Bedford County Visitors Bureau proposes raising room tax from 2% to 5% to fund tourism marketing and grants

The Bedford County Visitors Bureau proposed that county commissioners adopt an ordinance to raise the county room (hotel) tax from the current 2% rate to 5%, a change bureau officials said would increase annual room-tax revenue from about $600,000 to about $1.5 million.

Dennis Nice, director of the Bedford County Visitors Bureau, told commissioners the bureau’s board unanimously approved a recommendation to adopt a 5% rate and set a start date of Jan. 1, 2026. Nice said the recommendation and the bureau’s draft budget were prepared under Pennsylvania Act 18 and that the bureau expects to use the additional funds for three primary purposes: operations, expanded internet advertising and marketing, and a new program grant fund to support capital improvements to tourism assets.

The bureau presented a proposed budget that assigns roughly $480,000 annually to expanded digital and out‑of‑county marketing, $250,000 a year to a program grant pool (with a minimum 25% local match per Act 18) and an increase in the county treasurer’s operational allowance. Under Act 18, the bureau said, the county treasurer may retain a larger administrative share; the bureau estimated the treasurer’s portion would rise from roughly $12,000 to about $60,000 annually if the county adopts a new ordinance under the Act.

Nice described the proposed program-grant rules as limited to nonprofit or similar projects that attract visitors and said capital grants would require at least a 25% match from the applicant. He also said the bureau’s cooperative marketing grant program historically awarded about $50,000 annually and that individual cooperative awards have ranged up to roughly $7,700 in recent cycles.

Commissioners asked how the bureau would measure success and what the impact on small, locally owned motels would be. A commissioner noted concern for “mom‑and‑pop” lodging operators and asked that the bureau continue outreach to local hoteliers. Nice replied that digital marketing can provide click and referral data while acknowledging the limits of some advertising metrics; he said the bureau relies in part on feedback from business owners who serve on the visitors bureau board.

County Treasurer Musa Cotto addressed collection mechanics and said county hotel tax collections are remitted quarterly; hotels that remit early receive a 2% prompt-payment discount, a practice she described as a routine administrative matter. Cotto also said the county’s collections and mailing work are handled through the treasurer’s office and that collected funds are deposited to county accounts, not retained by the treasurer’s office.

The commissioners did not vote on the ordinance at the Jan. 14 meeting. The visitors bureau recommended the county open a public-comment period in February and schedule a formal vote in March. Commissioners agreed to allow public comment at the February meeting and directed staff to publish notice consistent with the proposed timetable.

The visitors bureau representatives who appeared at the meeting included several local tourism and hospitality stakeholders who introduced themselves to the commissioners: Allen Brown (Chancey's House bed and breakfast), Luis Styles (staff, Bedford County Visitors Bureau), Corey Mechis (ID Graphics, visitors bureau board president), Ken Toole (KLA Contractors; chair, ReImagine Network), Charlie Groome, and John Bittner (Holiday Inn Express; visitors bureau treasurer).