# Charging Extra



## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Is it true that as from the 1st June the Spanish tourism boards are going to make hotels and those renting out holiday properties, charge the visitors between one euro and four euros per person per day?


----------



## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Gazeebo said:


> Is it true that as from the 1st June the Spanish tourism boards are going to make hotels and those renting out holiday properties, charge the visitors between one euro and four euros per person per day?


.... where can I find a hotel room for as little as 1 - 4 euros????????

Do you mean that there is an EXTRA charge ?


Not sure what you mean.


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Gazeebo said:


> Is it true that as from the 1st June the Spanish tourism boards are going to make hotels and those renting out holiday properties, charge the visitors between one euro and four euros per person per day?


Such a tax (which this report says will be between €0.25 and €2.00 per day) is being introduced in the Balearic Islands. A similar one has been in existence in Cataluña for about a year. As far as I'm aware it doesn't apply anywhere else in Spain.

El Gobierno de Baleares aprueba una tasa diaria a los turistas que visiten las islas

It is, however, something that's not uncommon. Paris and Venice (and other places in Italy) have similar taxes. I have been researching a holiday to India for next winter, and they have a luxury tax which adds 20% per night to the cost of 4 and 5 star hotel charges (which are not cheap to begin with). Now that's what I call expensive!


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

This new tax in the Balearic Islands was reported in the Daily Mail the other day and the comments from readers on the website were hilarious. Many appeared convinced that only Brits were going to have to pay, and lots more blamed the EU for it and wrote VOTE LEAVE in capitals - not that it has one iota to do with the EU, but that never stops them.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> This new tax in the Balearic Islands was reported in the Daily Mail the other day and the comments from readers on the website were hilarious. Many appeared convinced that only Brits were going to have to pay, and lots more blamed the EU for it and wrote VOTE LEAVE in capitals - not that it has one iota to do with the EU, but that never stops them.


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Switzerland and Austria have had a tourist tax for years. There is even a move to introduce it London.
London tourists could face £1-a-night ‘bed tax’ | UK news | The Guardian


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> Switzerland and Austria have had a tourist tax for years. There is even a move to introduce it London.
> London tourists could face £1-a-night ‘bed tax’ | UK news | The Guardian


Ditto New York and now, I believe, Prague...


----------



## kingkongx (Oct 25, 2015)

Lynn R said:


> This new tax in the Balearic Islands was reported in the Daily Mail the other day and the comments from readers on the website were hilarious. Many appeared convinced that only Brits were going to have to pay, and lots more blamed the EU for it and wrote VOTE LEAVE in capitals - not that it has one iota to do with the EU, but that never stops them.


I read daily mail only for comments


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Yes it's all over. Enables the to advertise rooms at cheap rates. France does it too. America adds the surcharge to include things like sun beds, Internet, gym etc. Last hotel we stayed in Spain had the cheek to charge €12 per night for Internet!


----------



## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

It might be a bit hard to police with people renting out privately especially if they have not registered with the local authority! Let's hope the money is used for improving the local facilities to benefit not only the tourists, but people who live in the areas all year round. 

Seems London may be doing the same - obviously other parts of Britain are not worth charging the extra for.


----------



## webmarcos (Dec 25, 2012)

Gazeebo said:


> It might be a bit hard to police with people renting out privately especially if they have not registered with the local authority! Let's hope the money is used for improving the local facilities to benefit not only the tourists, but people who live in the areas all year round.
> 
> Seems London may be doing the same - obviously other parts of Britain are not worth charging the extra for.


I don't think London currently has plans for this. Certain councils have looked into this, but I don't see how it could work. For example if Camden introduced it, visitors would surely then book accommodation in Hampstead or Islington instead...
Given the high price of hotel accommodation already in London (typically over a £100 a night, although you can get cheaper weekend deals) I don't think this is a runner.


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Isobella said:


> Yes it's all over. Enables the to advertise rooms at cheap rates. France does it too. America adds the surcharge to include things like sun beds, Internet, gym etc. Last hotel we stayed in Spain had the cheek to charge €12 per night for Internet!


Almost all the hotels I've been looking at in India charge for internet as well, and that's if your're paying around 200 pounds a night for a room, with the luxury tax of 20% on top.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I thought I'd heard about this before in Spain



> Authorities pointed to the example of Barcelona, which since 2012 has implemented a tourist tax of €0,72 per person per night for a maximum of seven nights – after which no fee is levied.
> The spokesperson said that the eco-tax was intended, “to preserve the beautiful nature and our cultural heritage”, and to improve infrastructure in what she described as a “mature” tourist destination.





> Although local island authorities insist the charge will improve tourists' holidays, Abta, the British Association of Travel Agents, said that there was a “significant reduction” in visitor numbers last time an eco-tax (of €1 a day) was introduced in the Balearics, in 2002. It was quietly dropped a year later.
> “The last time that the Balearic authorities introduced an eco tax, it resulted in a significant reduction in tourism numbers, especially from Germany, and the tax was repealed”, an Abta spokesperson explained.


Please note this is not in place yet


> Limitations on the tax are currently under discussion, including a cap of the number of nights on which the tax would be charged, an exemption for children under an as-yet-to-be-specified age limit, and a likely reduction in off-season periods. It is also as yet unknown whether the fee will be introduced before or after the main tourist season.


Balearic islands to charge tourists â‚¬2 'eco-tax' - Telegraph


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> Almost all the hotels I've been looking at in India charge for internet as well, and that's if your're paying around 200 pounds a night for a room, with the luxury tax of 20% on top.


It happens in the UK too - I recall paying 5 pounds a day in a Premier Inn. They offer "free wifi" but it's so slow it's unusable so you have to pay to upgrade.


----------

