Hidden commissions across every contract your hotel runs on.
Hotels are energy-heavy, equipment-heavy and broker-intermediated at almost every point — electricity, gas, kitchen plant, refurb finance, PDQ merchant acquirers, laundry rental, insurance. The industry ran on undisclosed commissions for two decades. Under Hurstanger (2007), Plevin (2014) and the Court of Appeal's 2024 ruling in Expert Tooling v Engie, those commissions are now recoverable. Typical recoveries on a 30–80 bed independent hotel run GBP15,000 to GBP150,000+. No upfront cost. Our fee — a stated percentage of what we recover — is paid only on success.
Six claim lines most independent hotels leave on the table.
Energy — electricity, gas, heat
Broker-introduced supply contracts carried 0.3p–1.5p per kWh in undisclosed commission. On a 500,000–1,500,000 kWh hotel load that is recoverable at GBP8,000–GBP40,000 per meter, per contract period. Expert Tooling v Engie (Court of Appeal, 2024) confirms the doctrine applies squarely to energy broking.
Kitchen and laundry equipment
Commercial fryers, combi ovens, walk-ins, dishwashers, ironers and tunnel washers financed through broker-introduced HP or lease. A Johnson v FirstRand (Court of Appeal, 2024) fact pattern — recoverable where disclosure was inadequate.
Refurbishment and development finance
Periodic refurb loans, acquisition finance, and CBILS-era facilities brokered through packagers often carried introduction commissions disclosed only as 'may be paid.' The strongest fact pattern under the Johnson line.
Card acquiring (PDQ) overcharges
Long-term merchant-acquiring contracts with embedded mark-up — where the mark-up or commission element was not disclosed, it is recoverable under s.140A Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the unfair-relationship doctrine.
Laundry and linen rental contracts
Broker-introduced long-term rental facilities where the broker commission sat inside the weekly rental rate. Multi-year contracts accrue material recoverable amounts.
Hospitality insurance commissions
Commercial combined, business interruption, public liability and plant cover placed through a broker where the commission element was not stated. Year-on-year renewals stack the recoverable total.
Four steps. No distraction from running the hotel. No cost unless we recover.
- 1
Tell us the basics
Trading name, entity, room count, approximate energy spend, the finance facilities you know about. Fifteen minutes — we lead the conversation.
- 2
We audit under DSAR
We pull supplier contracts, finance agreements and broker disclosures directly from the counterparties. Your team is not involved in the document-gathering.
- 3
You sign a short LOA
A one-page letter of authority from a director or controlling partner. Stated fee. No lock-in. Terminable on reasonable notice.
- 4
We recover — you're paid
Recoveries paid direct to the hotel's operating account. Our fee — the stated percentage of the recovered amount — deducted on success. No recovery, no fee.
Hospitality-specific audit
We know the broker and supplier landscape: Utilitywise / Bionic / Love Energy on supply; Close Brothers / Aldermore / Shawbrook on asset finance; major insurance brokers on annual schedules. Contracts that look routine often have claims stacked inside.
Every facility scanned in one pass
Energy on every meter, every HP agreement, every refurb loan, card processing, laundry, insurance. A recovery on any line funds the recovery on the others.
No cost, no risk
No upfront fee. No disbursements. We fund the claim work. Our fee — a stated percentage of the recovered amount — is paid only on success, and only from the recovery itself.
Common questions from hotel owners.
- Usually no. Where commission was concealed, section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980 extends time — limitation runs from the point you could reasonably have discovered the concealment, not from the contract date. Expert Tooling v Engie (Court of Appeal, 2024) confirmed this applies directly to energy broking. We routinely see claims reaching back to 2014–2016.
Fifteen minutes to find out what your hotel is owed.
Email us at hotels@refunds.energy or call 0330 043 0133. First response within one working day. We assess for free — you only hear from us again if there's a claim worth pursuing.
In an IVA or post-insolvency situation? See the post-insolvency lane. An insolvency practitioner? For IPs.