An appeal against the introduction of tourist tax in BCP is now being considered by the Secretary of State. This appeal, supported by 42 local hotels, comes after the tax was approved by just one vote in May. With 75 hotels in the area involved in the vote, a 56% majority of the hotels have joined together in a bid to get the ballot result declared void.
A spokesperson for the group leading the appeal said: “Following the announcement on May 14 that the , Christchurch, and Poole Accommodation BID had successfully passed by a single vote, it quickly became clear that a significant number of hotels had not been able to vote and some of these were not even aware that the ballot was taking place. "If any one of these hotels had been able to vote, the levy simply wouldn’t have been voted in. “The levy appears to us to have been rushed through with very little consultation from either the ABID team or the council.
“It has become abundantly clear that there isn’t widespread support for this initiative amongst our hotel community. “Only 16 hoteliers voted in favour of the introduction of a levy and of these 16, only two were not part of the ABID Board who formulated the levy. In just four weeks, we have identified a staggering 42 hotels that do not support the levy.
” Several hoteliers say they have contacted BCP Council after the ballot was announced, ‘highlighting issues with the ballot’ asking the council to declare the ballot void. They said BCP Council declined .
