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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: All hotels should get equal treatment

A new hotel in the downtown centre brings with it excitement and a massive subsidy
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An artist’s rendering of a nine-storey Courtyard by Marriott hotel at 100 Gordon St. PEG DEVELOPMENTS IMAGE

To the editor,

Re: City approves downtown hotel tax exemption, Nov. 9.

The recent announcement of a new hotel in the downtown centre brings with it excitement and a massive subsidy that will be borne by the taxpayers of Nanaimo over the next 10 years.

The motives behind allowing this to happen comes with many positives, whether it is attracting more conventions to Nanaimo or revitalisation of the downtown.

The one problem I have with it, is whether it is fair to the other hoteliers in Nanaimo, that their taxes are subsidising the construction and subsequent competition to their own business.

In the spirit of fairness, the city should recognize the taxes the existing hotels and motels have paid in past years and provide some form of taxes paid recognition in the form of some kind of a subsidy.

Fred Alteen, Nanaimo