Resolution to charge hotel and short term guest tax passes at Alberta municipalities conference

A new accommodation tax is all the rage at a conference of Alberta municipalities

Alberta municipalities meeting at a Calgary conference overwhelming voted in favor of a municipal accommodation tax allowing municipalities to charge hotel and short-term rental guests a fee.

The City of Airdrie brought forward the resolution.

“What that means is that any municipality can potentially, accumulate depending on how the municipality wants to bill some specific, income from visitors to the community through hotels, Airbnbs, and other accommodation similar to that,” said Airdrie’s Mayor, Heather Spearman.

For the tax to come into effect, the Government of Alberta needs to amend the Municipal Government Act “to establish a provincial framework that enables municipalities to implement Municipal Accommodation Taxes,” the resolution read.

It would allow for municipalities to determine tax rates, collection methods, and revenue allocation based on local infrastructure and tourism development needs.

Spearman says Airdrie would look at adding a three per cent tax if approved.

“The municipalities are struggling to keep up with infrastructure. So this is an opportunity for us to not only, support grow, repair, infrastructure, but also create opportunities for more tourism and more draws to our communities and that’s critical,” said Spearman.

Mixed feelings

Residents in Airdrie CTV News spoke with had mixed feelings over the tax, with some happy with the idea of added revenue, others say they will be hit with it when they check into hotels in other municipalities travelling for kids sports.

Over 74 per cent of Alberta Municipalities’ 264 members voted in favor of the resolution, at the organization’s convention on Thursday.

Drumheller was one of members that voted in favour of it.

“We’re blessed with a great tourism industry,” said Drumheller deputy mayor Patrick Kolafa. “But when it comes down to it, we’re supporting infrastructure for all those visitors.”

A big attraction for the community is the Royal Tyrell Museum, which has over half a million visitors pass through annually.

“That takes a toll on our infrastructure, and this would be very adventurous for us.”

Canmore was another community in favour of the tax.

“We have to have a bigger wastewater treatment plant than the community with our permanent population, because of our visitors, we need to have more services available,” said mayor Sean Krausert.

The Alberta municipalities board will now present the resolution to the province, which must be advocated for within the three-year window.