Visitor Levy for visitor accommodation providers: technical guidance - Visitor Levy transitional provisions

Transitional provisions apply where a principal council introduced a levy or the levy is changed, such as the rate of the levy changing.

A principal council will publish a notice when they are introducing the levy in their area, including when the levy will be introduced. Any contracts made between visitors and visitor accommodation providers for stays occurring on or after the levy is introduced will not count as overnight stays for the purpose of the levy, if they are made:

• before the principal council publishes their notice, or
• before the date that is 6 months after the date the notice is published

We call this ‘out of scope’ for the purpose of this section of guidance.

This means that after 6 months has passed from the principal council publishing their notice, bookings being made at visitor accommodation for stays that will take place after the levy has been introduced will be within the scope of the levy.

Example

On 31 March 2026, a local council publishes a notice that they will introduce the levy on 1 April 2027. This means that visitor accommodation providers will need to account for the levy on any stays that start on or after 1 April 2027, but only if they were booked, or contract was varied, on or after 1 October 2026.

This means that on a stay between 10 May and 17 May 2027:

• you will not pay the levy if this stay is booked on 30 September 2026 or earlier, and not changed, but
• you must pay the levy if this stay is booked on 1 October 2026 or later

If an existing contract is varied on or after a date that is 6 months after the date the council decided to introduce the levy, then an overnight stay takes place where:

• one or more persons are added to the booking and become entitled to stay overnight in visitor accommodation
• one or more nights are added to the booking

Visitor Levy will only be calculated on the overnight stays by additional persons or nights added under the contract.

Example 1

On 31 March 2026, a local council publishes a notice that they will introduce the levy on 1 April 2027. A visitor accommodation provider with visitor accommodation in that area will need to start preparing and keeping records of from 1 October 2026, for overnight stays taking place on or after 1 April 2027.

Mary and John book a stay with a visitor accommodation provider who has a cottage in that area for September 2027. They make their booking in February 2026. As they booked their stay before the principal council published notice to introduce the levy, no overnight stays take place for the purpose of the levy, even though Mary and John will be staying in their cottage after the levy has been introduced.

Later, Mary and John decide to invite their daughter, Alison, to stay with them. They add her to their booking on 1 December 2026. As they have varied the contract after 1 October 2026 and added her to the booking more than six months after the council decided to introduce the levy, the visitor accommodation provider will need to pay for the levy for Alison’s part of the stay after it takes place. There will still be no levy payable for Mary and John’s stays.

Example 2

In the same area, Clyde books a stay in a hotel for 2 nights in August 2027. He books in May 2026. This is after the date the council decided to introduce the levy on, but before 6 months has passed from the date of their announcement.

This means that no overnight stays would take place for the purpose of the levy. In March 2027, Clyde adds 3 more nights to his booking. As Clyde has varied the contract after 1 October 2026 and added additional nights to the booking more than six months after the council decided to introduce the levy, the visitor accommodation provider will need to pay for the levy on the 3 additional nights that Clyde has added after the stay takes place. There will still be no levy payable on the original 2 nights.

Where the principal council makes a change to the levy, such as adding an amount to the lower or higher rate of the levy, that change does not apply to an overnight stay in visitor accommodation, if the contract was made before the principal council decided to change the levy.

Principal councils will only be able to make changes to the levy, if the Welsh Ministers give them the ability to do so through additional regulations.