Hotel Taxes and other fees

In Europe all the taxes are fully buried in the quoted rate. No surprises. However, recently there is a new trend of adding a Euro or two of a head tax. You can plan that the rate quoted will be very close to the actually rate unlike the US where adding 20% is not uncommon.

No lisa , its not the same all over, Canada and the States both have hefty taxes added on after quoted rates , and has for a very long time , and now some places especially in places like Hawaii and California add this "resort fee" which I think is appalling.
In France the rate you see is what you pay, VAT is included in quoted rates, a head city tax is sometimes added, I have never paid more then 1.50 euros a night per night, I really do not recall its never been significant. To find out about Italy ( because while I have been I just don't recall) it does seem the same but just do a dummy booking on your hotel site and can easily see what is the total price as you proceed. No,, is North America that lures you in with one price and then by the time you are at billing the prices can be considerably higher then the shiny price they flash in front of you at first.. I wish we included taxes upfront, so much easier. ( I hate how we add taxes after services where I work, its always a bit of a shock when people get some expensive service then when its rung up its even more, but heck we all know about the taxes so why is it always such a nasty surprise, lol )

I see on their website, that my favorite Venice hotel charges 3 Euro pp pn April thru Oct, and 1.50 Euro Nov thru Mar excepting Christmas and Carnival, which are considered high season. The "Rate Terms and Conditions" box you check when you book shows this when you book if you take the time to read it. Explanation: City law passed August 23, 2011. European voters don't like paying taxes anymore that we do, and they have caught on to the strategy of taxing visitors who don't vote. This is getting more common throughout Italy, I recall Milan was 1 Euro pp pn. As previously posted, VAT is buried in the room rate.

VAT rate in the UK is 20%. This should be included already in any quoted hotel rate if that service is selling to the general public in the UK. Some international hotel chains were recently rapped over the knuckles by the UK Advertising Standards Authority for not following this regulation within their websites facing UK customers, particularly for hotels in London. Whether they have to do this for non UK customers may be a different matter.

If memory serves correctly, last May in Venice there was a 2 Euro pp tax per night at the hotel. It may have gone up since. TC

I stayed in Venice September, 2012. I was asked to pay a 2 Euro per night tax in cash when I checked out. I had read somewhere about this new law and was prepared.

Thanks to Marco for the heads up about the VAT issue with American hotels in London. Or, rather, the removal of the issue. It has bugged me for several years. I'd look at the price, then notice that the final price added in a vat amount of 20%. It really irked me because in Europe, as well as in the UK, prices are quoted inclusive of VAT. I've just checked the usual culprits and noticed that Holiday Inn now says in big letters that the rate includes VAT. Hilton goes better than that with a big yellow banner at the top the quoting pages stating that XYZ hotel prices all "now" include VAT. Thanks Marco for taking care of that,...

One thing you do have to watch out for with large American hotel chains and French as well, is them asking all the usual questions about dates, nights, and number of people - then providing a quote. When you look at the fine print it says additional guests are £xx or €xx per person per night starting with the second guest. If you don't notice the fine print, when you go the pay screen the price is surprisingly somewhat higher, making you go back to the specification screen and check if you indeed did put 2 people in. You did - its just their cunning way to boost the price past the headline rate. grrrrrrrrrrrrr. I haven't seen if anybody has changed their policy for 2013.

The Italian visitor tax varies from place to place. It is down to the local authorities whether and how much to charge. Some have a flat rate, some charge according to the type of accom and some charge all year round while others eg Sorrento charge April to October only. Many hotels, B&Bs etc require payment of the tax in cash when you leave so ask about it when you arrive so, if neccesary, you can have the cash to hand.

Me: exactly the same as Susanna.

Here is the latest info on the the tourist tax rates in Venice. New rates from October 2012. It is only payable for the first five consecutive nights of your stay. http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/48016

For Nigel, and anyone else who might be interested, detailsof the ASA hotel VAT ruling can be found here: http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2012/5/InterContinental-Hotels-Group-plc/SHP_ADJ_187405.aspx The test case was brought against InterContinental Hotels, but other major chains have fallen in line. If anyone comes across ex-VAT rate hotel prices in the UK, you now know where to report them to.

I originally posted this question after reading that there were some proposals to lower the UK VAT to 6% on the tourism sector, following less than stellar visitor numbers before and after the London Olympics. Here in the US, I grow tired of always having to find these added costs. Our 'ski towns' are particularly fond of them(i.e.,the Town of Breckenridge charges nearly 12% tax for lodging, less that 3% of which goes to the state- the rest is divided between the town and county). Quite a nifty way to get non-residents to pay the town's bills. The lack of uniformity is frustrating,(Vail's around 9%). And it appears it's the same in Italy,varying from town to town. But I guess it's all the same in London, Oxford or Cardiff? Only UK VAT is permitted? No hokey little towns making a bit on the side? Then there's the hotels' 'resort fee'. Last week in Orlando, our Doubletree hotel resort fee was (but not optional) for use of the gym and pool,free newspaper...but still extra for wifi, parking. They nickel and dime you at every turn.
I was hoping that when they made airline taxes and fees inclusive of the price,they would do the same with hotels and car rentals world-wide, but has anyone heard that proposed? Maybe we should!

The advertising rules in the UK require all non avoidable taxes & fees to be included in a price. The proposal for a reduced VAT rate comes from the hospitality industry. Nearly all EU countries apply a reduced rate of VAT to hotels, often extended to other hospitality businesses. The UK has historically tended to either charge VAT at the standard rate or have a zero rate. The lower rate has a very limited application, mainly to energy and supply and energy conservation products. On the other hand the UK does not add any VAT to public transport. Incidentally the Visit Britain report for 2012 indicate no decrease in visitors to the UK overall, and an increase in spending. Post Olympics seems to indicates a rise in numbers and spending but it is a bit early to tell.