City opens application for Hotel Occupancy Tax grant submissions
Palestine Herald-Press, Texas
4 min read
Apr. 10—Each year, the Palestine City Council allocates funds for Hotel and Occupancy Tax grants. Local organizations and individuals may apply for the funds if the event or attraction meets the "Texas Two Step" criteria for use of Hotel Occupancy Tax Funds.
The Tourism Advisory Board and City Council voted Monday to approve the Hotel Occupancy Tax Funding Application for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. In the proposed budget there is an allocation of $100,000 available for the public applications related to activities that will directly promote tourism and the hotel and convention industry.
According to Texas law, the city of Palestine collects a Hotel Occupancy Tax from hotels, bed and breakfasts and other lodging facilities and the revenue from it may be used only to promote tourism and the hotel and convention industry.
According to Cassie Ham, Tourism Marketing Manager for the city, this year, there is a separation of HOT grant applications for events from allocations for arts & cultural installations and historical preservation and restoration, which both enhance the destination of Palestine, and are an attraction for visitors. Therefore, groups and individuals who are seeking funding for a special event that would attract visitors to Palestine are encouraged to apply for grant funding through the Hotel Occupancy Tax Funding Grant.
"Put simply, every expense from the HOT fund must result in directly enhancing the tourism and hotel and convention industry of Palestine," Ham said. "We agree that each awardee in the past has met that requirement, but some were harder to quantify than others, because they are different things. People absolutely do enjoy seeing art sculptures downtown, and they enhance our city as a destination, but quantifying the number of visitors who come here for the sculptures is nearly impossible. Quantifying the number of visitors who come for the Spring Soccer Tournament is a bit easier."
In addition to the changes to which groups qualify, there are also changes to the reporting requirements for grant applicants.
To help applicants understand the changes to the application and requirements, Shane Wilhelm from the Texas Travel Alliance will be conducting a HOT Grant Workshop from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, April 12 in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
Each applicant must attend the live session Friday, or watch a recording of the session, which will be shared to the city's website.
As in years prior, the Tourism Advisory Board is seeking qualified applications that fall within seven of the nine categories and the funds are restricted to being allocated or applied to uses as follows:
—Registration of Convention Delegates: the furnishing of facilities, personnel, and materials for the registration of convention delegates or registrants.
—Advertising, Solicitations and Promotions that Directly Promote Tourism and the Hotel and Convention Industry: advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to attract tourists and convention delegates or registrants to the municipality or its vicinity.
—Promotions of the Arts that Directly Promote Tourism and the Hotel and Convention Industry: the encouragement, promotion, improvement, and application of the arts that can be shown to have some direct impact on tourism and the hotel/convention industry. The impact may be that the art facility or event can show hotel nights that are booked due to their events or that guests at hotels attend the arts event. Eligible forms of art include instrumental and vocal music, dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture, design and allied fields, painting, sculpture photography, graphic and craft arts, motion picture, radio, television, tape and sound recording, and other arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of these major art forms.
—Historical Restoration and Preservation Activities that Directly Promote Tourism and the Hotel and Convention Industry: historical restoration and preservation projects or activities or advertising and conducting solicitation and promotional programs to encourage tourists and convention delegates to visit preserved historic sites or museums.
—Sporting Event Expenses that Substantially Increase Economic Activity at Hotels: Expenses including promotional expenses, directly related to a sporting event in which the majority of participants are tourists. The event must substantially increase economic activity at hotels within the city or its vicinity.
—Funding transportation systems for transporting tourists from hotels to and near the city to any of the following destinations: The law specifically prohibits the use of the local hotel tax to cover the costs for general city transit costs to transport the general public.
a. the commercial center of the city;
b. a convention center in the city;
c. other hotels in or near the city; or
d. tourist attractions in or near the city
—Signage directing tourists to sights and attractions that are visited frequently by hotel guests in the municipality.
Applicants wishing to be considered will have until 5 p.m. May 15 to submit an application for funding for the city fiscal year effective Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2025.
Applicants can get an application from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Palestine Visitor Center located at 825 W. Spring St. or by emailing tourism@palestine-tx.org.
The guidelines and application are also available for immediate download online at cityofpalestinetx.com.
