A woman claims she was asked to leave a city centre hotel after failing to settle a £1.20 tourist tax fee, ending up stranded outside at night.
Margaret Jones, 63, had travelled to Manchester on Thursday evening (January 2) for a planned overnight stay at the Britannia Hotel in Portland Street. Coming from her Lincolnshire home, she got to the hotel not long after 9pm.
Upon check-in, Margaret, who suffers from mobility issues and memory loss, was informed that there was a mandatory £1.20 ‘tourist tax’ to pay in addition to her booking upon arrival. Because of her memory impairment, Margaret predominantly uses cash as she frequently forgets her card PINs, which could trigger intense panic attacks.
She was ready to cover the City Visitor Charge levy in cash. However, she claimed hotel staff insisted the fee must be charged to a card, reports the Manchester Evening News.
“I don’t like using my card, normally I carry cash all the time,” said Margaret. “I’m reluctant to use my cards because I don’t remember my PIN numbers. I know where I stand with cash, my cards all look the same so I often forget which card I’m using.”
Margaret, having been caught off-guard by the city tax measure introduced by the Manchester Accommodation BID in April 2023, said that while she was not averse to the additional fee, she felt let down by the lack of assistance from hotel employees regarding an alternative payment method.
(Image: MEN Media)
“I gave them £1.50 in cash and they refused it,” she claimed. “They told me they don’t take cash, and I explained about my mental impairment, but they didn’t seem to want to listen.”
Margaret, who relies on a mobility walker, claimed that the hotel staff then informed her that she would have to leave if she couldn’t pay the charge by card.
“I tried to use one of my cards and it wanted my PIN number,” she continued. “They told me that I couldn’t have my room and I couldn’t stay there. They actually turned me away from the building – I was pretty much left stranded in the freezing cold. I didn’t know what to do – I was shaking and crying.”
She alleges that after being turned away, she stood outside the hotel for approximately 15 minutes until a friend proposed to settle the levy online or via phone, an offer which she says was rejected by the staff.
“They said it was too late to use the internet to pay for any bookings and they wouldn’t take payment over the phone,” she said. “I’ve offered cash, payment by phone or the internet, and they wouldn’t accept any of it. They didn’t seem to care.”
Ultimately, Margaret managed to find a card that allowed for a contactless payment without needing a PIN, enabling her to cover the fee and access her reservation for the evening. However, she said that the ordeal has caused her considerable distress and embarrassment.
“It’s ludicrous,” she said. “I thought cash was legal tender. I told them I was at another Britannia hotel a few months ago and had no issues and they just said ‘well, different hotels have different rules’.
“Maybe I’m being too old-fashioned, but surely there’s a way of collecting the fee in cash or something? Not everybody has cards. I don’t mind paying the £1.20 city fee but when I’ve already paid for a room and to be told I can’t stay there and turned away in the cold, I think there’s something seriously wrong with that.
“I had no way of getting back to Lincolnshire. If they do this to disabled people, what are they doing to other people? They could see that I had mobility issues and they were prepared to let someone, who paid outright for their room, leave in the freezing cold.
“It just showed to me that they weren’t really geared up for disabled people. Sadly, you get used to things like this happening on a regular basis and I think that’s wrong.”
The M.E.N has contacted both Britannia Hotels and Manchester Accommodation BID for further comment.
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