Registering visitor accommodation: technical guidance - About the visitor accommodation register

The register is public and provides information about visitor accommodation providers, and their visitor accommodation at premises in Wales. The register opens on 1 October 2026.

Generally, a visitor accommodation provider must be registered when they provide, or offer to provide, visitor accommodation at premises in Wales, subject to the following:

• existing visitor accommodation providers will need to register by 31 March 2027 
• new visitor accommodation providers who provide, or offer to provide, visitor accommodation after 1 October 2026 but before 31 March 2027, will need to register by 31 March 2027
• if a person becomes a visitor accommodation provider after 31 March 2027, they’ll need to register when they begin providing, or begin offering to provide, visitor accommodation in Wales, and they can register up to 30 days before they begin providing, or offering to provide, visitor accommodation

Examples of when you must register

Glen has been operating a holiday cottage business in Wales since 2012. When registration opens, he’ll need to complete his registration between the 1 October 2026 and 31 March 2027.

Bryn has purchased a cottage in North Wales, which he’ll be advertising as self-catering holiday accommodation for visitors. He renovates the cottage and is planning to start advertising it for overnight stays from the 1 August 2028. Bryn will need to register himself as a visitor accommodation provider and the cottage as the visitor accommodation when he begins to advertise it and take bookings, which would be the 1 August 2028. Bryn could also register up to 30 days before 1 August 2028.

Details of Bryn’s cottage will appear on the public register. Although, as Bryn is an individual his name will not appear on the public register.

If a visitor accommodation provider does not register on time, they may become liable to one or more penalties.

Visitor accommodation providers must register themselves and each of the premises in Wales where they provide, or offer to provide, visitor accommodation. Registering does not cost anything but is a mandatory requirement for visitor accommodation providers. 

The WRA must publish certain information about visitor accommodation providers and their premises contained in the register. The WRA may also publish other information which it thinks is appropriate to have on the public register.

About visitor accommodation provider

The following information about a visitor accommodation provider will be published on the public register:

• the name of the visitor accommodation provider
• any business or trading name of the visitor accommodation provider
• the business address of the visitor accommodation provider
• the visitor accommodation provider type, such as an individual, partnership, company, or unincorporated association 

The business address of a partnership, company or unincorporated body is the address of its registered office or principal office. 

Where the visitor accommodation provider is registered with Companies House as

• a company, the company number will be published
• an overseas entity, the overseas entity ID will be published

Where the visitor accommodation provider is a charity and registered under the Charities Act 2011, the register will show that the provider is a charity and their charity number will also be published, unless it is an exempt charity under the Charities Act 2011.

All of the details above will need to be provided in order for an entry to be made on the register. 

Where a partnership is being registered, the names of each partner in the partnership will need to be registered. The same principle applies to unincorporated associations. 

Example of details a company and a registered charity must provide

Welsh Charity Cottages & Lodges Ltd is a company and a registered charity. It is a visitor accommodation provider and when it registers, it will need to provide both its company number and charity number as part of the registration process.

About visitor accommodation premises

The following details about the premises where visitor accommodation is provided, or offered, by a visitor accommodation provider will be published:

• the name of the premises, if it has one
• the name of the visitor accommodation provided at the premises, if the accommodation has a name. This is only applicable for the following visitor accommodation types; self-catering, glamping and static caravans
• the address of the premises in Wales, including the county or county borough
• the type of visitor accommodation available at the premises
• the maximum occupancy of visitors in or at the premises 
• number of bookable units at the premises 
• availability of the accommodation 

Example of details you must provide about your premises

Giovanni is an individual who runs a small holiday site in Wales, and the site is called Giovanni’s Getaways. At the premises, he has 3 different holiday homes, each named after places in Wales, they are Caerphilly Cottage, Llandudno Lodge and Pembroke Place. 

When Giovanni registers, he will need to provide:

• the premise name, which is Giovanni’s Getaways, and
• the names of the visitor accommodation, which are Caerphilly Cottage, Llandudno Lodge and Pembroke Place. 

About partnerships and unincorporated bodies

Where the visitor accommodation provider is a partnership or unincorporated body, the register will contain:

• the name of each member of the partnership, or each managing member of the unincorporated body, and
• the address of each member of the partnership or each managing member of the unincorporated body

But partners or managing members names and addresses are subject to the restriction outlined in 'Information not published on the register'. So, while any business name and the business address of the partnership or unincorporated body will be published, the names and addresses of the individual partners or members will only be published where:

• they consent to have them published, or
• their name forms part of the business name, and/or
• their address is the same as the premises at which the visitor accommodation is provided

Example of details partnerships and unincorporated bodies must provide

Glynn, Harry and Ian are partners in a limited partnership, called HIGHIG Holiday Homes. They run several holiday homes together across the UK and all live in Scotland. They are visitor accommodation providers and will need to register their visitor accommodation premises in Wales. When doing so, Glynn, Harry and Ian’s individual names and addresses will need to be provided for entry into the register, but they will not be published. 

Individual name

The WRA will not publish the name of a visitor accommodation provider if they are an individual unless:

• the individual consents to have their name published, or
• the individual’s forename and surname are part of the business name of the visitor accommodation provider

Example of not showing a provider’s name

Llinos lives in a townhouse in Cardiff and she markets her spare room to weekend visitors on an online travel platform. The townhouse is where Llinos lives and her only property. As Llinos is providing visitor accommodation in the spare room of her townhouse, when Llinos registers she will need to provide her name, premises address and other details but her name will not be added to the public register as she does not consent for it to be on there.

Sole or main residence address

The WRA will not publish the address of an individual’s sole or main residence, unless either of the following apply:

• the individual, who is the visitor accommodation provider, consents to the publication of their address, or
• the sole or main residence of the individual is the address of the premises where they provide, or offer to provide, visitor accommodation 

Example of not showing the main residence address

Following on from the above example, Llinos’ address will be available on the public register as that is where she provides visitor accommodation in Wales. Whilst Llinos lives in the townhouse, the rules mean that the address of the townhouse has to be included in the register.

If a visitor accommodation provider fails to provide the WRA with the information that is to be included in the register, WRA can issue a notice requiring a person to provide information or documents and penalties may be applied for failing to comply.   

If the WRA is provided with information that is to be included in the public register but the WRA:

• knows the information is inaccurate, or 
• thinks the information is likely to be inaccurate

then it may not be published on the register. 

If the WRA decide to publish the information, then a marker may be added to the entry in the register indicating that the WRA believes the information is or is likely to be inaccurate. 

Inaccuracies may relate to:

• the type of the visitor accommodation, or the maximum occupancy
• the address of the visitor accommodation 
• the trading name of the visitor accommodation provider

The above list is not exhaustive. 

Example of inaccurate information

Rhydian is a visitor accommodation provider who owns a holiday home in West Wales. When registering, he enters 55 as the maximum occupancy for the holiday home instead of 5. When Rhydian submits his registration details, the WRA see that the maximum occupancy is 55 and believe this is too large; they add a marker to the entry in the register indicating that the maximum occupancy may not be accurate.