Visit Bartlesville wins big at RedBud awards while facing budget cuts
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
Published May 15, 2026
Updated May 15, 2026
Update: This article has been updated to clarify Norman’s lodging tax rate. Norman’s current lodging tax rate is 8%, but it is scheduled to increase to 10% effective July 1, 2026.
While many Bartlesville residents were busy scrolling past vacation ads for beaches, the people behind Bartlesville's own tourism marketing machine were quietly stacking trophies.
This week, Visit Bartlesville brought home multiple RedBud Awards — the top honors in Oklahoma tourism — including Best Overall Marketing Campaign and Tourism Organization of the Year in the small-budget division.
Those awards are handed out by the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association and the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, and they put Bartlesville in competition with communities that often have larger tourism infrastructures, Route 66 traffic, casino-driven tourism, or major destination advantages.
And yet, Bartlesville won.
“We're competing at a very high level with peer communities across Oklahoma while operating with a relatively modest budget,” Executive Director Maria Gus said.
That "modest budget" part matters.
Because even as Visit Bartlesville celebrates statewide recognition, the organization is also absorbing a roughly $100,000 budget reduction tied to lodging tax projections and an ongoing short-term vacation rental loophole that officials say may cost the city tens of thousands annually.
The timing of the awards is a little ironic.
As Visit Bartlesville is recognized in the small-budget category, it is now being asked to do even more with less.
Gus said Visit Bartlesville’s funding uses a formula created between the city, Visit Bartlesville, and the Bartlesville Development Authority that tied tourism funding to lodging tax collections.
Historically, tourism officials use an industry-standard hotel reporting system to estimate lodging tax revenue throughout the year. But in recent years, projections and actual collections drifted apart enough that the city reduced funding back to the base contract amount, according to Gus.
The bigger tourism tax conversation
The funding discrepancy also highlights something city leaders are increasingly paying attention to: Bartlesville’s visitor tax structure is relatively low compared to much of Oklahoma, and the city’s current lodging tax ordinance may not be equipped to fully capture revenue from modern short-term vacation rentals like Airbnb properties.
Bartlesville’s lodging tax currently sits at 5%, equal to Tulsa’s current rate. But Tulsa officials are considering increasing that tax to 9.25% as soon as August. Oklahoma City already sits at 9.25%, while Norman currently collects 8% and is scheduled to increase to 10% effective July 1, 2026. Moore also collects 8%, while Edmond charges 6%.
The comparison matters because Bartlesville is trying to compete for many of the same regional visitors while operating with fewer tourism dollars.
But the larger issue may not be the rate itself. It may be how the tax is collected.
Bartlesville Chief Financial Officer and City Clerk Jason Muninger said one challenge is that Bartlesville collects its own lodging tax locally, while many Oklahoma communities that successfully collect taxes from short-term vacation rentals use the Oklahoma Tax Commission to administer those collections.
According to Muninger, switching Bartlesville’s lodging tax collection to the Oklahoma Tax Commission would require a public vote because the city's original lodging tax was approved by voters in 1985.
Muninger said he supports potentially moving administration of the tax to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, but noted that doing so would also mean the state — rather than the city — would determine what exemptions are allowed under the tax structure.
He also said conversations are actively happening within city government about finding a path forward to modernize the system and better address short-term vacation rentals moving forward.
There is also a second complication: the city’s ordinance itself.
Bartlesville’s current ordinance applies lodging taxes to businesses that “obtain sleeping accommodations in which five (5) or more rooms are used for the accommodation of such guests whether such rooms are in one or several structures.”
That language predates the rise of Airbnb-style rentals by decades and may not clearly apply to many individual short-term rental properties operating today. Muninger said effectively capturing that revenue would require a significant overhaul of the ordinance itself.
Maria Gus said her research shows a number of Oklahoma communities are currently succeeding at collecting short-term vacation rental taxes either through the Oklahoma Tax Commission or through direct agreements with booking platforms.
Those cities include Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Stillwater, Edmond, El Reno, and Ponca City.
That missing revenue matters more to Bartlesville as short-term vacation rentals continue to grow across Oklahoma.
Visit Bartlesville estimates short-term rentals may represent roughly $75,000 to $80,000 annually in potential visitor tax revenue locally — money that could otherwise support tourism marketing, events and visitor recruitment efforts.
For now, the organization finds itself in an unusual position: winning statewide awards for tourism marketing while simultaneously navigating questions about whether the city is leaving tourism dollars on the table.
Even for an organization winning statewide awards, many residents still only vaguely understand what Visit Bartlesville actually does.
So, what exactly is Visit Bartlesville?
For many residents, Visit Bartlesville is one of those organizations people know exists but might not be able to fully explain at dinner without confidently making up half of it.
In simple terms, Gus explains that they market Bartlesville to outsiders.
The organization functions as Bartlesville's destination marketing arm, working to convince travelers, families, tour groups, event organizers and weekend road-trippers to choose Bartlesville over competing regional destinations.
To accomplish that goal, Gus has a vast bag of tricks. Digital ads. Google search campaigns. Social media targeting. YouTube videos. Travel guides. Regional tourism partnerships. Event promotion. Analytics. Hotel tracking. Tourism research.
Gus explains that if someone from Tulsa or the surrounding areas suddenly decides they need a Frank Lloyd Wright tour, a concert weekend or a nostalgic trip to Kiddie Park, Visit Bartlesville wants to make sure Bartlesville pops up first in those search results.
And apparently, it’s working.
According to Gus, visitors now account for roughly 10% to 12% of all spending in Bartlesville — translating into millions in economic activity flowing into local restaurants, hotels, shops and attractions.
Gus also said its campaigns are outperforming tourism industry averages in several areas. She highlighted one recent YouTube campaign that generated nearly 190,000 impressions and more than 103,000 video views with engagement rates significantly above tourism benchmarks.
“Why don’t I ever see their ads?”
That question can come up among citizens, usually right before someone declares the city “doesn't market itself.”
Gus said there's a reason locals often don't notice the campaigns.
“Much of our advertising is intentionally directed toward potential travelers rather than local residents,” she said.
In other words, if you live here, you're not the target audience.
Gus said Visit Bartlesville's campaigns are heavily geo-targeted and behavior-based, meaning ads are shown to people actively searching for travel ideas, regional getaways, cultural attractions or family trips. That strategy helped earn the organization its RedBud recognition.
It also helped bring attention to one of Bartlesville’s most beloved attractions: Kiddie Park, which also received state-level recognition.
Despite the financial headwinds, Gus said the organization plans to keep leaning heavily on partnerships, regional collaboration and high-performing digital campaigns.
And if the RedBud Awards are any indication, the state’s tourism industry thinks Bartlesville is punching above its weight.
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