Registering visitor accommodation in Wales

Who has to register

You must register if all of these apply:

• you take bookings for overnight stays in visitor accommodation in Wales
• you're responsible for the accommodation, for example as its owner or renter
• the bookings are for 31 nights or less

That includes occasional hosts as well as year-round businesses, and all kinds of accommodation: self-catering holiday lets, your own home or spare rooms, hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses, tent and campervan pitches, glamping, static caravans, and hostels or bunkhouses.

You don't need to register if you don't take bookings (for example, friends or family staying for free), or if you've stopped taking bookings.

Letting agents and management companies aren't responsible for registering, but they can register on your behalf.

How to register

Registration is free, through the WRA's online service. You sign in with GOV.UK One Login. Have these ready:

• your contact details: name, address, phone number, date of birth and email
• your company or charity number and trading name, if you have them
• the accommodation's address, and its name if it has one
• the types of accommodation you offer
• when it's usually open for bookings
• the number of rooms or bookable units, and the maximum number of guests

If the same people are responsible for several premises, put them all in one registration. If different people are responsible, register them separately.

Once registered, you get a registration number to show your accommodation is registered and to use when you contact the WRA. Some of your details appear on the public register of visitor accommodation.

Register with the WRA

Deadlines and changes

• Accommodation open before 1 April 2027: register by 31 March 2027.
• Accommodation that opens later: register before you take bookings.
• After registering, tell the WRA within 30 days of any change, such as selling the accommodation, stopping bookings, or new contact details. The WRA says the service for updating a registration will open in early 2027.

Penalties

If you don't register, update or deregister on time, the penalty is £100 per premises. If you still haven't done it, it's £10 per premises for each day, for up to 30 days, and then a further £1,000 per premises if you still haven't registered.

The WRA's own example: 3 unregistered houses in Cardiff, 30 days late, owe £4,200 (£300, plus £900 in daily penalties, plus £3,000).

You can ask the WRA to review a penalty, and appeal to the tribunal.

Registering and the Visitor Levy

Registering is separate from the Visitor Levy. Everyone registers; only accommodation in a council area that charges the levy pays it. Which councils charge the levy?

If yours does, StayTally works out what you owe each quarter from your Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and direct bookings, in your browser. StayTally doesn't register you or file returns: you do that with the WRA.

Sources

• Registering visitor accommodation: overview (gov.wales)
• Register your visitor accommodation in Wales (gov.wales)
• Failing to register, update details or deregister (gov.wales)

Last checked against the Welsh Revenue Authority's guidance: 20 October 2026.

StayTally is a calculation aid, not tax advice. The WRA's guidance is the final word.