Council members approved the establishment of the Frisco Tourism Public Improvement District. The district will include hotels with 75 or more rooms located within city limits.
In addition to the additional tourism opportunities for Frisco, the fund would enable “enhanced” marketing in new and existing markets based on research, according to a council agenda memo.
A separate ordinance approved by council authorizes a 2% fee from taxable room rates at hotels within the district, according to a council agenda memo.
Hotel guests will pay for district operations, not Frisco residents, officials confirmed during the meeting. District funding will not impact the city’s general fund or its hotel/motel tax fund.
The Texas Legislature must approve a tourism public improvement district before a city creates one. The 86th Texas Legislature gave Frisco the go-ahead in May 2019.
More than 73% of Frisco hotels with 75 rooms or more have signed petitions in support of creating the district, according to the council agenda memo. A drawn district map on the resolution includes 23 existing hotels that will be included within district boundaries. The map also includes two future hotels: Omni PGA Frisco Resort and Courtyard by Marriott.
Council members also approved a service plan for the district that outlines operational and administrative strategies. Visit Frisco Executive Director Marla Roe will oversee the work of the district, subject to a district corporation board of directors that will be made up of district hoteliers, according to the service plan.
Frisco’s tourism public improvement district will help increase the business brought to the community by sporting events, conventions and business meetings, Roe said. After forming the corporation and holding another town hall meeting with Frisco hotels, the goal is to start collecting fees from the taxable rooms in January, Roe said.
“It’s really supposed to [raise] the tide for everybody in the community,” she said.
