Oxford hotel owner says plans to introduce tourist tax will be for ‘greater good’
The City Council predict the ‘tourist tax’ could raise £2.5 million based on a £2 room charge
Tourists visiting Oxford’s dreaming spires could face an extra charge for staying in a hotel in the city, as the council considers options to help ease the impact of tourism.
An Accommodation Business Improvement District, (ABID), often known as a “tourist tax”, would allow accommodation providers to decide whether to add an extra charge to their room rates.
Oxford City Council estimate that it could raise £2.5 million based on a £2 room charge.
Andy Jones, manager of the Westgate Hotel and River Hotel on Botley Road said he agreed with the idea but raised concerns that smaller accommodation providers under a certain threshold would not have to pay the levy, and that larger chain hotels would not want to take part.
He said: “I agree that tourism in the city needs to be improved.
“The issue that we have is that it’s very hard to make all the accommodation providers to act.
“If it’s a voluntary thing, some businesses will be paying for the greater good, but it should be all businesses paying in Oxford.
“The small independent businesses in Oxford were generally in favour, whereas the larger national chains do not have the same interests and are worried about the extra costs of implementation.”
The option was discussed by the council’s scrutiny committee at a meeting earlier this week.
In the meeting Diana Fawcett, city manager at the city council, said: “We are not the only city that’s being inundated with tourism – it’s happening across Europe and wider.
“Of course, it’s a great thing that we have our tourists, but it does have an impact on the city.
“It’s not really just about our tourists, it’s about anybody who uses the city.
“Whether you live here, work here, a student here as well as tourists, we want to improve that experience.”
Oxford City Council will appoint a consultant to set up two task groups to explore different options, one for hotels and the other for Oxford University colleges.
While hotels are expected to raise £1.3 million per year based on 75 per cent occupancy of 2,300 rooms, Oxford colleges are estimated to raise £1.2 million from 8,000 rooms.
The decision will on whether to introduce an ABID and how the money raised will be used would be down to the businesses involved, not by the city council.
The money raised cannot be spent on council services.