Counting

How to count the nights your Welsh holiday let is let for

The 182-night test is simple in theory and fiddly in practice. These are the counting rules that catch people out, and how to get a number you can defend.

Correct as of 2026-11-11.

One booking, one night

This is the rule that catches the most people. A stay that appears on Airbnb, Booking.com and your agency's site is one booking and counts once. Most owners list on two or three channels, so counting each channel separately inflates the total and puts you over the line on paper while the Valuation Office Agency says otherwise.

nos links the same booking across channels and counts it once.

Only stays of 28 nights or less

Both the 182 and the 252 tests only count stays of 28 nights or less. If a guest stays for a month, those nights do not count towards the 182. They can count towards the 252 available nights, but only if the property could have been booked for 28 nights or less.

What cannot count at all

These nights are excluded from the count, whether the property was available or let:

• nights the property was closed for repair or refurbishment;
• nights the site where the property stands was closed;
• nights you were using the property privately, including letting it to friends or family at a discounted rate;
• future bookings that have not happened yet.

Charity nights

From 1 April 2026, up to 14 nights a year count towards the 182 where you have donated the use of the property to a registered charity. Nights donated before 1 April 2026 do not count towards the 14.

Keeping the record

The evidence that matters is a record you can produce on the day the Valuation Office Agency asks. That means the dates, the booking reference and the channel for every stay, kept continuously rather than reconstructed from memory in February.

nos reads each of your booking calendars and keeps one count across all of them, with the bookings behind every figure. How to prove your nights let covers what the Valuation Office Agency asks for and how to assemble it.

nos gives guidance, not tax advice. Only the Valuation Office Agency decides how a property is classified. Check anything that matters against the official guidance linked below.

Sources

• GOV.UK — Apply for business rates for a self-catering property in Wales
• Business Wales — Non-Domestic Rates for Self-Catering Properties in Wales

Common questions

Do I count nights booked on Airbnb and Booking.com separately?

No. A stay is a stay. If the same guest booking appears on three sites, it is one booking and counts once. If you manage to book the same stay twice through different channels, that is a second booking, and you have a problem that nos flags for you rather than one it hides.

Can a stay longer than 28 nights count towards the 182?

No. Only stays of 28 nights or less count towards the 182 nights actually let. A longer stay can count towards the 252 nights available, but only if the property could have been booked for 28 nights or less.

Does a booking I have not honoured yet count?

No. Future bookings that have not happened yet do not count. A night counts once it has actually been let.

What about letting a friend at a discount?

It does not count. Nights where you were using the property privately, including letting it to friends or family for a discounted rate, are excluded. The stay has to be commercial, at your normal rate, with the intention of making a profit.