The chief executive officer of BWH Hotels GB, Tim Rumney, has warned that independent operators cannot afford to wait until 2029 for business rates reform, calling on ministers to provide immediate relief through a reduced rate of VAT.
His comments follow the launch of a government-backed review into commercial property valuations, which aims to address long-standing complaints about how rates are calculated for the hospitality sector.
Industry leaders have argued that the valuation system penalises hotels due to high fixed operating costs, round-the-clock operations and seasonal fluctuations in revenue.
Rumney welcomed the review as a long-overdue opportunity to correct structural imbalances, but warned that any reform feeding into the scheduled 2029 revaluation will arrive too late for many struggling businesses.
He said that while pubs previously received targeted business rates relief, hotel operators carrying similar or larger overheads were excluded.
To prevent widespread closures during the review period, Rumney urged ministers to introduce immediate interim measures.
He highlighted a temporary cut to VAT as a simple mechanism to ease financial pressure, protect jobs and sustain investment in local tourism.
Rumney said: “For too long hotels have been carrying a disproportionate business rates burden and this review is a long-overdue opportunity to address that imbalance. The business rates system has never properly reflected the realities of running a hotel. High fixed costs, 24-hour operations and seasonal demand mean that sharp increases when trading improves can be almost impossible to absorb.
“What’s important now is that hotels are not once again overlooked. Hotels were left out when additional business rates relief was given to pubs, despite facing many of the same pressures and, in many cases, carrying significantly higher fixed costs. Independent hotels cannot keep being treated as an afterthought.”
He added that the review still “gives us hope that we could finally see meaningful reform”, but warned that “reform takes time and hoteliers are dealing with these pressures now”.
He said: “Independent hoteliers don’t need another sticking plaster. They need a fairer tax environment that recognises the vast contribution they make to the UK economy and gives them the confidence to keep investing, employing and welcoming visitors.
“This review could be the start of that. But if the Government wants independent hotels to still be here to benefit from that reform, it needs to give them a fighting chance now.”
The chief executive officer of BWH Hotels GB, Tim Rumney, has warned that independent operators cannot afford to wait until 2029 for business rates reform, calling on ministers to provide immediate relief through a reduced rate of VAT.
His comments follow the launch of a government-backed review into commercial property valuations, which aims to address long-standing complaints about how rates are calculated for the hospitality sector.
Industry leaders have argued that the valuation system penalises hotels due to high fixed operating costs, round-the-clock operations and seasonal fluctuations in revenue.
Rumney welcomed the review as a long-overdue opportunity to correct structural imbalances, but warned that any reform feeding into the scheduled 2029 revaluation will arrive too late for many struggling businesses.
He said that while pubs previously received targeted business rates relief, hotel operators carrying similar or larger overheads were excluded.
To prevent widespread closures during the review period, Rumney urged ministers to introduce immediate interim measures.
He highlighted a temporary cut to VAT as a simple mechanism to ease financial pressure, protect jobs and sustain investment in local tourism.
Rumney said: “For too long hotels have been carrying a disproportionate business rates burden and this review is a long-overdue opportunity to address that imbalance. The business rates system has never properly reflected the realities of running a hotel. High fixed costs, 24-hour operations and seasonal demand mean that sharp increases when trading improves can be almost impossible to absorb.
“What’s important now is that hotels are not once again overlooked. Hotels were left out when additional business rates relief was given to pubs, despite facing many of the same pressures and, in many cases, carrying significantly higher fixed costs. Independent hotels cannot keep being treated as an afterthought.”
He added that the review still “gives us hope that we could finally see meaningful reform”, but warned that “reform takes time and hoteliers are dealing with these pressures now”.
He said: “Independent hoteliers don’t need another sticking plaster. They need a fairer tax environment that recognises the vast contribution they make to the UK economy and gives them the confidence to keep investing, employing and welcoming visitors.
“This review could be the start of that. But if the Government wants independent hotels to still be here to benefit from that reform, it needs to give them a fighting chance now.”
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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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