Hotel tax to fund events?
A hotel levy has been proposed to fund local
events, aping a model introduced Stateside
Addressing the issue of government support
for events and the need for better research on
events impact (as addressed by Access publisher
Mash Media, The Fair and NTIA last issue),
James Heappey MP, chairman for the All Party
Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Events, addressed
audiences at the Event Production Show.
He said that options for funding an effective
events infrastructure in local regions could
include a local hotel levy per room.
“I was in Nashville, with local leaders and heard
the city government talk about how they built this
amazing events centre that is occupied 49 weeks
per year. They have all these hotel rooms, but
put on a massive country festival to plug a gap in
occupancy.
“Why can’t we do that here? US states
have organised local teams and are more
entrepreneurial. A hotel tax provides an amount
per night in local coffers to resource their local
events team and build facilities. All I’ve heard from
UK is push to reduce hotel VAT.”
“There’s huge value in local government
taking the lead in benefitting the city, providing
high quality graduate jobs to the country and
internationals to your area. Money raised from
hotel rooms can grease the wheels.”
Alan Miller, chairman of The Night Time
Industries Association (NTIA) added that the
Bataclan terror incident in Paris raised a stark
Last but not least
reminder about the value of culture and events to
our way of life:
He said: “The world’s press rightly said that no
one has the right to threaten our way of life. And
this is true of Britain too. We go out of our way
to meet one another, we dance, and we have a
smorgasbord of offerings that help shape swathes
of our economy.
“This includes whole areas for real estate.
Meanwhile, sectors like advertising, film and
fashion are impossible to comprehend with out
our events sector.
“The music in advertising and fashion is
informed by events, for example. UKplc need to
use events as a great asset as to why people should
invest here.”
David Tunnicliffe, commercial director, GL
events UK meanwhile, praised the resilience of
the events industry, and highlighted how people
rarely reflect on the wider impact of their roles.
“As an industry, we get on with it. We work with
automotive, sporting events, arts centres, we work
in so many areas. We crave that challenge.”
The Fair CEO Nick Morgan, who chaired the
meeting, added that exhibitions are well served
by government, but festivals often don’t have
hard wired internet, or access to the hard data.
“We need to represent how important we are to
the economy. There’s quite an archaic attitude
from many, who fail to realise our contribution
to transport, infrastructure, hotels, and the local
business benefits.”
Showsec has secured a three-year contract to
provide security services at The Royal Highland
Show in Edinburgh, following a successful
operation at the record-breaking 2017 show.
Last year, the security and crowd management
company submitted a winning tender bid to
deliver services at the 177th Royal Highland Show,
which was held in June 2017.
The new deal is a three-year extension to that
contract after Showsec received unanimous praise
for the role they played at the event.
David Jackson, who has served as show
manager for the Royal Highland Show since
2014, said: “Showsec performed to the highest of
standards during the Royal Highland Show 2017,
which was attended by a record 190,000 people
over its four days.”
Warwickshire seeking
industry contractors
Applications to host
events in the Coventry &
Warwickshire Business
Festival are now being taken.
Organisations in Coventry
and Warwickshire can
now apply to host an event
in the 2018 Coventry &
Warwickshire Business
Festival, running from 19-30
November.
This annual fortnight is
the biggest business event in
the region which saw nearly
5,000 people attending
over 100 events in the 2017
Festival.
Full details are available on
the website.
Government support
welcomed…
George Akins, owner of
DHP Family, has welcomed
the findings of 13 March’s
Spri ng Statement, which
the Chancellor laid out in
Parliament.
He said: “We welcome
the government looking
more urgently at business
rates for music venues.
This is far from being the
only issue. Rent increases,
unhelpful bureaucracy and
redevelopments are all hitting
small venues especially in the
capital.
“Fundamentally small
venues showcasing grass
roots, contemporary music
should be seen as cultural
venues - in the same way
as concert halls and arts
theatres - which are eligible
for subsidies. We are in great
danger of losing the bedrock
that has enabled the UK to be
one of the world’s greatest.”
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