Accommodation Australia (AA) has welcomed the announcement that hotels, pubs offering accommodation and regulated accommodation providers will not be targeted by the Victorian Short Stay Levy.
This reinforces the important distinction that hotels and pubs do not contribute to the removal of housing stock from the long-term rental market.
In the lead up to this announcement AA adopted a targeted approach to educate and inform key industry and government stakeholders, providing a detailed policy position, outlining the concerns of members.
AA (Vic) General Manager, Dougal Hollis congratulated the Victorian Government for engaging with and listening to our industry.
“Not including hotels and pubs in the short stay levy is a common-sense approach,” he said. “Hotels are huge employers and are a key part of any vibrant city. Victoria has led Australia’s new hotel development boom since 2020, with almost 9,000 new hotel rooms now available across Melbourne alone.”
“Offering commercial accommodation comes with significant regulatory requirements and related costs and we are still recovering from the pandemic. We appreciate the government has taken this into account when shaping these policy settings.”
AA National CEO Michael Johnson said the announcement will enable Victorian commercial accommodation providers to remain competitive against other states and territories when pitching for business.
“It will also provide investors with the confidence and certainty they need to encourage future development of new hotel accommodation infrastructure across Victoria,” he said.
