Caterer takes bed tax campaign to No 10

Caterer and Hotelkeeper and budget hotel operator Travelodge took the Say No To Bed Tax campaign to No 10 Downing Street this week.

Travelodge chief executive Grant Hearn and Caterer managing editor James Garner delivered Travelodge's 90,000 signed petitions to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The budget hotel group had asked its customers to sign up to the Say No To Bed Tax campaign and had collected more than 90,000 responses. These were delivered in a dozen postbags to the prime minister's home on Monday, with letters from Hearn and Caterer editor Mark Lewis.

Hearn said: "Today we delivered a clear and unambiguous message to Government in advance of the Lyons Inquiry's decision on bed tax later this year.

"90, 000 of our customers are against it, the industry is against it, both opposition parties are against it and most local authorities are against it because it simply won't work.

"Bed tax is a backward step for the tourism industry and we have urged the prime minister to clarify his position. Bed tax undermines everything the Government has been saying about the Olympics and tourism."

Caterer's letter to the prime minister makes clear the massive industry support for our Say No To Bed Tax campaign, which has been backed by more than 4,000 readers.

Lewis said that the support for Caterer's Say No To Bed Tax campaign demonstrated the industry's strength of feeling against the idea.

"A huge number of our readers have signed up to this campaign. A bed tax would have dreadful consequences for our tourism industry and many hospitality businesses. Caterer will continue to campaign on such issues on behalf of the industry."