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Nearly 700 UK hotel businesses have become insolvent over the past five years, including 139 in the year to July 2026, according to UHY Hacker Young.
The accountancy group recorded 692 insolvencies among hotels and similar accommodation businesses over the five-year period, with 139 recorded in the 12 months to 31 July 2026. The figures exclude insolvencies among holiday parks and caravan parks.
Martin Jones, head of Hospitality and Leisure at UHY Hacker Young, said the financial pressures facing the sector help explain its opposition to the proposed new tourism tax on hotel stays, which is expected to be introduced in early 2028.
“The hotel industry has been hit by the recent increase in National Insurance Contributions and by continuous increases in the National Minimum Wage. This proposal is very badly timed as it comes at a point when hotels are also facing a new surge in energy costs and visitor spending in the UK is forecast to fall in real terms.”
Jones also warned that the proposed tax would apply regardless of whether a hotel business is profitable. “The tax is going to be imposed whether the hotel business can afford it or not, unlike corporation tax which is a tax on profits.”
He also raised concerns about the potential complexity of allowing the tax to vary between different cities. “It also adds, yet again, to the complexity of taxes in the UK. Not only is it yet another new tax but it is going to be different for the different cities where the hotels operate. Businesses want to see a simplification of taxes not more complexity.”
Jones added that the term “tourist tax” could be misleading, as the levy is also expected to affect UK residents staying in hotels when visiting family and friends, as well as workers travelling for business. “Tourist tax is also a bit of a misnomer as it is also expected to hit UK residents visiting family and friends and workers staying away from home. It is an increase in costs for UK families and businesses.”
Nearly 700 UK hotel businesses have become insolvent over the past five years, including 139 in the year to July 2026, according to UHY Hacker Young.
The accountancy group recorded 692 insolvencies among hotels and similar accommodation businesses over the five-year period, with 139 recorded in the 12 months to 31 July 2026. The figures exclude insolvencies among holiday parks and caravan parks.
Martin Jones, head of Hospitality and Leisure at UHY Hacker Young, said the financial pressures facing the sector help explain its opposition to the proposed new tourism tax on hotel stays, which is expected to be introduced in early 2028.
“The hotel industry has been hit by the recent increase in National Insurance Contributions and by continuous increases in the National Minimum Wage. This proposal is very badly timed as it comes at a point when hotels are also facing a new surge in energy costs and visitor spending in the UK is forecast to fall in real terms.”
Jones also warned that the proposed tax would apply regardless of whether a hotel business is profitable. “The tax is going to be imposed whether the hotel business can afford it or not, unlike corporation tax which is a tax on profits.”
He also raised concerns about the potential complexity of allowing the tax to vary between different cities. “It also adds, yet again, to the complexity of taxes in the UK. Not only is it yet another new tax but it is going to be different for the different cities where the hotels operate. Businesses want to see a simplification of taxes not more complexity.”
Jones added that the term “tourist tax” could be misleading, as the levy is also expected to affect UK residents staying in hotels when visiting family and friends, as well as workers travelling for business. “Tourist tax is also a bit of a misnomer as it is also expected to hit UK residents visiting family and friends and workers staying away from home. It is an increase in costs for UK families and businesses.”
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
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