Originally Posted by
Flying Lawyer
Whether this is correct or not depends on the quality of that tax. If you owe the tax and the hotel collects it for the tax authority (like the German Kurtaxe) then you need to pay. If the hotel owes the tax (like the German VAT) then the hotel will have to pay it.
This is compatible to the relative new local tourism/accommodations taxes that several German cities are now assessing (example Dresden, Koln, Bonn).
By rule the German tax cannot be collected in advance. Business travelers can avoid the tax by downloading a form and bringing it to the hotel with proof of business trip.