The Hotel Eldorado in Kelowna.
(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
March 07, 2021 - 12:07 PM
While the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the accommodation industry, Kelowna was not hit as hard as some others.
Kamloops hotels, on the other hand, were hammered hard.
Hotels in both cities collect a three per cent tax on hotel rooms that are rented out called the Municipal and Regional District Tax.
In Kelowna, revenue from that tax was down by about one-third to $2 million between December 2019 and November 2020, the latest dates that figures are available for.
The loss was about $3 million in 2019, according to the City of Kelowna. Hotels pay the tax to the province which sends the money to cities to fund tourism promotion.
READ MORE: Central Okanagan saw more visitors during 2020 than year before, despite pandemic
Tax revenues were cut almost in half in Kamloops to $1.03 million from $1.93 million, according to the City of Kamloops.
People who rent through online services such as Airbnb also pay a three per cent tax in Kelowna. It’s called the Online Accommodation Platform tax but is not paid in Kamloops.
That only dropped about 20 per cent in Kelowna to $379,394 from $470,690 the previous December through November.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2021