Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Guest houses join forces with bed and breakfasts in seeking ‘fair Covid funding’

Fraser Mathieson of Ballifeary Guest House in Inverness.
Fraser Mathieson of Ballifeary Guest House in Inverness.

The Scottish accommodation sector is calling for ‘equality in Covid funding’.

Owners and associations in the industry have joined forces in urging the Scottish Government to reconsider their decision not to provide a £6,000 top-up grant to thousands of businesses facing financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic.

Individuals and groups working within this core part of Scotland’s tourism and hospitality sector have submitted a 4,200-strong petition to MSPs, including rural affairs and tourism secretary Fergus Ewing and finance secretary Kate Forbes, calling for “fairness” in their consideration of the position of B&Bs, guest houses and other non-domestic rated accommodation businesses across the country.

The Scottish Guest House and B&B Alliance, which was formed in response to the Scottish Government’s decision to withhold the grant funding, has spearheaded the petition, working together to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the sector as a result of travel restrictions during the pandemic.

With 1,532 non-domestic rates guest houses and B&Bs in Scotland, supporting 3,000 jobs, the organisation says this latest financial blow comes as many otherwise viable operations face permanent closure and job losses as a result of the impact of Covid on both domestic and international tourism.

Fraser Mathieson, a member of the Inverness B&B Association and also of the new Scottish Guest House and B&B Alliance said: “This grant could potentially save thousands of jobs that are at risk within this group of businesses, thereby helping to save the wider tourism sector in Scotland, which depends on local accommodation to sustain it, and to sustain local economies.

“The travel restrictions brought in during October has seen trade drop to almost zero.

“Other local small businesses not nearly as badly affected as accommodation providers have received this lifeline top-up support and we have not.

“With tourism being so important to the Scottish economy we cannot understand why we have been excluded especially when the other nations in the UK are supporting our sector so well.”

The group says that, in addition, a further 17,595 non-domestic rated self catering properties, are also supporting local economies, but they have also been excluded from the top-up grant.

Even under Tier 1 to 3 Covid-19 restrictions, accommodation businesses, which are directly reliant on travel, have suffered significant losses.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The hospitality top-up fund is targeted at restaurants, bars, pubs, licensed social and sports clubs, cafes and hotels.

“Scottish Government resources are limited and this means we must take targeted action. We continue to call on the UK Government to transfer the fiscal levers required to enable us to respond fully to the needs of Scottish businesses.”

She added: “The Strategic Framework Business Fund (SFBF) provides monthly grants for businesses required by law to close or to significantly modify their operations, including B&Bs and self-catering premises which pay non-domestic rates.

“B&Bs and guesthouses who pay Council Tax rather than non-domestic rates will be eligible for a new grant fund to be launched very shortly, equivalent to the value of SFBF payments.

“Since the start of the pandemic we have allocated more than £3 billion to support businesses across Scotland.”

She said that all B&Bs paying non-domestic rates are now eligible for payment of £2,000/£3,000 every four weeks through the Strategic Framework Business Fund.

B&Bs not paying non-domestic rates will also receive £2,000 every four weeks, to match what B&Bs on non-domestic rates receive.