You asked

Please provide the total number of UK hotels in 2020 if possible, although 2019 would also be acceptable.

We said

​Thank you for your Freedom of Information request enquiring the total number of UK hotels in 2020 and/or 2019.

We produce an annual publication called UK business; activity, size and location which contains UK businesses broken down by legal status, industry, region, employment and turnover size bands. The data are taken from an extract of the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) as of March each year. This publication represents the businesses registered with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for VAT and/or PAYE.

Table 1 shows the count of VAT and/or PAYE businesses classified to SIC 5510: Hotels and similar accommodation for the years 2019 and 2020.