Sectors
Hotels and Guesthouses
Specialist financial advice to help hoteliers and guesthouse owners optimise yield, control overheads, and navigate the evolving regulatory landscape of the UK hospitality sector.
Driving operational excellence for hotels and guesthouses
The UK hotel sector has become much more advanced, with profits increasingly shaped by smarter pricing based on quality data and tighter control of costs. However, whether you are operating a luxury boutique hotel or a large-scale commercial establishment, the dual pressures of rising overheads and the complexities of digital distribution require a partner who understands the intricacies of hospitality finance.
At Armstrong Watson, we speak the language of hoteliers. We focus on the metrics that define success—RevPAR, GOPPAR, and total guest spend—providing the technical oversight and financial planning necessary to enhance asset value. We provide the professional clarity you need to navigate the financial complexities of 2026 with total confidence.
Common questions & practical concerns
Expert financial insights to help hoteliers navigate complex tax reliefs, manage VAT compliance on bookings, and transition to more sophisticated profitability metrics.
Hotel buildings contain substantial 'integral features' like air conditioning, lifts, and electrical systems that qualify for significant tax relief. If these weren't fully claimed by previous owners or during a refurb, we can often identify these 'embedded' allowances, generating substantial non-cash deductions that can drastically reduce your Corporation Tax or Income Tax bills.
The VAT treatment of retained deposits has become more stringent. Generally, VAT is due at the point of payment rather than the stay. If a guest fails to arrive, the retained deposit remains subject to VAT. We ensure your booking and accounting systems are configured to handle these 'tax points' correctly, mitigating the risk of underpayment.
Hotels are high-risk targets due to the volume of credit card and personal data they process. We provide Cyber Security Solutions tailored to the sector, ensuring your booking platforms and guest Wi-Fi are secure. This includes achieving PCI DSS compliance and implementing robust data protection policies to safeguard your reputation and avoid heavy GDPR fines.
While Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) is a standard benchmark, it doesn't account for rising labour and energy costs. We help you transition to tracking GOPPAR (Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room). This more sophisticated metric provides a clearer picture of your hotel’s true underlying profitability after all departmental and undistributed operating expenses are deducted.
Relying solely on the eventual sale of the hotel is a high-risk strategy. Our Financial Planning team works with you to utilise tax-efficient profit extraction methods, such as director pension contributions or ISA wrappers. This allows you to build a diversified personal wealth portfolio outside the business, ensuring financial security regardless of future market conditions for hospitality property.
Get in touch
Get in touch to speak to one of our specialist advisers and explore how we can help you.
Find your local office
Visit your local office. To find your nearest office just enter your town or city below.
What our clients say
We're committed to delivering the best client experience. Hear from those who have worked with us and discover how we've helped them achieve their goals.
Tony Bullock and his team have been our accountants since 2018, and during that time we have built a close working relationship. They have an excellent understanding of both our business and the leisure and tourism sector in general.
As a micro business, bookkeeping falls to our small management team. Tony helps to ensure that we adopt best practice, and that our tax position is optimised.
It is never too much trouble for Tony to work through our concerns with us, and he is always prepared to clearly explain things. We are very comfortable dealing with Tony and his team and look forward to dealing further with them in the future.
Alastair Hunter
Managing Director, Brown Rigg Lodges & Guest Rooms
Having recently just purchased a Guest House in the Lake District, I felt the need to put into words the help Richard Andrew of Armstrong Watson gave us to choose, decide and complete the purchase. From the very start of viewing properties, Richard was on hand giving us professional and impartial advice until completion, including matters of accounting and contracts. This made the process so much more un-daunting having someone you could trust every step of the way. Since purchasing, we have already had an on-site visit from Richard who is now guiding us the right direction again by implementing the xero accounting package to the business and again simplifying and lessening the pressures of owning and running your own business. We would have no hesitation in recommending Armstrong Watson and especially Richard in the future. Once again thankyou.
Mark & Marie Pape
Seven Oaks Guest House
Discussing matters of succession planning with family members is a challenging but necessary process if you wish to try and minimise inheritance tax. In recent years, with the help of Helen Thornley and the rest of the team at Armstrong Watson, we have been able to take proactive steps to manage our family’s affairs to the point where we are now confident about the future.
Charles Lowther
Owner, Askham Hall
Our business has been supported by Armstrong Watson since opening over seven years ago. We know that we can pick up the phone and our queries will be dealt with in a professional but friendly manner. When it comes to our tax affairs they are always on hand to advise us proactively and deal with HM Revenue & Customs so that we don’t have to!
Lakeview Guest House
Running a guest house on the Isle of Islay in Scotland with turnover rising from £60k to £110k we were looking for an accounting system that would help to make our working life a little bit easier and that is exactly what Xero has done for us.
Grant Smith and the staff at Armstrong Watson were so patient explaining how the system worked and how it could benefit our business. Within a few days it felt that we had always used it. It is actually a joy completing the VAT return as with everything in the one place to do this and staff at Armstrong Watson always happy to help with any queries that arise.
Andrew and Alison Jackson
Owners, The Bowmore House