Unless you’re staying with a friend, it may soon cost you more to visit Door County. Baileys Harbor and Liberty Grove became two of the latest municipalities to approve a resolution authorizing and approving the intergovernmental room tax agreement. While some minor changes have been made along the way, visitors of hotels, motels, and other lodging establishments could see the room tax raised from 5.5 percent to eight percent if two-thirds of the county’s municipalities approve. Approximately 30 percent of what is collected goes back to local municipalities with the rest going towards marketing efforts and administrative costs. That means big dollars for municipalities like Liberty Grove, which Town Chairperson John Lowry says could be used to address some funding challenges.

The towns of Gibraltar and Sturgeon Bay have also authorized the agreement with several others committed to signing on in the near future. The room tax increase would be effective January 1st, 2022. Destination Door County shows that over $4.7 million in room taxes were collected in 2020, down from approximately $5.1 million in 2019.