A woman was left outside a hotel in Manchester at night after not paying a £1.20 tourist tax
Manchester: A woman named Margaret Jones found herself in a tough spot after being asked to leave a hotel because she couldn’t pay a £1.20 tourist tax. Imagine being stranded outside at night over such a small amount!
Margaret, who’s 63 and has some mobility issues, arrived at the Britannia Hotel after a long trip from Lincolnshire. She got there just after 9 PM, ready to settle in for the night.
When she checked in, the staff told her about the extra £1.20 fee. Since she has trouble remembering her card PINs, she usually pays with cash. But the hotel insisted she had to use a card, which really threw her off.
“I don’t like using my card,” she said. “I always carry cash because I can’t remember my PINs. It’s just easier for me.”
Margaret was caught off guard by this new city tax, which started in April 2023. She didn’t mind paying it, but she felt the hotel staff could have helped her find another way to pay.
She even tried to give them £1.50 in cash, but they turned her down. “I explained my situation, but they didn’t seem to care,” she said.
After being told she had to leave if she couldn’t pay by card, Margaret felt lost. She tried using her card, but it asked for her PIN. The staff told her she couldn’t stay, leaving her outside in the cold.
“I was shaking and crying,” she recalled. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Margaret stood outside for about 15 minutes until a friend suggested paying online or over the phone, but the hotel staff said that was too late.
“I offered cash, phone payment, anything, but they wouldn’t accept it,” she said. “It felt like they didn’t care at all.”
Eventually, she found a card that allowed her to pay without needing a PIN, and she finally got into her room. But the whole experience left her feeling embarrassed and upset.
“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “Cash is legal tender. I told them I had no issues at another Britannia hotel before, but they just said every hotel has different rules.”
Margaret believes there should be a way to pay the fee in cash. “Not everyone has cards,” she pointed out. “I don’t mind paying the fee, but being turned away after paying for a room is just wrong.”
She also expressed concern for how disabled people are treated. “If they do this to me, what about others? They could see I had mobility issues, yet they let me stand outside in the cold.”
“It’s sad that this happens so often. It shouldn’t be like this,” she added.
The Manchester Evening News has reached out to both Britannia Hotels and Manchester Accommodation BID for their side of the story.
