Staying in a hotel in Kelowna will be a little more expensive next year.
That’s because Kelowna city council has given the green light to increase the city’s hotel room tax to three per cent from the current two per cent.
The hotel room tax, in place in Kelowna since 2004, generated nearly $1.85 million in the last year, and according to a city staff report, it will raise just under $3 million per year once the increase is fully implemented in 2017-18.
The money is used by Tourism Kelowna to market the city as a tourist destination and the additional funds will help expand its advertising reach to areas not currently being heavily marketed, but where Tourism Kelowna says there is great potential — Eastern Canada and and the Western U.S.
The City of Vernon is also considering increasing its hotel room tax from two to three per cent.