“Dagger to the heart of hospitality”: UUP sounds alarm over Reval 2026

The Ulster Unionist Party has warned that Northern Ireland’s hospitality sector faces a critical threat following the publication of draft Reval 2026 valuations, with concerns mounting that sharp increases in rateable values could lead to job losses, reduced investment and business closures.

Figures released by Land & Property Services (LPS) provide businesses with their first sight of new Net Annual Values (NAVs), which will be used to calculate non-domestic rates from 2026 until the next revaluation.

The data, originally due to be published in November, was delayed until Thursday 22 January, a postponement critics say has compounded uncertainty for businesses already under severe financial pressure.

Political warning over hospitality’s future

Reacting to the release, Ulster Unionist economy spokesperson Diana Armstrong MLA said the draft valuations could prove devastating for hospitality businesses across Northern Ireland.

“I have grave concerns that figures based on this draft Reval will be the final nail in the coffin for many operating in hospitality. They have weathered a succession of threats from the rising day to day costs of overheads, supplies, labour and a skills shortage and already face a cliff edge in April 2026, when existing support ends.”

Ms Armstrong said hospitality is operating under extreme strain despite its importance to the economy.

“The hospitality sector is operating under extreme strain, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and contributing around £2bn annually to the local economy. Imposing a major fixed cost increase in rates on businesses will impose the grim reality of further painful choices in job cuts, reduced opening hours, reduced investment, and higher prices for consumers or, in the worst cases, permanent closure.”

She described Reval 2026 as a disproportionate burden on an already vulnerable industry.

“Reval 2026 is a dagger to the heart of hospitality, it is a disproportionate addition to a rates overhead that ignores the reality of soaring operating costs. As the NI Hotel Federation has warned, valuations driven largely by figures based on turnover risk missing the real time plummeting of profitability many venues have experienced in recent years.”

Calling for urgent intervention, she added:

“The Executive and Minister for the Economy must act now to reset the calculations, engage immediately with hospitality to ensure valuations reflect reality and save the sector already on its knees with crippling costs.

“The reality is we need hospitality on the front foot showcasing the best of Northern Ireland. If the Executive does not intervene, Reval 2026 will not just rebalance bills. It will break businesses.”

Industry concerns over valuation methodology

Industry representatives have echoed those concerns, warning that NAV calculations based largely on turnover fail to account for the steep rise in operating costs experienced since the pandemic, including energy, labour, food, insurance and finance costs.

Further uncertainty remains around regional and district council poundages, which have yet to be confirmed and are also expected to increase, potentially amplifying the impact of higher valuations when new rates bills are issued in April.

Hotels facing the sharpest increases

Within the broader hospitality sector, hotels and accommodation providers are emerging as among the hardest hit under Reval 2026.

Following Covid, hotels benefited from targeted rates discounts to support recovery from uniquely difficult trading conditions. That support has now been withdrawn, a move the industry says significantly worsens the impact of the revaluation.

Overall, the sector is facing an 83% increase in valuations, reflecting both the removal of pandemic support and higher NAVs under Reval 2026. The average increase for hotels is 63%, with a significant number of businesses experiencing even greater rises due to changes in trading performance and investment since the last valuation.

Hotel federation warns of unsustainable pressure

Janice Gault, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation

Janice Gault, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, said the figures fail to reflect the financial reality facing operators.

“While turnover has increased, it has not kept pace with the very significant rise in operating costs. In 2025, room rates softened alongside occupancy levels, and escalating costs can no longer be absorbed by businesses alone. These pressures inevitably risk being passed on to the consumer.

“Hotels are acutely aware of the need to deliver value for money, but the sector is now being forced into an increasingly untenable balancing act.”

She said many businesses feel the sector’s contribution and challenges are being misunderstood.

“There is a growing perception that the pressures facing the hotel, accommodation and wider hospitality sector are not fully understood. Many businesses feel they are being treated as a convenient source of revenue, with insufficient regard for rising costs, the need for ongoing reinvestment, or long-term sustainability.

“The sector’s success is being actively penalised through a short-sighted approach to an industry that has invested around £500 million since the end of the pandemic, demonstrating confidence, resilience and long-term commitment.”

Rates contribution set to rise sharply

The hotel and accommodation sector currently contributes over £13 million a year in rates, a figure industry leaders say could rise to around £25 million or more under the proposed new NAVs.

With both regional and council poundages yet to be agreed, businesses say the lack of certainty is undermining forward planning and investment decisions.

Call for a balanced approach

Hospitality representatives are now calling on the Northern Ireland Assembly to recognise the sector’s economic and social value and to moderate the scale of the proposed increases.

They warn that tourism and hospitality are highly sensitive to inflation, global trends and external shocks, and require sustained reinvestment to remain competitive.

While the sector remains committed to supporting jobs and the wider economy, there are growing calls for a more balanced and equitable approach to rates, and for urgent action to mitigate the impact of Reval 2026 before lasting damage is done.