Starting June 15, the Wood County Economic Development Commission (WCEDC) will begin accepting hotel/motel occupancy tax (HOT) fund project proposals for funding support for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Projects must meet the following criteria: directly enhance and promote tourism and the hotel/ motel industry in Wood County; fit into one of the six statutorily provided categories for expenditure of local hotel occupancy tax revenues under the Texas Tax Code Chapter 352; demonstrate need; and have the potential to attract a maximum number of tourists to Wood County. 

Guidelines and Funding Request Forms are available at https://woodcountytx.com/hot-grant-program. The forms provide examples of the types of projects that may be funded and can be obtained on the WCEDC website at woodcountytx.com, contacting the WCEDC office at 903-768-2402 or by email at ctrahan@mywoodcounty.com.

“The WCEDC Board has invested a significant amount of time in reviewing the local grant program and we’ve made adjustments this year that we hope will make the program more viable for a wider range of proposed projects,” said Christophe Trahan, executive director of WCEDC. “We had unprecedented interest last year, and we expect even more proposals this time.

“Like last year, proposals that generate more overnight visitors to the county may be given greater priority than projects that benefit just one area of Wood County. Since the lodging establishments are the ones that generate these funds, they should be the primary beneficiaries.

“In addition, new projects should include a good brief business plan and marketing strategy for bringing those overnight visitors to Wood County. This will assist us in determining the economic value of the proposal and its merits for being awarded Wood County HOT funds.”

Deadline for submitting applications is 5 p.m. on Aug. 1. Applications may be emailed to ctrahan@mywoodcounty.com. 

The WCEDC Promotions Committee will review funding requests and forward recommendations for consideration and budget approval to the commission’s board of directors for the August meeting.