North Bay to introduce accommodation tax: Revenue from four per cent hotel room levy will help promote tourism.

• Author: Holmes, Linda
• Position: NORTH BAY

North Bay will implement a four per cent Municipal Accommodation Tax on transient room rentals in the city.

Legislation introduced under the Municipal Act in November, 2017, allows municipalities to implement a levy on hotel room rentals for stays under 30 days, half of which then goes toward a destination marketing organization for promoting tourism-related activities in the community. The remaining half goes to the municipality.

According to Steve Dreany, director at Tourism North Bay, tourism in the city dropped by 4.7 per cent between the period of Jan. 1 and May 31, 2018, compared to the same period in the previous year.

That's even taking into account the thousands of people who visited North Bay in March for the Ford World Women's Curling Championship, generating a $7.299-million economic impact.

"So all of those people who came into the community, what they did was prevent that 4.7 per cent from being an even larger number," Dreany said during a recent presentation to city council. "North Bay was one of only three communities in the province to experience a decline."

Jake Lacourse, an advisor to Tourism North Bay, said the tax would be applied across all hotels and motels, including chains and independent operators.

With the average cost to rent a hotel room ranging between $104 and $199, the levy amounts to roughly $4 or $5 added on to each visitor's bill.

"Because it's a municipal tax, it allows a level playing field for all accommodation partners to have to collect it," Lacourse said. "So no longer is there going to be the ability for you to say you're not going to pay the four per cent at one hotel and check in at one that doesn't have it. It's a tax no different from GST or HST."

With no dedicated person helming the...