If you plan to visit France in the near future be prepare to pay more for your hotel stay. The National Assembly approved a new bill that seeks to boost hotel taxes in France by 500% in a bid to increase funds. The bill only requires the vote of Senate to be turned into a law.

According to the new law, the new hotel rates will be:

• Taxes to hotel rooms in France will rise from €1–1.50 to €8
• Hotel rooms in Paris will be charged an additional €2 per person per night
• 3-star establishments will see €1–5 increased charge
• 4 and 5-star establishments will see €1.50–8 increased charge

Bill authors say changing hotel room tax rates will bring in an additional €140m per year. This much-needed income from tourists will then be used to improve public transportation used by tourists, especially in Paris.

Paris Transport head Jean-Paul Huchon commented ‘The 40 million tourists who visit Paris every year are big users of the public transport system, and their contribution will increase the competitiveness of Paris as a whole.’

However, hotel union UMIH President Roland Heguy said that supporters of the bill were ‘totally irresponsible’ since ‘this has been proposed without any consultation with the hotel industry and goes against everything the government has promised in terms of boosting competitiveness.’

Aside from the increased taxes, hotels are threatened by cheaper accommodation preferred by tourists on a budget, including short-term rental sites like Airbnb. The union added that approval of the bill could lead to breakdown between government and business relations.