The additional fee has been added to hotel bills from this month to raise vital cash for the city’s economy
View of Albert Dock and the Three Graces (Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building, Port of Liverpool Building) in Liverpool.(Image: Getty Images)
Plans to add a £2 charge to overnight stays for visitors to Liverpool should be voided according to the company behind the UK’s biggest hotel chain, who are legally challenging the move. Introduced on June 1, the visitor levy was agreed by the city’s 83 hotels and serviced apartments which form part of the Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID).
According to ABID, a £2 city visitor charge is projected to bring in £9.2m over two years, of which £6.7m will go towards supporting the city’s visitor economy through a subvention fund. The £2 charge will be managed and administered by hotels and serviced accommodation, either when guests check in or at the end of their stay.
However, the government has received a request from Whitbread plc – the company behind Premier Inn – for the ballot result to be voided. Liverpool Council has confirmed it will respond alongside the Liverpool BID Company to address the concerns that have been raised.
The ECHO has approached Whitbread for comment on its decision to challenge the ballot. The £2 levy replaces the current arrangements which fund the BID through a top-up on business rates.
Premier Inn has a hotel on Lime Street(Image: Daily Record)
The city council said it and the Liverpool BID Company are confident that the ballot was conducted according to legal requirements, but will examine all the concerns presented and respond to the Secretary of State by the deadline of June 24. In the meantime, the government has confirmed that receipt of the challenge does not suspend the effect of the ballot.
A minister will consider the response in determining whether the BID ballot needs to be declared void. On advice from government, Liverpool Council has agreed with the BID that additional monies collected under the new levy will be held by the authority, pending the outcome of the challenge, and will be refunded to levy payers in the event that the Secretary of State determines that the ballot result should be voided.
Inside the Holiday Inn Express on Duke Street(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
The challenge comes as Metro Mayors, led by Steve Rotheram, called for the government to allow areas like the Liverpool City Region to adopt a tourist tax. Cllr Harry Doyle, Liverpool Council cabinet member for health, wellbeing and culture, said: “Liverpool’s hotels showed great commitment in supporting the Accommodation BID.
“The right to challenge the BID ballot result is built into the legislation, and the City Council and BID team will be diligent in responding to the concerns that have been raised by Whitbread.
“This does, however, reinforce the council’s position and that of Mayors around the country that Visitor Levies would benefit from a new national arrangement, established under the proposals for devolution. The case for a visitor levy has been made and is being advocated across the UK.”
Bill Addy, Liverpool BID Company chief executive, said: The Accommodation BID was introduced in January 2023 and it was very much an industry led proposal, by the local hoteliers in the city wanting to have a voice and a say on the visitor economy. They’re a crucial component of it and it has a huge impact on their viability.
“In 2024, the hoteliers and services accommodation providers in the ABID supported the alteration ballot to bring in the visitor charge. That ballot process, which is defined in legislation, began in March and the sector voted in favour in April of this year. The levy is being collected from 1st June.
“The appeals process is part of the BID legislation and the democratic process that means we adhere to the plan that the hotels asked to put in place. Their voice is a crucial one in this whole process.”