The capital city of the Netherlands is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. In the post-pandemic era, more and more travelers have decided to visit Amsterdam. And it’s no wonder, as it features some unique attractions, and thanks to the national airline KLM, it has one of the largest airports on the continent. But now, despite the comfortable airport facility and flights pouring in from all over the world, local authorities want to limit the number of people who can stay the night in the city.
Amsterdam has announced new regulations regarding both hotels and the number of people who can stay at these facilities. Starting now, no new hotel will be built in the city unless it follows certain guidelines. In order for a new facility to open, an older hotel needs to close down. Also, new facilities must be deemed both modern and sustainable for the project to be approved.
These new regulations will only apply to the hotels that want to be built from now on. Hotels that are currently in development around the city and have obtained permits under the “old rules” will continue their development as usual. There is one wrinkle, though, in these new regulations that will directly impact existing hotels. The city wants to ensure that local facilities only rent out 20 million hotel nights to guests. This would represent a drop of about 665,000 hotel nights when compared to the numbers posted by Amsterdam in 2023.
With these new regulations in place, the prices for a room in Amsterdam in the following years will likely skyrocket. Prices have already been on the rise since the start of the year. The city instituted a tourist tax that people staying the night at a local hotel or even a cruise ship at the dock have to pay. That tax is currently an add-on of 12.5% to the total nightly rate charged by the hotel or cruise. This tourist tax practice is not unique to Amsterdam; however, that 12.5% rate is one of the most expensive in the world.
What’s the solution for travelers who can’t find a place to stay within the city limits? Under these new regulations, a couple of things could happen. The first thing to keep in mind is that the 20 million nightly stays will only apply to hotels. Therefore, the new regulations could be very beneficial to vacation rentals. Nightly stays at those facilities won’t be capped, at least for now.
In announcing these new rules, local authorities also mentioned that the building of new hotels outside of the city limits won’t be as strict. There was actually a word of encouragement for developers who wanted to build new facilities on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Tourists traveling to the capital of the Netherlands may want to keep these hotels on the outskirts in mind as well as these facilities may offer much better rates. Also, Amsterdam is a rather “well-connected” city; therefore, getting from the outskirts to the city center isn’t as challenging as it can be in other places.
