New Hotels Have Waite Park Officials Reevaluating Lodging Tax Funds

WAITE PARK -- With the addition of two new hotels coming to Waite Park, the city is reevaluating how their lodging taxes will be dispersed.

During Monday's work session the council, along with the St. Cloud Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, discussed how to invest the funds to better highlight Waite Park as a tourist destination.

St. Cloud Area CVB Executive Director Julie Lunning says Waite Park already has some many amenities and the hotels will only drive up business.

"It's about taking those people that come to town and pairing them with the great amenities the city already has," says Lunning.

Lunning says about 80,000 visitors inquire each year about coming to the St. Cloud Metro area for either leisure travel, group tours, sporting and special events, or meetings.

She says the construction of the hotels and conference center opens a lot of possibilities.

"There is additional revenues coming in because of those hotels, and the lodging tax that will be collected. So we need to decide how to invest those dollars and maximize them to bring as many people to town as we can," says Lunning.

No action was taken this evening as the council decided to table the topic for another time.

Waite Park and the St. Cloud Area CVB has been working with each other for over 20 years.