Margaret Jones was allegedly ‘turfed’ out of a hotel into the cold night because she was unable to pay the £1.20 tourist tax. She has now shared the ordeal that she calls “ludicrous”
A woman nearing retirement age has claimed she was asked to leave a hotel after being unable to pay a £1.20 fee – meaning she was left temporarily stranded in the city at night.
Margaret Jones, 63, arrived in Manchester on Thursday evening (January 2) for just an overnight stay at the Britannia Hotel on Portland Street. After travelling from her home in Lincolnshire, she arrived at the hotel just after 9pm.
Once she got to the check-in, Margaret, who has mobility issues and memory loss, said that she was told by staff at reception that she needed to pay the £1.20 ‘tourist tax’ on top of her booking.
As Margaret suffers from memory loss, she usually pays in cash instead of card. This is because she often forgets the PIN numbers, leading her to much distress and severe panic attacks.
Margaret, who uses a mobility aid, was happy to pay for the City Visitor Charge levy – costing just £1.20 – with cash. However, she has alleged that staff said she could only pay by card.
She said that she gave them £1.50 in cash but they “refused” it.
“I don’t like using my card, normally I carry cash all the time,” Margaret explained to the Manchester Evening News. “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.”
“I gave them £1.50 in cash and they refused it,” she explained. “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 was unaware of the city tax that was brought in by the Manchester Accommodation BID in April 2023. That meant Margaret did not expect to pay the extra charge, but was not against it.
Despite explaining that she wanted to pay in cash, Margaret has claimed that staff were ‘unwilling’ to find a solution for a card alternative.
She alleged that staff then told her that she would need to leave the hotel if she couldn’t pay the £1.20 fee. And, according to Margaret, the hotel stuck to their guns.
“I tried to use one of my cards and it wanted my PIN number,” Margaret 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.”
Margaret then claimed that she stood outside the hotel for around 15 minutes, before a friend offered to pay the levy via the internet or over the phone.
However, she said this solution was also refused by staff who “didn’t seem to care.” Margaret alleged: “They said it was too late to use the internet to pay for any bookings and they wouldn’t take payment over the phone.
“I’ve offered cash, payment by phone or the internet, and they wouldn’t accept any of it. They didn’t seem to care.”
After all of that, Margaret said that she managed to find a card that would accept contactless payment so she needn’t enter a pin. That meant she was able to pay the £1.20 fee and access her hotel room for the night.
Despite finally gaining access, Margaret admitted that it’s left her feeling “anxious” and “embarrassed.”
“It’s ludicrous,” Margaret 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.”
Reach site Manchester Evening News has contacted Britannia Hotels and Manchester Accommodation BID for comment.