Best Western boss: Wage increases will cost us £40k per hotel

This week’s minimum wage increase will add up to £40,000 to annual hotel costs for Best Western, according to the group’s chief executive.

Tim Rumney, who represents over 260 independent hotels, said that “something has to give” and that jobs were likely to be lost after the minimum wage rose by 85p for 18-20 year olds and 50p for over 21s this week. 

He said that the rise was the fifth blow in a run of cost hikes for hospitality operators.

Rumney added: “Volatile energy bills, rising business rates, the deeply flawed ‘Holiday Tax’ proposal, the increase in Employers’ national insurance and now yet another sharp jump in payroll burden. At some point, something has to give.”

He said that the wage increase alone could add £30,000 to £40,000 to the costs of a typical 60-bedroom Best Western hotel, before any of the other pressures were considered.

His comments come after UKHospitality chief executive Allen Simpson dubbed 1 April 2026 “one of the biggest paydays of the year” for the government, which was delivered in large part at hospitality’s expense. 

Simpson said that the average hotel would also see its business rates increase by £28,900 in the first hit of a three-year 115% hike, that will cumulatively total more than £200,000.

He added that the tax increases contradicted the government’s stated goals of growing the economy and getting more people back into work.

Rumney confirmed that the increased costs would inevitably lead to job losses.

He said: “No one disputes the importance of fair pay. But increases of this scale, delivered at pace and without offsetting measures, risks undermining the very businesses that provide those jobs in the first place.

“Without proper support, increasing costs will inevitably lead to fewer jobs, higher prices for consumers and ultimately lower tax revenues for the government. Those price increases will also fuel inflation. Nobody benefits from that outcome.”

He added that an effective form of support for hospitality business would be a reduction in VAT, something that Simpson is also calling for, alongside proper reform of business rates and fixing National Insurance Contributions.

Rumney said: “At BWH Hotels GB, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our hoteliers, helping them navigate rising costs, unlock demand and protect what makes them unique. In times like these, partnership matters more than ever.”