The central resource for ASSC members
A separate draft Practice Note has been published for self-catering properties in Edinburgh City Centre, which behave differently to properties throughout the rest of Scotland.
You can download it here:
What does the future hold for your business?
The STA Signature Conference ‘The Future Beyond 2020’ takes place on 15th March at the Crowne Plaza & Glasgow Science Centre.
On Wednesday 15 March, the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) will take delegates on a journey into the future of tourism – the economic outlook, the future of the tourism workplace, creating and delivering the future customer journey and leading in a changing future.
With one of the strongest conference programmes to date, the STA Signature Conference aims to equip businesses with the ‘need to know’ and the ‘cannot afford not to know’ advice and insights for building the tourism industry, particularly in the face of change and uncertainty.
In the evening, delegates will be invited to travel across the water to The Glasgow Science Centre for one of the social highlights of Scottish Tourism Week – A Dinner with a Difference. Traditionally the informal event attracts upwards of 300 people, giving guests the chance to meet, mingle and reflect on the events of the day whilst enjoying some of Scotland’s finest produce.
Members of the ASSC benefit from STA Membership delegate ticket prices.
To find out more and secure your place visit www.scottishtourismweek.scot
Scotland’s Self-catering Industry hit hard by 2017 Rates Revaluation
Members of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) have reported steep proposed rateable value (RV) increases of up to 269% with the average across the sector at 65% following the rates revaluation. For the significant number of businesses pushed out of the Small Business Bonus Scheme, the real percentage increase can be quadrupled.
Fiona Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of the ASSC said “We believe that this level of RV rise will have potentially severe consequences for the sector and is another obstacle to our members competing on a level playing field with accommodation on offer through the ‘sharing economy’. The whole rating system is subject to the Barclay Review, reporting this summer, and the ASSC calls on the Scottish Government to introduce transitional relief until the Barclay Review has been completed. In the meantime, we are urging our members to appeal if they feel that the RV increase is unreasonable.”
According to the ASSC, prices paid for self-catering accommodation have risen by a modest 20% between 2008 and 2015, the period between revaluations. VistScotland’s own figures show occupancy rates reducing from 52% to 48% in the same period, which makes the large increase in draft RVs even more baffling. The new RVs will be effective from 1st April 2017 and businesses can appeal, although the business owner must pay the new rates until their appeal has been heard, which can take years.
David Smythe, Chair of the Board of ASSC Ltd commented: “We have had several meetings with the Scottish Assessors Association and whilst we appreciate the clarity provided on the calculation of the ‘notional’ rent, the average RV increase of 65% is higher than most other industry sectors. We question the validity of the data used as the sample of businesses providing net profit, though bigger than in previous revaluations, was disappointingly small. Tourism is Scotland’s most important industry and these rises are highly damaging. The ASSC has full details of the Assessors’ formula for the self-catering industry available at www.assc.co.uk allowing our members to check their own RVs as well as things to consider if making an appeal”
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Ends