Hotels must check hold correct TV licence or face fines

Hotels and guest houses are being urged to check they hold a correct TV licence or risk a £1,000 fine. 

The warning from agency TV Licensing comes ahead of the August bank holiday when officers will be paying visits to premises at one of the busiest times of the year.

Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, urged hotel and guest house managers to check they are covered. “Taking a minute to check could save your business from a large fine as well as the embarrassment of a visit from an enquiry officer,” he said. 

All hotels, inns or guest houses that use television equipment to receive or record television programmes need to be properly licensed by law, although there are special ‘hotel’ licensing arrangements. 

The fee for this licence is based on the number of units of overnight accommodation available to let and is cheaper than buying a standard licence per room. 

It is calculated – assuming colour televisions are used – at: £139.50 for the first 15 rooms where a TV is installed and a further £139.50 for each subsequent set of five rooms which have televisions.

A spokeswoman for TV Licensing said: “August bank holiday is always one of the busiest times for hotels, so the last thing any manager would want is a TV Licensing enquiry officer turning up at the reception desk. If your hotel is unlicensed, you risk prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.” 

Keep TV licences up to date or face fines, businesses warned >> 

Hotels to get rebate after clerical error over TV licence fees >> 

Get the right DVD licence for your hotel >> 

By Helen Gilbert

E-mail your comments to Daniel Thomas here.