Trending
Scottish hotels are being urged to review their business rates assessments ahead of an approaching appeal deadline, as new analysis suggests the sector is facing a £63m increase in annual bills following the latest revaluation.
Research from Knight Frank found that hotels across Scotland have seen average rateable value increases of 27.3% following changes introduced on 1 April 2026, taking the total annual business rates burden for the sector to £295m, up from £232m in 2023.
The impact varies significantly by region. Hotels in the Scottish Borders recorded the highest average uplift at 45.7%, while operators in Argyll and Bute saw a slight decline of 0.2%. Major hotel markets Glasgow and Edinburgh saw increases of 41.9% and 38.9% respectively, reflecting their large share of Scotland’s hotel stock.
The revaluation is the second under Scotland’s three-year cycle system, introduced by the Scottish Government to better reflect changing property market conditions. However, the vast majority of commercial properties are understood to have seen increases in their rateable values, with appeals required to be lodged by 31 July 2026.
Hamish Graham-Campbell, senior surveyor at Knight Frank, said: “The changes to rateable values mean it’s a postcode lottery for many hotel operators across the country. But, on average, they are facing a substantial increase to their business rates bills at a time when many are already facing significant cost pressures.
“Part of the reason for the large increases is the last tone date, when trading is assessed, in 2022 was at the tail end of the pandemic, when many hotels were still dealing with the after-effects of lockdowns. But, as Aberdeen shows, there will be many cases where appeals can be made and overpaid money recouped.”
Steve Dunbar, rating advisor at Knight Frank, added: “Once the appeal deadline has passed, you are stuck with your rateable value until the next revaluation cycle in 2029, it’s use it or lose it ahead of the end of July. If any hotel operators feel the assessment they have been given is incorrect, they need to act as soon as possible to make their case to the relevant rates assessor.”
Scottish hotels are being urged to review their business rates assessments ahead of an approaching appeal deadline, as new analysis suggests the sector is facing a £63m increase in annual bills following the latest revaluation.
Research from Knight Frank found that hotels across Scotland have seen average rateable value increases of 27.3% following changes introduced on 1 April 2026, taking the total annual business rates burden for the sector to £295m, up from £232m in 2023.
The impact varies significantly by region. Hotels in the Scottish Borders recorded the highest average uplift at 45.7%, while operators in Argyll and Bute saw a slight decline of 0.2%. Major hotel markets Glasgow and Edinburgh saw increases of 41.9% and 38.9% respectively, reflecting their large share of Scotland’s hotel stock.
The revaluation is the second under Scotland’s three-year cycle system, introduced by the Scottish Government to better reflect changing property market conditions. However, the vast majority of commercial properties are understood to have seen increases in their rateable values, with appeals required to be lodged by 31 July 2026.
Hamish Graham-Campbell, senior surveyor at Knight Frank, said: “The changes to rateable values mean it’s a postcode lottery for many hotel operators across the country. But, on average, they are facing a substantial increase to their business rates bills at a time when many are already facing significant cost pressures.
“Part of the reason for the large increases is the last tone date, when trading is assessed, in 2022 was at the tail end of the pandemic, when many hotels were still dealing with the after-effects of lockdowns. But, as Aberdeen shows, there will be many cases where appeals can be made and overpaid money recouped.”
Steve Dunbar, rating advisor at Knight Frank, added: “Once the appeal deadline has passed, you are stuck with your rateable value until the next revaluation cycle in 2029, it’s use it or lose it ahead of the end of July. If any hotel operators feel the assessment they have been given is incorrect, they need to act as soon as possible to make their case to the relevant rates assessor.”
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.
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
Copyright BlazeThemes. 2023
