The hotel in Prague will be more expensive for tourists from January. Hoteliers have criticized the city for its rate growth
Tourists in Prague have been paying for accommodation since the new year. The management of the capital wants to raise the tourist tax, which must be paid to the price for each night spent at the hotel, from 21 to 50 crowns. He plans to raise more money to support tourism. Fee in recent years and other Czech cities. On the contrary, some canceled it at this time to hoteliers in times of crisis.
The Prague City Hall plans to invest half of the amount it collects for higher accommodation fees in the new budget fund for major tourism. Representatives of the municipality signed a memorandum with their company Prague City Tourism and the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic in November.
The city is currently working to amend the decree, which will be subject to a fee. The council should approve in December and the fee will increase from the new year.
According to Deputy Mayor for Finance Pavel Vyhnánek (Prague Sobě), the city raised almost 300 million crowns before the coronavirus pandemic. In the coronavirus crisis, however, the amount dropped radically due to reduced tourism, and the city also waived fees last year.
Pilsen or Olomouc, for example, also waived the “surcharge” for accommodation in a pandemic. “The city does not collect a tourist fee this year and will not collect it in 2022. I am trying to reduce the impact of coronavirus on accommodation facilities,” said Radek Štědrá, a spokeswoman for the Olomouc municipality, for the online daily Aktuálně.cz. The amount before was around 21 crowns.
The fee was increased by Český Krumlov and Vary
However, a number of Czech cities have already been supplemented in the past, including Český Krumlov, Františkovy Lázně, Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem.
For example, Karlovy Vary originally planned to increase the fee to 50 crowns only for stays of up to four days. Accommodation and spa operators pointed out that it is difficult to charge the amount in operating and accounting software. After criticism, the city finally increased the fee to 35 crowns from September this year.
According to the spokesman of the local municipality, Jan Kopál, it is not yet possible to say whether a higher selection will help Karlovy Vary tourism recover from the pandemic. “But it will definitely not help to heal financial wounds at least this year. The fee is paid only by people who stay in the city, and there are still many fewer of them this year than before the pandemic. Foreign guests in particular are missing,” Kopál explained.
“Just to give you an idea – in 2019 we collected 30 million crowns in similar fees, last year less than 15 and this year we have 16 million selected from the stay a month before the end of the year. very conservative expectations given by how much was actually collected a few months ago, when the budget began to be prepared, “Kopál added.
The spokesman therefore assumes that the increased fee rate can have a positive effect on tourism financing when former clients and new visitors return to the city. “Those who are interested in UNESCO monuments – Karlovy Vary were listed this year together with other European spa towns such as the famous spa towns of Europe on the World Heritage List. Then perhaps the fee may increase in favor of the selection,” believes Kopal.
Symbolic fee
An amendment to the law of 2019 allows cities to increase the accommodation fee to 50 crowns. According to a document approved by a Prague councilor in October, the current rate of 21 crowns (approximately 0.8 euros) in Prague is too low. For example, in Barcelona it is 1.1 euros (28 crowns), in Vienna 2.1 euros (54 crowns) and in Budapest 3.2 euros (82 crowns).
Deputy Vyhnánek is not afraid that an increase in the fee could discourage tourists from visiting. “The fee is really symbolic at the moment, it is the lowest in comparison with comparable cities not only in Europe. There are even a number of Czech cities that have significantly higher ones,” he said.
However, according to Martin Plachý, Vice President of the Czech Tourism Union, when comparing the amount of fees with other countries, it is necessary to look at what the local tourism infrastructure looks like and the scope of public services in the field of tourism.
The increase in the fee is then considered to help tourism only if the city reinvests it in tourism, whether in marketing, improving tourist infrastructure or services. “Otherwise, it rather leads to discouraging tourists to travel to the destination, disillusionment with overpayments on the spot and the like, especially when the fee increases by more than 100 percent,” I think Plachy.
Criticism from hoteliers
The increase in the fee that Prague is planning has also provoked criticism among some Prague hoteliers. “It can be expected that the return of tourists will be rather gradual next year. They therefore considered it reasonable for Prague to postpone the plan until at least the middle of next year, when it will be clear how the situation will develop,” said Marketing Director of Ave Hotels Marek Čermák.
In response to the current pandemic situation, he would consider it reasonable, due to the rate increase postponed at least in the first quarter of next year.
The director of the Orea Hotels & Resorts hotel network, Gorjan Lazarov, said of the Prague City Council’s plan that “relevant people” should rather consider supporting the industry, which is facing the biggest crisis in recent years and is highly uncertain. “I do not consider the fee increase at a time when the hotel industry is going through the biggest crisis in recent years,” he said.
According to its marketing director Petr Chábera, the Czech Inn Hotels chain will reflect the increase in sales prices, so guests need to expect an increase in prices. “The timing is completely inappropriate. We would like to know how Prague wants to use the funds effectively. The hoteliers should consult with us,” says Chábera.