Sidney Tourism Improvement District

The TBID (Sidney Tourism Improvement District), may not be a common name that you hear. However, regardless of the size of the group, they are a powerful entity that works closely with event coordinators all over Sidney, providing financial contributions to community functions. The local TBID board is contrived of the general managers of hotels located in Richland County. Brandon Taylor leads the way as the groups' president, operating the Lone Tree Inn, Richland Inn and Suites, and the Best Western Golden Prairie Inn as general manager, with Jaimie Dishon as assistant general manager. Shelle Mayes assists Taylor as TBID group vice president, operating the Mainstay Suites as the general manager. Corinne Crowe, Candlewood Suites general manager and TBID group current treasurer. They are exceptionally passionate about watching events that they contribute to grow year after year.

In 2012/2013 the Sidney Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sidney worked together to create a city resolution establishing the Sidney Tourism Business Improvement District. The group collects money by charging each paid room night in the market a fixed $1.50 tax. At the end of each quarter, hotels report the tax collection to their governing body; the City of Sidney. The money that is collected will stay within the Richland County area now and in the future, to ensure that continued events in our region bring tourists, which helps to sustain local businesses, such as hotels, restaurants, small businesses, etc.

Since the TBID's inception, this group has singlehandedly paid out close to $400,000 in grants. The TBID is a proud contributor of local events, and enjoy assisting in bringing money into the local economy, even though they move quietly behind the scenes. In 2019, the TBID's largest contributions were; MT Tavern Association, $15,000; Richland Youth Hockey (Damon McLaughlin Tournaments), $13,000; Sidney AAU Wrestling (Brodie Gorder Memorial), $3000; Sidney MT Chamber of Commerce (Bakken Brew Fest), $5000. In 2020, the group has paid out $11,700. Even though these numbers are strong, the funding has not come easy during the Covid-19 pandemic and the fall of oil and gas, causing tourism and business movements to decline. This is one of the many struggles that the group faces along with upcoming events being cancelled. The hotels depend heavily on these events as well as high movement of business executives and staff from outside the area to be able to redistribute the money back to the community.

If you would like to apply for TBID funding (excluding brick and mortar), please contact LaVanchie Starkey at [email protected] or Brandon Taylor at [email protected] for an application.