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Planning permission and building control for tourism businesses
In this guide:
- Legal requirements for tourism businesses
- Planning permission and building control for tourism businesses
- Business rates for your tourist accommodation premises
- Signs for your tourism business
- Health and safety in tourism businesses
- Fire, gas and electricity safety in tourism businesses
- Food and drink laws in tourism businesses
- Discrimination and equality in tourism businesses
- Employment in tourism businesses
- Keeping a guest register in your tourist accommodation business
- Tourist accommodation: reselling electricity, gas and utilities
- Tourist accommodation: responsibility for guest's belongings and luggage
- Data protection in tourism businesses
Planning permission and building control for tourism businesses
Find out if you need planning permission for your bed and breakfast, self catering or other tourism business.
If you plan to open a small bed and breakfast in your own home, you may not need planning permission to start your business. The key test to decide if you need planning permission is whether you will change the overall nature of the house. For example, a building changing from a private home to business premises.
Changing the use of premises
If your home will no longer be used mainly as a private residence, and your business activities will affect the area where you live then you will likely need planning consent for a change of use. Things affecting the local area include disturbance to neighbours and increased footfall.
You only need planning permission if the new building use is classed differently from the current one. For example, changing the building from a greengrocer to a shoe shop will not need planning permission as both are classed as shops. However, if you're changing a home into a guest house then you will need planning permission.
Contact your council’s local planning office for advice.
New premises
If you are agreeing a lease or buying a new property for your accommodation start-up, you should consider in advance if you need to get planning permission for your intended use. Also think about what your chances of getting it are. Contact your local area planning office for their advice at an early stage.
Building regulations
Building regulations apply if you plan to:
- convert, extend or make changes to the structure of an existing property
- construct a new building
These rules set standards on the safety and stability of any building work.
If you're planning on carrying out work on your premises, you must apply with your local Building Control Office.
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Business rates for your tourist accommodation premises
Find out if you need to pay business rates serviced or self catering accommodation premises.
If you operate bed and breakfast or self-catering accommodation, you may need to pay business rates.
If you operate a bed and breakfast you may have to pay both non-domestic rates, on the portion used for guest accommodation, and domestic rates on the portion used for owner/staff accommodation. See business rates.
Business rates do not apply to a bed and breakfast where:
- facilities have less than six bed spaces available
- letting out the rooms is subsidiary to the use of the rest of the house as your home (looking at, for example, the length of your season, the scale of changes carried out for guests and how much of the house you live in)
Business rates do not apply to a self-catering accommodation where:
- the facilities are available for short-period lets less than 140 days a year
Domestic and business use
If you have to pay business rates, but use your property for business and domestic purposes, only the part you use for business purposes is subject to business rates. You will have to pay domestic rates for the residential part of the property.
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Signs for your tourism business
Find out if you need permission to display tourism signs or advertisements for your business.
If you display any outdoor signs or advertisements you may need to apply to the planning authority for consent. Whether you need consent from the planning authority depends on whether your signs are fully, partially or not lit-up and where you place them.
If your property is listed or lies within a conservation area you may need further consent. You could also be more restricted in the types of signs you can display.
You will also need to ensure that any signs you display are not misleading. This could be a breach of fair trading rules, as well as marketing laws.
Brown tourism signs
If you wish to apply for brown tourism signposting, you should contact the Roads Department of your local council, who will advise you about:
- procedures
- local policy
- costs
Tourism Northern Ireland provide information about brown signs.
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Health and safety in tourism businesses
An outline of health and safety obligations specific to tourism businesses.
As a tourist accommodation provider, you are responsible for health and safety of your guests whilst they are on your premises.
Your health and safety obligations extend to not only to guests, but to anyone on your premises, including staff.
For more general guidance on health and safety, see health and safety.
Keeping your guests safe
You have a 'duty of care' to guests and other visitors. You must make sure that premises are reasonably safe for purpose.. If you don't take precautions to ensure reasonable safety of the premises, you can be sued for compensation or prosecuted.
To make premises 'reasonably safe', you should take common sense precautions such as:
- remove risks and obstructions that may cause your guests to slip, trip or fall (eg wet floor, loose cables, clutter on stairs, etc)
- make sure furnishings are fit for purpose and secure
- ensure electrical appliances are safe to use
- make your guests aware of your emergency procedures
- consider all your guests and their needs (eg children, disabled guests etc.)
If certain parts of your premises, such as the kitchen or the store room, are clearly marked out of bounds to guests, your duty of care may not extend to these areas.
You may be held liable for accidents caused as a result of the actions of your staff or other guests. However, your guests also have a duty to take care of their own safety. If they have an accident due to their own negligence, or while doing something you wouldn't reasonably expect them to do, your liability for the accident may be reduced or overridden.
As part of your health and safety responsibilities, you will need to report certain accidents involving your guests or staff. See first aid, accidents and ill health in the workplace.
Staff health and safety
For on outline of your health and safety duties to your staff, see employer's health and safety responsibilities.
You are also legally required to have insurance to cover your liability for any bodily injury or disease sustained by an employee at work. See liability insurance for your business.
Whilst it's not a legal requirement, you should consider taking out additional insurance to cover your liability to your guests. See public liability insurance.
If a guest or a member of your staff has made a claim against you, you should seek legal advice. Find a solicitor.
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Fire, gas and electricity safety in tourism businesses
Fire, gas and electricity safety laws that tourist accommodation businesses must comply with.
All accommodation businesses, regardless of their size, have to comply with safety laws relating to fire, gas and electricity.
Fire safety
All businesses must:
- carry out regular fire risk assessments
- record the assessment, if they employ five or more employees
- put in place adequate fire prevention and evacuation measures
Fire risk assessment is the foundation for all the fire safety measures you need on the premises. It is essential to keep your business and your guests safe. See fire safety and risk assessment.
Furniture fire safety
If you are providing self-catering accommodation that contains upholstered furniture, your furniture must comply with certain safety tests:
- upholstered furniture must pass a prescribed cigarette resistance test
- cover prescribed fabric, whether for use in permanent or loose covers, will normally have to pass a match resistance test
- filling materials for all furniture must pass ignitability tests as specified in the regulations
All new upholstered furniture (except mattresses and bedding) and loose and stretch covers for furniture must carry a permanent label detailing compliance with fire safety requirements. Always look for these labels before buying any upholstered furniture for your property.
You could consider buying furniture designed to cope with a greater fire hazard (eg hotel beds and chairs). When re-equipping your self-catering property, it will normally be for you to decide if you require the new furniture to meet these higher fire resistance standards. If you are in doubt, check with your local fire authority.
Electrical safety
Electrical safety laws apply to most electrical equipment in your accommodation. This includes:
- toasters
- kettles
- TVs
- lamps
- radios
The laws apply to new and second-hand equipment equally.
If you are making the equipment available for your guests to use, you will be liable for their safety. For electrical equipment to be regarded as safe, there should be no risk (or only a minimal risk) that the equipment could cause death or injury to any person, or cause damage to property.
Whilst not a legal requirement, you should regularly check and service the electrical goods you supply in your accommodation to ensure their safety.
Gas safety
You must have gas appliances, installation pipework or flue installed in your premises in accordance with manufacturer's instructions. You must maintain them in a safe condition. A Gas Safe engineer must inspect them at least once a year.
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Food and drink laws in tourism businesses
Information to help you comply with food safety laws if you offer food or drink to your guests.
If you wish to carry out any 'food operations' in the course of your accommodation business, you must register your premises with your local council's environmental health department. You must do so at least 28 days before your business opens.
Food operations include selling, cooking, storing, handling, preparing and distributing food and drink.
If you're serving food to your guests, you also need to ensure that you comply with other relevant laws relating to food safety, hygiene and labelling. Find detailed information on each below.
- Hygiene for food businesses - store food correctly ensuring good hygiene and comply with health standards
- food law and enforcement - an introduction for food business operators to food law and food hygiene laws, and how they are enforced
- labelling food products - labelling requirements
- Starting and running a food business - food safety and best practice for food businesses, including ideas for healthier catering
Liquor licensing
If you wish to sell alcohol on your premises, you will need an alcohol licence.
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Discrimination and equality in tourism businesses
Disability and discrimination laws for accommodation providers and what they mean for your business.
If you provide any sort of accommodation in Northern Ireland, serviced or self-catering, you have duties under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Under this law, you must not discriminate against disabled people using your goods, facilities or services. You must treat everyone fairly, regardless of their:
- age
- gender
- race
- sexual orientation
- disability
- gender reassignment
- religion
- belief
- political opinion
You can't refuse to serve people with disabilities or provide them a lower standard of service, unless this can be justified.
You may need to make 'reasonable adjustments' to any barriers that may prevent a person with disabilities using or accessing their service.
What is 'reasonable' will depend on a number of factors, including the cost of an adjustment. Think ahead and take steps to address barriers that impede disabled people. This can include:
- making 'reasonable' changes to the way things are done - things that put disabled people at a disadvantage, eg no dogs policy
- making 'reasonable' changes to the built environment - eg altering the structure of a building to improve access
- providing auxiliary aids and services, eg information in an accessible format, an induction loop for customers with hearing aids, etc
See disabled access and facilities in business premises.
The Equality Commission offer advice and information to service providers on their duties under equality law.
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Employment in tourism businesses
Employment law and best practice resources that can help you run your tourism business lawfully and efficiently.
If you employ staff in your tourism business, or are thinking of doing so in the future, there are a number of things that you will need to consider.
The guides below can help you comply with the relevant employment laws, and provide you with best practice know-how for managing your staff:
- taking on staff - make effective recruitment decisions and get the right people in place
- HR documents and templates - downloadable forms, checklists and sample documents to help you with your day-to-day HR practices
- the employment contract - understand the basic elements of a contract of employment as required by law
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage - ensure that you're paying your employees the correct minimum hourly rate
- ensuring your workers are eligible to work in the UK - if you employ migrant workers, make sure you check their entitlement to work in the UK
- prevent discrimination and value diversity - understand and keep on the right side of the laws that ban unfair treatment of staff
- working time - the rules about working hours and how best to manage them
- holiday, sickness and other leave - comply with legislation related to leave entitlement and allowing time off work
- handling grievances - develop grievance procedures and put them into practice to resolve problems effectively
- dismissals, resignations and retirements - manage staff leaving and dismissal fairly and correctly
- staff training and development - guidance on how to train your staff to improve their skills
- zero-hours contracts - your responsibilities and the advantages and disadvantages of zero-hours contracts
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Keeping a guest register in your tourist accommodation business
Why you must keep a guest register if you run a hotel, bed and breakfast, hostel or any other accommodation business, and what you need to record in it.
If you run a serviced or self-catering accommodation business, you must keep a record of all guests over the age of 16. This can take the form of a registration form, or can be recorded electronically.
You must keep each guest's details for at least 12 months and have the register available for inspection by police or other authorised persons at all time.
What do I need to record?
On guests' arrival, you need to record:
- the guests' full name and address
- the guests' nationality
- arrival and departure dates
If your guests are using your car parking facilities, you may also want to take record of the registration number of their car. However, you aren't legally required to do so.
Data protection
When keeping a guest register, even if it's just names and contact details, you must protect your guests' privacy under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
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Tourist accommodation: reselling electricity, gas and utilities
The rules for reselling gas and electricity, charging for telephone calls and providing water from private supply.
When you're running a tourist accommodation business, the costs and responsibilities of providing utilities to your guests are one of the factors you will need to consider.
The resale of electricity
If you are reselling electricity to your guests that has already been bought from an authorised electricity supplier, the most you can charge is limited by law.
You can only resell electricity at the same price you bought it. You are not allowed to charge guests more money for electricity than you paid for it.
This rule does not apply if you charge your guests an inclusive charge for accommodation, eg one that includes 'all amenities' and does not specify separate charge for electricity.
The resale of gas
As with electricity, you may only resell gas at the same price that you bought it. You aren't allowed to charge your guests more for gas than you originally paid for it.
Download guidance for resellers of electricity and gas (PDF, 307KB).
Private water supplies
If you use or provide water from a private supply to other people in the course of your business, eg by renting out holiday accommodation or using water for food production, you have a duty of care towards these people for the safety of the water you supply.
In these circumstances, you must register your supply with the Northern Ireland Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI).
Once you register your private water supply, the DWI will assess it for contamination risk and place it on a monitoring programme to check that it meets the water quality standards.
Telephone call charging
As a matter of good practice, you should be as open as possible with guests about telephone charges.
You should indicate clearly typical usage rates for bedroom telephones. These should include examples of costs per unit and length of time that unit represents.
You should display charges for:
- peak and off-peak calls
- local and domestic calls
- international calls
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Tourist accommodation: responsibility for guest's belongings and luggage
Your responsibilities for safekeeping, and your rights to retain, your guest's belongings.
If you run serviced accommodation, such as a bed and breakfast or a hotel, you must take responsibility for looking after your guest's luggage. In some cases, you may have the legal right to keep your guest's luggage if they don't pay their bill.
Your responsibility for luggage and belongings
If you run a hotel and have a guest for at least one night, you could be liable for loss and damage to your guest's property. This will depend on certain factors:
- You may not be liable where the loss or damage to the property is caused by the guest themselves or by an 'act of God' (eg a flood).
- You may be fully liable where the loss or damage to the guest's property is caused solely by your (or your staff's) neglect or actions. You are also responsible if the goods are given to you for safekeeping. You are liable if you were offered the property for safekeeping and you refused.
- You may limit your liability by displaying a notice about loss of or damage to guest's property. This applies when the loss or damage to the guest's property does not fit into either of the above categories. The notice must be in a prominent place near the main entrance or reception area. You may then be liable to pay damages of £50 per item and £100 maximum per person. This does not cover vehicles, any property left in the vehicles, or live animals.
What if the guest did not stay overnight?
If your guest didn't stay overnight and was, for example, simply visiting the restaurant or bar, you will usually be liable for the loss of or damage to your guest's property only if:
- you or your staff have been negligent
- the guest handed the property over to you for safekeeping
Your right to retain a guest's luggage
In certain circumstances, serviced accommodation providers may have the right to detain a guest's luggage.
The owner of a hotel (as defined in the Hotel Proprietors Act (Northern Ireland) 1958) has the legal right to keep a guest's property until the guest settles their bill. This does not include the guest's car or property left in it; or clothes that the guest is wearing.
When the guest settles their bill, you must return the property to them. You cannot charge for storage. You must reimburse the guest if the property has been damaged while you had it.
If the bill has not been paid in full after six weeks, you may sell the guest's property at a public auction, advertised at least four weeks in advance. If the sale makes more money than what is owed to you (including the costs of advertising and organising the auction), you must return the excess to the guest.
Another option for getting what's owed to you is claiming it through the small claims procedure.
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Data protection in tourism businesses
All tourist accommodation businesses must keep a guest register – be aware of your responsibilities to keep this data secure.
All serviced and self-catering accommodation premises must keep a record of all guests over the age of 16. The record should include full name and nationality. See keeping a guest register in your tourist accommodation business.
When keeping a guest register, even if it's just names and contact details, you must protect your guests' privacy under data protection law. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) sets out the key principles, rights and obligations for processing of personal data.
Data security and credit cards
If you handle customer's credit/debit card number, you must follow the standards of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. The standard is applicable to any organisation that stores, transmits or processes cardholder information.
Find out how to protect your customers and achieve the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance; See accepting online payments.
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Deregister your certified tourist accommodation
Tourist accommodation categories that need certification
The eight categories of tourist accommodation that require certification from Tourism NI in order to trade.
There are eight categories of tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland. These are:
- hotels
- guesthouses
- bed and breakfast establishments
- guest accommodation
- hostels
- self-catering establishments
- bunk houses/camping barns
- campus accommodation
Tourism laws set out minimum requirements for each of the categories, such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, facilities, amenities or services provided. You must fulfil the minimum criteria to be allocated to one of the categories.
A statutory inspection, carried out by Tourism NI, will determine whether your premises meet the criteria laid down for your category.
New ventures need to be certified and inspected by Tourism NI before they are allowed to trade legally.
Existing businesses will have to be inspected at least once every four years, to ensure they still meet the minimum standards.
Changing tourist accommodation categories
If you already run a tourist accommodation business, but wish to change your premises to a different category, you will need to apply to Tourism NI. Your premises will be re-inspected. If you meet the required minimum standard for the new category, a new certificate will be issued. If you are an existing tourism accommodation provider, you can apply to change accommodation category online [registration required].
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Get your tourist accommodation certified
The process of applying for tourist accommodation certification from Tourism NI and getting your premises inspected.
You must be certified by Tourism NI if you provide tourist accommodation. The law requires you to have a valid Tourism NI certificate to run your tourism accommodation business legally. If you don't have the certificate, you risk getting fined up to £2,500, imprisoned for up to 6 months, or both.
Before applying for a certificate
To become a certified tourist accommodation provider, you will need to consider other legal requirements such as planning permissions, fire compliance and registering your private water supply.
You can learn more about these in our guides:
- legal requirements for tourism businesses
- get the right licences for your tourist accommodation business
Applying for certification
You can apply for certification online. You will need to send a relevant inspection fee, as well as any other documentation required along with your application.
Inspection visit
When Tourism NI receives your application, you will be appointed a quality & standards (Q&S) officer. The officer will carry out an inspection of your premises. You will get a letter advising you of this, and a phone call from the Q&S Officer letting you know the date of your inspection.
After the inspection, Tourism NI will either approve or refuse the issue of a certificate. In some cases, they may give conditions to the certificate, such as additional work to be carried out on the property. You will be given a set time to carry out this work.
If your property doesn't meet the criteria for the accommodation category you are applying for, your application will be refused. You will be served a notice detailing the reasons for refusal. If you don't agree with Tourism NI's decision to refuse to issue a certificate, you can appeal the inspection outcome.
It generally takes between 4-8 weeks from when you apply to obtain the notification or refusal of a certificate. The length of time will depend on your availability and the inspectors' existing schedules.
Conditions of your certification
If your premises meets the minimum requirement standards, your premises will become a certified tourist establishment and you may begin trading.
You must display your certificate on your premises in a visible place around the entrance. You must comply with any conditions attached to a certificate, including informing Tourism NI if the owner changes and maintaining a visitor register.
To maintain your certification, you will also need to allow Tourism NI to carry out statutory inspection of your premises at least once every four years. Occasionally there will also be ad hoc inspections.
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Inspections of certified tourist accommodation
Tourism NI inspects certified tourist accommodation every four years and also carries out ad-hoc inspections.
Tourism NI carries out statutory inspections of tourist accommodation premises in Northern Ireland at least once every four years. This is to ensure that established businesses continue to provide at least the statutory minimum standards fitting to their accommodation category.
These statutory inspections incur fees which you will need to cover.
In each of the three years between, you will need to complete a statutory review form. You will usually be given a 30 days notice to submit your yearly statutory review form to Tourism NI.
Tourism NI can also carry out ad hoc inspections of your premises as part of their monitoring remit, or upon receiving visitor complaints. These do not incur a fee and do not impact on the four year inspection cycle for your premises.
What happens after inspection?
If Tourism NI determines that, after an inspection or a statutory review, your establishment meets the prescribed minimum standards, it will be confirmed in its category.
However, you may be served with a notice revoking your certificate if:
- after inspection or statutory review, Tourism NI finds that your accommodation no longer meets criteria for its particular category
- you refuse to allow your premises to be inspected on two occasions
If Tourism NI revokes your existing certificate, you will not be able to continue trading legally. You may request a review of this decision within seven days from the date on which the notice of refusal or revocation is issued. See appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome.
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Appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome
If Tourism NI refuse or revoke your tourist accommodation certification you can appeal the decision.
If your premises fail to meet the minimum statutory standards for your chosen accommodation category, Tourism NI will either:
- refuse to issue you a certificate if you are a new business, or
- revoke the existing certificate if you are an established business
Either way, you will not be able to trade legally without a valid Tourism NI certificate.
When you're served with a notice of refusal or revocation, you can request a review of the decision within seven days from the date notice is issued. On review of the notice, Tourism NI will allow you to be heard in person, or by counsel or solicitors. Following the review, Tourism NI may withdraw the notice and issue a certificate or confirm the issue of the notice.
If the notice is confirmed, you may further appeal against the notice to the county court. On appeal, the county court may either allow the appeal, order Tourism NI to issue a certificate, or dismiss the appeal. The decision of the county court on an appeal is final.
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Deregister your certified tourist accommodation
You should inform Tourism NI if your wish to stop trading as a tourist accommodation provider.
If you no longer wish to trade as a tourist accommodation provider, you will need to inform the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit. You can call the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit on Tel 028 9044 1545 or email them at qa@tourismni.com.
Deregistering your premises with Tourism NI will withdraw your certificate and you will no longer be able to offer tourist accommodation legally.
Should you wish to begin trading again, you will need to re-apply for tourist accommodation certification with Tourism NI.
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Appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome
Tourist accommodation categories that need certification
The eight categories of tourist accommodation that require certification from Tourism NI in order to trade.
There are eight categories of tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland. These are:
- hotels
- guesthouses
- bed and breakfast establishments
- guest accommodation
- hostels
- self-catering establishments
- bunk houses/camping barns
- campus accommodation
Tourism laws set out minimum requirements for each of the categories, such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, facilities, amenities or services provided. You must fulfil the minimum criteria to be allocated to one of the categories.
A statutory inspection, carried out by Tourism NI, will determine whether your premises meet the criteria laid down for your category.
New ventures need to be certified and inspected by Tourism NI before they are allowed to trade legally.
Existing businesses will have to be inspected at least once every four years, to ensure they still meet the minimum standards.
Changing tourist accommodation categories
If you already run a tourist accommodation business, but wish to change your premises to a different category, you will need to apply to Tourism NI. Your premises will be re-inspected. If you meet the required minimum standard for the new category, a new certificate will be issued. If you are an existing tourism accommodation provider, you can apply to change accommodation category online [registration required].
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Get your tourist accommodation certified
The process of applying for tourist accommodation certification from Tourism NI and getting your premises inspected.
You must be certified by Tourism NI if you provide tourist accommodation. The law requires you to have a valid Tourism NI certificate to run your tourism accommodation business legally. If you don't have the certificate, you risk getting fined up to £2,500, imprisoned for up to 6 months, or both.
Before applying for a certificate
To become a certified tourist accommodation provider, you will need to consider other legal requirements such as planning permissions, fire compliance and registering your private water supply.
You can learn more about these in our guides:
- legal requirements for tourism businesses
- get the right licences for your tourist accommodation business
Applying for certification
You can apply for certification online. You will need to send a relevant inspection fee, as well as any other documentation required along with your application.
Inspection visit
When Tourism NI receives your application, you will be appointed a quality & standards (Q&S) officer. The officer will carry out an inspection of your premises. You will get a letter advising you of this, and a phone call from the Q&S Officer letting you know the date of your inspection.
After the inspection, Tourism NI will either approve or refuse the issue of a certificate. In some cases, they may give conditions to the certificate, such as additional work to be carried out on the property. You will be given a set time to carry out this work.
If your property doesn't meet the criteria for the accommodation category you are applying for, your application will be refused. You will be served a notice detailing the reasons for refusal. If you don't agree with Tourism NI's decision to refuse to issue a certificate, you can appeal the inspection outcome.
It generally takes between 4-8 weeks from when you apply to obtain the notification or refusal of a certificate. The length of time will depend on your availability and the inspectors' existing schedules.
Conditions of your certification
If your premises meets the minimum requirement standards, your premises will become a certified tourist establishment and you may begin trading.
You must display your certificate on your premises in a visible place around the entrance. You must comply with any conditions attached to a certificate, including informing Tourism NI if the owner changes and maintaining a visitor register.
To maintain your certification, you will also need to allow Tourism NI to carry out statutory inspection of your premises at least once every four years. Occasionally there will also be ad hoc inspections.
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Inspections of certified tourist accommodation
Tourism NI inspects certified tourist accommodation every four years and also carries out ad-hoc inspections.
Tourism NI carries out statutory inspections of tourist accommodation premises in Northern Ireland at least once every four years. This is to ensure that established businesses continue to provide at least the statutory minimum standards fitting to their accommodation category.
These statutory inspections incur fees which you will need to cover.
In each of the three years between, you will need to complete a statutory review form. You will usually be given a 30 days notice to submit your yearly statutory review form to Tourism NI.
Tourism NI can also carry out ad hoc inspections of your premises as part of their monitoring remit, or upon receiving visitor complaints. These do not incur a fee and do not impact on the four year inspection cycle for your premises.
What happens after inspection?
If Tourism NI determines that, after an inspection or a statutory review, your establishment meets the prescribed minimum standards, it will be confirmed in its category.
However, you may be served with a notice revoking your certificate if:
- after inspection or statutory review, Tourism NI finds that your accommodation no longer meets criteria for its particular category
- you refuse to allow your premises to be inspected on two occasions
If Tourism NI revokes your existing certificate, you will not be able to continue trading legally. You may request a review of this decision within seven days from the date on which the notice of refusal or revocation is issued. See appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome.
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Appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome
If Tourism NI refuse or revoke your tourist accommodation certification you can appeal the decision.
If your premises fail to meet the minimum statutory standards for your chosen accommodation category, Tourism NI will either:
- refuse to issue you a certificate if you are a new business, or
- revoke the existing certificate if you are an established business
Either way, you will not be able to trade legally without a valid Tourism NI certificate.
When you're served with a notice of refusal or revocation, you can request a review of the decision within seven days from the date notice is issued. On review of the notice, Tourism NI will allow you to be heard in person, or by counsel or solicitors. Following the review, Tourism NI may withdraw the notice and issue a certificate or confirm the issue of the notice.
If the notice is confirmed, you may further appeal against the notice to the county court. On appeal, the county court may either allow the appeal, order Tourism NI to issue a certificate, or dismiss the appeal. The decision of the county court on an appeal is final.
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Deregister your certified tourist accommodation
You should inform Tourism NI if your wish to stop trading as a tourist accommodation provider.
If you no longer wish to trade as a tourist accommodation provider, you will need to inform the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit. You can call the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit on Tel 028 9044 1545 or email them at qa@tourismni.com.
Deregistering your premises with Tourism NI will withdraw your certificate and you will no longer be able to offer tourist accommodation legally.
Should you wish to begin trading again, you will need to re-apply for tourist accommodation certification with Tourism NI.
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Inspections of certified tourist accommodation
Tourist accommodation categories that need certification
The eight categories of tourist accommodation that require certification from Tourism NI in order to trade.
There are eight categories of tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland. These are:
- hotels
- guesthouses
- bed and breakfast establishments
- guest accommodation
- hostels
- self-catering establishments
- bunk houses/camping barns
- campus accommodation
Tourism laws set out minimum requirements for each of the categories, such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, facilities, amenities or services provided. You must fulfil the minimum criteria to be allocated to one of the categories.
A statutory inspection, carried out by Tourism NI, will determine whether your premises meet the criteria laid down for your category.
New ventures need to be certified and inspected by Tourism NI before they are allowed to trade legally.
Existing businesses will have to be inspected at least once every four years, to ensure they still meet the minimum standards.
Changing tourist accommodation categories
If you already run a tourist accommodation business, but wish to change your premises to a different category, you will need to apply to Tourism NI. Your premises will be re-inspected. If you meet the required minimum standard for the new category, a new certificate will be issued. If you are an existing tourism accommodation provider, you can apply to change accommodation category online [registration required].
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Get your tourist accommodation certified
The process of applying for tourist accommodation certification from Tourism NI and getting your premises inspected.
You must be certified by Tourism NI if you provide tourist accommodation. The law requires you to have a valid Tourism NI certificate to run your tourism accommodation business legally. If you don't have the certificate, you risk getting fined up to £2,500, imprisoned for up to 6 months, or both.
Before applying for a certificate
To become a certified tourist accommodation provider, you will need to consider other legal requirements such as planning permissions, fire compliance and registering your private water supply.
You can learn more about these in our guides:
- legal requirements for tourism businesses
- get the right licences for your tourist accommodation business
Applying for certification
You can apply for certification online. You will need to send a relevant inspection fee, as well as any other documentation required along with your application.
Inspection visit
When Tourism NI receives your application, you will be appointed a quality & standards (Q&S) officer. The officer will carry out an inspection of your premises. You will get a letter advising you of this, and a phone call from the Q&S Officer letting you know the date of your inspection.
After the inspection, Tourism NI will either approve or refuse the issue of a certificate. In some cases, they may give conditions to the certificate, such as additional work to be carried out on the property. You will be given a set time to carry out this work.
If your property doesn't meet the criteria for the accommodation category you are applying for, your application will be refused. You will be served a notice detailing the reasons for refusal. If you don't agree with Tourism NI's decision to refuse to issue a certificate, you can appeal the inspection outcome.
It generally takes between 4-8 weeks from when you apply to obtain the notification or refusal of a certificate. The length of time will depend on your availability and the inspectors' existing schedules.
Conditions of your certification
If your premises meets the minimum requirement standards, your premises will become a certified tourist establishment and you may begin trading.
You must display your certificate on your premises in a visible place around the entrance. You must comply with any conditions attached to a certificate, including informing Tourism NI if the owner changes and maintaining a visitor register.
To maintain your certification, you will also need to allow Tourism NI to carry out statutory inspection of your premises at least once every four years. Occasionally there will also be ad hoc inspections.
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Inspections of certified tourist accommodation
Tourism NI inspects certified tourist accommodation every four years and also carries out ad-hoc inspections.
Tourism NI carries out statutory inspections of tourist accommodation premises in Northern Ireland at least once every four years. This is to ensure that established businesses continue to provide at least the statutory minimum standards fitting to their accommodation category.
These statutory inspections incur fees which you will need to cover.
In each of the three years between, you will need to complete a statutory review form. You will usually be given a 30 days notice to submit your yearly statutory review form to Tourism NI.
Tourism NI can also carry out ad hoc inspections of your premises as part of their monitoring remit, or upon receiving visitor complaints. These do not incur a fee and do not impact on the four year inspection cycle for your premises.
What happens after inspection?
If Tourism NI determines that, after an inspection or a statutory review, your establishment meets the prescribed minimum standards, it will be confirmed in its category.
However, you may be served with a notice revoking your certificate if:
- after inspection or statutory review, Tourism NI finds that your accommodation no longer meets criteria for its particular category
- you refuse to allow your premises to be inspected on two occasions
If Tourism NI revokes your existing certificate, you will not be able to continue trading legally. You may request a review of this decision within seven days from the date on which the notice of refusal or revocation is issued. See appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome.
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Appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome
If Tourism NI refuse or revoke your tourist accommodation certification you can appeal the decision.
If your premises fail to meet the minimum statutory standards for your chosen accommodation category, Tourism NI will either:
- refuse to issue you a certificate if you are a new business, or
- revoke the existing certificate if you are an established business
Either way, you will not be able to trade legally without a valid Tourism NI certificate.
When you're served with a notice of refusal or revocation, you can request a review of the decision within seven days from the date notice is issued. On review of the notice, Tourism NI will allow you to be heard in person, or by counsel or solicitors. Following the review, Tourism NI may withdraw the notice and issue a certificate or confirm the issue of the notice.
If the notice is confirmed, you may further appeal against the notice to the county court. On appeal, the county court may either allow the appeal, order Tourism NI to issue a certificate, or dismiss the appeal. The decision of the county court on an appeal is final.
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Deregister your certified tourist accommodation
You should inform Tourism NI if your wish to stop trading as a tourist accommodation provider.
If you no longer wish to trade as a tourist accommodation provider, you will need to inform the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit. You can call the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit on Tel 028 9044 1545 or email them at qa@tourismni.com.
Deregistering your premises with Tourism NI will withdraw your certificate and you will no longer be able to offer tourist accommodation legally.
Should you wish to begin trading again, you will need to re-apply for tourist accommodation certification with Tourism NI.
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Get your tourist accommodation certified
Tourist accommodation categories that need certification
The eight categories of tourist accommodation that require certification from Tourism NI in order to trade.
There are eight categories of tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland. These are:
- hotels
- guesthouses
- bed and breakfast establishments
- guest accommodation
- hostels
- self-catering establishments
- bunk houses/camping barns
- campus accommodation
Tourism laws set out minimum requirements for each of the categories, such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, facilities, amenities or services provided. You must fulfil the minimum criteria to be allocated to one of the categories.
A statutory inspection, carried out by Tourism NI, will determine whether your premises meet the criteria laid down for your category.
New ventures need to be certified and inspected by Tourism NI before they are allowed to trade legally.
Existing businesses will have to be inspected at least once every four years, to ensure they still meet the minimum standards.
Changing tourist accommodation categories
If you already run a tourist accommodation business, but wish to change your premises to a different category, you will need to apply to Tourism NI. Your premises will be re-inspected. If you meet the required minimum standard for the new category, a new certificate will be issued. If you are an existing tourism accommodation provider, you can apply to change accommodation category online [registration required].
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Get your tourist accommodation certified
The process of applying for tourist accommodation certification from Tourism NI and getting your premises inspected.
You must be certified by Tourism NI if you provide tourist accommodation. The law requires you to have a valid Tourism NI certificate to run your tourism accommodation business legally. If you don't have the certificate, you risk getting fined up to £2,500, imprisoned for up to 6 months, or both.
Before applying for a certificate
To become a certified tourist accommodation provider, you will need to consider other legal requirements such as planning permissions, fire compliance and registering your private water supply.
You can learn more about these in our guides:
- legal requirements for tourism businesses
- get the right licences for your tourist accommodation business
Applying for certification
You can apply for certification online. You will need to send a relevant inspection fee, as well as any other documentation required along with your application.
Inspection visit
When Tourism NI receives your application, you will be appointed a quality & standards (Q&S) officer. The officer will carry out an inspection of your premises. You will get a letter advising you of this, and a phone call from the Q&S Officer letting you know the date of your inspection.
After the inspection, Tourism NI will either approve or refuse the issue of a certificate. In some cases, they may give conditions to the certificate, such as additional work to be carried out on the property. You will be given a set time to carry out this work.
If your property doesn't meet the criteria for the accommodation category you are applying for, your application will be refused. You will be served a notice detailing the reasons for refusal. If you don't agree with Tourism NI's decision to refuse to issue a certificate, you can appeal the inspection outcome.
It generally takes between 4-8 weeks from when you apply to obtain the notification or refusal of a certificate. The length of time will depend on your availability and the inspectors' existing schedules.
Conditions of your certification
If your premises meets the minimum requirement standards, your premises will become a certified tourist establishment and you may begin trading.
You must display your certificate on your premises in a visible place around the entrance. You must comply with any conditions attached to a certificate, including informing Tourism NI if the owner changes and maintaining a visitor register.
To maintain your certification, you will also need to allow Tourism NI to carry out statutory inspection of your premises at least once every four years. Occasionally there will also be ad hoc inspections.
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Inspections of certified tourist accommodation
Tourism NI inspects certified tourist accommodation every four years and also carries out ad-hoc inspections.
Tourism NI carries out statutory inspections of tourist accommodation premises in Northern Ireland at least once every four years. This is to ensure that established businesses continue to provide at least the statutory minimum standards fitting to their accommodation category.
These statutory inspections incur fees which you will need to cover.
In each of the three years between, you will need to complete a statutory review form. You will usually be given a 30 days notice to submit your yearly statutory review form to Tourism NI.
Tourism NI can also carry out ad hoc inspections of your premises as part of their monitoring remit, or upon receiving visitor complaints. These do not incur a fee and do not impact on the four year inspection cycle for your premises.
What happens after inspection?
If Tourism NI determines that, after an inspection or a statutory review, your establishment meets the prescribed minimum standards, it will be confirmed in its category.
However, you may be served with a notice revoking your certificate if:
- after inspection or statutory review, Tourism NI finds that your accommodation no longer meets criteria for its particular category
- you refuse to allow your premises to be inspected on two occasions
If Tourism NI revokes your existing certificate, you will not be able to continue trading legally. You may request a review of this decision within seven days from the date on which the notice of refusal or revocation is issued. See appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome.
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Appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome
If Tourism NI refuse or revoke your tourist accommodation certification you can appeal the decision.
If your premises fail to meet the minimum statutory standards for your chosen accommodation category, Tourism NI will either:
- refuse to issue you a certificate if you are a new business, or
- revoke the existing certificate if you are an established business
Either way, you will not be able to trade legally without a valid Tourism NI certificate.
When you're served with a notice of refusal or revocation, you can request a review of the decision within seven days from the date notice is issued. On review of the notice, Tourism NI will allow you to be heard in person, or by counsel or solicitors. Following the review, Tourism NI may withdraw the notice and issue a certificate or confirm the issue of the notice.
If the notice is confirmed, you may further appeal against the notice to the county court. On appeal, the county court may either allow the appeal, order Tourism NI to issue a certificate, or dismiss the appeal. The decision of the county court on an appeal is final.
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Deregister your certified tourist accommodation
You should inform Tourism NI if your wish to stop trading as a tourist accommodation provider.
If you no longer wish to trade as a tourist accommodation provider, you will need to inform the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit. You can call the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit on Tel 028 9044 1545 or email them at qa@tourismni.com.
Deregistering your premises with Tourism NI will withdraw your certificate and you will no longer be able to offer tourist accommodation legally.
Should you wish to begin trading again, you will need to re-apply for tourist accommodation certification with Tourism NI.
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Tourist accommodation categories that need certification
Tourist accommodation categories that need certification
The eight categories of tourist accommodation that require certification from Tourism NI in order to trade.
There are eight categories of tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland. These are:
- hotels
- guesthouses
- bed and breakfast establishments
- guest accommodation
- hostels
- self-catering establishments
- bunk houses/camping barns
- campus accommodation
Tourism laws set out minimum requirements for each of the categories, such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, facilities, amenities or services provided. You must fulfil the minimum criteria to be allocated to one of the categories.
A statutory inspection, carried out by Tourism NI, will determine whether your premises meet the criteria laid down for your category.
New ventures need to be certified and inspected by Tourism NI before they are allowed to trade legally.
Existing businesses will have to be inspected at least once every four years, to ensure they still meet the minimum standards.
Changing tourist accommodation categories
If you already run a tourist accommodation business, but wish to change your premises to a different category, you will need to apply to Tourism NI. Your premises will be re-inspected. If you meet the required minimum standard for the new category, a new certificate will be issued. If you are an existing tourism accommodation provider, you can apply to change accommodation category online [registration required].
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Source URL
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Get your tourist accommodation certified
The process of applying for tourist accommodation certification from Tourism NI and getting your premises inspected.
You must be certified by Tourism NI if you provide tourist accommodation. The law requires you to have a valid Tourism NI certificate to run your tourism accommodation business legally. If you don't have the certificate, you risk getting fined up to £2,500, imprisoned for up to 6 months, or both.
Before applying for a certificate
To become a certified tourist accommodation provider, you will need to consider other legal requirements such as planning permissions, fire compliance and registering your private water supply.
You can learn more about these in our guides:
- legal requirements for tourism businesses
- get the right licences for your tourist accommodation business
Applying for certification
You can apply for certification online. You will need to send a relevant inspection fee, as well as any other documentation required along with your application.
Inspection visit
When Tourism NI receives your application, you will be appointed a quality & standards (Q&S) officer. The officer will carry out an inspection of your premises. You will get a letter advising you of this, and a phone call from the Q&S Officer letting you know the date of your inspection.
After the inspection, Tourism NI will either approve or refuse the issue of a certificate. In some cases, they may give conditions to the certificate, such as additional work to be carried out on the property. You will be given a set time to carry out this work.
If your property doesn't meet the criteria for the accommodation category you are applying for, your application will be refused. You will be served a notice detailing the reasons for refusal. If you don't agree with Tourism NI's decision to refuse to issue a certificate, you can appeal the inspection outcome.
It generally takes between 4-8 weeks from when you apply to obtain the notification or refusal of a certificate. The length of time will depend on your availability and the inspectors' existing schedules.
Conditions of your certification
If your premises meets the minimum requirement standards, your premises will become a certified tourist establishment and you may begin trading.
You must display your certificate on your premises in a visible place around the entrance. You must comply with any conditions attached to a certificate, including informing Tourism NI if the owner changes and maintaining a visitor register.
To maintain your certification, you will also need to allow Tourism NI to carry out statutory inspection of your premises at least once every four years. Occasionally there will also be ad hoc inspections.
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Source URL
/content/get-your-tourist-accommodation-certified
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Inspections of certified tourist accommodation
Tourism NI inspects certified tourist accommodation every four years and also carries out ad-hoc inspections.
Tourism NI carries out statutory inspections of tourist accommodation premises in Northern Ireland at least once every four years. This is to ensure that established businesses continue to provide at least the statutory minimum standards fitting to their accommodation category.
These statutory inspections incur fees which you will need to cover.
In each of the three years between, you will need to complete a statutory review form. You will usually be given a 30 days notice to submit your yearly statutory review form to Tourism NI.
Tourism NI can also carry out ad hoc inspections of your premises as part of their monitoring remit, or upon receiving visitor complaints. These do not incur a fee and do not impact on the four year inspection cycle for your premises.
What happens after inspection?
If Tourism NI determines that, after an inspection or a statutory review, your establishment meets the prescribed minimum standards, it will be confirmed in its category.
However, you may be served with a notice revoking your certificate if:
- after inspection or statutory review, Tourism NI finds that your accommodation no longer meets criteria for its particular category
- you refuse to allow your premises to be inspected on two occasions
If Tourism NI revokes your existing certificate, you will not be able to continue trading legally. You may request a review of this decision within seven days from the date on which the notice of refusal or revocation is issued. See appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome.
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Source URL
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Appealing your tourist accommodation inspection outcome
If Tourism NI refuse or revoke your tourist accommodation certification you can appeal the decision.
If your premises fail to meet the minimum statutory standards for your chosen accommodation category, Tourism NI will either:
- refuse to issue you a certificate if you are a new business, or
- revoke the existing certificate if you are an established business
Either way, you will not be able to trade legally without a valid Tourism NI certificate.
When you're served with a notice of refusal or revocation, you can request a review of the decision within seven days from the date notice is issued. On review of the notice, Tourism NI will allow you to be heard in person, or by counsel or solicitors. Following the review, Tourism NI may withdraw the notice and issue a certificate or confirm the issue of the notice.
If the notice is confirmed, you may further appeal against the notice to the county court. On appeal, the county court may either allow the appeal, order Tourism NI to issue a certificate, or dismiss the appeal. The decision of the county court on an appeal is final.
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Deregister your certified tourist accommodation
You should inform Tourism NI if your wish to stop trading as a tourist accommodation provider.
If you no longer wish to trade as a tourist accommodation provider, you will need to inform the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit. You can call the Tourism NI Quality & Standards Unit on Tel 028 9044 1545 or email them at qa@tourismni.com.
Deregistering your premises with Tourism NI will withdraw your certificate and you will no longer be able to offer tourist accommodation legally.
Should you wish to begin trading again, you will need to re-apply for tourist accommodation certification with Tourism NI.
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Legal and licensing help for new tourist accommodation businesses
In this guide:
- Start a tourist accommodation business
- The tourist economy in Northern Ireland
- Legal and licensing help for new tourist accommodation businesses
- Categories of accommodation business
- Certifying a new accommodation business
- Quality assessment and star ratings for new accommodation businesses
- Entrepreneurship for tourist accommodation providers
- Support available for accommodation businesses
- Starting a tourist accommodation business - Kribben Cottages (video)
The tourist economy in Northern Ireland
Key facts and figures about the tourism industry in Northern Ireland.
In 2019, tourism in Northern Ireland attracted 5.3 million visitors who spent £1 billion.
In the past number of years the Northern Ireland tourism industry has benefited from significant major events such as The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Future opportunities will arise with the growing demand for screen tourism following the worldwide success of programmes like Game of Thrones and films such as Belfast.
Northern Ireland has also benefited from other significant tourism developments including the opening of new attractions such as the Game of Thrones studio tour.
Key statistics
Tourism statistics released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) for 2019 show:
- Overnight trips to Northern Ireland by external visitors were estimated to be 3 million.
- The growth in trips was largely driven by holidays, as there were 322,000 more holiday visitors compared with 2018. The closer to home markets (NI and ROI) increased by 17%, while holiday visitors from GB and Other Overseas grew by 7%.
- Domestic performance was strong, with NI residents taking more trips, notably holidays, in NI and spending more.
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Legal and licensing help for new tourist accommodation businesses
You should be aware of the various legal considerations before starting up a tourist accommodation business, such as certification.
There are a number of legal considerations for tourist accommodation providers. You must comply with all relevant legislation, in particular the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992.
Several organisations exist that can offer advice and guidance that will assist you in starting a tourist accommodation business.
Tourism NI
The Tourism NI Quality and Standards Unit can help you with mandatory tourism accommodation certification guidance and complying with relevant laws.
Invest NI Tourism Team
The Invest NI Tourism Team can advise you on the commercial aspects of your development.
Financial assistance may be available to established businesses or to help develop new accommodation businesses.
You can contact the Invest NI Tourism Team on Tel 0800 181 4422 or email tourism@investni.com.
Planning authorities
You should also speak with your local planning office at the outset of the project to find out if you will encounter any planning problems. A clear understanding, at an early stage, of planning issues relating to your project may save you time and money.
Your local council
The tourism officers of your local council will have a detailed knowledge of the tourism situation in your local area and will be able to provide information about council schemes or upcoming events, activities and initiatives planned for your area. Find your local council in Northern Ireland.
Rural projects
From time to time the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) offers support for the development of rural tourism accommodation projects.
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Categories of accommodation business
The eight accommodation categories in Northern Ireland including hotel, guesthouse, bed and breakfast and hostel.
Under the Tourism (NI) Order 1992, there are eight categories of accommodation. Each of these types of accommodation must be certified by Tourism NI.
What are the eight categories of tourism accommodation in Northern Ireland?
The different types of tourism accommodation include:
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment with a minimum of 15 double bedrooms (all of which must be en suite) that can provide breakfast, lunch, and an evening meal for guests.
Guesthouse
A guesthouse is an establishment with a minimum of three double bedrooms (all of which must be en suite) and can provide both breakfast and an evening meal.
Bed and breakfast (B&B)
A B&B offers overnight accommodation whilst also providing guests with a cooked breakfast. There is no requirement to provide an evening meal and only one guest bedroom is required.
Hostel
A hostel provides overnight budget accommodation for guests in shared rooms or dormitories. A hostel should have shared or en suite bathroom facilities, as well as a common kitchen and lounge area.
Self-catering
a self-catering unit is a self-contained apartment, house, cottage, etc which provides furnished accommodation for visitors including sleeping accommodation and catering facilities.
Bunk house/Camping barn
A bunk house or camping barn offers simple overnight shelter, often in remote locations with limited facilities and services.
Campus accommodation
Campus accommodation is provided by educational establishments for their students and made available to individuals, families or groups at certain times of the year, typically Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.
Guest accommodation
guest accommodation is primarily focused on the provision of en suite bedrooms, for example, restaurants and pubs that wish to provide accommodation for visitors.
Tourism NI offers start up guides for each of these categories. If you are an existing tourist accommodation provider and you wish to change your category, eg from a B&B to a guesthouse, you can apply online.
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Certifying a new accommodation business
If you are starting up a new tourist accommodation business such as a hotel or bed and breakfast, you must apply to get certification from Tourism NI.
To offer tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland, you must have a certificate from Tourism NI. It is illegal to offer tourist accommodation without certification.
Planning permission
Before seeking certification it is important to ensure you have met planning guidelines if you have had to make any building adjustments to the premises you intend to use for your accommodation business. See local council contact details in Northern Ireland.
Certification
Certification is mandatory for most establishments offering visitor accommodation in Northern Ireland. You can apply online to be certified by Tourism NI.
A fee for the inspection is payable in advance for the first inspection. Statutory inspections then take place once every four years although Tourism NI can undertake an inspection at any time. The purpose of inspections is to ensure that the minimum requirements appropriate to the category continue to be met. If not, Tourism NI may add conditions to the certificate or revoke it.
A certification officer will conduct an inspection to determine if the premises can be allocated to the chosen category. If a certificate is issued, your premises becomes a Certified Tourist Establishment and you may start trading.
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Quality assessment and star ratings for new accommodation businesses
Tourism NI runs a voluntary quality grading scheme for accommodation businesses – find out how to get your new business graded to boost your reputation.
Tourism NI runs a Quality Grading Scheme for accommodation businesses in Northern Ireland. Other UK National Tourist Boards and the AA also operate the scheme. This scheme is open to hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, guest accommodation, hostels and self-catering accommodation.
The scheme focuses on enhancing the visitor experience across all visitor touchpoints. In addition to providing a star rating which helps visitor decision making, the scheme also provides businesses with advice and support
Having a quality rating will give your premises credibility and visibility which is vital in today's competitive market.
Your business may receive up to five stars, based on a range of criteria, including cleanliness, presentation and service. Your business is rated by an assessor who in some instances will visit without making themselves known.
Please note that this scheme is voluntary, it is not a legal requirement and you are under no obligation to apply for quality grading.
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Entrepreneurship for tourist accommodation providers
Accommodation providers can benefit from strategic planning and taking an entrepreneurial approach to running the business.
With the variety of choice available to consumers from hotels, B&B's, caravan parks, guest houses or self catering accommodation it is important that tourist accommodation businesses take an entrepreneurial approach to generate profits or grow.
Taking an entrepreneurial approach in the tourist accommodation industry could include exploiting opportunities presented by increased visitor numbers due to major events, festivals, tourist attractions or celebrations.
Potential investors in tourism accommodation should be careful that there is a sustainable demand for more accommodation - beyond one event or one year. As with any investment, investors should look for a reasonable return on investment. The investment should only be made when a real tourism market need has been identified and not just because a building or site has become available for development.
Entrepreneurship can be encouraged in business by being forward thinking, well organised, responsive to change and by encouraging staff to think outside the box. In addition to this businesses can cut out bureaucratic processes, simplify decision making, take a structured approach to financial management reward staff for new ideas and business improvement suggestions.
Factors to consider
When assessing options for entrepreneurial opportunities, consideration should be given to the following:
- current accommodation provision
- occupancy levels
- attractions and events
- research and trends
- strategic tourism policy
- pricing levels of competition
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Support available for accommodation businesses
Help, support and advice for tourist accommodation providers such as hotels and guesthouses, including Invest NI and Tourism NI.
There are a range of organisations who can provide support for tourist accommodation businesses.
Invest Northern Ireland Tourism Team
The Invest Northern Ireland (NI) Tourism Team can advise you on the commercial aspects of your tourism accommodation development.
Financial assistance may be available to established businesses or to help develop new accommodation businesses.
Invest NI may also offer a wide range of advice and guidance to tourism accommodation businesses including:-
- IT and e-business issues
- training
- design and marketing
- market research information
- energy and water efficiencies
You can contact the Invest NI Tourism Team on Tel 0800 181 4422 or email tourism@investni.com.
Other support organisations
You can also seek support from other organisations such as Tourism NI, your local council and local planning authorities. See legal and licensing help for new tourist accommodation businesses.
Business support networks
Business networks are of paramount importance, they will assist you in growing your business. You can keep up to date with the latest industry developments and learn best practices from your peers.
The following organisations are networks of accommodation, hospitality and tourism businesses:
- Northern Ireland Hotel's Federation
- Visit Belfast
- Visit Derry
- Visit Causeway Coast & Glens
- Fermanagh Lakelands
Additional support
Tourism NI offers a range of support for tourist accommodation businesses including:
- Northern Ireland marketed as a tourism destination via Tourism NI's consumer website Discover Northern Ireland.
- Access to industry events which includes roadshows, masterclasses, business insights and conferences
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Start a tourist accommodation business
Starting a tourist accommodation business - Kribben Cottages (video)
Kribben Cottages explain how they started a four star self-catering accommodation business at the Mourne Mountains in County Down.
Kribben Cottages offer self-catering accommodation close to the Mourne Mountains in County Down. The cottages opened in 2014 and have achieved a four-star rating from Tourism NI. They have also received Green Tourism certification.
Myrtle Haugh, Property Manager at Kribben Cottages, highlights how they started the business. She explains how they got Tourism NI certification, including the grading process. Myrtle also discusses they found a niche in the market by researching tourism in Northern Ireland.
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Entrepreneurship for tourist accommodation providers
In this guide:
- Start a tourist accommodation business
- The tourist economy in Northern Ireland
- Legal and licensing help for new tourist accommodation businesses
- Categories of accommodation business
- Certifying a new accommodation business
- Quality assessment and star ratings for new accommodation businesses
- Entrepreneurship for tourist accommodation providers
- Support available for accommodation businesses
- Starting a tourist accommodation business - Kribben Cottages (video)
The tourist economy in Northern Ireland
Key facts and figures about the tourism industry in Northern Ireland.
In 2019, tourism in Northern Ireland attracted 5.3 million visitors who spent £1 billion.
In the past number of years the Northern Ireland tourism industry has benefited from significant major events such as The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Future opportunities will arise with the growing demand for screen tourism following the worldwide success of programmes like Game of Thrones and films such as Belfast.
Northern Ireland has also benefited from other significant tourism developments including the opening of new attractions such as the Game of Thrones studio tour.
Key statistics
Tourism statistics released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) for 2019 show:
- Overnight trips to Northern Ireland by external visitors were estimated to be 3 million.
- The growth in trips was largely driven by holidays, as there were 322,000 more holiday visitors compared with 2018. The closer to home markets (NI and ROI) increased by 17%, while holiday visitors from GB and Other Overseas grew by 7%.
- Domestic performance was strong, with NI residents taking more trips, notably holidays, in NI and spending more.
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Legal and licensing help for new tourist accommodation businesses
You should be aware of the various legal considerations before starting up a tourist accommodation business, such as certification.
There are a number of legal considerations for tourist accommodation providers. You must comply with all relevant legislation, in particular the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992.
Several organisations exist that can offer advice and guidance that will assist you in starting a tourist accommodation business.
Tourism NI
The Tourism NI Quality and Standards Unit can help you with mandatory tourism accommodation certification guidance and complying with relevant laws.
Invest NI Tourism Team
The Invest NI Tourism Team can advise you on the commercial aspects of your development.
Financial assistance may be available to established businesses or to help develop new accommodation businesses.
You can contact the Invest NI Tourism Team on Tel 0800 181 4422 or email tourism@investni.com.
Planning authorities
You should also speak with your local planning office at the outset of the project to find out if you will encounter any planning problems. A clear understanding, at an early stage, of planning issues relating to your project may save you time and money.
Your local council
The tourism officers of your local council will have a detailed knowledge of the tourism situation in your local area and will be able to provide information about council schemes or upcoming events, activities and initiatives planned for your area. Find your local council in Northern Ireland.
Rural projects
From time to time the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) offers support for the development of rural tourism accommodation projects.
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Categories of accommodation business
The eight accommodation categories in Northern Ireland including hotel, guesthouse, bed and breakfast and hostel.
Under the Tourism (NI) Order 1992, there are eight categories of accommodation. Each of these types of accommodation must be certified by Tourism NI.
What are the eight categories of tourism accommodation in Northern Ireland?
The different types of tourism accommodation include:
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment with a minimum of 15 double bedrooms (all of which must be en suite) that can provide breakfast, lunch, and an evening meal for guests.
Guesthouse
A guesthouse is an establishment with a minimum of three double bedrooms (all of which must be en suite) and can provide both breakfast and an evening meal.
Bed and breakfast (B&B)
A B&B offers overnight accommodation whilst also providing guests with a cooked breakfast. There is no requirement to provide an evening meal and only one guest bedroom is required.
Hostel
A hostel provides overnight budget accommodation for guests in shared rooms or dormitories. A hostel should have shared or en suite bathroom facilities, as well as a common kitchen and lounge area.
Self-catering
a self-catering unit is a self-contained apartment, house, cottage, etc which provides furnished accommodation for visitors including sleeping accommodation and catering facilities.
Bunk house/Camping barn
A bunk house or camping barn offers simple overnight shelter, often in remote locations with limited facilities and services.
Campus accommodation
Campus accommodation is provided by educational establishments for their students and made available to individuals, families or groups at certain times of the year, typically Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.
Guest accommodation
guest accommodation is primarily focused on the provision of en suite bedrooms, for example, restaurants and pubs that wish to provide accommodation for visitors.
Tourism NI offers start up guides for each of these categories. If you are an existing tourist accommodation provider and you wish to change your category, eg from a B&B to a guesthouse, you can apply online.
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Certifying a new accommodation business
If you are starting up a new tourist accommodation business such as a hotel or bed and breakfast, you must apply to get certification from Tourism NI.
To offer tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland, you must have a certificate from Tourism NI. It is illegal to offer tourist accommodation without certification.
Planning permission
Before seeking certification it is important to ensure you have met planning guidelines if you have had to make any building adjustments to the premises you intend to use for your accommodation business. See local council contact details in Northern Ireland.
Certification
Certification is mandatory for most establishments offering visitor accommodation in Northern Ireland. You can apply online to be certified by Tourism NI.
A fee for the inspection is payable in advance for the first inspection. Statutory inspections then take place once every four years although Tourism NI can undertake an inspection at any time. The purpose of inspections is to ensure that the minimum requirements appropriate to the category continue to be met. If not, Tourism NI may add conditions to the certificate or revoke it.
A certification officer will conduct an inspection to determine if the premises can be allocated to the chosen category. If a certificate is issued, your premises becomes a Certified Tourist Establishment and you may start trading.
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Quality assessment and star ratings for new accommodation businesses
Tourism NI runs a voluntary quality grading scheme for accommodation businesses – find out how to get your new business graded to boost your reputation.
Tourism NI runs a Quality Grading Scheme for accommodation businesses in Northern Ireland. Other UK National Tourist Boards and the AA also operate the scheme. This scheme is open to hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, guest accommodation, hostels and self-catering accommodation.
The scheme focuses on enhancing the visitor experience across all visitor touchpoints. In addition to providing a star rating which helps visitor decision making, the scheme also provides businesses with advice and support
Having a quality rating will give your premises credibility and visibility which is vital in today's competitive market.
Your business may receive up to five stars, based on a range of criteria, including cleanliness, presentation and service. Your business is rated by an assessor who in some instances will visit without making themselves known.
Please note that this scheme is voluntary, it is not a legal requirement and you are under no obligation to apply for quality grading.
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Entrepreneurship for tourist accommodation providers
Accommodation providers can benefit from strategic planning and taking an entrepreneurial approach to running the business.
With the variety of choice available to consumers from hotels, B&B's, caravan parks, guest houses or self catering accommodation it is important that tourist accommodation businesses take an entrepreneurial approach to generate profits or grow.
Taking an entrepreneurial approach in the tourist accommodation industry could include exploiting opportunities presented by increased visitor numbers due to major events, festivals, tourist attractions or celebrations.
Potential investors in tourism accommodation should be careful that there is a sustainable demand for more accommodation - beyond one event or one year. As with any investment, investors should look for a reasonable return on investment. The investment should only be made when a real tourism market need has been identified and not just because a building or site has become available for development.
Entrepreneurship can be encouraged in business by being forward thinking, well organised, responsive to change and by encouraging staff to think outside the box. In addition to this businesses can cut out bureaucratic processes, simplify decision making, take a structured approach to financial management reward staff for new ideas and business improvement suggestions.
Factors to consider
When assessing options for entrepreneurial opportunities, consideration should be given to the following:
- current accommodation provision
- occupancy levels
- attractions and events
- research and trends
- strategic tourism policy
- pricing levels of competition
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Support available for accommodation businesses
Help, support and advice for tourist accommodation providers such as hotels and guesthouses, including Invest NI and Tourism NI.
There are a range of organisations who can provide support for tourist accommodation businesses.
Invest Northern Ireland Tourism Team
The Invest Northern Ireland (NI) Tourism Team can advise you on the commercial aspects of your tourism accommodation development.
Financial assistance may be available to established businesses or to help develop new accommodation businesses.
Invest NI may also offer a wide range of advice and guidance to tourism accommodation businesses including:-
- IT and e-business issues
- training
- design and marketing
- market research information
- energy and water efficiencies
You can contact the Invest NI Tourism Team on Tel 0800 181 4422 or email tourism@investni.com.
Other support organisations
You can also seek support from other organisations such as Tourism NI, your local council and local planning authorities. See legal and licensing help for new tourist accommodation businesses.
Business support networks
Business networks are of paramount importance, they will assist you in growing your business. You can keep up to date with the latest industry developments and learn best practices from your peers.
The following organisations are networks of accommodation, hospitality and tourism businesses:
- Northern Ireland Hotel's Federation
- Visit Belfast
- Visit Derry
- Visit Causeway Coast & Glens
- Fermanagh Lakelands
Additional support
Tourism NI offers a range of support for tourist accommodation businesses including:
- Northern Ireland marketed as a tourism destination via Tourism NI's consumer website Discover Northern Ireland.
- Access to industry events which includes roadshows, masterclasses, business insights and conferences
Developed withAlso on this siteContent category
Source URL
/content/support-available-accommodation-businesses
Links
Start a tourist accommodation business
Starting a tourist accommodation business - Kribben Cottages (video)
Kribben Cottages explain how they started a four star self-catering accommodation business at the Mourne Mountains in County Down.
Kribben Cottages offer self-catering accommodation close to the Mourne Mountains in County Down. The cottages opened in 2014 and have achieved a four-star rating from Tourism NI. They have also received Green Tourism certification.
Myrtle Haugh, Property Manager at Kribben Cottages, highlights how they started the business. She explains how they got Tourism NI certification, including the grading process. Myrtle also discusses they found a niche in the market by researching tourism in Northern Ireland.
Case StudyMyrtle HaughContent category
Source URL
/content/starting-tourist-accommodation-business-kribben-cottages-video
Links