Guests to pay new fee on Abu Dhabi hotel bills

Abu Dhabi - The levy of this fees is in line with charges imposed on hotel guests in other regional destinations and is standard practice in the hospitality sector worldwide.

Hotel guests in the capital will start paying a municipality fee of four per cent of their hotel bill and a Dh15 charge per night per room from June 1, 2016.
The Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) said on Sunday that they would start collecting the municipal fees from hotels in Abu Dhabi from June 1 (Wednesday).
The TCA Abu Dhabi has formally notified hotels and tourist facilities of the decision to start collection of the new fees. It stressed the importance of entering municipal fees separately from tourist fees in all financial registers to ensure that such fees are accounted for separately in all bills and financial statements.
The TCA Abu Dhabi will soon hold workshops to introduce the municipal fee collection and deposit mechanisms. Work is under way in setting out procedures for fee collection as set forth in the resolution of the chairman of the Executive Council No 15/2016, published in the official gazette. TCA Abu Dhabi is currently charting out guidelines and fee collection structures on behalf of the Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, which comprises the three municipalities of the emirate: Abu Dhabi City Municipality, Al Ain City Municipality and the Western Region Municipality.
The levy of this fees is in line with charges imposed on hotel guests in other regional destinations and is standard practice in the hospitality services sector worldwide. The Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport will invest the collected fees in boosting the sustainable development of the tourist infrastructure of Abu Dhabi and enhancing the services on offer to hotel guests and customers.
More information will be shared with accommodation providers across Abu Dhabi. In the same context, Abu Dhabi City Municipality said the municipal fees imposed on hotels are minimal and will not constitute a financial burden on hotel guests, given that the hotel charge per night in the emirate is the least compared to regional markets.
The Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport has contributed to the success of the emirate in hosting numerous events, exhibitions and international conferences. - haseeb@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi