B&B owners have voiced their dismay over being left out of the Welsh Government’s coronavirus business funds since the start of the pandemic.

Many are having to use their savings amid a loss of income totalling more than 80 per cent due to the impact of Covid-19 on tourism to Denbighshire.

While small businesses that pay domestic and business rates in England and Scotland qualify for coronavirus support grants of up to £10,000, only those that pay business rates in Wales have been able to qualify for the Economic Resilience Fund phases one, two and three.

However B&Bs that have fewer than three bedrooms are not required to pay business rates, while many do not have full-time staff, an additional requirement in the Economic Resilience Fund in September.

It has meant that owners of bed and breakfasts who rely on customers for their income have said their income has fallen by more than 80 per cent over the last six months compared to last year.

Cath Miller, owner of the Cambrian House in Llangollen said her B&B will “just last until January” without further financial support.

“The grant scheme has just been a nightmare,” she said. “We have a 10-bedroom house with heating bills which we can’t afford for one customer every now and again.

“We do not meet the criteria because we do not have full-time employees, but two of our staff work for 22 hours per week.

“A grant would keep us going as a business and mean that we could continue to pay the staff.

“We could take a loan but that would mean getting into debt and looking into next year we could still be in this situation with all major events cancelled.”

John Roberts, owner of the three-bedroom Sarum House in Ruthin, said they have been “absolutely left out of all grants” due to paying domestic rather than business rates.

“If you have under three rooms then you fall into this trap,” he said.

“We have received self-employed income support but that has been our only income since March.

“We were looking forward to a good year and we had a lot of bookings but they were cancelled because people can’t travel and don’t want to take a risk.

“More or less we have had no customers over the last six months so we are having to use our savings.”

Angie Hobson, owner of Castle House, the five star-rated heritage B&B in Denbigh, said she was also having to use her savings to pay the bills and maintain the grounds of the property.

“We have had absolutely nothing as we are a domestic rated property so we have basically been left out,” she said.

“It has been devastating because we have not had any income. Fortunately we have put a bit of savings aside but this was there for our pensions.

“We are unsure about future as it depends how long [lockdown] goes on. We can’t run the place on a limited income.

“We can manage until spring but much longer than that.”

Mark Isherwood, MS for North Wales has been a vocal critic of the Welsh Government grant scheme, stating that bed and breakfasts have been “barred”.

“Many small Bed and Breakfast businesses have contacted me after the Welsh Government again excluded them from financial support to help them survive the pandemic, this time barred from the third round of the Economic Resilience Fund,” he said.

“They were also deemed ineligible in previous rounds and have been denied small business grants – unlike their counterparts in England and Scotland.

“They are absolutely desperate and do not understand why the Welsh Government has denied support to this vital part of local tourism economies across Wales.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We know coronavirus has hit small businesses hard – we’ve worked really hard to create the most generous support package for businesses anywhere in the UK.

"In addition to providing a year-long business rate holiday and small business grants, our £500m Economic Resilience Fund was created to fill the gaps in the support available from the UK Government.

“The ERF has been crucial in helping thousands of businesses and has so far safeguarded more than 100,000 jobs.

“We are also doubling the third phase of its Economic Resilience Fund, making nearly £300m available to support businesses that continue to be affected by Covid-19.

“But our budget can only stretch so far, which is why we continue to call on the UK Government to make more support funding available to businesses and the self-employed to help them through the pandemic.”