A proposed tourist tax in North Yorkshire must include short-term holiday lets to avoid unfairly penalising struggling hotels and displacing local residents, according to a Whitby councillor.
He says that tourists staying in short-term holiday lets must face a proposed North Yorkshire holiday levy to prevent traditional accommodation providers from being unfairly penalised.
A planned tourist tax is currently under discussion for visitors coming to the region, but local leaders are warning that the scheme must be applied fairly across the entire accommodation sector.
Councillor Swannick feels traditional hotels are already facing difficult trading conditions and should not be expected to shoulder the financial burden of the levy alone:
"I have a positive view potentially of this on two conditions. One is that it's not just a tax on hotels, that seems to be patently unfair, because hotels are not having a great time of it. And that it actually covers short-term lets as well, Airbnbs of which there is a huge amount. I think the figure was more than 50% of the properties in the core of Whitby are now not in permanent residents and most of those are either second homes or short-term lets. I think it would be absolutely disgraceful if this tax were to be imposed on hotels but not on the people who are making a large amount of money from letting properties."
York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith believes the scheme will unlock significant investment for towns including Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey, providing money that has been unavailable for years.
The government recently published its response to a national consultation on the levy, paving the way for regional mayors to introduce the charge.
Councillor Swannick added:
"It's not just individuals letting a room. Airbnb gives that impression that it's somebody who's got a spare room that they can make a little bit of money on. It's businesses moving into the area, gutting properties, maximizing the number of units in the big houses in order to get the biggest incomes from them and letting them out at fantastic sums. It also means chucking out people who are long-term rented who actually want to stay in the area and our residents in the area. So must tackle this question of Airbnb short-term lets."
However, the proposal has faced criticism from some local representatives who fear the financial impact on the hospitality sector will be too severe.
Another Whitby councillor, Phil Trumper warned a lot of people from the hospitality industry are already overburdened with national insurance and the other taxes that have been imposed on them in the last few years.
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