By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Efforts to get visitors to spend time in Bowling Green are paying off – literally.
The hotel-motel tax revenue in the city during 2022 brought in numbers that surpassed all previous quarters, including revenue in pre-Covid 2018 which was just over $240,000. The final quarter for 2022 is not yet in, but a 40% increase was seen in the first three quarters.
“It was a surprise to all of us,” said Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mary Hinkelman.
“We are encouraged to hear from our hotels that they are seeing days when the hotels are sold out – even without a specific event being in town,” Hinkelman said.
It may help that Bowling Green now has 70 more hotel rooms available with the opening of Home2Suites.
“It’s great to keep them here,” she said of overnight guests. “Otherwise they might stay in Perrysburg.”
When overnight guests stay in local hotels, they tend to also spend money elsewhere in the city – at gas stations, restaurants, shops and on recreation.
The hotel tax revenue is then put back into promoting the city for prospective visitors.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to bring people to Bowling Green,” Hinkelman said. “We’re not a destination per-se, with an amusement park or a lake. We need to create experiences.”
The hotel tax revenue is divided into efforts to attract local residents to partake in events, to attract leisure travelers who are passing by, and to get “heads in bed,” with overnight stays at hotels for major events.
The tax revenue is also put into grants for events that attract visitors.
The inaugural Ohio Wine Producers gathering in Bowling Green last year brought in visitors from further away than many events.
In addition to putting heads in beds at hotels, the VINO organizers worked with local businesses like Copy Shop for banners, Kabob It for meals, Ben’s for chocolates, and Novel Blends for nuts.
“It’s super exciting to see that with a first-time event,” Hinkelman said.
[RELATED: BG festival lifts a toast to northern Ohio wines]
The goal is to make the wine gathering a two-day event – with chefs pairing dinners to go with the wines.
Bowling Green has also become the home to many soccer and baseball tournaments. That means overnight visits, dining at restaurants, and recreation.
“Those are huge, especially when they bring families,” Hinkelman said.
Bowling Green is also becoming known for its public art, with an estimated 20 murals throughout the community.
“We see it every day, but people come here for those,” Hinkelman said.
The Visit BG Ohio tourism grants were awarded last year to several organizations that impact tourism in Bowling Green.
“Our commitment to these grant recipients went much further than to just provide them with the requested funding. We worked alongside them providing resources, connecting partners, and participating in the events,” Hinkelman said.
The Ohio Wine Producers Association applied for this grant to be able to host the first VINO Wine Festival to Bowling Green. The OWPA provides these events to educate guests about Ohio wines and let them sample a wide variety.
The festival, which featured 13 Ohio wineries, was held at the Pratt Pavilion on the Wood County Fairgrounds. There were an estimated 500 guests, with 10% from outside the Bowling Green area.
There were 20 related vendors, 10 of whom were local.
The Ohio Wine Producers Association is looking at dates for 2023.
Grant monies also partnered the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce with Visit BG to expand the annual Independence Day fireworks display into BG Boom Festival and Fireworks.
The local festival with inflatables, games, face painting, performance by the BG Community Band and root beer floats at no cost offered a great way for the community to come together, Hinkelman said.
The fireworks were launched from the National Tractor Pulling Championships property. More than 2,000 people were estimated to have attended the festival on the Wood County Fairgrounds.
“We brought people from a good distance away,” Hinkelman said.
The chamber is working again with the fair board to provide fireworks and the festival this year.
The chamber also continued grants to provide shuttles for both the National Tractor Pulling Championships and Black Swamp Arts Festival. The shuttles provide those staying in local hotels a convenience for choosing to stay at a Bowling Green property.
There were almost 500 shuttle rides to the tractor pull last year, and they will continue this year.
The shuttles provided for the Black Swamp Arts Festival had low usage. Hinkelman said she is working with the committee to see how the arts festival can be supported in a different way this year.
A grant was also awarded to GAS Disc Golf to make improvements to the disc golf course at Carter Park. Currently the organization hosts tournaments that draw people from a 100-mile radius to watch or participate. The improvements will make the course more appealing and challenging, creating a destination course for the avid disc golf player.
The chamber and Visit BG also sponsored Firefly Nights, Wood County Museum, Special Olympics, and BG Youth Baseball.
The Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce and Visit BG Ohio collaboration continues to evolve and look for new opportunities to market Bowling Green.
In 2023, Visit BG Ohio will purchase the Smith Travel Research Report to set new benchmarks for the average occupancy rate and average daily rate to more accurately track how the hotels are doing. This report was purchased in 2019 and will provide historic comparisons.
Because of the unexpected revenue increase from the Hotel Motel Tax, ITI Marketing has been contacted to start work on a new community events calendar that will replace Go BG Ohio website and app.
“We’re looking forward to rolling that out to the community,” Hinkelman said.
