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Chamber presents lodging-tax budget, city and county each cover a third of personnel costs
Summary
A chamber representative presented a lodging-tax brief showing budget allocations, said a county contract contributes about $400,000 (covering roughly one-third of personnel costs), reported weaker winter footfall and outlined promotions through March and a Feb. 14 welcome-center ribbon-cutting.
A presenter outlined how lodging-tax revenues are allocated and how the chamber and government partners are promoting off-season visitation.
The presenter (Speaker 3) said she combined a required lodging-tax budget report with a slide briefing to help council members answer constituent questions about how lodging-tax dollars are spent. She told the group the county holds a contract worth "about 400,000," and that personnel costs for the chamber's visitor services are split roughly in thirds: one-third paid by the county lodging tax, one-third paid by the city and one-third paid by the chamber (Speaker 3). "The only thing the county pays for is they paid a a third of the overall personnel cost," she said.
Speaker 3 described pedestrian-count data for 2024 and early 2025, saying holiday-weekend weather events reduced foot traffic; the transcript records an approximate footfall figure presented as "6 to 80,000" (interpreted here as an approximate range rather than a precise count). She told the council the first weekend of January had been "the worst in 4 years," and that staff plan a series of promotions for the first quarter to bolster visitation, including a Winter Carnival, a "Love from Leavenworth" Valentine shopping promotion in February, an expanded advent calendar and a curated Leavenworth marketplace intended to direct online shoppers to local stores.
The presenter also announced a grand-opening ribbon-cutting for a new welcome center at 645 Front Street on Feb. 14 and said the chamber was resurrecting restaurant-focused promotions in March to counter a slow season.
Why it matters: lodging-tax allocations and promotion plans affect local retailers, restaurants and hoteliers and influence short-term tourism revenue and marketing strategy. The presenter framed the campaigns as a way to maintain visitation despite recent weather-driven downturns.
What happens next: the presentation was informational; no formal vote was recorded on the lodging-tax materials during the study session.
