The chapter’s honorary secretary-general John Teo said the SST, which will take effect this Saturday, would see the imposition of a 6% service tax on the cost of rooms, food and beverages.

“We should not be seeing much price difference compared to when we were paying the 6% goods and services tax,” he told Bernama.

Contrary to public perception, he added, the selling price at business premises that impose the 6% service tax is likely to remain the same. However, the tax will be added to the bills, he said.

“Bear in mind that this is the tax being paid to the Malaysian government and collected by the hoteliers, pubs, restaurants, and food and beverage cafe owners on behalf of the government,” he said.

He added that consumers were now budget-conscious and all government departments were cutting costs, which could have an impact on hotel operators when the SST is reintroduced.

The general manager of the Meritz Hotel in Miri said the hotel would absorb the SST for the rest of 2018 in addition to lowering room rates.