Pressure is mounting on local electeds to add a lodging tax to the 2026 ballot.
Already this summer town councilors and county commissioners toyed with, then tabled a rushed special vote to add a 2% tax to the ballot this November. That’s on top of the 5% visitors already pay statewide on hotels, RVs, rentals, motels and other short-term stays.
Instead, they’re using the year to get industry and voters on-board. Electeds punted a similar option in 2024.
Rising costs for everything from building materials to salaries, plus new laws cap property tax collections adds new urgency to the conversation.
“We have an opportunity that we have yet to take advantage of in this county, whereas the rest of the state has,” said Town Councilor Alyson Spery.
The opportunity is evident in the numbers, she said.
In 2024, Teton County revenue made up about 35% of the $4.9 billion spent on goods and services statewide. Yet, out of 23 counties, it is one of six that does not charge a local lodging tax.
Town and county each stand to gain about $2 million annually for their general fund coffers if voters pass that additional 2%.
Why hasn’t the tax taken hold?
Some lodging tax must go toward promotion, as set by state statute, and with around 4 million county visitors annually, sentiments towards tourists can be fraught. Though tourism is the valley’s main economy, resident sentiment surveys from the past four years show many locals question if the good outweighs the bad.
“When asked for their overall sentiment about tourism in Teton County, 55% of residents responded that the drawbacks of tourism outweigh the benefits of tourism in the county,” read this year’s findings from the University of Wyoming’s Jay Kemmerer WORTH institute.
Not all tourist tax goes back to promoting more tourists. Of the 5% statewide collections, 3% goes to the Wyoming Office of Tourism. The remaining 2% stays in Teton County. Of that, 60% is allocated to the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board for, in-part, promotion and marketing. The town and county manage the remaining 40% to offset visitor impacts.
The local tax, however, would stay local.
Spery doesn’t think additional tax will dissuade visitation.
“If you’re spending $400 or $500 a night on a room, which is already a great amount of money, what is an additional $7 to $12?” she said.
Editor's Note: Jenna McMurtry of Jackson Hole Community Radio contributed reporting.
