Guelph motels may see new tax in 2022

Staying in a Guelph hotel room could get a little more expensive in the coming years.

According to a report On the way to the council committee of the full January 10, 2022 session, city officials recommend introducing a municipal lodging tax that will raise between $ 500,000 and $ 850,000 annually.

These funds, the report said, would “support destination development,” with half being retained by the city “for new and improved destination management projects and programs,” while the remainder would go “to an outside agency for destination marketing purposes.” .

The Council will vote in February on whether to continue the new tax initiative.

The staff report does not provide any information on this tax rate, but does a presentation The staff who will be giving the advice during this session suggest that a four percent rate would “generate estimated sales of $ 1 million.”

If approved, Guelph would join a bevy of other Ontario communities – including Cambridge, Peterborough and Niagara-on-the-Lake – with similar programs.

This tax is part of a proposed five-year strategy to stimulate economic development and tourism in the city. Work on the project originally started in early 2020, but has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The strategy has six goals:

• Expand support for existing businesses

• Attract targeted investments

• Stand up for an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem

• Promote talent acquisition and skills development

• Build a must-see for visitors to Ontario

• Developing Guelph’s unique brand for businesses, talent and visitors

The first council meeting of 2022, January 10 of the committee of the entire meeting, is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Internet at guelf.ca/live.

Anyone who would like to present a delegation to this meeting must register with the city’s public order office by January 7, 2022, 10 a.m. 519-837-5603, TTY 519-826-9771, send an email to clerks@guelph.ca or go online too guelf.ca/delegieren.

Written submissions can also be sent to the secretariat by January 7th.