City of Guelph staffs are recommending that council approves an accommodation tax for visitors paying to stay in Guelphin places like hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and Airbnbs.

As per a report, the four-per cent charge would cost guests an extra $4-7 per night but it could generate up to $950,000 in revenue each year.

That money would then be utilizedfor new tourism initiatives and visitor attractions along with infrastructure improvements.

“By re-investing money earned through tourism back into the industry locally we can support more tourism-related infrastructure and programs that make visitor experiences even better,” said the city’s manager of tourism, Cathy Masterson.

“The accommodation tax will also help local businesses recover from the long-term negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting events, festivals, sports, restaurants, retail and other services, without an increase to property taxes,” Masterson added.

Similar taxes are already functional throughout Ontario including in Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, Kingston, Barrie and Toronto.

The report going to city council recommends implementing the tax with effect from Sept. 1.

It also asks the mayor and councillors to approve funding of up to $1 million to commence tourism activities and programming, with that money being repaid to the tourism account within five years.