Along with other costs the businesses are facing, he feared “they don’t have any more to give”.
Rates relief was introduced for pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic when businesses were forced to close.
In the Budget in November last year, the then Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced it had been extended until April next year.
The measure means that companies in England can claim 75% relief on business rates up to £110,000, or 40% for firms in Wales.
Mr McDowall told the BBC’s Today programme that the hospitality industry has faced a “barrage” of challenges in recent years.
These include recovering from Covid as well as high inflation, energy costs in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the effect of the cost of living on customers.
“The complete removal of that rate relief would prove very, very costly for pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes up and down the length and breath of the UK”, he said.
The British Beer and Pub Association recently revealed that landlords make 12p profit per pint. The average price of a pint of draught lager was £4.79 in September, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Meanwhile, a freeze on alcohol duty is scheduled to end on 1 February next year.
Mr McDowall is one of a number of representatives from the hospitality industry who this week signed a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves asking for relief to be extended.
It warned about “the onrushing business rates cliff edge” facing firms 153 days after she delivers the Budget.