London considering pound-a-night hotel room tax

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A London council could follow in the footsteps of a number of major cities around the world, including Dubai, by introducing a levy on each night they stay at a hote, to cover cleaning costs in popular tourist areas.

The council in Camden, which covers parts of central London, wants to introduce the £1 (US $1.51)-a-night charge in order to plug funding gaps which have emerged following government spending cuts, the Guardian reports.

According to the council, this could raise £5 million (US $7.56 million) a year; however, it does not currently have the power to introduce such a levy, which would require legislative changes or a local voluntary agreement.

Camden’s cabinet member for finance, Theo Blackwell, said: “The money would be used to keep our streets clean and maintain and improve the public realm. Currently these budgets face a 20% cut.”

“The price per stay is already over £100 a night and targeted at high-end visitors. A small charge of £1 a night would not make much difference. The levy is common in many European cities.”

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Famous areas within the London Borough of Camden include Bloomsbury, Kings Cross, Euston and Holborn, all of which have internationally-branded hotels.

Hotel room rates in London and the rest of the UK are already subject to 20% value-added tax (VAT), which is levied on supplies of goods and services.

Dubai introduced the Tourism Dirham last year and hotel guests have been charged between seven and 20 dirhams per room, per night, since March 31