Hackney hotels to charge guests voluntary donation of £1 a night

Mayor Pipe with Peter Prescott from Boundary and Chris Penn from the Ace Hotel.

Hotels in Hackney are set to charge guests a voluntary donation of £1 a night with all proceeds going to a new community fund, in a new scheme launched by Mayor Jules Pipe.

This money raised will go to the Hackney Community Fund and will be used to support a range of projects including improvements to public spaces, cultural events and training and employment schemes.

The donation will be added to the bill for each night’s stay in local hotels, and will be capped at three nights.

The Ace Hotel and Boundary, both in Shoreditch, have already signed up to the scheme, and will be collecting the donation as early as August this year.

Five more hotels are set to sign up in the coming months, and discussions are ongoing with hotels across the borough.

The project aims to raise an estimated £100,000 in the first year.

Mayor Jules Pipe said: “This is the first time a council has gone into partnership with its local hotels for the benefit of the local community, to support local people into employment, improve local public spaces and help celebrate the character of the borough.

Peter Prescott from Boundary, one of the first hotels to sign up said: “Boundary is delighted to be one of the founding members of the Hackney Community Fund. We very much look forward to supporting some exciting arts and training projects for local people in Hackney.”