Calgary hotel owners are balking at a 23% property tax hike approved by city council.

“We will be asking every hotel that is a member today to be actively appealing their assessment,” Sol Zia, executive-director of the Calgary Hotel Association, told the Calgary Herald.

The city announced the 23% increase Wednesday after proposing a 42% rise in November. As the sector continues to recover from the effects of COVID-19, local hotels are now worth more.

The assessed value of local hotels has jumped 42% to $1.18 billion for the forthcoming tax year from $832 million in the current year, the Herald reported previously. The property tax increase was adjusted after the city obtain information and feedback on its originally planned hike.

“Even the revised assessment is still far above the average of any other type of business in the city,” John O’Connell, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Calgary, told the Herald. “It is worth appealing because of the significant cost increase to us.

“It would send a strong message to the city leadership that the hotels are unified together and we’re all fighting the same cause.”

City assessor Eddie Lee told reporters that the hotel sector had a “banner recovery” in 2023 as business increased following a COVID-19 pandemic-induced downturn. But hotel values are still below pre-pandemic levels.

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