HAMILTON, Ont. — Guests staying at hotels in Hamilton, Ont. may soon notice a two-per-cent fee tacked onto their hotel bill, as part of a new marketing plan to position the city as an international destination.
The initiative is being spearheaded by P.J. Mercanti, co-chair of Hospitality Hamilton and CEO of Carmen’s Group, who called on city council to increase the budget of Tourism Hamilton by an extra $350,000. The increase will be used to hire new employees to help implement the tourism strategy approved by city council last year. “The trickle effect will be obvious and will be felt across the city,” Mercanti told the CBC. “If we don’t push the pedal down harder now, we’re going to be potentially left behind because other cities are getting aggressive.”
If 70 per cent of hoteliers agree to participate in the program, Mercanti says it could generate hundreds of thousands of extra funds for the city. The group wants to implement the surcharge in the next year.
