Colorado’s governor recently signed the state’s Meeting & Events Incentive bill, allocating $10 million for rebates and incentives to attract groups to the state. It’s part of the Colorado Comeback stimulus package that’s helping the state’s industries recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Destination Colorado and the Colorado Tourism Office have partnered to launch the Meetings and Events Incentive program, which gives approved applicants a 10 percent rebate on eligible hard costs incurred by events held in Colorado between July 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022.
Rebates for an event can range from $3,500 to $100,000, but there are rules to qualify: a group must generate a minimum of 25 paid room nights and have eligible hard costs of $35,000 or more. Those hard costs can include food & beverage, venue rental, event rentals, transportation, registration and event management, audiovisual support, and entertainment. Among the expenses that don’t count toward the program are lodging and alcoholic beverages.
An eligible event must be a new booking or a meeting that’s already booked in Colorado but is in danger of being canceled, postponed, or moved to a different state. An event is eligible for a rebate only once per year.
The program is explained in detail on the Destination Colorado website, with links to an application portal.
