide occupancy rates and travel metrics; a two-month banner placement in the Denver International Airport B concourse for the holiday season; continued work on a powwow video produced with permission from both tribal business councils; kiosk content and wayfinding signage in multiple towns; and a resident sentiment survey conducted with the University of Wyoming. The council also reported a clean CPA audit for the lodging-tax accounting and noted the lodging tax will appear on the ballot in 2026 for renewal.
Commissioners thanked the council for the work and asked staff to coordinate remaining budget discussions; no board action was required at the meeting.
