A turn-off for tourism.
THE Select Committee for National Heritage, in its report on the future of the BBC, is asking for the special arrangements for TV licences in hotels to be changed, so that hotels with more than 50 bedrooms pay extra (see page 7).
The plan is misguided and unjustified. It seeks to put more money in the BBC's coffers at the expense of the tourism industry - and it offers absolutely nothing to the industry in return.
Under the present arrangement, last reviewed in 1984, hotels pay on a sliding scale, which reflects the sensible view that, for a 500-bedroom hotel with a colour TV in every bedroom, it would not be reasonable either to charge the full £83-a-year licence fee for every TV set or to let the hotel get away with a single annual payment of £83.
Instead, hotels pay a single fee for the first 15 TV sets, and then one fee for each block of five additional sets. The committee wants to leave this unchanged for small hotels, but wants to charge the full £83 a year for every TV set above 50. The additional cost to the hotel industry in Britain if this change were implemented would, we estimate, be about £7.5m a year.
For the 500-bedroom hotel, the annual cost would rise from £8,134 to £38,014. And for a 100-bedroom hotel the additional cost would be £3,320 a year.
Putting it another way: if these two hotels both trade at 50% occupancy, the 100-room hotel would have to pay out almost 20p extra per occupied room per night; the 500-room hotel would be paying an extra 33p per occupied room.
These are only pennies as a portion of the daily tariff, but they are another impost - on top of Europe's highest rate of VAT and the new airport tax - which make staying in Britain that little bit more expensive for the overseas visitor.
Comparisons with other European countries are difficult, because licence fees vary. Several countries allow hotels a lower discount than Britain - though Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland all allow unlimited viewing for a single licence. The Italians possibly have the best idea, charging different rates for different classes of hotel. In the absence of a consistent approach across Europe, it will be hard for hoteliers to pass on yet another extra charge to the guest.
At a time when businesses are under unprecedented pressure to control costs, Government must not be tempted by the committee's proposal. The British Hospitality Association is lobbying in Parliament on the principles of this issue, and this could be usefully supported by individual hoteliers writing to MPs to impress on them the effect the plan would have on their businesses.
