B&B, hotel and guest house accommodation Advice

We can offer specialist advice in relation to setting up and opening a B&B, hotel, guest house or other type of visitor accommodation.

Planning Permission

Whether you need planning permission will depend on:

• the scale of the proposed business use in relation to the existing use of the property
• the impact of the use on the character of the property or local area.

For example, if you have a four-bedroom property and wish to use one bedroom for B&B use, it is unlikely that you will require permission. If you wish to use three of the bedrooms on a regular basis, or have a separate dining room for guests, or employ staff, then planning permission would normally be required.

The Planning Applications Team offers pre-application advice which is a paid for service, and includes advice regarding the need for planning permission. Please contact 01843 577150 or email planning.services@thanet.gov.uk

Further planning advice can be found online at www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Planning/PlanningPermission/index.htm

Conservation

Many properties in Thanet are within a designated conservation area and/or are listed. The Council has a specific Conservation Team who can provide specialist advice and guidance as part of the Council’s pre-planning process.

For information on Conservation areas and statutory listings

Please contact 01843 577141 or email Conservation-&-Listed-Buildings@thanet.gov.uk

Building Regulations

Building works on a B&B, hotel, guest house or self-catering accommodation may need a Building Regulation application to be submitted to the Council. Issues to consider include alterations to the structure and drainage, roof and thermal insulation, fire precautions and sound insulation.

Please contact 01843 577502 or email building.control@thanet.gov.uk

Environmental Health

If you let rooms in your home and provide breakfast or other meals you will need to register as a food business and to consider issues such as noise, odour, trade waste management and contaminated land.

Any such business is required to register with the council at least 28 days before the business is due to start operating and registration is free. The Environmental Health team will provide free advice and guidance and suitable food hygiene courses are provided locally by Thanet College. A registration form can be obtained from the food team

Basic requirements for food premises include that the:

• premises are clean and in good repair
• food is protected from contamination
• food handlers are trained
• there is a written food safety system in place

Please contact 01843 577580 or email environmental.health@thanet.gov.uk 

Health and Safety (General)

In running visitor accommodation your home becomes a workplace. Although you may not employ anyone, you have a duty under Health and Safety legislation for the safety of your guests whilst they are on your premises.

The key areas to think about are:

1. Safe access and egress at your home;
2. Safety of the electrical system and any electrical appliances you may provide for the guests’ use;
3. Make sure that furnishings, particularly the bed, are fit for purpose and comply with fire retardant standards;
4. Provide metal waste bins, not bins made of combustible or heat vulnerable material;
5. Try to keep beds away from windows with low sills by at least 500mm. If this is unavoidable, make sure that the glazing is toughened. If children are being accommodated, restrict the opening of any window;
6. Remove risks that might cause your guests to slip, trip or fall;
7. If your pets for example dogs, are aggressive to visitors you will need to take sensible precautions;
8. Ensure that your guests are shown how to leave the premises in the event of an emergency.

A fire risk assessment must be completed. Guidance is available at http://www.cfoa.org.uk/download/14597  

Please contact 01843 577580 or email environmental.health@thanet.gov.uk 

Licensing

If you are planning on selling alcohol and supplying hot food and drink after 11pm then you will need to contact the Licensing Department to gain a licence for the premises.

Please contact 01843 577432 or email licensing@thanet.gov.uk

Business Rates

If you are opening a business, you need to check whether Business Rates apply to the property from where the business operates. The Council’s Business Rates Team can advise whether the property is currently rated for business rates. If the property is not rated the council can arrange an inspection and contact the Valuation Office Agency (http://www.voa.gov.uk/) to ascertain whether the property should be rated for business or domestic. If you run a business from a property that you also occupy as your sole/main residence, your property will be a “composite”. This means that you would pay Council Tax on the part that you live in and Business Rates on the part that you run as your business. Business rates are only payable when you are able to accommodate six or more guests.

Please contact 01843 577557 or email business.rates@thanet.gov.uk

Smoke-free Legislation

All visitor accommodation establishments now must be smoke-free, Guest bedrooms can be designated as available for smokers but other enclosed parts of the property will have to be smoke-free. The garden will be an exception but ‘no smoking’ signs will also need to be displayed at the guest entrances. For further advice visit www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/what-do-i-do/business.html or visit www.smokefreeengland.co.uk

Tourism Development and Promotion

The visitor economy is very important to Thanet and the District Council is committed to working with existing and potential providers of all forms of visitor accommodation. Visitors need to be assured that the accommodation in which they stay is clean, safe and welcoming and complies with relevant legislation. As with many other areas Thanet District Council has a policy of only promoting quality accredited visitor accommodation.  Please contact 01843 577637 or email tourism@thanet.gov.uk

Quality Accreditation

B&B, hotel and guest accommodation proprietors can choose to have their establishment assessed for quality accreditation by one of the two national organisations in order to be awarded a star rating and potential additional quality grading. Visit Britain (Quality in Tourism) and the AA offer this service. Applicants need to complete an assessment application form and pay a fee (dependent on the size of establishment). An assessor will then visit your property to establish the number of stars you are eligible for. Further advice on quality accreditation can be obtained from the Kent Tourism Quality Programme adviser (see later). Gradings must be renewed annually, for which there is an annual charge.

AA Hotel Services: 01256 844 455

Visit Britain (Quality in Tourism): 0845 300 6996

National Accessibility Scheme

The National Accessible Standards, provided by the National Accessibility Scheme (NAS), provide prospective disabled visitors with an indication of the accessibility of serviced and self-catering accommodation covering three types of impairment – mobility, hearing and sight. A fee is charged to take part and more information is available on the corporate information / quality page of the Visit England website at http://www.enjoyengland.com/corporate/corporate-information/index.aspx

Kent Tourism Quality Programme

Through a programme managed by Visit Kent and supported by Thanet District Council, free information and advice is available to all tourism businesses to help with all aspects of quality, such as accreditation and training.

Please contact Kent Tourism Quality Programme on 01233 503 838

Marketing Opportunities

Thanet District Council’s tourism marketing team manages the visitthanet website and works closely with Visit Kent and other partners on a range of destination marketing activities. These include publications, press and PR activities. Quality accredited visitor accommodation businesses can feature in these, and benefit from promotion by the Thanet visitor information service, by investing in marketing packages.

Please contact 01843 577637 or email tourism@thanet.gov.uk

The information published on this page is given in good faith on the basis of information submitted to Thanet District Council. Thanet District Council cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information and accepts no responsibility for any error or misrepresentation. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or other damage caused by the reliance on the information contained in this publication, or in the event of the bankruptcy or liquidation of any company, individual or firm mentioned, or in the event of any company, individual or firm ceasing to trade, is hereby excluded.