Cuxhaven charges a visitor contribution (Gästebeitrag), not a percentage hotel tax. From 1 January 2026, the adult rate is €4.00 per person per night in Zone 1 during Season A and €3.20 in Season B; in Zone 2 it is €3.20 during Season A and €2.80 in Season B. Season A is 1 January–7 January, 1 April–31 October, and 25 December–31 December; Season B is the remaining dates. Zone 1 covers Grimmershörn, Döse, Duhnen and Sahlenburg; the other listed city areas are Zone 2. A full-year guest card costs 30 times the applicable Season-A rate.
Exempt: children under 16; grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, siblings and children-in-law of Cuxhaven residents who stay in the household free of charge; companions of severely disabled persons whose official disability pass shows that constant accompaniment is required (mark B); and persons with a disability degree of 100. A 25% reduction is available on application for persons sent by social-assistance providers, statutory/substitute health insurers, insurance institutions or welfare organisations, provided the stay lasts at least seven days. Persons staying solely for work are not subject to the visitor contribution.
The ordinance treats paid temporary accommodation, including short-term letting of residential space, as accommodation-provider activity. Hosts must issue a fully completed guest card, calculate and collect the visitor contribution, and remit/account for it quarterly to the City by 15 February, 15 May, 15 August and 15 November. They must use the City’s free electronic settlement system, collect and transmit the guest’s name, address and stay period, and release the settlement no later than seven days before the remittance dates; payment is due within seven days after release. An exemption from electronic reporting may be granted on application to avoid undue hardship; then the host must keep a current, auditable, quarterly guest register, submit it with the account and retain it for six years. The cited visitor-contribution rules do not state a separate short-term-rental registration number, Wohnraumschutz approval or Zweckentfremdungsverbot.