Fort Worth Tourism Public Improvement District to begin October 1
September 14,2017
On August 29, Fort Worth City Council unanimously approved creation of public improvement district No. 18, otherwise known as the Tourism PID. It is established to begin October 1, 2017, and will expire on September 30, 2027. This is a vote of confidence in the importance of tourism, and supports the mission of the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau to raise the visibility of Fort Worth as a destination spot.
This has been a year long project in its development, partnering closely with the Hotel Association of Tarrant County (Julie Faver-Dylla), the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association (Scott Joslove, Brian Sullivan), and the City of Fort Worth (David Cooke, Susan Alanis, Peter Vaky, Denis McIlroy, Tyler Wallach, Kirk Slaughter and Stacey Church). On the City Council, FWCVB receives broad support for their work, but in particular has strong advocates in Mayor Betsy Price, Councilman Dennis Shingleton, and Councilwoman Ann Zadeh.
By adding a 2 percent assessment on room night bookings at hotels of 100 rooms or more, TPID will generate about $3 million in FY18, $4.5 million the following year, with continued growth projected. The priorities for this new funding will be attracting even more conventions and increasing marketing of Fort Worth for meetings, leisure, sports and more.
Next steps include: final negotiations of FWCVB contractual responsibilities as managers of the district, the creation of a 501c6 organization with a board of directors comprised of member hotel General Managers, establishing budgets based upon the approved service plan, and beginning the work of the district when collections begin on January 1, 2018.
This is yet another significant step forward in the support of this industry in our city. As the investments are being made in downtown hotels and the future expansion of the Convention Center, the Stockyards, the Dickies Arena – really every where you look in our community, the FWCVB will be prepared to facilitate the success of each endeavor.