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Getting your bookings out of each platform

StayTally works from the booking files you download from each platform. You can add several files at once, in CSV or Excel format.

Before adding a file, you can delete columns with guests' names, phone numbers or email addresses. StayTally doesn't need them, and it never uploads your files anyway.

Which dates to export

A booking counts in the quarter its guests check out. A stay from 29 March to 2 April counts in April to June, not January to March.

Some systems only export stays that start in the dates you choose, and some go by the date the booking was made. Either way, exporting exactly the three months of the quarter can miss stays. So export a wider range:

• Start at least a month before the quarter begins (longer if you take long stays).
• End on the last day of the quarter, or later.
• If your system filters by the date bookings were made, go back a year or more.

Bookings outside the quarter don't affect your total. StayTally only counts stays that check out in the quarter you choose. If your files don't seem to cover the whole quarter, StayTally will ask you to check.

Airbnb

1. Sign in to Airbnb on a computer and switch to hosting.
2. Open your reservations list (Menu, then Reservations).
3. Choose All, and set the dates from at least a month before the quarter to the end of it (why?).
4. Choose Export, then download the CSV file.

If you only use the Airbnb app: as far as we know, the app can't export your reservations. Open airbnb.co.uk in your phone or tablet's web browser instead, sign in and follow the same steps. If you can't see the export button, choose your browser's "desktop site" option.

Last checked: these steps haven't been checked against Airbnb's current site yet. If they don't match what you see, please tell us.

Booking.com and Vrbo

We don't have ready-made support for these yet. You can still add their exports: StayTally will ask you which column is which the first time, and remember it after that. You can also copy the bookings into our template (below).

Channel managers and other systems

Most systems can export reservations as a CSV or Excel file. Add it to StayTally and match the columns. If you use the same system next quarter, StayTally will recognise the file straight away.

Direct bookings

Download our direct bookings template and fill in one row per booking:

• Booking reference: anything that identifies the booking. Optional.
• Property: which property or unit it was for.
• Check-in date and Check-out date: as DD/MM/YYYY.
• Adults, Children (2 to 17) and Infants (under 2).
• Cancelled: "yes" for cancelled bookings, otherwise leave it blank.
• Date booked: when the booking was made, as DD/MM/YYYY. Bookings made before the levy was announced don't pay it (see below).

If you've also added a platform's export, don't copy those bookings into the template too. If you do, StayTally will flag them as possible duplicates and ask which to keep.

Do children count?

It depends on the rate:

• Higher rate (£1.30 per person per night), which covers holiday lets, B&Bs, hotels, self-catering, glamping pods, shepherd's huts, and caravan, motorhome and campervan pitches: everyone counts, including children.
• Lower rate (£0.75 per person per night), which covers tent pitches and dormitory or shared rooms: under-18s don't count. Age is taken on the first night of the stay, so someone who turns 18 during their stay still doesn't count.

Infants: the law counts every person at the higher rate. StayTally counts infants at the higher rate and marks those bookings "Please check" until the Welsh Revenue Authority confirms this.

Airbnb and teenagers: Airbnb counts guests aged 13 and over as adults. At the higher rate this makes no difference. At the lower rate, check bookings with teenagers, as Airbnb's figures may overstate the levy.

Source: Welsh Revenue Authority guidance on calculating the levy.

Does my council charge the levy?

Each council in Wales decides whether to charge the levy. This is what we know so far (more about councils and the levy):

• Cardiff charges the levy on stays from 1 April 2027.

Even if your council doesn't charge the levy, you still need to register.

Registering with the Welsh Revenue Authority

All visitor accommodation in Wales must be registered with the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) by 31 March 2027, whether or not your council charges the levy.

Where the levy applies, you file returns and pay through the WRA's online service, either quarterly or annually depending on how much you owe. StayTally prepares the figures. It doesn't file or pay for you.

It's free and done online. Who has to register, how, and the penalties for missing the deadline.

Questions people ask

Are my bookings uploaded anywhere?

No. Your files are read by your own browser and never leave your computer. StayTally only saves your property settings (names, councils and rates), on your device. Try it: once the page has loaded, turn off your Wi-Fi and add your files. It still works.

Can I use StayTally on another computer?

Yes. Your property settings are saved in the browser you used, so they don't follow you automatically. At the bottom of the calculator, choose Download my settings, then on the other computer choose Load settings from a file. The file has your property names, councils, rates and column choices. It never contains your bookings. It's also a handy backup if you clear your browser.

Which quarter does a booking count in?

The quarter containing its check-out date. The levy becomes due when the stay ends.

What about bookings made before the levy was announced?

A booking made before a cut-off date doesn't pay the levy, even if the stay is after the levy starts. In Cardiff, the cut-off is 28 September 2026: bookings made before then don't pay. If nights or guests were added to such a booking on or after 28 September 2026, the extra nights or guests do pay.

StayTally leaves out bookings made before the cut-off when your file has a booking date (Airbnb's "Booked" column, or "Date booked" in our template). It can't see later changes, so check any early booking that was changed. If your file has no booking date, bookings in the levy's first year are counted and marked "Please check".

Does a stay that starts before 1 April 2027 count?

No. In Cardiff, the levy applies to stays that start on or after 1 April 2027. A stay from 30 March to 2 April 2027 doesn't pay the levy, even for its nights in April.

Source: the Welsh Revenue Authority's transitional provisions guidance, and section 49 of the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025.

What about long stays?

Stays of more than 31 nights aren't leviable at all. StayTally leaves them out and tells you why.

A guest arrived late or left early. Does that change anything?

No. The levy is based on the nights booked, not the nights actually stayed. If the booking itself was changed, use the changed booking.

What about cancelled bookings?

They're left out.

What if Airbnb or another platform pays the levy for me?

Set "Who pays" to the platform for that file, and StayTally will leave those bookings out of your total.

What does StayTally cost?

Your first property is always free. Paid plans for more properties will come later; everything is free while StayTally is new. A property is one site or address, so a campsite with tent pitches and a hotel counts as one property.

Is this tax advice?

No. StayTally is a calculation aid. Check your figures before you file, and contact the Welsh Revenue Authority if you're not sure how a rule applies to you.