Edinburgh's B&Bs and guesthouses fear for future after missing out on latest Covid support

Mohammed Yamin, who runs the Minto Guesthouse in Newington, said the last time he had any decent income was when New Year visitors came to the Capital to welcome in 2020. Throughout the pandemic the six-room guesthouse has been empty.

But B&Bs and guesthouses do not qualify for the Scottish Government’s latest £6,000 top-up grant for businesses hit by the lockdown.

Restaurants, bars, pubs, cafes and hotels are all eligible for the hospitality top-up payment. But B&Bs, guesthouses, self-catering accommodation, campsites and caravan parks are not.

"We're definitely in a worse position than big hotels,” said Mr Yamin. “They have staff who are furloughed, but we little guys on the outskirts have just been totally left out and we're desperate. It's very difficult. If we could get that £6,000 it would make life so much easier.

“Where others are receiving significant financial support allowing them to continue to pay their bills and keep safe, I feel we are being unsupported despite being longstanding taxpayers.

“If we knew that in June or July everything would be back to normal I wouldn't be panicking like this, but we just don’t know when this thing will end.”

Mr Yamin said he did receive the £10,000 one-off grant paid to all non-domestic-ratepayers last year and after an appeal was awarded the £2,000 four-weekly payment for smaller hospitality businesses.

But he said: “It doesn’t last long because we have very high bills, the mortgage and the upkeep of a large building which still has to be heated and maintained – it's all good when the business is running, but when the business is shut it's a nightmare.”

He and his wife Nadia have been running the guesthouse since 2004 but he says they face increasing competition from Airbnbs and from student accommodation being made available to visitors.

“Everywhere you look they're building student accommodation which are nothing but B&Bs. We can't compete with them.

“Lots of other guesthouses nearby have had enough and have put up ‘For Sale’ signs. It's just driving small businesses out and the big boys are taking over.

“My wife and I have really struggled and our dream was we leave this to our children, but now what are they going to be left with? It's not looking good – and the coronavirus is knocking a nail in the coffin.”

Ross Birnie, who runs the 23 Mayfield guesthouse, also fears for the future of the sector because of the lack of support.

He said: “There's thousands of B&Bs and guesthouses across Scotland but there's going to be no small businesses left and there'll just be all these chain hotels.

“People who run guesthouses know the local area better than the big chain hotels. We're the ones who can tell guests where to go, places to visit. But that's all going to go.”

A government spokesman said: “Scottish Government resources are limited and this means we must take targeted action. We continue to call on the UK Government to transfer the fiscal levers required to enable us to respond fully to the needs of Scottish businesses.”

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