Hilton, Butlins left fuming over business rates snub
Hilton and Butlins have been left fuming after being snubbed by Andy Burnham’s pledge to slash business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues.
The two hospitality giants said that hotels and resorts have been unfairly ignored by successive government interventions to cut the business rates bills of hospitality firms.
Stephen Cassidy, senior vice president of Hilton UK and Ireland, said that any support for hospitality is welcome but it is “essential” that hotels are included in future relief packages.
“Hotels have been disproportionately impacted by business rates changes and other taxes in recent years, despite their significant contribution to job creation and economic growth,” he said.
Following Rachel Reeves’s Autumn Budget, the average hotel was saddled with an extra £28,900 in business rates in April, according to trade body UK Hospitality.
By 2029, the average business rates bill of a hotel will have risen by 115 per cent, or £111,300, since last year.
Hotels and resorts ‘deserve support’
“Hotels are major employers in local communities across the UK, support local supply chains, attract visitors and investment, and provide one of the country’s most important routes into work for young people,” Cassidy added.
Hilton, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, operates more than 9,200 hotels across the world and took $2.8bn revenue in the year to December.
Jon Hendry Pickup, chief executive of seaside resort chain Butlin’s, also criticised Burnham for excluding some of the hospitality industry’s biggest operators from tax support.
He said: “It’s encouraging to see the Government recognising the pressure hospitality businesses have been under. However, excluding major parts of the sector from this relief suggests those pressures are somehow less significant for some operators.”
The Butlins boss said that Burnham should not overlook large hospitality firms “simply because of their size”.
“We’re one of the largest employers in the communities this Government wants to support, investing in UK tourism and creating jobs in coastal economies,” he added.
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said that restaurants and hotels are “struggling just as much as pubs”.
“After years of rising costs and tax increases that have hit investment and employment, the industry now needs a meaningful, sector-wide solution.
“While today’s announcement will provide welcome support for pubs, clubs and live music venues, they only account for around a fifth of hospitality jobs,” he said.
Hospitality rages over tourist tax
Butlins has been a strong opponent of the government’s overnight visitor levy, a so-called tourist tax, which came into force in Edinburgh on Friday, becoming the first UK city to impose the levy.
At the King’s Speech earlier this year, the government passed legislation designed to allow regional mayors to impose a levy on tourist accommodation and spend the revenue on local services.
Leading trade bodies including UK Hospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) wrote to Chancellor John Healey on Friday, urging him to drop the “economically and socially damaging tax”.
“There are no winners from a holiday tax. Holidaymakers, hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, holiday parks, pubs, restaurants, shops, tourism, visitor attractions, farm shops, events, music, sports and business travel will all be hit,” the lobby groups wrote.
HM Treasury was contacted for comment.