Member

The hospitality sector is struggling as never before with energy bills, unaffordable wage increases, a fall in consumer confidence, hikes in national insurance payments, potentially half a billion pounds in holiday taxes to be imposed and a massive increase in business rates through revaluation of rateable values. Increases in rateable values will see the average pub, for instance, paying an extra £12,900 more in business rates in the next three years. Astonishingly, the figures that UKHospitality has released in the last day or so show that there will be a 76% increase for pubs and a 115% increase for hotels in business rates by 2029. The Office for National Statistics data predicts that the sector will lose 110,000 jobs by the end of this year. The Chancellor is implementing only a quarter of the reduction in business rates bills promised earlier this year, and business rates relief has been cut by this Government. We have effectively seen a stealth tax on the hospitality sector.