Business rates for Hotels
Hotels got no pub relief and rose the most of any hospitality category — for many independent hotels, especially 3-star and under, this is where a challenge is most likely to actually save money.
Hotels got no pub relief and rose the most of any hospitality category — for many independent hotels, especially 3-star and under, this is where a challenge is most likely to actually save money.
What the 2026 revaluation did to hotels
| Category | Properties, England & Wales | Total RV change | Mean RV, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotels, 4-star and above, and chain 3-star | 4,000 | +96.8% | £567,000 |
| Hotels, 3-star and under | 3,440 | +36.2% | £53,600 |
VOA 2026 compiled-list statistics, GOV.UK, 2026. As of 2026. Total RV change, not the median property change.
How the reliefs interact
Hotels get no pub or live music relief in England. Above £51,000 RV they pay the RHL multiplier (43p); above £500,000 RV they move to the standard large-property multiplier (50.8p).
GOV.UK, 'Estimate your business rates', 2026/27 multipliers
Transitional relief caps how fast a bill can rise even where the RV has gone up. For England properties above £100,000 RV, the rise is capped at 30% in 2026/27, then 25% plus inflation the following year (GOV.UK, 'Transitional relief').
In Wales, hotels are excluded from the 15% Food & Drink Hospitality Rates Relief, but are due to move onto the lower retail multiplier from April 2027, subject to Senedd approval.
Illustrative example — independent 3-star hotel, RV around £150,000 (not a real client)
An RV around £150,000 sits above the £100,000 transitional-relief threshold, so any rise is capped at 30% in 2026/27 rather than applied in full, and again at 25% plus inflation the following year — savings from a successful challenge here are more likely to reach the actual bill than for a small pub, because the starting bill is less heavily capped downward already.
UKHospitality's November 2025 estimates of pub bills rising 76% and hotel bills rising 115% were made before the pub reliefs existed and should never be read as a current forecast.
See also:
how hotels are valued on receipts and expenditure.Get help
Use the calculator to see what your bill should look like with these reliefs applied, or send us your details below and, if you'd like, we can pass them to the RICS-regulated rating firm we work with.
We're a bar owner's information site, not a surveyor. If you send this form, we may pass your details to a RICS-regulated rating firm we work with, who will contact you. They would pay us if you instruct them. You can check your valuation yourself free on the Valuation Office's service. No one can guarantee a reduction.