Scottish Hotels Urged to Check Rates Bills as Deadline to Appeal £63 million Increase Approaches

Scotland’s hotels are being urged to ‘use or lose’ their right to appeal against increases to their rateable values ahead of this month’s deadline, as research from Knight Frank suggests they have seen their bills rise by more than one-quarter.

New analysis from the independent commercial property consultancy found hotels in Scotland saw average increases of 27.3% in their business rates bills when new rateable values were introduced on 1 April 2026. That saw the total annual business rates take for local authorities rise to £295 million, compared to £232 million in 2023.

However, there are huge variations between different council areas across the country. While hotels in the Scottish Borders have seen the highest average uplift, 45.7%, to their rateable values, operators in Argyll & Bute have seen a 0.2% decline. Glasgow and Edinburgh, where a large share of Scotland’s hotel stock is located, have seen increases of 41.9% and 38.9%, respectively.

April’s revaluation was the second since the system moved to three-year cycles, a move made by the Scottish Government to better reflect changes in the property market. The vast majority of commercial properties are believed to have seen increases in their rateable values, with appeals required to be made before 31 July 2026.

Earlier this year, Knight Frank found that more than 500 companies across a variety of sectors in Aberdeen are owed around £1.5 million in overpaid business rates. Five companies are due more than £100,000, with another seven owed more than £50,000.

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, said: “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.”