Checking into a hotel or any other type of short-term rental in Lambton Shores is going to cost travelers a little more now. Lambton Shores has become the latest municipality in the region to implement a municipal accommodation tax, which took effect Jan. 1. Chelsea Ford, who owns the Kiwi Motel in Grand Bend, said she hopes the new levy doesn’t turn away would-be guests. “The extra tax is going to land on the guests, and I don’t really think that helps tourism at all. We weren’t really given clear answers on what the tax is actually going to be used for,” she said. The new four per cent tax apples to hotels and motels, AirBnB type rentals, bed and breakfasts, cottages, and any stays under 30 days. Lambton Shores Mayor Doug Cook said the new tax is expected to generate between $400,000 and $500,000 revenue per year. Half will go to the municipality; the other half will go to a new Municipal Services Corporation volunteer board to set up programming for off-season events. “We’re going to offer more to the shoulder season, September to April, off-season, offer more variety,” he explained. “Perhaps we can find concert areas that will be coming into this area. There could be wine tours. There’s all kinds of different events that we could promote in the area.” In neighbouring Sarnia and Point Edward, the accommodation tax has been in place for about five years now. It brings in roughly $300,000 per year in revenue. The money is split evenly between Tourism Sarnia Lambton and the municipalities. Tourism Sarnia Lambton Executive Director Mark Perrin said the extra revenue goes into promotion or projects that attract visitors. He said it helps level the playing field with other regions. “No one likes the word ‘tax,’ me included, obviously. But at the end of the day, for us, it’s more about that competitive, being fair. If someone has it in, you kind of need it in your area as well to compete and be on the same level,” he said. As for Kiwi Motel owner Chelsea Ford, she said she would like to know exactly how the money is spent, before passing the new expense onto customers. “I’d love to see the transparency on that, where it really is actually being used. But I’m doubtful that we’ll actually see that,” she said.
