Hotel levy now payable via MPesa

Hotels and resstaurants can now pay their monthly catering and levy fees via M-Pesa after the Catering and Tourism Development Levy Trustees unveiled a mobile phone payment system. Hotels and restaurants are charged a levy at the rate of two per cent on the gross sales derived from the sale of accommodation, food, drinks and all other services offered in their establishments. The money is meant for the development of the tourism industry.

CTDLT Chief Executive Officer Allan Chenane said the system will ease and speed up remitances. The money is channeled to Utalii College to sustain training, developing standards for testing the skills required in the tourism industry and Kenya Tourism Board to help market Kenya. Chenane warned hoteliers who fail to remit the levies collected that they risked an instant penalty of Sh5000 and additional penalty of three per cent of the amount of levy due for each month the levy remains unpaid.