Frequently asked questions

Visit Bend is made up of a dedicated group of Bend-based staff, volunteers, and board members who live, work, and raise their families in Bend. Meet our team. Meet the Board.

We drive overnight visits to help the city pay for police, fire, and roads, lessening the burden that would otherwise fall more heavily on residents. We also reinvest millions of tourism-tax dollars directly into the community to make Bend a great place to live and visit.

Oregon has no statewide sales tax, so visitor-paid lodging taxes help support the communities travelers enjoy. In Bend, that revenue helps fund essential city services while also supporting Visit Bend’s work to sustain a healthy visitor economy for businesses, residents, and the community’s long-term vitality.

Visitors do. Every time someone stays in a Bend hotel, vacation rental, or other type of short-term lodging, they pay a transient lodging tax (TLT). A portion of that tax revenue funds Visit Bend.

Anyone staying in a Bend hotel, vacation rental, or other short-term lodging pays a 10.4% tax to the City of Bend. The state of Oregon levies an additional 1.5% (set to increase to 2.75% in 2027) that funds statewide programs, including Travel Oregon, the state’s tourism agency.

Of the 10.4% hotel tax collected by the City of Bend, Visit Bend receives 35.4%. The City uses the remainder of the tax money for its general fund as well as public safety, which includes police and fire.

We use our budget to foster a sustainable, regenerative tourism economy that benefits everyone. We run the Bend Visitor Center, do marketing, conduct research, and fund grant programs and partnerships, all of it tied to making sure our town remains a great place to live and visit.

Nothing. Visit Bend is a not-for-profit entity, so all room tax revenue received goes directly back into serving its mission.

It varies from year to year but about $5 million, or roughly a third of what the city collects in lodging taxes.

Oregon’s state laws and Bend’s city code are strict about how Visit Bend can spend the money it receives from lodging tax collections. By law, the funds must go toward the promotion of tourism or tourism-related facilities. The portion of room tax dollars that go into the City of Bend general fund are not restricted by this law.

Travel Oregon promotes the whole state. Visit Central Oregon promotes the broader region, including resorts and areas outside city limits. Visit Bend promotes the city of Bend and businesses within Bend city limits.

In 2013, Bend raised its lodging tax by 1.4% to support arts and culture. Visit Bend used that revenue to create the Bend Cultural Tourism Fund, which now receives about 7.5% of Visit Bend’s budget each year. Since then, the fund has awarded nearly $2.9 million to 60 local organizations, helping support arts and culture projects that attract visitors during Bend’s slower seasons.

By law we have to advertise to people who live at least 50 miles away but tend to focus on those who can drive here within 8 hours. Our goal is not simply to bring more people here, but to inspire people to take trips here who respect Bend, support local businesses, and want their travel dollars to do good.