London hotel tax is 20%
 

ok, can it be more pathetic? or it doesn't encourage people visit there?
this is getting ridiculous.

Do you not have state/provincial/federal tax on top of prices where you live?

that's not 20%.

When you consider not having to tip 20% in restaurants, bars, hotels etc it probably works out to less than the taxes plus tips on some things in the US for example. It is all relative. Not to mention that museums are mostly free in London. If you look at the big picture...

If you look at VAT rates across Europe 20% is fairly low...

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs...t_rates_en.pdf

London is an expensive destination, no doubt, but worth it to many. If it's not worth it to you, simple, don't go there. Pathetic has more to do with seeing a great city as narrowly as this.

Many other EU countries have lower rate for tourist-related services. In Spain , for example, VAT is generally 21% but 10% for hotels and restaurant meals. UK tourist industry wants lower VAT to be more competitive, but so far, nothing has been done.

I can't see what difference this makes to the average tourist. You're quoted the full price including VAT when you search for listings, book, or pick up your invoice, so it's not as though anything is being sneakily added on at the last minute that you hadn't budgeted for. Yes it adds to the cost but it's not hidden.

PS Bikerscott - are you the other half of Jamikins? I feel all excited that I might have spotted a pair. Like that Cadburys competition a few years back when you had to eat half a hundred weight of Time Out and Twirl bars to try and find matching airline seat numbers...

>>ok, can it be more pathetic? or it doesn't encourage people visit there?
this is getting ridiculous.<<

That isn't 'hotel tax' . . . It is VAT which you also pay in France, and Italy, and Ireland, and Germany and most other European countries. You pay it on almost <u>everything</u> You apparently weren't outraged by the VAT you paid on petrol, or shopping, or theatre tickets, or train tickets or every thing else you paid for in London???????

If you don't like it, stay at home

We subsidise you freeloading Yanks far too much as it is.

One less mightn't make a great deal of difference. But every little helps.

NYC hotel tax is 18%. Big cities are expensive.

You just need to figure it as part of the cost of the trip.

Go ahead and pay the London prices. It'll help some of them get over the fact that they lost the war.

I thought Chicago was now 26% on top of the quoted price.

<<We subsidise you freeloading Yanks far too much as it is.>>

That is probably the biggest line of bull I've seen on this board. Flanner's idiocy knows no bounds.

RM67 - Bikerscott is indeed my 'other half' :)

jz166: . . . You <i>do</i> know you'll be paying VAT inItaly as well . . .

<< You do know you'll be paying VAT inItaly as well >>

And in Rome there is a city tax on top of the VAT.

Well, apparently it ( VAT ) isn't discouraging people from visiting. I was in London the end of June, and it was as crowded as I've seen it in some 25 years.

The tax rate in itself is meaningless.

According to this argument if two cities have following tax rates:
City A: 20%
City B: 15%
Then City A is ridiculous, so one should choose City B.

Let's add more practical info. Suppose we are looking at hotels in each city. For the purpose of comparison, they are interchangeable disregarding the price tags:

City A: hotel is 150EU + 20% tax = 180.00EU
City B. hotel is 250EU + 15% tax = 287.50EU

Again, according the foregoing argument, the City A is ridiculous based on the tax rate, so one should choose the City B instead.

In reality, there are many other tangible and intangible costs and values related to each city.

OP, if you're complaining about a 20% tax maybe a trip to Europe isn't for you.

but look at the advantages ,no having to pay a mandatory 20% tip for everyone and everything.

On the other hand, you get to go to the National Gallery, British Museum etc for free, paid for by tax pounds.

The only tax in London is VAT. It isn't always included in the price quoted if you use a non European website. Under EU law it must be included in the price quoted, but often the price quoted elsewhere doesn't include it.

Many European towns and cities also have a tourist tax in addition to the local rate of VAT, and that is quoted separately.

A good many US cities have a hotel tax on top of local and state taxes and they are never quoted in the price.

As others have said you don't have the compulsory tipping at 15 to 20% in London, and you get the museums for free.
20% VAT seems like a bargain to me.

and "they speak english proper mary poppins"

Back in the days when I traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for business, they had the same city- state lodging taxes as New York City. I think it was 17 1/2%, not far below UK VAT, and this was a goo dish time ago.

Where would you rather pay taxes, NYC, London, or Columbus?

London hotel tax is ZERO

VAT can be reclaimed for goods taken out of the EU, you can spend days in galleries and museums without spending a penny, you can take advantage of schemes to encourage train travel by locals to visit many major attractions for half price

Of course you have to put up with other tourists many of whom have the gall not to speak English (or are they just Londoners) so it isn't all sweetness and light

lol, I am not saying NYC is better by any means.
At least London's tube is far better than NYC subway (aka hell's kitchen in Summer).

I've never known anyone to make travel choices based on hotel tax, but if that is VAT, it isn't the same anyway. Wouldn't that be the tax on anything, if it is VAT (or pretty much)? I know in France, local authorities have their own hotel tax but it isn't that much (maybe 1 euro a night).

Surprise, tipping isn't "mandatory" in the US, either, except in rare cases (some restaurants add it for large parties). It especially isn't mandatory as there isn't that much to tip for at hotels. I never use the concierge or rarely "bellhops", for example.

>>lol, I am not saying NYC is better by any means.<<

But you did say it was 'pathetic' and 'ridiculous' . . . changing your tune now?

Don't agree with that at all, London's tube can easily be unbearable in summer, also.

I've never known anyone to make travel choices based on hotel tax, but if that is VAT, it isn't the same anyway. Wouldn't that be the tax on anything, if it is VAT (or pretty much)? I know in France, local authorities have their own hotel tax but it isn't that much (maybe 1 euro a night).

Surprise, tipping isn't "mandatory" in the US, either, except in rare cases (some restaurants add it for large parties). It especially isn't mandatory as there isn't that much to tip for at hotels. I never use the concierge or rarely "bellhops", for example.

Besides, VAT and service charges aren't the same thing, anyway. Some countries add service charges onto bills automatically, such as in restaurants (like France), but that isn't VAT.

Surprise, tipping isn't "mandatory" in the US, either, except in rare cases

I wish I had known that when I was (quite literally) chased down the street by a waiter from a Mexican restaurant in NYC when I left only 15%.

Hotel tax in Mexico is 18-19%. Never dawned on me to consider it "ridiculous" or "pathetic".

Sometimes I start to write a response to a dumb question or post and most often abandon it before hitting "submit". This should have been one of those times.

lol, people are angry.

Don't think anyone is angry just perplexed, surprised at your post. Obviously the 20% VAT is only a problem for you.

The important thing is the final price the customer pays. If a quarter or only a tenth of that is tax, so what? Why should I as a tourist care? I want to know the total cost before I book, so I can compare prices, yes. But I've never bothered to ask how much of it is tax. It's not like I can influence it in any way. Sure, I can chose to go to another country, but that would feel really silly.

"lol, people are angry."

More likely they just think you're stupid.

At least in Europe the taxes are usually included in the quoted price, so you know up front how much you're paying.

Even where I live, in NC, you pay 12.75% tax on top of the quoted room rate. It would probably be higher, but we're not building any stadiums right now...

"Angry"? Who us? Hardly.

for those who enjoy paying tax, please pay more for your personal income, voluntarily.

What's that saying? There are people who we suspect are stupid, and there are those who open their mouths and remove all doubt. Something like that.