The state of Wyoming passed legislation in 1986 that allows each county to vote for a local option lodging tax. This means that the residents of each county in the state get to decide if they will charge a 1 to 4 percent tax on overnight stays shorter than 30 days.
Today, every Wyoming county has either opted to charges a countywide lodging tax, as Fremont County does, or has a community within the county charging a lodging tax.
Fremont County collects 4 percent on every overnight stay in a hotel, motel, cabin rental, guest ranch, private campground, or Airbnb. These funds are then used to promote Fremont County, branded as Wyoming’s Wind River Country, as a destination.
When travelers arrive and stay in Wind River Country, the county sees an influx of funds as a result. Travelers spend money at local airports, car rentals, gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores, retail shops, museums, attractions, entertainment and lodging. Their expenditures are good business for local businesses. It’s also good for local residents, because sales taxes collected on every one of travelers’ purchases are put toward infrastructure and services enjoyed by residents of Fremont County.
The lodging tax collections are administered by the Wind River Visitors Council, a Joint Powers Board with representatives from the county at large, Dubois, Hudson Lander, Riverton, and Shoshoni. The WRVC contracts local services to market Wind River Country to regional, domestic, and international travelers using 75 percent of the lodging tax funds collected.
The remaining 25 percent is returned to Riverton, Lander and Dubois in the percentage that they collect it, with Hudson and Shoshoni receiving stipends, in the form of Tourism Asset Development (TAD) funds. The TAD funds support your local community events and visitor services.
