How We're Funded

Providing Community Value

Destination Cleveland is the only civic organization responsible for marketing Cleveland’s brand outside of the region. Using a research-based approach, we leverage our funding to bring more money back to the community.

How is Destination Cleveland funded?

Like nearly every convention and visitors bureau (CVB) in the U.S., Destination Cleveland counts on Cuyahoga County’s hotel occupancy tax (or bed tax) for the majority (94%) of its revenue. It’s a funding model that’s standard nationwide.

Who pays bed tax?

The bed tax is paid by people that stay overnight at hotels, bed & breakfasts, and shared economy accommodations (think Airbnb) in Cuyahoga County.

You may be wondering, "Do I pay bed tax?"

Only if you stay in a hotel in Cuyahoga County are you helping to fund Destination Cleveland’s visitor attraction and destination development efforts.

Does Destination Cleveland get all of the Cuyahoga County Bed Tax?

Nope. Destination Cleveland receives about 40% of the 6.5% Cuyahoga County hotel occupancy tax to fulfill its mission.

What about the rest of your revenue? Where does it come from?

We couldn’t be successful without our more than 600 hospitality partners. They put skin in the game – paying dues, purchasing advertising on our website and in our publications, and sponsoring events.

What do you do with all that money?

Based on Destination Cleveland’s 2017 audited financial statements, Destination Cleveland invests 94 percent of our total revenue into the travel and tourism industry. We market and sell Cleveland as a destination city to attract both business and leisure travelers to experience Cleveland for themselves.
 
For every dollar Destination Cleveland invests in marketing, travelers return $195 to the community during their visits.

Why Destination Marketing & Management Matters

Cleveland competes every day for travelers’ attention and money. We know we’re not the only choice. Great cities like Detroit, Columbus, or Pittsburgh and Nashville, Austin or Portland are chomping at the bit to attract the same travelers. Exciting and authentic experiences are what travelers want, and the competition for visitors is intense to say the least.

At Destination Cleveland, we make sure our funding works overtime to bring even more money back to the community. We’re focused on the community’s prosperity, which we add to by attracting more and more visitors every year. Those visitors bring money into our economy and ultimately create demand for more jobs to support the growing travel and tourism industry. Because we’re competing so fiercely for attention, we use our money wisely – research informs our strategies and real-time data lets us seize opportunities.

The bottom line is simple – and research says so. For every dollar Destination Cleveland spends advertising Cleveland, leisure and business travelers return $195 to the community in spending during their visits.