Munich hotel taxes
 

I made two hotel room reservations one in November, one yesterday for the same date, same hotel, similar rooms. (BW Atrium)
In November a 19% tax was quoted, yesterday 7% tax.
Any possible reason for this discrepancy?

(Before asking the hotel, I would appreciate some input.)

As of 01.01.10 we have a tax cut for hotel rooms in Germany. It is a lobby gift from the new government. Reduced VAT is now 7%. My personal opinion on that measure is way too OMNI but includes several words starting with "s" or "f".

please continue to follow this thread in our germany forum

happy new year :)

chrissxb
moderator
europe forum

Yup. A new law has granted hotel owners this nice Christmas gift. VAT for hotel charges has been reduced to 7%. Which is not likely to result in lower prices for the customers... For 'ordinary' travellers prices will stay the same but for business travellers this means hotels cost more because they can claim less VAT back.

In other words: :mad:

Oh, I see... It is so rare to see tax decrease, I tought it might be a computer glitch.
Thanks guys.

Since hotel rates in Germany are (from the consumcer's perspectice) all tax inclusive you will most likely not see any price decrease. I saw the consequences black on white on an invoice for a prepaid stay I had today.

The deposit was pocketed at a VAT rate of 19% and the rate was 85.71 plus 19% VAT (= 16.29) which ends up with 102.00. The invoice now shows a rate of 95.33 plus 7% VAT (= 6,67) and the final price again is 102.00.

The hotel wins 9,62 and my stay gets 9,62 more expensive (as a business I get VAT refunded). From my perspective it is not a tax decrease but a high (= 10%) rate increase.

I think we should discuss the pro and cons about this in OMNI.

And as Flying Lawer mentioned. Rooms won't get cheaper. The Hotel will just keep the difference. So from a customer perspective nothing changed in fact it got worse.

But we earn 11% more points since most programs exclude tax from point earning! This is FT after all.

Assuming a 100€ rate
84.03€ + 19% tax
93.46€ + 7% tax

Will not help me. Most of my current stays are Interconti with lump sum points. And seriously: I prefer 84 Euros and less points more than 93 Euro and more points. :)

So do I.
(It was a joke.)

Maybe for interest to somebody: the VAT decrease is just valid for the mere stay, not for any extras as breakfast, dining and I guess minibar as well.

Funny thing: normal pay-TV incl. soft-porn programs benefit from the 7% VAT, hardcore-porn movies are still 19%.

Not that thsi would affect me in any way... :-)