Covering Visitor Levy costs and refunding your guests

You can cover the levy costs by:

• absorbing them
• raising your price
• charging levy fees

If you absorb the levy, you:

• keep the same prices
• do not add any levy fees

But you are still responsible for paying the levy.

You can raise your prices to cover the levy you must pay. 

Letting guests know early

You should update your advertising to show you charge levy fees.

Showing levy fees

Your bookings should show the:

• added levy fees
• price of the stay
• total booking cost

Asking your visitors to pay

You can ask your guests to pay the levy at any time. 

For example, when they:

• book the stay
• check in
• check out

Refunding your guests 

When to refund your guests

If you charge the levy in advance, you should refund your visitors if they:

• cancel their booking
• do not show up

When not to refund your guests

If the stay has happened, you do not have to refund your guests. 

Guests can claim refunds from the Welsh Revenue Authority if they were:

• a carer looking after a disabled person 
• temporarily homeless during the stay 
• staying for health or safety reasons

Using booking platforms

Your booking platform, such as Airbnb or Booking.com, may help you add levy fees on your bookings. Check with them for more details.

The levy counts towards your taxable turnover for VAT.

Read our guidance on applying VAT to Visitor Levy.