By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
After receiving annual Resort Tax grant awards of $200,000 for fiscal year 2024 and $253,618 for fiscal year 2025, Visit Big Sky was approved on July 9 to receive $400,000 for fiscal year 2026 to support marketing to potential Big Sky visitors.
The larger grant does factor in an additional four months, as the Big Sky Resort Area District opted to move its fiscal year 2026 nonprofit grant allocations to late October. Visit Big Sky, the community’s destination marketing organization, applied early—bringing their annual grant request to the July 9 BSRAD board meeting—based on urgent need for funding to continue marketing Big Sky to visitors.
“As we go into the winter season, we have to kind of prime the pump and get our marketing machine up and running,” explained Brad Niva, CEO of Visit Big Sky and the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, in a presentation to the BSRAD board. “And if we were to wait for that Nov. 1 allocation, then we’d be too late into the market.”
BSRAD Executive Director Daniel Bierschwale said Visit Big Sky was the only organization with time-sensitive needs to warrant the 16-month “special request” as BSRAD shifts its grant allocations to the fall.
On a per-month basis, the 2026 request was roughly 33% higher than last year’s, although Niva noted an increase in state funding meant its current ask was still lower than the original forecast of $350,000 for 12 months, which would have converted to $466,666 for a 16-month request.
The Resort Tax board voted unanimously to approve the 16-month request.
The grant request was met with public comment in support from nine individuals representing Lone Mountain Land Company, the Arts Council of Big Sky, The Wilson Hotel and affiliated Town Center businesses, Lone Mountain Ranch, Rainbow Ranch, Boyne Resorts and Big Sky Resort.
“Marketing funds that we’re asking for is to enrich our organization, enrich the community, to generate occupancy in our hotels, to generate more demand, to support our restaurants, our retailers, our outfitters, our guides,” Niva told the board. “The funds are public funds and we take great pride in making sure that we’re taking care of those funds.”
Niva believes that Big Sky needs to improve its seasonal “roller coaster” of visitation. He showed a graph of occupancy rates in Airbnb and Vrbo short-term rentals by month over the past three years, including consistent valleys in April, May, October and November.
“Part of our goal is to actually take those dips and start trying to reinvest… so we can keep people employed, keep businesses running… get that roller coaster out of our lives,” Niva said, adding that it can be tough to attract visitors in months like October, when resort amenities are closed and weather can vary dramatically.
Board member Kevin Germain noted that Montana’s recent property tax policy changes, which increased rates for second-home owners without the “homestead exemption” for primary residences, will likely impact many Big Sky homeowners and short-term rental operators.
“I’m concerned that that is going to start negatively impacting our community, as people become extremely cognizant of their carry cost on their homes,” Germain said.
Niva responded that Visit Big Sky and the chamber are actively working to understand the actual impacts of the new tax policy.
“It’s coming in so fast that we’re still trying to figure out, what is this, and how is it going to affect our homeowners,” Niva said. “… I feel like this is kind of sneaking up on us.”
He added the chamber will host another dozen or so state legislators this September, building off the success of a similar convention in September 2024 aimed at building an understanding of Big Sky’s challenges and economic role in Montana.
