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The Greek Accommodation tax is payable by all guests visiting Zakynthos, upon arrival at check-in, (or to the renter) either by cash or card. This tax is payable in addition to any payments previously made to travel operators. It isn’t paid to holiday companies on booking and neither should they ask for it, the payment is between the tourist and the accommodation upon arrival.
These charges were introduced in 2018 as part of new Greek Tax Legislation, part of an austerity package agreed by the Greek government in 2016. The Accommodation Tax must be paid by all visitors with no exception, and the charges are for all accommodations including hotels, apartments and other furnished rooms rented out to visitors, as well as short-term, furnished and rented apartments (covering the AirBnB sector). The amount payable for all AirBnB, furnished and rented apartments is 50cents per night, per property. The tax is not VAT applicable.
** Please note that basic rooms are not taxable, only rooms with extras such as WiFi etc are chargeable.
Charges will be calculated on the number of overnight stays and the “star rated” category of the accommodation. These costs range from 50 cents to four euro, per room, per night, and there are two category rating; hotels and apartments/furnished rooms.
Charges for hotels (per room, per night):
1 and 2 star hotels – 50 cents (per night).
3 star hotels – 1.50 euro (per night).
4 star hotels – 3 euro (per night).
5 star hotels – 4 euros (per night).
Example – If you are staying in a 4 star hotel for seven days your total accommodation tax owing would be 21 euro.
Charges for apartments/furnished rooms (per room, per night):
1 and 2 key apartments/furnished rooms – 25 cents (per night).
3 key apartments/furnished rooms – 50 cents (per night).
4 key apartments/furnished rooms – 1 euro (per night).
Example – If you are staying in a 4 key apartment/furnished room for seven days your total tax owing would be 7 euros.
Clarification on Star Rating in Greece
The Greek Ministry of Tourism set ALL star ratings for Greek Accommodation. Every Greek Accommodation is given a GTNO (EOT in Greek) Certificate that states their official star rating. This is the rating that they have to go on for charging the Accommodation Tax, therefore this is the rate that you will pay Accommodation Tax on.
When holidays are sold by Tour Operators, many of these Tour Operators set their own star rating system. This system is worked out on the facilities etc. that the accommodation offers.
This is where the confusion is coming in.
Some UK Tour Operator star ratings don’t match the Greek ones; (In fact generally the UK operates a different star rating system to Greece).
If you find that your star rating doesn’t match, you will have to pay accommodation Tax as per your accommodations GTNO rating, regardless of what your tour brochure may say.
Holidaymakers to Greece are advised to calculate the extra money they will require on top of any monies already paid to travel operators, and be prepared to pay the accommodation tax on upon arrival at their accommodation. Anyone who is unsure what category their accommodation falls into should query it before their holiday/trip takes place to avoid any confusion.
