By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Once every five years, Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes likes to pay for a Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) report from the State of Kansas. The report dives into what dates and events causes jumps in a municipality’s tax collection. Whether a change in sales or transient tax is positively or negatively impacted, the results are not usually felt until several months later.
Hayes said it is a waiting game to see if this year’s tax collection numbers drop due to the cancellation of the SRCA Dragstrip racing season this past summer. There are also concerns of fewer tax dollars circulating due to weakened hunting conditions at nearby Cheyenne Bottoms.
"The Cheyenne Bottoms is dry and so is Quivira," said Hayes. "That really impacts us too. I think I heard on teal season, the Bottoms typically has 800 hunters out there, and it was only 100 this year. Now, are all of those hunters staying here? No, but look at the difference right there...700 people. That's a lot."
Great Bend collected $434,649 in transient guest tax in 2022. The 6% guest tax is applied to anyone that rents a room at a motel or Airbnb in town. The 2022 amount was the most ever collected. Hayes accredits the banner year because local hotels slightly increased their rates last year, and the Great Bend Events Center, Sports Complex and SRCA Dragstrip were constantly booked and bringing out-of-town visitors.
With many hunting guides and tours in the area, Hayes felt those dollars could help in the future.
"If hunters do stay in a lodge and eat all of their meals at the lodge, that's not really impacting us, other than the lodge owners purchasing their food and ammo in town," said Hayes. "At this point, hunting lodges don't pay transient guest tax. I think that might be something coming down the pike from the state. I've heard talks on how lodges are technically a bed and breakfast. It's an overnight stay. If it has more than one or two rooms, it should be paying."
The transient guest tax is used to fund the Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Events Center.