What is it, what does it mean, who’s doing it?

The Liverpool ABID Charge would be £2 and would be administered by the city’s Accommodation BID. What’s that you ask? That is the Business Improvement District made up of the city’s hoteliers and accommodation providers. Liverpool became the first city in the UK to have an operating ABID when it was voted for by the city’s hotel sector in January 2023.

The ABID is managed by a Board made up of industry professionals (so it is by the sector, for the sector) and then it is overseen by an Executive Board at Liverpool BID Company, which is a combination of public and private sector individuals.

The £2 charge would generate around £6m a year to be spent on destination marketing, on attracting major events and encouraging more people to visit the city and stay overnight. According to Visit England, people who stay overnight tend to spend around twice as much in a city as someone who comes on a day trip.

Think of exhibitions like the Terracotta Warriors, the Giants or Eurovision that attract visitors from all over the world. Major events like that see more people stay in hotels, more people dining out and visiting other places in the city. Yes, the hotels benefit from more people staying overnight, but the city benefits as well, especially the cultural and hospitality sectors.

Why do we need it?

We all know public sector spending has vastly reduced in the last 15 years, and we know there is less money around for these major events that used to take place. The ABID has already invested £2.2m into the city economy, seeing a return of £77m economic impact. Four of the major events brought to the city generated over 90% occupancy for hotels within the ABID.

In 2023, there was a change in ratings of the rateable value of hotels. This reduced the ABID’s income by £950k. By changing the levy rules, which would be done through an alteration ballot, the revenue available to the ABID would increase to replace the loss.

Many other cities do this, in particular those in Europe, but there is currently no other legislative mechanism in England to do this outside of a Business Improvement District. The BID has the scrutiny and board system already in place to make sure funds are spent in a way that is transparent, is clearly reported on and strategic.

If Liverpool’s hotels vote in favour, the £2 charge would be in place in June, with a 10% discount for anyone who already has a booking in place for next year.

For more information visit https://liverpoolbidcompany.com/alteration-ballot/