The City of Windsor is considering a hotel tax.
A report for council suggests a four per cent tax on hotel room charges could generate about $2.8-million a year. That's based on roughly 3,000 hotel rooms, bed and breakfasts and Airbnb rentals.
Under the proposal, half of the money would go into the city’s tourism development fund and the other half would go to Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island.
“We’ll collect it from visitors to the community but reinvest all that money back into initiatives that support tourism to drive further visitation to the region,” says Mayor Drew Dilkens.
The tax equates to an extra $6 for a $150 room.
A hotel tax is nothing new, it's been adopted by many cities across North America.
Rick Murphy is visiting Windsor from Philadelphia. He doesn’t mind the hotel tax.
“Atlantic City has a luxury tax or a room tax. If you’re going to reinvest in the city, if it’s going to make the city a better place with more attractions, then I don’t have a problem with it,” says Murphy.
But Dixie Jo Vikers, who is visiting from Texas, says it’s too much.
“I’m here to spend money. Do I want to spend more just because I'm a tourist? That doesn’t seem fair.”
One hotel manager in Windsor is not opposed to the tax, but would rather see a hotel association distribute the funds.
But Dilkens says if the city has the authority to collect the tax, it should also have accountability to ensure the revenue is being spent in ways that will benefit our community.
The issue goes before Council on Monday night.
If the tax is approved, it will go into effect in October.
