Wales now has a law that lets councils charge visitors a small amount per night. If you run a holiday let, Airbnb, guest house or hotel in Wales, two things affect you: registration, which applies everywhere, and the levy, which applies only where your council switches it on.
Two rates, per person per night
| Type of stay | Rate |
|---|---|
| Holiday lets, Airbnbs, cottages, hotels, B&Bs, glamping and most other accommodation | £1.30 per person per night |
| Shared rooms in hostels, bunkhouses or dormitories, and tent pitches | 75p per person per night |
At the lower 75p rate, under-18s don't pay. At the £1.30 rate, the levy applies to visitors of all ages. The money is collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA), not your council, and councils must spend it on local tourism.
Worked example
EXAMPLE: four guests stay three nights in a Cardiff holiday let after 1 April 2027. 4 people × 3 nights × £1.30 = £15.60 levy for that booking.
It is per person, not per room or per booking. That is the most common mistake: pricing it as a flat fee undercharges for every booking with more than one guest.
Where and when does it apply?
Councils can start the levy on 1 April or 1 October, and must consult locally and give 12 months' notice.
Cardiff is the first council to confirm a date. Its levy applies to stays from 1 April 2027. Because it covers bookings made in advance, providers had to start accounting for it on new bookings from 28 September 2026.
Other councils may follow. If yours announces a start date, you'll have a year's warning. We cover Cardiff on our Cardiff Airbnb management page, and countryside areas such as Snowdonia and Pembrokeshire.
Registration: everyone, everywhere in Wales
Separately from the levy, anyone charging visitors for overnight stays in Wales must register with the WRA. Registration opened in autumn 2026 and there is no cost. This applies even if your council has no levy and even if you only let for one season.
What hosts need to do
- Register with the WRA if you haven't already.
- Record guests and nights for every booking. You'll need accurate numbers to file.
- Add the levy to your pricing where it applies, so guests see it clearly.
- File returns: quarterly, within 60 days of each quarter end, or annually by 31 May if you're an annual filer.
- Check VAT. If you're VAT-registered, ask your accountant how VAT applies to the levy amount.
Official guidance: Visitor Levy in Wales on GOV.WALES.
Also on the Welsh rule list
Wales also has stricter tests for holiday lets to be business-rated: available for 252 days and actually let for 182 days a year. Miss them and you pay council tax, possibly with a second-home premium. Read our business rates guide.
With LoftQube Stays holiday let management, we handle guest records, levy calculations and the paperwork, so you don't have to.
Thinking of letting your property short-term?
We manage Airbnb, serviced accommodation and holiday lets across England and Wales, from city flats to countryside cottages and hotels. See what yours could earn.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change, so check GOV.UK, GOV.WALES or a qualified adviser before you act.