Liverpool’s hoteliers have questions for the City-Region’s Metro Mayor about his proposed Tourist Tax before they say whether they can support it.
The hoteliers are currently part of an Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID) which administers and manages a £2 overnight levy, per room per night. “The Liverpool Model” has been operating since 1st June 2025 and has seen over £2m raised and invested in the first year to be spent in the city’s visitor economy.
The ABID sees the city’s hotels have a say in the investment and subvention fund for the £2 overnight levy. The key metric for investment has been to increase overnight stays, because visitors who stay overnight spend more in the visitor economy. With every £2 raised £82 will be invested in the visitor economy.
The levy is used to support major events across sports, culture and conferencing. Events supported by the Accommodation BID have generated more than £86 million for Liverpool’s economy (based on footfall and spend data from Beauclair and Visit Britain economic impact modelling).
Future events already secured through Accommodation BID support are expected to bring a further £132 million to the city. Liverpool hotels are on average 82% full during BID-supported events, nearly 8% higher than the city’s annual occupancy rate.
The six questions are;
What guarantees are in place to ensure the money is ring-fenced locally and that it is directed into the visitor economy?
Hoteliers currently have protection with “The Liverpool Model” and through BID to opt in every five years, what protection or assurance do they have to be able to opt out now?
How will mayors make sure the OVL provides additionality and doesn’t replace current budgets focused on arts, culture and the visitor economy?
If The Liverpool Model and ABIDs have proven to be so successful, why are we not building on that rather than replacing it with something unproven?
There is currently a clear and transparent governance model that shows how and where investment decisions are being made. How will the OVL replicate that?
Will hotels receive any support in terms of administration to manage the running of the OVL, or is this expected to come from within hotel costs?
