Latest news with #ABID
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hotel group challenges city's 'tourist tax'
A major hotel group is challenging a £2 "tourist tax" charge added to overnight stays for visitors to Liverpool. Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn, said the visitor levy which came into force on Sunday should be voided. The charge was voted for by members of the city's Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) in a ballot earlier this year. Of the 83 hotels in Liverpool who were asked, 59% (26) were in favour, on a turnout of 53%. The levy is mandatory for all hotels in the city above a certain rateable value, regardless of whether they took part in the ballot or whether they opposed the charge. According to the ABID, a £2 city charge per room per night could bring in over £9m pounds over two years, to support the visitor economy. However, the idea has had its critics. Whitbread chief executive Dominic Paul has said that hotels, restaurants and bars were being held back by higher labour costs and faced additional burdens from possible surcharges on overnight accommodation. Writing in The Times, he said the hospitality industry "finds itself on the receiving end of a series of government interventions which together will significantly hold back our ability to contribute to growth". The government has confirmed it had received a request from Whitbread for the ballot result to be voided. Liverpool City Council said it was confident the ballot was conducted according to legal requirements, but will look at the concerns raised by the challenge by the deadline of 24 June. A minister will consider the response in determining whether the ballot should be declared void. The government said hotels could continue to collect the cash from visitors, pending the outcome of the challenge, but visitors would be refunded if it is successful. The challenge comes as regional mayors, lead by Liverpool City Region's Steve Rotheram, have asked government to devolve powers to raise such taxes at local level, rather than via a BID ballot which is the only means available at the moment. Harry Doyle, Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for health, wellbeing and culture said Whitbread's challenge "reinforced the council's position and that of the mayors that visitor levies would benefit from a new national arrangement, established under the proposals for devolution." He added: "The case for a visitor levy has been made and is being advocated across the UK." The BBC has contacted Whitbread for comment. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Hotel group challenges Liverpool's 'tourist tax'
A major hotel group is challenging a £2 "tourist tax" charge added to overnight stays for visitors to which owns Premier Inn, said the visitor levy which came into force on Sunday should be charge was voted for by members of the city's Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) in a ballot earlier this the 83 hotels in Liverpool who were asked, 59% (26) were in favour, on a turnout of 53%. The levy is mandatory for all hotels in the city above a certain rateable value, regardless of whether they took part in the ballot or whether they opposed the charge. According to the ABID, a £2 city charge per room per night could bring in over £9m pounds over two years, to support the visitor the idea has had its chief executive Dominic Paul has said that hotels, restaurants and bars were being held back by higher labour costs and faced additional burdens from possible surcharges on overnight in The Times, he said the hospitality industry "finds itself on the receiving end of a series of government interventions which together will significantly hold back our ability to contribute to growth". Concerns raised The government has confirmed it had received a request from Whitbread for the ballot result to be City Council said it was confident the ballot was conducted according to legal requirements, but will look at the concerns raised by the challenge by the deadline of 24 June.A minister will consider the response in determining whether the ballot should be declared government said hotels could continue to collect the cash from visitors, pending the outcome of the challenge, but visitors would be refunded if it is challenge comes as regional mayors, lead by Liverpool City Region's Steve Rotheram, have asked government to devolve powers to raise such taxes at local level, rather than via a BID ballot which is the only means available at the Doyle, Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for health, wellbeing and culture said Whitbread's challenge "reinforced the council's position and that of the mayors that visitor levies would benefit from a new national arrangement, established under the proposals for devolution."He added: "The case for a visitor levy has been made and is being advocated across the UK."The BBC has contacted Whitbread for comment. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Scottish Sun
05-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
My UK city is so popular with stag do's that locals want an anti-tourist tax – but there's so much more to it than bars
Plus, the lesser-known UK cities that Brits should visit over big name tourist destinations like Lisbon and Cardiff NOTT BAD My UK city is so popular with stag do's that locals want an anti-tourist tax – but there's so much more to it than bars Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) When it comes to the latest UK cities considering a tourist tax for overnight visitors, London and Liverpool seem likely locations to add to the list. Nottingham? Not so much. While the capital reckons it could raise more than £240m a year and Liverpool benefits from Beatles mania, the Midlands city where I spent my teenage years wandering round New Look and Top Shop isn't top of most tourists' to-do lists. 4 Travel writer Catherine Lofthouse and her son explore the hidden network of caves beneath Nottingham, which have been in use since Roman times Credit: Catherine Lofthouse 4 Inside Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem - England's oldest inn, can be found at the foot of Nottingham castle Credit: Alamy The main overnight guests who head to Nottingham appear to be hordes of hen dos and lads on tour - it's the Midlands' answer to top stag destination, Amsterdam. Much as I love the city of my youth, charging overnight visitors £2 per room per night seems a bit cheeky, when tourist hotspots like Mogan in Gran Canaria are setting their rates at €0.15 per person per day. The city council reckon bringing in a tourist charge could raise £1.7m a year, which could be invested in attractions to make Nottingham less about the night-time economy and more of a tourist destination during daylight. The City of Edinburgh Council is introducing a five per cent visitor levy for overnight guests in paid accommodation from July next year. Meanwhile Manchester adds £1 per room per night for stays within the Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) zone. London is considering bringing in a levy to boost public coffers, while Liverpool is going ahead with its £2 per night charge from next month. Here in Nottingham, the city centre is undergoing a facelift with the demolition of the Broadmarsh shopping centre, so money raised from overnight stays could come in handy. There's actually lots of interesting sites in Nottingham if you know where to go. The whole city has a hidden network of caves beneath it, which have been in use since Roman times. My eldest son and I were fascinated by what we found when we bought tickets for the City of Caves and wandered the warren of walkways and tunnels underground last summer, past medieval tannery pits and air raid shelters. Robin Hood might have spent more time hiding out in nearby Sherwood Forest than in the city itself, but Nottingham still celebrates the legendary figure. A statue of the fabled outlaw stands proud near the castle, ready to take on the Sheriff of Nottingham. The fortunes of the castle itself have been somewhat chequered in recent years, after the trust that ran it went into liquidation in 2022, just 18 months after the site unveiled a £30 million revamp. 4 Young visitors can enjoy immersive and interactive games that bring to life the legend of Robin Hood at Nottingham Castle Credit: Alamy The castle, actually a 17th-century ducal palace refurbished in Victorian times after it was set ablaze by protesters, houses a museum and art gallery. Young visitors can enjoy immersive and interactive games that bring to life the legend of Robin Hood, including trying out a bow and arrow, before heading outside to the wooden fortress adventure play area. This year could be a great time to visit as up to three kids go free with each paying adult- and an adult ticket costs £15 and acts as an annual pass, meaning you can visit as many times as you like over the year. Nottingham City Museums Service has just launched a £30 'adult rover ticket' under the pay-once-visit-all-year scheme, that enables holders to visit Nottingham Castle, Wollaton Hall and Newstead Abbey. Wollaton Hall's newest gallery Discovering Dinosaurs opened to visitors a month ago and features a 12m T-rex skeleton. The Elizabethan mansion, set in a deer park, also boasts an impressive collection of taxidermy, including a giraffe and other exotic animals. UK AND IRELAND'S UNSUNG CITIES - LESSER-KNOWN PLACES TO VISIT ON WEEKEND BREAKS Ben Aitken, the author of Sh**ty Breaks: A Celebration of Unsung Cities, has spent a year exploring overlooked cities. He told Sun Travel reveals he'd rather go there than some of the classic bucket list destinations. Ben said: "The worst pizza I've ever had was in Venice, so I'd rather go to Wolverhampton. I'd also swap Edinburgh for Dunfermline - given that they're neighbours. "I'd say that Newport's better than Cardiff - that's going to get me into trouble, and Sunderland for me is the best city in the North East, so I'd swap that with Newcastle. "Limerick is a match for Dublin. I'm not going to say it's better, but it's half the price with half the crowds, and the Guinness is better there. "And let's give some love to Preston, I'd rather spend a weekend in Preston than in Lisbon." He added: "I'm not saying that Edinburgh is not fantastic, Venice isn't cool, and Paris isn't sexy. But other places are of value and of note and are interesting as well." At Newstead Abbey, to the north of Nottingham, visitors can find out about the life and times of Lord Byron, its most famous inhabitant, and enjoy the parkland around the historic house. Legend has it that sky-high taxes triggered Robin Hood's crusade to take from the rich to give to the poor, so it's ironic that visitors coming to enjoy his story in the city he made famous could soon be taxed for doing so. I'm not sure taking from the tourists to subsidise the city would win approval from Nottingham's most celebrated son.
The Sun
05-05-2025
- The Sun
My UK city is so popular with stag do's that locals want an anti-tourist tax – but there's so much more to it than bars
When it comes to the latest UK cities considering a tourist tax for overnight visitors, London and Liverpool seem likely locations to add to the list. Nottingham? Not so much. While the capital reckons it could raise more than £240m a year and Liverpool benefits from Beatles mania, the Midlands city where I spent my teenage years wandering round New Look and Top Shop isn't top of most tourists' to-do lists. 4 4 The main overnight guests who head to Nottingham appear to be hordes of hen dos and lads on tour - it's the Midlands' answer to top stag destination, Amsterdam. Much as I love the city of my youth, charging overnight visitors £2 per room per night seems a bit cheeky, when tourist hotspots like Mogan in Gran Canaria are setting their rates at €0.15 per person per day. The city council reckon bringing in a tourist charge could raise £1.7m a year, which could be invested in attractions to make Nottingham less about the night-time economy and more of a tourist destination during daylight. The City of Edinburgh Council is introducing a five per cent visitor levy for overnight guests in paid accommodation from July next year. Meanwhile Manchester adds £1 per room per night for stays within the Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) zone. London is considering bringing in a levy to boost public coffers, while Liverpool is going ahead with its £2 per night charge from next month. Here in Nottingham, the city centre is undergoing a facelift with the demolition of the Broadmarsh shopping centre, so money raised from overnight stays could come in handy. There's actually lots of interesting sites in Nottingham if you know where to go. The whole city has a hidden network of caves beneath it, which have been in use since Roman times. My eldest son and I were fascinated by what we found when we bought tickets for the City of Caves and wandered the warren of walkways and tunnels underground last summer, past medieval tannery pits and air raid shelters. Robin Hood might have spent more time hiding out in nearby Sherwood Forest than in the city itself, but Nottingham still celebrates the legendary figure. A statue of the fabled outlaw stands proud near the castle, ready to take on the Sheriff of Nottingham. The fortunes of the castle itself have been somewhat chequered in recent years, after the trust that ran it went into liquidation in 2022, just 18 months after the site unveiled a £30 million revamp. 4 The castle, actually a 17th-century ducal palace refurbished in Victorian times after it was set ablaze by protesters, houses a museum and art gallery. Young visitors can enjoy immersive and interactive games that bring to life the legend of Robin Hood, including trying out a bow and arrow, before heading outside to the wooden fortress adventure play area. This year could be a great time to visit as up to three kids go free with each paying adult- and an adult ticket costs £15 and acts as an annual pass, meaning you can visit as many times as you like over the year. Nottingham City Museums Service has just launched a £30 'adult rover ticket' under the pay-once-visit-all-year scheme, that enables holders to visit Nottingham Castle, Wollaton Hall and Newstea d Abbey. Wollaton Hall's newest gallery Discovering Dinosaurs opened to visitors a month ago and features a 12m T-rex skeleton. The Elizabethan mansion, set in a deer park, also boasts an impressive collection of taxidermy, including a giraffe and other exotic animals. Ben Aitken, the author of Sh**ty Breaks: A Celebration of Unsung Cities, has spent a year exploring overlooked cities. He told Sun Travel reveals he'd rather go there than some of the classic bucket list destinations. Ben said: "The worst pizza I've ever had was in Venice, so I'd rather go to Wolverhampton. I'd also swap Edinburgh for Dunfermline - given that they're neighbours. "I'd say that Newport's better than Cardiff - that's going to get me into trouble, and Sunderland for me is the best city in the North East, so I'd swap that with Newcastle. "Limerick is a match for Dublin. I'm not going to say it's better, but it's half the price with half the crowds, and the Guinness is better there. "And let's give some love to Preston, I'd rather spend a weekend in Preston than in Lisbon." He added: "I'm not saying that Edinburgh is not fantastic, Venice isn't cool, and Paris isn't sexy. But other places are of value and of note and are interesting as well." At Newstead Abbey, to the north of Nottingham, visitors can find out about the life and times of Lord Byron, its most famous inhabitant, and enjoy the parkland around the historic house. Legend has it that sky-high taxes triggered Robin Hood's crusade to take from the rich to give to the poor, so it's ironic that visitors coming to enjoy his story in the city he made famous could soon be taxed for doing so. I'm not sure taking from the tourists to subsidise the city would win approval from Nottingham's most celebrated son. 4
North Wales Live
25-04-2025
- Business
- North Wales Live
Liverpool hotels to charge extra £2 per night from June
Liverpool's hotels and serviced apartments have decided to implement an additional £2 overnight fee for guests staying in the city. The proposal, presented as a modification ballot through the Accommodation BID (ABID), received backing from a vote conducted by the city's 83 hotels. The levy was approved with 26 votes in favour and 18 against, on a 53% turnout, and is set to be introduced in June. ABID estimates that a £2 city visitor charge could generate around £9.2m over two years, with £6.7m of this being used to bolster the city's visitor economy via a subvention fund. This subvention could potentially translate into a total economic impact of £220m spent within the city's visitor economy, including accommodation and hospitality, based on the economic influence of other events supported by ABID, such as the Labour Party Conference. The remaining funds will be allocated towards destination marketing and supporting the visitor economy. In North Wales there has been opposition to plans to introduce a £1.25 levy on tourists The £2 fee for visitors to Liverpool will be handled and administered by hotels and serviced accommodation, either upon guest check-in or at the end of their stay. The revenue generated from this charge would be managed by the Accommodation BID, a business improvement district overseen by hotels and serviced apartment providers in the city. The business improvement district (BID) model stands out as the sole mechanism in England officially sanctioned to introduce an overnight charge. This model facilitates the collection of a levy based on specific government legislation, mandating a clearly defined and transparent business plan for the intended use of the raised funds, reports the Liverpool Echo. ABID has clarified their stance, indicating that profits would be fed straight back into bolstering the visitor economy, fostering its expansion and sustainability by establishing a self-reinforcing visitor sector while alleviating burdens on public finances. The group envisions these funds aiding in the stimulation of business conferences, strategic destination marketing, and attracting key events to the city, which, in turn, catalyse overnight visits. Since January 2023, the Accommodation BID kicked off its operations. Presently, establishments with a rateable value surmounting the £45,000 threshold contribute a levy. Bill Addy, Chief Executive of Liverpool BID Company, commented: "This £2 a night levy will be to help turbo charge Liverpool's tourism and visitor economy, helping the city attract bigger events who bring people to the city. "The circular visitor economy is one that becomes sustainable, in that it is able to invest towards the aspects it needs to make itself successful. "We have always said that the industry should have their say on whether they want this levy to come in, as they are administering it. "The evidence of other European cities suggests this model will translate overnight stays into major investment, so that we can convert that into world-leading and world-beating events." Marcus Magee, chair of ABID, commented: "This is a major step in enabling the hospitality sector to have a say and an influence in regards to the city's decision-making around the visitor economy, which is crucial to the vibrancy and economy of the city. "The business improvement district structure allows for a clear and transparent approach to the use of investment". Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for culture and visitor economy, Councillor Harry Doyle, expressed his approval: "The 'Yes' vote for an extension of the BID to create a visitor charge is a great vote of confidence in the growth of our successful visitor economy. I want to thank all the businesses that participated in the ballot. "Their positive support delivers a huge boost to Liverpool's tourism sector and our major events programme, supporting jobs and investment to benefit local people, and showing how Liverpool continues to offer a warm welcome to visitors from around the world. "This a positive step and lays solid foundations in our endeavour to formalise the establishment of a sustainable Tourism Tax, akin to what is being looked at in Glasgow and has already been introduced in other major European cities, which would be used to further strengthen our tourism offer."
