New 12.5% Hotel Tax on Existing Reservations

Travelling Wilbury · Post by **Travelling Wilbury** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 8:16 am

Although I finalized our villa reservation and sent in the deposit back in April we just received an email from our villa management company notifying us that we are being charged at the new hotel tax rate for our stay next spring. I had heard through the coconut telegraph that the tax would only be assessed on "new" reservations, not to existing reservations booked previous to the tax bill's signing. Has anyone else who made "pre-tax increase reservations" been hit with this charge as well?

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 2:08 pm

Well that sucks.

I had also heard that as long as your reservation was made before the first of the year, you wouldn't be charged the new increased tax rate.

kirk · Post by **kirk** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 5:23 pm

If you're staying after midnight jan. 1st 2016 it's12.5%. Does'nt matter when the deposit was made but when you stay. This is what i'm hearing from friends in hotel and villa management.

loria · Post by **loria** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 5:26 pm

Oh shit. Can anyone confirm what is happening? I do my own bookings and we are booked up thrushes spring --and that is an ugly surprise

stjohnjulie · Post by **stjohnjulie** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 6:47 am

I emailed the Commissioner of the Dept of Tourism and she sent me this release. Hopefully this will clarify things a bit:

Dear Partners:
Please be advised that effective January 1, 2016, the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel Room Tax will increase from 10 percent to 12.5 percent for accommodations occupied for less than 90 days, including, but not limited to, hotels, resorts, guest houses, inns, villas, campgrounds and timeshare developments.
The hotel room tax is 12.5 percent of the gross room rental, which includes the gross room rate plus any additional charges, such as energy surcharges and maintenance fees.
Based on the increase, the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands expects to generate an additional $5.8 million in revenue annually to bolster the sustainable development of our Territory.
While we are always mindful of not overtaxing our visitors and making our destination less competitive, the 2.5 percent increase is not especially onerous.
Even with the increase, the USVI will not be at the highest end of the room tax spectrum and our destination does not have the departure taxes many independent nations and territories in the region levy.
Please note the new tax rate is applicable to all occupied accommodations, beginning on the night of January 1, 2016. Occupants will be subject to the new tax rate, regardless of when they arrived or when the booking was made starting on January 1, 2016.
Questions concerning the hotel room tax should be directed to the Office of Chief Counsel (VIBIR) at (340) 715-1040, ext. 2249.
Thank you for working with us to ensure that in today’s competitive environment, the Department of Tourism has sufficient resources to keep our destination in the forefront of the minds of today’s discerning traveler.
Sincerely,

Beverly Nicholson-Doty Commissioner of Tourism

Travelling Wilbury · Post by **Travelling Wilbury** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:16 am

St John Julie,
Thanks for taking the time to help clarify the impact of the increase to the hotel occupancy tax. As I mentioned above, my villa company is passing along the charge to all previously booked guests in 2016. At the very least, this brought the issue to everyone's attention.

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 10:07 am

Thank You STJ Julie -- I spent a bunch of time trying to find the actual bill online and read it - I doubted there was any kind of provision or exception for booking dates - your idea of going right to Tourism was great!!

loria · Post by **loria** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:23 am

Thanks Stjohnjulie!

Coconuts · Post by **Coconuts** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 12:54 pm

St. John Julie: Thanks for posting this. I went to the Department of Tourism web site, but there is no mention of this in their press releases yet. Did you receive the comments via text in an email, or a document of some kind? A PDF of the new policy would help when asking guests to pay the new tax rate. VIOL private messages don't support attachments, but if you have anything that can be scanned, please email a copy to: k+d@cocoplum.vi.

All the best,

Kevin

kirk · Post by **kirk** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:27 pm

Call or email the Department of Tourism and they will email that statement to you. I read that exact email today that was sent to a local hotel. It's not rocket science, starting on jan 1st it's 12.5%. Yes it's BS. Your choices are to past the 2.5% increase on to your clients or take a lost. Either way the gov. Will get its 12.5%.

stjohnjulie · Post by **stjohnjulie** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:23 am

I am more than happy to send the pdf file to anyone who wants it. You can send me a private message with your email address. I went right to Ms. Nicholson-Doty and she emailed me right away. I personally have a lot of respect for her. She has done some pretty terrific things to boost tourism in the USVI. The VI Nice campaign made our summer months busier than normal. Not too thrilled about the increase in hotel tax because I think more focus should be put on the people who are NOT paying the tax and not getting a business license. But that is a whole different topic!

Marcia (Mrs. Pete) · Post by **Marcia (Mrs. Pete)** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 2:08 pm

Mulley wrote:Some management companies are currently contacting 2016 guests for an additional 2.5% payment.

I've elected to taken a different approach. I won't extract another $100 from them. That's a bunch of Pain Killers at the Beach Bar or hamburgers at Skinny Legs and likely cause people to start their holiday on a sour note.

Therefore I'm "eating" the incremental taxes personally for all 2016 guest reservations that confirmed prior to year end.

Just my approach - others certainly will feel differently and agree or disagree

This is a very refreshing approach. Thank you for taking one for the team, so to speak. As a frequent traveler, I budget all expenses and when hit with something unexpected like this, as you said, it would leave a sour note if I was thrown this extra charge after booking. It's a hit for you now, but will pay back in spades I imagine. Certainly let your renters know that you are "eating" this expense. They will appreciate your compassion.

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 4:11 pm

+1

JIM

ncsusan · Post by **ncsusan** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 7:11 pm

I received notice from our rental agent of this increase yesterday for our January stay. The agency that we book through is charging us 17% (up from 15%). Now I am really confused. It appears that I am paying an extra 4.5%. Suggestions!?!

kirk · Post by **kirk** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 10:59 pm

Without knowning whom your agent is, i'm guessing a service/booklng charge.

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