Saturday, December 13, 2025

Canadian travelers may have been overcharged for hotel quarantine stays

Mexico News Daily has received a tip from a reader and former hotel owner that some Canadian hotels misapplied taxes on hotel quarantine packages, and as a result may have overcharged many customers up to CAD $100.

Canada’s quarantine for returning travelers in early 2021 included a mandatory hotel stay. Quarantine packages often cost upward of CAD $1,000, plus tax.

The former hotel owner was himself wrongfully taxed. After speaking with the hotel manager, he was refunded part of the taxes he had paid.

He advised that travelers request an itemized breakdown of their bill from the hotel to see if taxes were correctly applied. The destination marketing fee (DMF) should only be applied to the room, not the entire package. In British Columbia, the same goes for the short-term accommodation provincial sales tax (PST). Gratuities should not be taxed, he said.

• If you paid for one of Canada’s mandatory quarantine hotel packages, were you wrongfully taxed? Did you get a refund? Send us an email to news@mexiconewsdaily.com.

Mexico News Daily

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
A Virgin of Guadalupe figure in sparkling pink robes watches over a plaza filled with colorful camping tents

Mexico’s week in review: Mexico leans into protectionism as the year draws to a close

0
Tariffs, both real and threatened, shaped headlines the second week of December, as Mexico sought to resolve a water dispute with the U.S.
News quiz

The MND News Quiz of the Week: December 13th

0
Style, soccer and summiting pyramids: Have you been keeping up with the news this week?
The Nuevo Laredo International Wastewater Treatment Plant in Mexico seen across the Rio Grande from Laredo.

Inside the binational effort to clean up the Rio Grande

Nuevo Laredo used to dump millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Rio Grande daily. Now the city is cleaning up its act, thanks to a determined mayor with support on both sides of the border.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity