Visitors to Manchester will be required to pay a ‘tourism tax’ as part of a new initiative to support the city’s accommodation sector after Brexit and COVID.
Hotels and short stay serviced apartments in the new Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) will charge guests an extra £1 per room per night.
Led by the Manchester Hoteliers’ Association in collaboration with Marketing Manchester, CityCo and both Manchester and Salford city councils, the Manchester ABID aims to raise extra funding which will be used to grow the visitor economy across the city over the next five years.
This will affect 74 establishments in total, with more being added in the coming years as new establishments open.
The Manchester ABID comes at a time of significant challenges facing the accommodation sector following the pandemic, the impact of Brexit, and increased competition for market share both within and outside the city-region.
Adrian Ellis, general manager of the Lowry Hotel, chair of the Manchester Hoteliers’ Association, and interim spokesperson for the Manchester ABID, said: ‘The Manchester Hoteliers’ Association has been in discussion for several years to develop options to create new, additional funding that will support continued high performance and future growth of the visitor economy for accommodation providers across the city.
‘The result of these discussions is the Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District proposal, and I am delighted that hoteliers’ have voted in favour of creating an innovative, business-led solution to some of the problems we have been facing as a sector.
‘A supplementary fee for guests, added to the final accommodation bill, is now an established norm within the travel sector across the world, and the Manchester ABID will now bring our accommodation sector in line with European and global counterparts and competitors.’
Cllr Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, said: ‘These are exciting times for Manchester city centre with an unprecedented number of new hotel rooms being added and major new visitor attractions such as Factory International and Co-op Live due to open in the months ahead.
‘Seizing that opportunity means ensuring as many rooms as possible are full all year round. We believe that targeted investment through the Manchester ABID will help support the accommodation sector – which plays such a vital role in supporting jobs in our city and adding to its overall vibrancy – to thrive.’
